“Not yet, sir,” he replied. “When I have made this steadier, I am just going to see what pressure I can bring to bear on the trap-door.”
“I heard the bolts go,” Doctor Sarson remarked uneasily.
“In that case,” Mr. Fentolin declared, “it will indeed be an interesting test of our friend Meekins’ boasted strength. Meekins holds his place—a very desirable place, too—chiefly for two reasons: first his discretion and secondly his muscles. He has never before had a real opportunity of testing the latter. We shall see.”
Doctor Sarson came slowly and gravely to the bedside. He looked down upon his patient. Mr. Dunster shivered.
“I am not sure, sir,” he said very softly, “that Mr. Dunster, in his present state of mind, is a very safe person to be allowed his freedom. It is true that we have kept him here for his own sake, because of his fits of mental wandering. Our statements, however, may be doubted. An apparent return to sanity on his part may lend colour to his accusations, especially if permanent. Perhaps it would be as well to pursue that investigation a shade further. A touch more to the left and I do not think that Mr. Dunster will remember much in this world likely to affect us.”
Mr. Dunster’s face was like marble. There were beads of perspiration upon his forehead, his eyes were filled with reminiscent horror. Mr. Fentolin bent over him with genuine interest.
“What a picture he would make!” he murmured. “What a drama! Do you know, I am half inclined to agree with you, Sarson. The only trouble is that you have not your instruments here.”
“I could improvise something that would do the trick,” the doctor said thoughtfully. “It really isn’t a complicated affair. It seems to me that his story may gain credence from the very fact of our being discovered in this extraordinary place. To have moved him here was a mistake, sir.”
“Perhaps so,” Mr. Fentolin admitted, with a sigh. “It was our young friend Mr. Hamel who was responsible for it. I fancied him arriving with a search warrant at any moment. We will bear in mind your suggestion for a few minutes. Let us watch Meekins. This promises to be interesting.”
By dint of piling together all the furniture in the place, the man was now able to reach the trap-door. He pressed upon it vigorously without even bending the wood. Mr. Fentolin smiled pleasantly.