"My master was moving and I heard him," Hafid said. "Is there anything
that I can do?"
"Yes," Frobisher said crisply. "You can hunt round and find my
confounded slippers. That fool of a man of mine never puts things in
the same place twice."
Hafid came back presently with the missing articles. The key of the
dressing-room was in his pocket, he slipped through the bedroom and
locked that door also. Frobisher stood listening a minute or two with a
queer, uneasy grin on his face. Evidently this little accident had not
frightened the game away. He turned the handle softly, but with no
effect. He shook the door passionately. Something seemed to have gone
wrong with the lock. That Hafid should have dared to play such a trick
never for one moment entered Frobisher’s mind. With his well-trained
philosophy Frobisher sat down and filled his pipe. What a woman had done
safely once, she was certain to attempt again, he argued, perhaps try
and attempt a better move. And there were other light nights before the
moon had passed the full. Denvers stood listening, but no further sound
came. The attempt must be made now or never.
"Show me the conservatory," he whispered. "There are long folding steps,
of course? Then you can stay in the doorway till I have finished, My
darling, I am truly sorry to expose you to all this, but——"
Angela led the way. It was fairly light in the great glass tank with
its tangle of blooms, but as Denvers entered a great gush of steam shot
up from the automatic pipe and filled the dome with vapour. Harold
quickly drew the long steps to the centre and mounted. He disappeared
in the mist and was quickly lost amongst the tangle of ropes and
blossoms. He had to wait for the periodical cloud of vapour to pass
away before he could make a searching examination. So far as Angela
could see, nobody was in the roof at all, it was as if Denvers had
disappeared, leaving no trace behind.
There was another gush of steam followed by a shower of falling
blossoms, and a quick cry of pain from the dome. As Angela darted
forward the cry of pain came again, there was a confused vision of a
struggling figure, and then Denvers came staggering down the steps
holding his right arm to his side, his face bedabbled with a moisture
that was caused by something beyond the heated atmosphere.
"What has happened?" Angela asked hurriedly. "Have you had an accident
with your arm?"
Denvers stood there gasping and reeling for a moment. The steam had all
evaporated now, and there was nothing to be seen in the dome but a
tangle of blossoms on their rigid cords. At Denvers’ feet lay a spray
of the Cardinal Moth. Despite his pain he placed it in his pocket.
"Look here," he said hoarsely. "This is witchcraft. Somebody grasped
my arm, some unseen force clutched me. I managed to get away by sheer
strength, but look here."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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