"Now I come to think of it, it was!"
"Well, I was that man. I'm beginning to think my disguises are artistic after all."
"But why all this disguise? What are you afraid of in London?"
"I am afraid of our friend Barkmansworth, if you want to know. I was the man who took him off the mail boat, remember, and my face must be unpleasantly familiar to him. If he saw me, I should be arrested within an hour, and whatever happens, seeing the work that lies before us, that must not!"
"Do you think you can be of use to her ladyship in her defence then?"
"It must never come to a defence. It would be fatal to allow her to be sent to Hong Kong. They would convict her at once. No! There is nothing for it but for us to plan some means of escape for her, and yet, when one thinks how perfect English police arrangements are, that seems wellnigh impossible. However, done it must be, by hook or crook, and we must set about it at once."
"But how? Have you any idea in your head?"
"Not at present, but it will be strange if I don't hit upon one before very long. If only her ladyship could help us!"
"Wait one moment. Perhaps she can. When I left her this afternoon she gave me a note, which I was not to open until I got home. Let us see what it says."
I took it out of my waistcoat pocket, opened it, and read it aloud. It certainly contained the germs of an idea and ran as follows: