human
Good God! he exclaimed.
gpt
What can all this mean? You came from New York City?
human
Yes; I had been there a month attending to some business.
gpt
And when you left for the coast, you took the midnight train on the New York Central?
human
Yes. I had intended taking an earlier one, but was delayed.
gpt
You bought return tickets at the station?
human
No; I had return tickets; they had to be validated.
gpt
Then your name was signed to them; what is your usual signature?
human
F. Cavendish.
gpt
I thought so. Stella, this has all been a strange blunder, but it is perfectly clear how it happened. That man Beaton evidently had never seen Frederick Cavendish. He was simply informed that he would leave New York on that train. He met this Cavendish on board, perhaps even saw his signature on the ticket, and cultivated his acquaintance. The fellow never doubted but what he had the right man.
human
What's that? he asked anxiously.
gpt
You think he knocked me overboard, believing I was some one else? That all this has happened on account of my name?
human
No doubt of it. You have been the victim of mistaken identity. So have we, for the matter of that.
gpt
But what about Fred?
human
He--he must have been the dead man in the Waldron Apartments, she faltered.
gpt
There is no other theory possible now.