“Go on,” he said.

“Mr. Vincent Cawdor,” she continued, “came in alone. He looked just as objectionable as ever, and he stared at me till I nearly threw my wine glass at him.”

“He did not speak to you?” Peter Ruff asked.

“I was afraid that he was going to,” Miss Brown said, “but fortunately he met a friend who came to his table and lunched with him.”

“A friend,” Ruff remarked. “Good! What was he like?”

“Fair, slight, Teutonic,” Miss Brown answered. “He wore thick spectacles, and his moustache was positively yellow.”

Ruff nodded.

“Go on,” he said.

“Towards the end of luncheon,” she continued, “an American came up to them.”

“An American?” Peter Ruff interrupted. “How do you know that?”