That hint was as foolish as my boast a few days before. So he had sent old Luigi for the gendarmes. He was holding me here. Well, I hardly cared to see the gendarmes just now. It was time for me to act.
I reached swiftly up. I lifted the clock from the mantel to the floor. The jar of the wheels as it touched the floor made him spin about like a mechanical toy. I was pointing the muzzle of his useful weapon at him over the clock.
“Sit down,” I said quietly.
He clutched the edge of the chair, his mouth drooping.
“And quickly!” I cried sharply.
He sank into the chair behind him, his hands trembling violently.
“But–but–this is an outrage!” he gasped.
“My dear duke, you are not the only clairvoyant. In my poor way I can see through a wooden case. But this propensity of yours to play the cat with the poor little mouse is dangerous. Sometimes the little harmless mouse turns out to be a rat. And rats sometimes bite.”
CHAPTER XXIX
For the second time I held the casket in my hand, but even now it was impossible for me to look at it. I had to keep my eye on the duke. I picked it up and walked to the table near which the duke was seated.