“Of what?” I asked.
“Nothing concerning his past?”
“Nothing.”
“He did not mention me—eh?” asked my companion.
“Only to urge me to carry that letter to you at Totnes.”
“And he gave you nothing else? I understood you to say that he treated you with a certain amount of confidence,” and he looked me narrowly in the face.
“He gave me two objects,” I replied. “A small golden figure of the Egyptian god Osiris—a very ancient relic—and a curious and much corroded cylinder of bronze.”
“Great Heavens! The bronze cylinder!” he gasped, starting and standing before me open-mouthed. His face was blanched at mention of it.
“Yes.”
“He gave you that, eh?” he cried in distinct alarm. “And you accepted the trust—you were fool enough to do that?”