do you suppose I am doing in this galley? You must be a very new
member of the Utinam Club."

"To tell the truth, Mr. Hoyt," said Indiman, with an air of
engaging frankness, "I have never, until this moment, even heard of
the Utinam Club. But for all that I am convinced that I am about to
become a member of it, and I may say the same for my friend, Mr.
Thorp. Now, possibly you may be inclined to assist us."

Mr. Hoyt stared. "It's a pity, isn't it," he remarked,
reflectively, "that our standard of eligibility doesn't conform to
that of your impudence. Still, I won't say that it can't be done;
this is a proprietary club, you know. You had better see Dr.
Magnus."

"Dr. Magnus?"

"The proprietor of the Utinam Club. Here he comes now."

A slight, gray-haired man of fifty or there- abouts had entered the
hall from the rear and immediately came forward to meet us. His
eyes were the extraordinary feature of his face, piercingly
brilliant and enormously magnified by the spectacles that he wore.
The lenses of the latter were nearly an eighth of an inch thick and
evidently of the highest power. Even with their aid his powers of
vision seemed imperfect. On hearing the few words of explanation
vouchsafed by the unamiable Mr. Hoyt, he drew from his pocket a
second and third pair of glasses and deliberately added both to his
original optical equipment. I know that I felt like a fly under a
microscope in facing that formidable battery of lenses. But the