“You admit it? Do you know how I effected my escape that night?”
“I do. A brave man came to your rescue.”
“Precisely; and this ‘brave man’, is the same who was present at the masquerade; is it not so?”
“It is.”
“Who is this man?”
“I decline to answer.”
“What is he to you, then?”
“What he is to all who know him: a brave, true man; a gentleman.”
“Hem! You have an exalted opinion of this—this gentleman.”
“And so should you have, since he saved your life, and what you value more, your reputation. And now listen: this same man has bidden me tell you, has bidden me warn you, that dangers surround you on every hand; that Van Vernet has traced the resemblance between you and the Sailor of that night; that he will hunt you down if possible. Your safety depends upon your success in baffling his efforts to identify you with that Sailor.”