it was a mere coincidence that he registered it at all , because had tobias gaze not casually drifted to the supposed third member of the committee whose face was illuminated with sunlight filtered through the miniature , highly-positioned window and had he not observed that the gentlemans eyes were already peacefully resting upon him , tobias would never have questioned his own sanity , nor would he have wondered whether the curious appearance of the stranger an appearance that was memorable yet difficult to describe could explain the uncanny familiarity tobias felt towards him from the very beginning .