O'Reilly recognized him from his resemblance to
his brother. He addressed him in English.
"I come from Felipe," he began. "He well remembers the day you
whipped him to keep him from going to the Ten Years' War."
The languor of Doctor Alvarado's siesta vanished. He started, his
eyes widened.
"Who are you?" he muttered.
"My name is O'Reilly. I am an American, a friend, so don't be
alarmed. The man you see approaching is following me, but he
thinks I have come to you with a toothache."
"What do you want?"
"I want your help in joining the Insurrectos."
By this time the detective had come within earshot. Making an
effort at self-possession, the dentist said: "Very well. I will
meet you at my office in a half-hour and see what can be done."
Then he bowed.
O'Reilly raised his hat and turned away.
Doctor Alvarado's dentist's chair faced a full-length window, one
of several which, after the Cuban fashion, opened directly upon
the sidewalk, rendering both the waiting-room and the office
almost as public as the street itself. Every one of these windows
was wide open when Johnnie arrived; but it seemed that the dentist
knew what he was about, for when his patient had taken his seat
and he had begun an examination of the troublesome tooth, he said,
under his breath:
"I, too, am watched.
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