As it happened, Towton, late in dressing for dinner, had not yet left his rooms for the Athenian Club. Vernon arrived at a quarter to eight, just as the Colonel opened the door. The two came face to face with mutual joy at meeting.
"My dear Vernon, I am glad to see you. I am simply dying to have a talk, as I can do nothing but think of the entanglement in which we find ourselves."
"You can't be more pleased than I am at having found you, Colonel. I have had an adventure with Diabella."
"The deuce. Have you learned who she is?"
"Who _he_ is, you mean. Yes. That mask concealed Constantine Maunders."
Towton sat down on one of the hall chairs and stared. "Do you mean to say that the young scamp has been masquerading as a woman?"
Vernon nodded and sat down wearily, for his bones ached. "I presume he thought that there would be less danger of discovery if he changed his sex. I expect he wore those long Egyptian robes over his ordinary clothes. When discarding them he would reappear as Maunders, and could easily escape without being noticed in the crowd. He's clever, is Constantine, and yet not clever enough."
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Towton gruffly and rising to his feet. "Suppose you come with me to the Athenian and tell me all about the matter."
"I'm not in evening kit."
"Oh, the deuce take that," said the Colonel cheerfully.