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Gilray was amazed at his reception, but he steadied himself with one hand upon the table. He must not betray himself before the stranger who so kindly took his presence for granted. There would be plenty of time for an explanation later on. It would be as well too, if he followed the other man's suggestion. He was feeling jumpy and nervy, as well he might, when all the circumstances were taken into consideration. So he quietly helped himself to a whisky and soda, and gulped it down. The generous old cordial warmed his blood and restored his flagging spirit.
Where was he, and what was going on? That he would have to find out as quickly as possible. To try to explain his presence there by a bold recital of the plain truth was out of the question. His host or hostess, as the case might be, would rightly refuse to believe him. They would probably hand him over to the police, and then a ruinous scandal would be caused. He had no desire that his professional reputation should suffer.