The clerical-looking man pretended not to hear. He turned toward the window and went on reading. The conductor and the lad peered under the neighboring seats. They saw no trace of the money. The other passengers looked on with interest.
“Lift your feet, sir,” said the conductor, sharply, as he tapped the clerical passenger’s arm.
The man obeyed with an air of injured innocence, and the roll of bank notes was instantly seen.
“Quite an accident,” he protested. “I was not aware that my foot was on the money.”
“Of course not,” sneered the conductor.
“No insults, sir,” replied the other, in a dignified tone. “Here is my card. I am a missionary from the South Seas. My name is Pendergast.”
The conductor waved aside the proffered card.
“I see you are reading Hoyle’s Games,” he remarked, sarcastically. “Is that the text-book you use among your heathen?”
The missionary looked discomfited for an instant.