"You are not comfortable in that chair."
"That is true; and yet it is soft and roomy. I am uneasy. Perhaps you recall to my subconsciousness a period in my former existence on earth; or, if you will, one of my ancestors."
"I fail to understand."
"Well, a Hillard two hundred years ago had his head cut off by an ax. His executioner wore a mask."
"A mistake. Your ancestor should have been hanged."
"And I along with him, you would imply?"
"Are you not Irish? I have known Irishmen by the name of Hillard."
"They were in disguise. But I have a generous strain of Irish blood in me. Otherwise I shouldn't have had the courage to follow up an adventure like this."
"Thanks. The compliment is rather ambiguous."
"My compliments can not possibly be more ambiguous than your appearance. Surely, there will be an hour for unmasking."