"The man you advertised for, Mr. Solino."
Solino regarded Justus Miles critically.
"You have been a soldier of fortune?" he asked. He spoke English with the preciseness of an educated foreigner.
"Yes, sir. Rusty—that is, Mr. Ward knows my record."
"I was his sergeant in France, sir; saw fighting with him in Morocco, Turkey, Nicaragua—"
"You can vouch for him, then; his character, courage—"
"You couldn't get a better man, sir. If I had known he was in town I would have sent for him."
"Very well; that is sufficient. But Mr.—Miles did you say?—understands he is embarking on a dangerous adventure with grave chances of losing his life?"
"I have faced danger and risked my life before this," said Justus Miles quietly.