Do you see that somewhat peculiarly
constructed chair, yonder? It is an adaptation, by a brilliant young
chemist of Canton, of Ericksen's Disintegrating Ray. A bell hangs
beside it. If you were seated in that chair and I desire to dismiss
you, it would merely be necessary fro me to strike the bell once with
the hammer. Before the vibration of the note had become inaudible you
would be seeking your ancestors among the shades. It is the throne of
the gods. Such a death is poetic."
He returned to the table and, observing meticulous care, emptied the
few drops of colourless liquid from the condenser into a test-tube.
Holding the tube near a lamp, he examined the contents, then poured
the liquid into the curious yellow bottle. A faint vapour arose from it.
"You would scarcely suppose," he said, "that yonder window opens upon
an ivy-grown balcony commanding an excellent view of that picturesque
Tudor survival, Hampton Court? I apprehend, however, that the researches
of your late friend, M. Gaston Max, may ere long lead Scotland Yard to
my doors, although there has been nothing in the outward seeming of
this house, in the circumstances of my tenancy, or in my behaviour
since I have--secretly--resided here, to excite local suspicion."
"Scotland Yard men may surround the house now!" said Stuart viciously.
"One of the two followers I have retained here with me, watches at
the gate," replied Fo-Hi. "An intruder seeking to enter by any other
route, through the hedge, over the wall, or from the river, would
cause electric bells to ring loudly in this room, the note of the bell
signifying the point of entry.
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