"Yes. For it is there we shall be in the very centre of the web. In those far western solitudes, despite the recent opening up of the Duchy to tourists, there are still vast spaces of lonely moorland and unvisited coast where one may walk for half a day and meet no living soul. There is a great Hinterland between the little town of St. Ives and the Land's End that for all practical purposes is unknown and unexplored. Later on, I will show you certain maps.... It is in one of the remotest spots of all that Major Helzephron has his house. I tell you, Sir John," he continued, with a sort of passion, "that in those lost and forgotten solitudes, where England stretches out her granite foot to spurn the Atlantic, strange secrets lie hid to-day! On those grey and lonely moors, where the last Druids practised their mysterious rites, and which are still covered with sinister memorials of the past, lies the explanation of the terror which is troubling the world! There, and there only, shall we discover the secrets of the air, and--if human skill and determination are of any avail--Miss Constance Shepherd!" An obsequious waiter came with iced _consommé_. He was followed by the great Nicholas himself, bulging out of his buttoned frock-coat--Nicholas never wore evening dress--who bowed low and had a whispered confabulation with Danjuro. I remarked on this unusual honour. "I do what I wish here," the Japanese replied. "It is, of course, through Mr. Van Adams. I hold this place in the hollow of my hand--as you will presently see!" He gave one of his rare and weary smiles, and then said quietly: "Please do not get up or move. Major Helzephron has just come into the gallery!" I could not have moved. His words turned me to stone. "I felt sure," he went on, "that for a day or two Helzephron would show himself in London. Knowing what we know--or at least suspect--such a move was a certainty. He is in the habit of coming here. He booked his usual seat at this restaurant, and his usual box at the Parthenon Theatre--and for reasons obvious to you and me, if to no one else in the world! I confess to an anxiety to look upon this man." "You have had this corner darkened?" I said quickly. "No one can see _us_ here?" "Not clearly. And Helzephron would not know who we are if he did see us. But, as he is sure to come upon us in Cornwall, it is better to take no risks. To that end I have had a little device arranged for us which proved of great service to me once in Chicago." He bent forward to the mass of ferns and flowers in the centre of the table, disarranging the greenery at its base. At once a green-painted tube became visible, and then a slanting mirror, the size of a postcard. "What on earth is that?" I whispered.