Page:Waylaid by Wireless - Balmer - 1909.djvu/210

Rh when the Bahia sailed," the inspector read triumphantly, as his men, at a gesture, closed closer about the American, "was an American dressed in evening clothes, with a silk hat, a covert coat, and a stick! He is tall—probably a trifle over six feet—and well built. His features are regular and distinct. He might be called handsome. His hair and eyes are a very deep brown. He is tanned and—and—"

"Yes—and?" The American caught himself up strongly and defiantly under the direct, inevasive eyes of the officers. "And?" he mocked. "I know that the man is very like me! I have been mistaken for him—he has had me mistaken for him many times before! But—and what? What more distinctive thing can they name to identify this man with me?"

"Hold out your right arm, sir!"

The inspector himself slipped up the sleeve an inch or more.

"And, sir!" he concluded finally, "Mr. Hareston states, under oath, that in the 186