“Well,” Hugh went on, “he certainly has a mighty intimate acquaintance with all sorts of countries, for he can describe things in the most minute way you ever heard.  He kept me fairly chained while he was talking of Borneo, Sumatra, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the Philippines, and all those far-away countries in the South Seas.  If he’s only read about them, the man has the most astonishing memory I ever ran across.”

“Oh! he’s no doubt a character,” admitted the skeptical Thad, as though he begrudged acknowledging even this much; “but I still believe him to be a fake.  Keep right on telling me what you did, Hugh.”

“For that matter, I didn’t do much of anything except listen to his stories, for he kept up a steady stream of talk for a whole hour or more, and covered a wide territory in that time.”

“I sort of think Brother Lu has conceived a liking for me which is hardly returned in the same ratio; though I confess there’s something almost fascinating about the fellow.”

Thad acted as though alarmed.

“Be careful, and keep on your guard, Hugh, or else he’ll be hypnotizing you just like he seems to have done with poor Matilda and her husband.  That slick tongue of his can do all sorts of stunts.  Why if you don’t look out we’ll have you going around taking up a subscription to fit Brother Lu out with a brand new suit of togs; and perhaps buying the poor chap a bully meerschaum pipe; for it must be dreadful that he is now compelled to use one of Mr. Hosmer’s old corncob affairs.”

His sarcasm was lost upon his chum, for Hugh laughed merrily at the gruesome picture Thad drew of his complete subjugation to the wiles of the schemer.

“Of course,” he continued, calmly, “I didn’t forget what I was there for principally, and all the while he was talking so fluently and holding my interest, I kept watching him and trying to study his real character.  Thad, I own up to failure.  Once I thought I was a pretty clever hand at that sort of thing, but now I’m mixer-up, and have lost considerable confidence.

“I kept changing my mind again and again.  When he’d tell some of the most astonishing stories of the strange lands he’d roved through, I’d begin to say to myself that he must surely be just lying.  Then the fellow’d mention some little happening that he’d describe so vividly, would you believe it, I felt the tears in my eyes, for it would be sort of pathetic.  So during that whole hour I sat there and changed my mind every ten minutes, now blowing hot, and again cold.  I came away in as muddled a state as I went there.  His actions seem to stamp him a rogue if ever there was one; and yet, Thad, I seemed to see something different in the depths of his twinkling blue eyes.”

“Oh! thunder! however are we going to get rid of such a sticker?” groaned Thad, as though at a loss to know what next to do.