"Would you know the man if you saw him again?" asked Viner.
"I should most certainly know him if I saw him dressed and muffled in the same way," asserted Mr. Armitstead. "And I believe I could recognize him from his eyes--which, indeed, were all that I could really see of him. He was so muffled, I tell you, that it was impossible to see if he was a clean-shaven man or a bearded man. But I did see his eyes, for he turned them for an instant full on the light of the restaurant. They were unusually dark, full and brilliant--his glance would best be described as flashing. And I should say, from my impression at the time, and from what I remember of his dress, that he was a foreigner--probably an Italian."
"You didn't see this man at your hotel?" asked Mr. Pawle.
"No--I never saw him except on this one occasion," replied Mr. Armitstead. "And I did not see Ashton after that. I left Paris very early the next morning, for Rouen, where I had some business. You think this matter of the man in the muffler important?"
"Now that you've told us what you have, Mr. Armitstead, I think it's of the utmost importance and consequence--to Hyde," answered Mr. Pawle. "You must see his solicitor--he's Mr. Viner's solicitor too--and offer to give evidence when Hyde's brought up again; it will be of the greatest help. There's no doubt, to me, at any rate, that the man Hyde saw leaving the scene of the murder is the man you saw with Ashton in Paris. But now, who is he? Ashton, as we happen to know, left his ship at Naples, and travelled to England through Italy and France. Is this man some fellow that he picked up on the way? His general appearance, now--how did that strike you?"
"He was certainly a man of great distinction of manner," declared Mr. Armitstead. "He had the air and bearing of--well, of a personage. I should say he was somebody--you know what I mean--a man of superior position, and so on."
"Viner," exclaimed Mr. Pawle, "that man must be found! There must be people in London who saw him that night. People can't disappear like that. We'll set to work on that track--find him we must! Now, all the evidence goes to show that he and Ashton were in company that night--probably they'd been dining together, and he was accompanying Ashton to his house. How is it that no one at all has come forward to say that Ashton was seen with this man? It's really extraordinary!"