"
"Yes," I said, "I saw that you were in at close of play. But I
don't believe it was you - I believe you have a double who plays your
cricket for you!"
And at the moment that seemed less incredible than the fact.
"I'm afraid you didn't read your paper very carefully," said Raffles,
with the first trace of pique in his tone. "It was rain that closed
play before five o'clock. I hear it was a sultry day in town, but
at Manchester we got the storm, and the ground was under water in
ten minutes. I never saw such a thing in my life. There was
absolutely not the ghost of a chance of another ball being bowled.
But I had changed before I thought of doing what I did. It was only
when I was on my way back to the hotel, by myself, because I
couldn't talk to a soul for thinking of you, that on the spur of
the moment I made the man take me to the station instead, and was
under way in the restaurant car before I had time to think twice
about it. I am not sure that of all. the mad deeds I have ever done,
this was not the maddest of the lot!"
"It was the finest," I said in a low voice; for now I marvelled
more at the impulse which had prompted his feat, and at the
circumstances surrounding it, than even at the feat itself.
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