“Oh, yes,” replied Thorndyke. “But it must be on a totally different scale from that of the stage. A wig, and especially a beard or moustache, must be joined up at the edges with hair actually stuck on the skin with transparent cement and carefully trimmed with scissors. The same applies to eyebrows; and alterations in the colour of the skin must be carried out much more subtly. Polton’s nose has been built up with a small covering of toupee-paste, the pimples on the cheeks produced with little particles of the same material; and the general tinting has been done with greasepaint with a very light scumble of powder colour to take off some of the shine. This would be possible in outdoor makeup, but it would have to be done with the greatest care and delicacy; in fact, with what the art-critics call ‘reticence.’ A very little makeup is sufficient and too much is fatal. You would be surprised to see how little paste is required to alter the shape of the nose and the entire character of the face.”

At this moment there came a loud knock at the door; a single, solid dab of the knocker which Polton seemed to recognize, for he ejaculated: