"I ventured to follow you, gentlemen," Goatley said, "in fact, I have been following you all the evening. I was afraid you might make some mistake. Some description of the house where Jansen is lodging will be of assistance to you."
"You know all about it?" Uzali said.
"Well, yes, sir," Goatley proceeded to explain. "It is a shop where a man named Giles deals in birds and animals. He is a queer, solitary old man and does for himself in a small room behind the shop. He has a horror of women, and I don't suppose one has been in the place for years. You can understand how lodgings like that would suit Jansen. He has the two upstairs rooms where he cooks for himself, so that there is no one to spy upon his movements. He might commit half a dozen murders and no one be the wiser."
"Is there any way into the house?" Uzali asked.
"Certainly, sir," Goatley went on. "Behind the shops is a kind of Tom Tiddler's Ground where children come and play. It is easy to get over the fence and into the back yard on to which Giles' room looks. Above this room is a dilapidated glass house where a former tenant tried to grow flowers. By way of this little glass house one could readily get into the premises. I am sure of my ground because I have been over it before. I will show you the way so that there can be no mistake."
Goatley had spoken the truth when he had said that it would be easy to burgle the premises by way of the little glass house. Russell surveyed the whole carefully and nodded his head approvingly.
"The thing can be managed," he said. "And now, what I want you to do, Goatley, is to hang about the front and see if anybody leaves the house. If Jansen himself leaves come round at once and whistle softly."
There were no further instructions for Goatley, so they disappeared to the side street. Russell turned to his companion somewhat eagerly.
"I think I had better understand what you want," he said. "Your idea is to get into the house. What do you expect to see?"
"Well, I expect to see Jansen and one of my fellow-countrymen to begin with," Uzali said grimly. "And if I am not mistaken I shall find the other conspirator there, too. I don't think you appreciate how clever Jansen is. To begin with, he is an exceedingly skilful chemist and can produce the most extraordinary results from apparently innocent experiments. I have never met the man, but I know that he was in my country years ago, and at one time managed to exert a deal of influence over certain people there. It was much the same as in the early days when white settlers first appeared. The natives used to take them for gods and all that kind of thing, and that is what has happened with those two fellow-countrymen of mine who have done their best to put an end to Samuel Flower. I expect to find them under the thumb of Jansen."