"You were misinformed about my going," he explained. "I changed hotels, that was all."
Scotty stared harder than before.
"But why?" he groped. "I inquired of the clerk, and he said you had gone by an afternoon train. I don't see—"
Ben mounted the steps and took a chair opposite the Englishman.
"If you will excuse me," he said, "I would rather not go into details. The fact's enough—I am still here. Besides—pardon me—I did not call to be questioned, but to question. You remember the last time I saw you?"
Scotty nodded an affirmative. He had a premonition that the unexpected was about to happen.
"Yes," he said.
Ben lit a cigar. "You remember, then, that you made me a certain promise?"
Scotty threw one leg over the other restlessly. "Yes, I remember," he repeated.
The visitor eyed him keenly. "I would like to know if you kept it," he said.