"What does it mean?" I asked Rose, when I returned.
"It means that this man isn't Faraday at all," she declared. "I was doubtful of him from the first. I saw Faraday at the Coliseum about two years ago, and I am sure that he was a much older man."
"In that case," I said thoughtfully, "I suppose it is our duty to warn the Duke."
"You must do as you think best," Rose decided.
I made my way reluctantly downstairs and turned into the gardens where I was told the Duke was. I found him at the end of a rose pergola. The Princess was seated by his side, and at the sound of their voices I hesitated and would have turned back. The Duke, however, recognised me and called out. In the bright moonlight which was flooding the gardens, he seemed unnaturally pale. His tone, too, when he addressed me, had lost its smooth, pleasant intonation. He was like a man who has been undergoing torture. The slight smile upon the Princess's lips chilled and depressed me. I felt that it was not a pleasant interview which I had disturbed.
"Were you looking for me, Lister?" the Duke asked.
"In a sense I was, your Grace," I admitted. "I—er—there was a little matter I thought I ought to mention to you."
"Well?"
I felt suddenly that my mission was ridiculous and my suspicions intolerable. Since I was there, however, I had to go through with it.
"The man Faraday, the illusionist," I began——