I sat suddenly upright, for
if there was such a man, he must be one of two....
"What is it?" Swain asked, looking at me.
"A long shot," I said. "An exceedingly long shot--a
three-hundred-million to one shot. How many people are there in the
world, Swain?"
"I'm sure I don't know," and he stared at me in bewilderment.
"I think it's something like a billion and a half. If that is true,
then it's possible that there are four people in the world, beside
yourself, with the thumb and two fingers of the right hand marked
exactly as yours are."
"We must have a reunion, some day," Swain remarked, with irony.
But I refused to be diverted.
"Allowing for imperceptible differences," I went on, "I think it is
safe to assume that there are ten such people."
"Well," said Swain, bitterly, "I know one thing that it _isn't_ safe
to assume, and that is that either of those Hindus is one of those
ten. I suppose that is the assumption you will make next?"
"It's an assumption I intend to put to the proof, anyway," I answered,
somewhat testily, "and if it fails, I'm afraid you'll have to go to
jail till I can dig up some more evidence.
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