Green and Forrester also rose and approached the library table while Humphrey was arranging the photograph where the lamplight would fall full upon it. "A camera is a wonderful thing," commented Humphrey. "Astronomers discover stars with it that are not visible to the eye, even through a powerful telescope; and spiritualists claim to have secured photos of specters or ghosts or whatever they call the things that visit them. I can believe it after seeing this photo." "You ain’t got a picture o’ them ghosts, have you?" queried Green, memories of a certain gruesome night only too clearly recalled. "Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t," returned Humphrey, non-committally, but obviously amused at Green’s apprehension. "_That’s_ what I’m going to let you folks decide. There!" he added, placing a finger on the photograph as the others bent over it. "See that black spot back of the tree? That is the shadow thrown by the tree trunk when my flashlight went off. Naturally, anything in that shadow would not photograph well. If you look carefully, however, you can make out what appears to be a man standing a short distance back of the tree. It looks like a silhouette, and may be only my imagination. That is why I want your opinions." First Forrester and then Green studied the photograph. "Well?" inquired Humphrey, at length. "I believe you are right," acceded Forrester. "A man was evidently hiding behind the oak while we were there." "I can go you one better!" asserted Green, positively. "Remember, Mr. Forrester, the man’s silhouette I saw on the Prentices’ lawn that night—the man who—" "Yes—yes," interrupted Forrester, quickly, fearing that Green was about to mention the girl before Humphrey. "_That looks like the same silhouette!_" "And now," cried Humphrey, "I want to show you something that is even more puzzling. Do you happen to have a magnifying glass, Mr. Forrester?" "Yes," said Forrester, opening the drawer in the table and taking out a large reading glass. "Hold the glass over the opening in the tree," instructed Humphrey. "Do you see anything?" Forrester adjusted the glass to different distances, while he examined this part of the photograph. "Yes," he agreed, after a time, "there seems to be a thin black object inside the opening. It may be my package." "No," protested Humphrey. "This looks like a black rod with a bright or white spot near the end. Can you make it out, now that I have explained it?" "Yes," acknowledged Forrester, "but I cannot even make a guess at what it can be." "I’ll bet it’s a hand!" groaned Green. "I’ve seen it before!" CHAPTER XV—THE MASK OF DEATH