"Which direction we shall discover," said Tchigorsky. "Can you let me out here, or shall I go by the same means that I entered?"
To Geoffrey's relief Ralph volunteered to open the hall door for his friend.
"Come this way," he said. "All the bolts and bars have been oiled and will make no noise."
They slipped away quietly together. Geoffrey listened intently. He fancied that he could hear footsteps creeping up the stairs, and in the corridor a door softly closed. Then Ralph Ravenspur came back again.
"Tchigorsky has gone," he said. "After this it will be necessary for us to vary our plan of campaign a little. You have learned something to-night. You know now that our antagonists are two Indians and a woman who is dangerous as she is lovely and fascinating. Ah, what a woman she is!"
"Who is she?" Geoffrey asked.
"Ah, that I cannot tell you. You must be content to wait. I do not want you to know too much, and then there is no chance of your being taken off your guard. When the surprise comes it will be a dramatic one. The more you see of that woman and the more you cultivate her the more you will find to wonder at."
"But can I cultivate her after to-night?"
"Why not? She does not know the extent of your knowledge; she has not the remotest idea that you have been helping to foil her schemes. Next time she will meet you as if nothing had happened."