“Another noteworthy fact about scars is that they may be, and in many cases they are, useful for purposes of identification.
“Of course you anticipate the dramatic climax of my story, gentlemen. Nevertheless, let me give it, for the sake of completeness, in the form of a dialogue between the husband and the wife.
“'How came the wound there?'
“'Oh, I fell against the corner of a paving-stone one icy morning three years ago.'
“'And to think that I was not there to help you up!'
“'True; but another young man served the purpose, and I'm afraid he missed a train on my account.'
“'What! It wasn't on the corner of —— and —— Streets?'
“'It was just there. How did you know?'
“So you see, as they completely proved by comparing recollections, the little speech uttered in merriment had been prophetic, a fact that they probably would never have learned had it not been for the identifying service of the scar.”
“But if this has been kept a family secret, how do you happen to know it, and by what right do you divulge it?” one of us asked.