That decided Sheard's attitude, and he laughed.
Whereat the stranger again raised the protestant hand.
"We shall awake Mrs. Sheard!" he said solicitously. "And now, as I see you have decided to give me a hearing, let me begin by offering you my sincere apology for entering your house uninvited."
Sheard, his mind filled with a sense of phantasy, dropped into a chair opposite the visitor, reached into the cabinet at his elbow, and proffered a box of Turkish cigarettes.
"Your methods place you beyond the reach of ordinary castigation," he said. "I don't know your name and I don't know your business; but I honestly admire your stark impudence!"
"Very well," replied the other in his quiet, melodious voice, with its faint, elusive accent. "A compliment is intended, and I thank you! And now, I see you are wondering how I obtained admittance. Yet it is so simple. Your front door is not bolted, and Mrs. Sheard, but a few days since, had the misfortune to lose a key. You recollect? I found that key! Is it enough?"
"Quite enough!" said Sheard grimly. "But why go to the trouble? What do you want?"
"I want to insure that one, at least, of the influential dailies shall not persistently misrepresent my actions!"
"Then who——" began Sheard, and got no farther; for the stranger handed him a card—
Séverac Bablon