The girl pushed the cabin door open, and our hero entering found himself in a dimly-lighted apartment and in the presence of a villainous, dark-faced man. The latter eyed his visitor by the aid of the dim, flickering light shed abroad in the room by a sputtering candle.
"Be seated," said the man, and he spoke in fairly good English.
Our hero obeyed and expected the girl would tell the man that his visitor had not visited him unaccompanied, but she said nothing beyond asking:
"Shall I go?"
"Yes, you can go."
A moment later and Argetti, as the man chose to be called, and our hero were sitting face to face under the dim light of the sputtering candle. Argetti fixed his glittering eyes on our hero as though he would read him through and through, and at length, in a quick, sharp tone he said:
"You desire to see me?"
"Yes."
"Well, what is your purpose?"
"That's all," answered our hero coolly.