"It may be I am, but mark my words: I will withhold my surprise unless I learn the actual truth."
"Suppose I were to confess that I am a detective."
"So much the better for you."
"But you might give me away."
"Never; I am not a woman."
"You are a very shrewd old gentleman."
"I am no fool."
"I am a detective."
"So I thought, and now one word more: why are you seeking facts about a man who died forty years ago?"
"I desire to establish the fact of his death."