"For a wonder with the greatest courtesy. He took me aside and begged me to forget any occasion of offence. He appealed to me as the successful one--and he gave me his word, unasked, that he would never again do anything to hurt May's feelings or mine. After all, he's not such a bad fellow, Pinsent. One must make allowances. It's not his fault that he is in love with May. He can't help that. My wonder is that every man who knows her is not." "I suppose you forgave him?" "We shook hands, certainly. You wouldn't have me bear malice, would you? Remember! I'm in a position to be generous--and he made the advance." "My dear lad," I answered slowly, "I wouldn't have an atom of you changed for worlds. You are an absolute ass and all that sort of thing, but somehow or other you make me want to be the same sort of idiot, and I feel positively ashamed at times that I cannot." You should have seen his face flush, and the hangdog way he tried to pass over the compliment by cursing an untied shoestring and me at the same time for trying to "pull a fellow's leg." We went for a ride in the park that afternoon, and just to be pleasant the Captain forced on me the gift of his finest Arab and a permanent stall in his stable in which to keep the animal. He knew, the dear fool, that I could not afford to keep it myself. I believe he would have suffered tortures had I refused him. But indeed I had no thought. The gift completely captivated me; I felt like a child with a new toy, and as proud as any peacock. The horse was a noble creature. I named him forthwith "Abd-el-Kadir," and the pair of us spent the evening petting him, until it was time to dine. We had the gayest possible meal and afterwards went to the Empire, reaching home a little before midnight like reputable bachelors. The Captain, as usual with him, fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. But I had a trust to fulfil and, ridiculous as it may seem, as soon as I heard young Weldon's quiet breathing it began to weigh upon me. All sorts of mad questions began to ask themselves over in my mind. What if Sir Robert Ottley and Dr. Belleville had really discovered some wonderful secret of Nature? What if Belleville had really determined to assassinate his rival? What if--in that act--he purposed to make me appear to be the criminal? What if--as the medium had hinted--they had found a way to make themselves invisible? It was no use calling myself names, and saying mentally: "Pinsent, for Heaven's sake be reasonable." Something had come over me. For the first time in my life I was nervous. Mysterious fears obsessed me. For an hour I lay on my side and watched the Captain. Then I could stand it no longer. I got up and stole over to the door. It was locked securely. I looked under both beds and peered into wardrobes and cupboards. When I had perfectly convinced myself that Weldon and I were the only occupants of the room I felt a little better. But only a very little. I resolved to spend