of his hand; it fell with a crash on
the floor. Then I seized him by the throat and tried to hold him. He
was, however, like an eel; he wriggled himself free and struck me a
heavy blow on the chest which sent me backwards, then he turned and
darted towards the window, but as he did so I heard something fall on
the floor. For one second his hand went down on the floor groping for
it, then, with a curse, he snatched up the revolver, which lay near,
and darted out of the window on to the balcony. It all occurred in a
few moments, and I followed him as quickly as I could, but when I
reached the window I saw him flying along the balcony; he had already
cleared several of the little divisions railing off one apartment from
another, and I could see it would be useless to follow him.

As I turned and re-entered the bedroom something lying on the floor
caught my glance and I stooped and picked it up.

It was the man's glass eye, it had dropped out!

"Now," I said to myself, surveying the bloodshot counterfeit orb as I
held it under the electric light. "_Now_ I shall be able to trace him
by means of his missing eye and hand him over to justice."

I was fated to be disappointed.

Late the next morning when, having passed the remainder of the night
sleeplessly, I came down the main staircase into the hall, almost the
first person I met was my friend of the glass eye coming in at the
front door. He had apparently just left a cab from which the hotel
porters were removing some luggage. He came straight to me, and,
looking me in the face, had the impudence to bid me "Good morning."

"Went over to Bristol last night," he explained, "for a ball, and have
only just got back. Had awful fun!"

I returned his look for some time without speaking; he had another
glass eye stuck in which was the counterpart of the other. I saw now
clearly that he had two or more glass eyes for emergencies.

"Bristol!" I repeated. "Did you not come into my room last night
and----?"

"And what?" he asked innocently.

"And threaten me?" I added.

He seemed highly amused.

"Do you mean before I went?" he asked.

"No, about four o'clock this morning."

This time he burst out laughing.

"My dear fellow," he said with impertinent familiarity, "at four
o'clock this morning I was dancing like mad with some of the prettiest
girls in Bristol!"

Liar! It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him whether his glass eye
had fallen out during h