Having surveyed everything with leisurely appreciation, Colin mixed himself a drink and sauntered back to the fireplace. He had taken a sip and was reaching up to deposit his glass upon the mantelpiece when a small photograph in a silver frame suddenly attracted his attention. He paused mid-way and stared at it with interest. It was a snapshot of a man upon horseback--a rough amateur effort, apparently taken just before the start of a steeplechase. The rider's face was turned full toward him, and, slightly out of focus as the negative was, the features seemed curiously familiar. He lifted it down and examined it more closely. The impression that it was a picture of someone whom he had met became stronger than ever, but although he racked his memory he could get no nearer toward placing the original. He was still puzzling over the problem when he heard footsteps crossing the hall. Replacing the frame in its former position, he faced round toward the door, and the next moment Mr. Medwin entered carrying a large envelope in his hand. "There are the papers," he said, handing them to Colin. "I am sorry to have kept you waiting." His eye fell upon the glass, and with an approving nod he turned away in the direction of the sideboard. "I think I shall have to follow your example," he added, "if it's merely to drink success to your new venture." He splashed some spirit into a tumbler and filled it up with water. "My best wishes!" he said heartily, "and I hope that the experiment will prove a complete success." "I hope so, too," returned Colin. "It certainly looks promising enough as far as it's gone at present." The lawyer emptied his glass and replaced it beside the tantalus. "I shall be very interested to hear how you get on," he continued. "The Professor is a wonderful old gentleman, but of course he's inclined to be a trifle eccentric. With a little tact, however, I think you ought to manage him excellently. As soon as you have settled down you must come round to dinner one night and tell me all about it." Colin made some conventional reply to the effect that he would be delighted, though, as a matter of strict accuracy, the prospect of his confiding in Mr. Medwin seemed to him to be a particularly remote one. However, he shook hands cordially enough, and, escorted by his host as far as the garden gate, started off briskly down the terrace on his return journey. He had reached the corner and was just turning into Kensington Square when his thoughts suddenly went back to the photograph which he had been examining in the dining-room. At the same moment a flash of memory darted through his mind, and he pulled up short with a half-stifled exclamation. He knew now! It was a portrait of Major Fenton, the man to whom Nancy had introduced him outside her studio. CHAPTER FOUR Colin finished his coffee and looked inquiringly across the table.