The Yellow Face

by Fred M. White

"Capital!" he exclaimed. "I dare say it is exceedingly clever, but, at the same time, so much Greek to me. What I want is information about the future."

"I should say you are a traveled man," Seymour said calmly. "You have spent a great deal of your time in adventure abroad. Now, let me hazard a guess. You have been in Mexico?"

Anstruther curtly admitted that such was the fact. In spite of the gravity of the whole thing, and Seymour's admirable acting, he was getting nervous and excited. He would have given much to have removed the mask of his tormentor and studied the face behind.

"It is the little trifles of life that interest you, then," Seymour said. "I am afraid you are very material, sir. Well, we will be prosaic if you like. For instance, my crystal tells me that you are fond of works of art; in fact, you are a collector of such things. What would you say if I were to prophesy that you are going to add largely to your treasures in the course of the next few days? To be precise, one of your hobbies is old silver. Like most collectors, you will do pretty well everything to gain your end."

"I am afraid that is about true," Anstruther admitted.

"Spoken like a man of the world," Seymour went on. "For a long time you have coveted a fine specimen of Cellini silver work. A whole set of it will pass into your possession, if it has not already done so, and the unique service will not cost you a farthing."

Seymour delivered this shot calmly enough, pretending to be gazing at the crystal all the time. But the way in which Anstruther writhed about in his chair was not lost upon Jack and Rigby, who were watching the drama with breathless interest. Anstruther had half risen from his seat again, and then had forced himself down once more, as if struggling with his hidden emotions.

"I should like to see that precious crystal of yours," he sneered. "It seems nothing but a piece of glass to me."

By way of reply, Seymour gravely polished the crystal on his serviette, and passed it across to Anstruther with instructions to hold it firmly in his palms long enough for the imprint of his fingers to fix themselves. Anstruther laughed as he complied with these instructions. Then the crystal was laid upon the table very carefully, and was rolled into a small cardboard box, and there swathed in cotton wool. With the same grave demeanor, Seymour called for wax and something unique in the way of a seal. A servant came presently with a piece of violet sealing wax, and one of the guests proffered his intaglio ring as a seal.

"I am going to ask a favor," Seymour said. "I should like the gentleman to seal the box, and hand it over to another guest, who will take care of the whole thing for the next three days. You will all see what I mean--I want to prevent the possibility of the box being tampered with. Will the gentleman kindly seal the packet, and will another gentleman kindly offer to take care of it?"