like snow, and he wore a wig and a pair of green goggles; but I
recognized him at once by his lack of manners, which is an
unmistakable sign of nobility. As I opened the door, he began:

"'You are Mr.--'

"'I am,' I replied. 'Come in. You have come to see me about your
stolen watch. It is a gold hunting-case watch with a Swiss movement;
loses five minutes a day; stem-winder; and the back cover, which does
not bear any inscription, has upon it the indentations made by the
molars of your son Willie when that interesting youth was cutting his
teeth upon it.'"

"Wonderful!" cried Johnson.

"May I ask how you knew all that?" asked Solomon, deeply impressed.
"Such penetration strikes me as marvellous."

"I didn't know it," replied the stranger, with a smile. "What I said
was intended to be jocular, and to put Brokedale at his ease. The
Americans present, with their usual astuteness, would term it bluff.
It was. I merely rattled on. I simply did not wish to offend the
gentleman by letting him know that I had penetrated his disguise.
Imagine my surprise, however, when his eye brightened as I spoke, and
he entered my room with such alacrity that half the powder which he
thought disguised his beard was shaken off on to the floor. Sitting
down in the chair I had just vacated, he quietly remarked:

"'You are a wonderful man, sir. How did you know that I had lost my
watch?'