Only for a second, but it was enough to make my heart jump. I had never seen the great man before, and he had never seen me. But in that fraction of time something sprang into his eyes, and that something was recognition. You can’t mistake it. It is a flicker, a spark of light, a minute shade of difference which means one thing and one thing only. It came involuntarily, for in a moment it died, and he passed on. In a maze of wild fancies I heard the street door close behind him.

I picked up the telephone book and looked up the number of his house. We were connected at once, and I heard a servant’s voice.

“Is his Lordship at home?” I asked.

“His Lordship returned half an hour ago,” said the voice, “and has gone to bed. He is not very well tonight. Will you leave a message, sir?”

I rang off and almost tumbled into a chair. My part in this business was not yet ended. It had been a close shave, but I had been in time.