Taken unawares, he could not hide his distress, which he proceeded to explain thus: He did remember the bow, now that he had the opportunity of seeing it closer.

He pointed to the nick I had myself noticed and said that owing to this defect the bow had been cast aside, and the last time he had handled it----Here he caught his breath and stopped.

Another memory had evidently returned to embarrass him." "Did you succeed in getting him to acknowledge what it was ?" "Yes, after I had worked with him for some time.

He didn't want to talk.
In a moment you will see why.

Going back to the time he had seen it before, he said that he had found it in the cellar in an old box, the contents of which he had been pulling over in a search for something very different.