"
"You never told me you went in for disguises," said I, watching
him as he cleansed the grime from his face and hands.
"No, Bunny, I've treated you very shabbily all round. There was
really no reason why I shouldn't have shown you this place a
month ago, and yet there was no point in my doing so, and
circumstances are just conceivable in which it would have suited
us both for you to be in genuine ignorance of my whereabouts. I
have something to sleep on, as you perceive, in case of need,
and, of course, my name is not Raffles in the King's Road. So
you will see that one might bolt further and fare worse."
"Meanwhile you use the place as a dressing-room?"
"It is my private pavilion," said Raffles. "Disguises? In some
cases they're half the battle, and it's always pleasant to feel
that, if the worst comes to the worst, you needn't necessarily be
convicted under your own name. Then they're indispensable in
dealing with the fences. I drive all my bargains in the tongue
and raiment of Shoreditch. If I didn't there'd be the very devil
to pay in blackmail. Now, this cupboard's full of all sorts of
toggery. I tell the woman who cleans the room that it's for my
models when I find 'em. By the way, I only hope I've got
something that'll fit you, for you'll want a rig for to-morrow
night."
"To-morrow night!" I exclaimed.
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