"Recently come out?"
"Nor have I recently come out."
"Or just going in?"
"Not unless, my dear Reginald, it is to visit you."
Alexander was cheeky; he must be in funds, although he did not look it.
"May I ask, my dear Alexander, what means you are at present taking to increase your fortune?"
He blew his nose with an old silk handkerchief and a flourish. Did he ever do anything without a flourish--even pick a pocket?
"I don't know, my dear Reginald, that it much matters to you what I am doing, but I don't mind telling you, in confidence, that I am at present devoting my energies to the detection of crime."
"To what?"
The idea seemed too funny.