"But with your occult powers, can't you learn if my father is dead or alive?"
"No," said Durgo very decidedly. "You forget that on the side of the unseen are mighty powers who have to be obeyed. I can do much, but not all, and for some reason I am not permitted to know the truth about my master. Sooner or later I shall understand about this. What we have to do at the present time is to prevent the Vands from escaping. Will you both help?"
"Yes," said Bella, anticipating Cyril; "that is if you don't intend violence."
"Be comforted," said Durgo ironically; "be comforted, missy. I have no wish to put a rope round my neck. I simply mean to force these devils to give up the jewels, and to solve so much of this mystery as they know. When I regain the jewels and know what has become of my master, I shall let them go, or if you like I shall hand them over to the police. But time presses," added Durgo impatiently, "and at any time the two may come along on their way to freedom. Will you help?"
"Yes," said Cyril simply. "What do you want us to do?"
"Missy"—Durgo turned to the girl—"can you work that search-light?"
Bella nodded. "For an evening's amusement my father—I mean Captain Huxham—once showed me how to manipulate it."
"Well it is in good order, as we know that Vand used it last night. You can get into the house by the secret passage and watch for the going out of our two friends. Then turn on the search-light and use it as a pointer."
"I can use the search-light, and I daresay it is in order since Henry Vand used it last night," said Bella quickly; "also I can get to the upper part of the house and on to the roof, through a kind of well which runs from the lower to the higher secret passage. But what do you mean by my using the light as a pointer?"
"Direct the ray on to Vand and his wife; they may come down this path, or they may try and escape in another way. But if you bend the ray of the search-light to where they are, I'll be able to catch them. Use the ray as a finger, as it were."