"The fact is," he went on after a glance towards the house, "I have a
ticklish job to carry through--the queerest in all my experience; and
unfortunately I want help as well as secrecy. After some perplexity
I've resolved to ask you: because, upon my word, you're the only person
I can ask. That doesn't sound flattering--eh? But it isn't your
fitness I doubt, or your nerve. I've hesitated because it isn't fair to
drag you into an affair which, I must warn you, runs counter to the law
in a small way."