“Not yet,” said the first man. He was the one with the actor’s voice, and he looked like an actor, too; he was wearing a large broad-brimmed hat with a great sweeping feather in it, and a long black cloak. Max, the servant (or so I guessed), was dressed more simply. He had an honest, cheerful face, and I thought: If only we’d known that last night—I’m sure he wouldn’t have hurt us….The doctor’s face was handsome, I couldn’t deny that: dark, powerful features, strong white teeth, and glittering eyes—but again that quality of actorishness came into my mind. He’s impressive, I thought, but I don’t trust him.

“What are we going to do, then?” said Max.

“Leave it to me,” said the doctor. “Nothing could be easier.” And he sauntered casually to the end of the queue and tapped some stranger on the shoulder. The stranger looked round, and the doctor pointed through the window and said something to make him stare in that direction; and while he was doing that, the doctor slipped his hand into the stranger’s pocket and drew out his papers. You villain! I thought. He’ll get into trouble now, all because of you….But I couldn’t help watching, to see what would happen next. Max sat down at the foot of the stairs, only an arm’s length away from where I stood in the shadows.

The doctor reached the front of the queue; the stranger was still searching his pockets, mystified. When the sergeant had inspected the papers, the doctor beckoned him to follow. They came toward the stairs; I pretended to be dusting in the comer.

“I imagine,” said the doctor smoothly as the sergeant came up, “that you are looking for Brilliantini?”

(Brilliantini? Where had I heard that name before? Oh, yes! The confidence trickster who’d escaped from prison. Surely this couldn’t be him?)

The sergeant stared to left and right and then thrust his head forward, whiskers bristling, and said in a low voice, “Yes! But how do you know?”

“I am a member of the Venetian Secret Service,” said the doctor. “Very confidential, you understand.”

“Oh! My word! Yes!”

“I, too, am looking for this villain. He is wanted for several desperate crimes in Venice.”

“Good heavens!”

“He is very dangerous, you understand?”

“Is he, really?”

“He would shoot you as soon as look at you, Sergeant. I advise you not to get close to him.”

“Well, I never…”

“We had better work together on this case. I shall give all my information to you, and you can tell me everything that you know.”

“Good idea!”

“There is a reward for his capture—I suppose you were told by the authorities?”

“A reward, eh? Er—how much might that be, then, if you don’t mind my asking?”