"I am he."
"I learn that the services of a Moslem workman are required."
"Quite correct, sir; but you should apply at the offices of Messrs. Rawson & Rawson, Chancery Lane."
The old man bowed, smiling.
"Many thanks; I understood so much. But, my position being a peculiar one, I wished to speak with you — as a friend of the late Professor."
I hesitated. The old man looked harmless enough, but there was an air of mystery about the matter which put me on my guard.
"You will pardon me," I said, "but the work is scarcely of a kind—"
He raised his thin hand.
"I am not undertaking it myself. I wished to explain to you the conditions under which I could arrange to furnish suitable porters."
His patient explanation disposed me to believe that he was merely some kind of small contractor, and in any event I had nothing to fear from this frail old man.