The Yellow Face

by Fred M. White

"Most assuredly nobody is on the premises," he said. He was by no means convinced yet that Anstruther was not playing some cunning trick upon him. "It is most extraordinary. You may say what you like, and prove what you like; but I am ready to swear that I brought both those plans into the room with me five minutes ago."

"Oh, look up the chimney," Anstruther growled. "Take all those plants out of your conservatory, and see if the thief hasn't vanished up the water pipe. I am sick of all these nervous fears and hysterical suspicions. It has always been the curse of my existence that I can never lay hands on an accomplice who is anything but a knave or a fool."

Without heeding the savage outburst, Carrington took one of the little silver lamps from the table, and, holding it up by its crystal receiver, advanced cautiously in the direction of the conservatory. Jack held his breath, and prepared for the worst. He felt pretty sure now that he and Seymour would be discovered. Not that he much minded, except that he was extremely anxious not to be recognized by Anstruther; but that risk had to be run. It was a pity, too, seeing what a marvelous amount of information had been gleaned during the last half-hour; but that was all part of the game.

"Is it possible he has vanished through the skylight?" Anstruther sneered.

Carrington muttered that there was a drop of some thirty feet outside the conservatory. He still advanced with the lamp in his hand, and peered about him with an anxious face. The moment was a critical one indeed, and Jack wondered if Seymour's wonderful fertility of resource would be equal to the occasion. In the dim light of the lamp he saw Seymour's right arm steal out, and his sinewy fingers close upon a piece of hose pipe attached to a tap in the wall. Evidently this had been used for watering the flowers. The gardener responsible for the well-doing of the rooms doubtless understood his work, and watered each pot separately, instead of spraying the whole place indiscriminately; for attached to the hose-pipe was the small nozzle meant to convey a fine single jet for some distance.

Jack began dimly to understand what Seymour meant to do. It was going to be a dangerous experiment, but danger was quite absolutely necessary if the eavesdroppers were to escape unrecognized. If Seymour's plan was absolutely successful, there was just the chance of them getting away without their presence there being indicated at all.

Jack saw the lean, brown hand stretch forth and turn on the tap in the wall. Then the tap at the end of the hose slid round, and a tiny spray of water, fine as a needle and strong as the arrow from a bow, struck the chimney of the lamp, now nearly red hot, and a tremendous smash of cracking glass followed.

Carrington staggered back, and a kind of hysterical scream broke from his lips. With his nerves strung at high tension, the shock of the bursting explosion rendered him nearly mad with terror. Seymour turned off the tap again, feeling sure that his business was well done.

"By Jove, that was wonderfully smart, and quickly done," Jack whispered to his companion. "I rather pride myself upon the ingenuity of my stories, especially as regards the plots of them, but I never could have thought of anything quite like that."

"Not bad," the other said quite coolly. "It was all a matter of accuracy of aim and steadiness of hand. But to a man like myself, who has had vast experience of big game shooting, a little affair like that is a mere nothing."