“That is a nasty brute to fall foul of,” he said angrily. “There is no telling what mischief he might have done me, if you had not been handy. I noticed who was in front of me, and hurried forward to overtake you, when I was hurled to the ground without any ceremony. But how do you happen to be acquainted with this dog? And how is it that he seems to know you so well?” “My dear sir, I can easily explain away your mystification on that score. Briny belongs to a very dear friend of mine, a Miss Stratton, whose arrival in Lina I have been expecting for a week. The presence of Briny shows that my friend is here now, and I shall probably see her to-morrow.” Such was Mr. Bootle’s remark, given in a calm and composed voice, which certainly surprised Staines by the astonishing nerve it evinced. That the composure of the voice was somewhat belied by an irrepressible trembling of the limbs for a few moments was not apparent to the latter, and he felt all the more savage at his failure to secure the extermination of so implacable an enemy. “I wonder what the game is now,” he thought. “It can’t be that I’m expected to swallow this pretence of being friendly. There is still some further plotting going on, and it is deemed necessary to keep me befooled a little while longer. I think I will play the unsuspecting chicken. But I’m too clever to be caught.” Anyone noticing the further progress of this antagonistic couple towards the hotel would hardly have imagined them to be either great friends or great enemies. For they walked, conversing together, fully a yard apart, and each kept a wary eye upon the other, the dog carefully watching Mr. Staines’ every movement. Arrived at the hotel, the pair appeared to be on the same terms as they had been yesterday, and soon began to discuss the business which ostensibly brought them both here. “How about your gambling friend at Gibraltar, Mr. Bootle?” was the query addressed to him. “Just as rackety as ever,” he replied. “The money being squandered like water, and any amount of hawks hovering round in search of prey.” “Ourselves included, eh?” “Yes, ourselves included.” “And how is the prey to be got at?” “By following out the plan suggested yesterday evening. I have seen Mr. Danvers to-day, and he has accepted my invitation to supper. I had some difficulty in inducing him to agree to come here. He wanted me to hold the affair at my rooms in Gibraltar, but I told him that I had invited a fellow who did not care to show himself on English territory, and with whose company he would be delighted.” “And how do you know that I would not care to go to Gibraltar?” “Natural inference, my dear sir. Perhaps I shouldn’t be too fond of the place myself if my real name was known there.” “So you masquerade under an alias?” “Certainly. Just as you do.”