Jack made his way hurriedly across the lawn, and took up a position behind a belt of pampas grass, where he could not only see into the summer-house, but also hear what was going on there. He was only just in time, for almost immediately the towering headdress of Anstruther appeared, and its owner made his way directly to the summer-house. Jack could see Serena as she hurried along. On the still night air every word could be distinctly heard. There came to Jack's ears a whispered apology from Serena that she was sorry for the delay.
"You might have ruined everything," Anstruther said savagely. "I told you to be here within half-an-hour at the latest."
Serena replied humbly that she could not get there before. She had to dress, and she had had to get the other servant out of the way. Anstruther muttered impatiently.
"I suppose it is impossible for a woman to keep to time," he said. "And now listen to me. There is something going on here which even I cannot fathom. I feel as if I were being laughed at; as if an unseen net was about my shoulders, and that a hidden hand was ready to close it at any time."
Jack listened eagerly to what followed. It was quite evident from what Anstruther said that Seymour's performance had made a deep impression upon him. For once in a way Anstruther was puzzled and frightened. He told Serena at considerable length all that had taken place during supper.
"There is more than meets the eye here," he said, "and that fellow said either too little or too much. One thing is quite certain--he is pretty intimately acquainted with my inner life in Mexico. Now who is he, and how does he know all this?"
"If you don't know, I can't tell you," Serena replied.
"No; but you are going to find out," Anstruther responded. "You are going to mingle with the other guests as if you were a friend of Lady Barmouth's, and I will sign to you presently what I want you to do. You have plenty of nerve and resource, and you must find some way of removing the mask from the face of my friend the magician. But that is not all. I have a very shrewd suspicion that this mysterious Lord Barmouth is no other than the man James Smith, who has been so useful to me from a pecuniary point of view."
"You think Lord Barmouth and James Smith are the same person?" Serena cried. "Oh, that is quite impossible."
"That remains to be seen," said Anstruther. "You know all about Lord Barmouth's reputation as a recluse as well as I do. Therefore, it will be part of your duty to get a sight of Lord Barmouth also. Mind you, I may be mistaken, but I have a strong impression that when you come to look at Barmouth you will see the features of James Smith. What the certainty of this means to me you can pretty well guess. Hitherto I have treated Smith as a comparatively poor man, never guessing for a moment that he was the enormously wealthy Barmouth, but in future----"