“Nothing,” was the reply.
“You are not telling the truth,” Lemon said. “You have been seen about the city, in tea houses, talking with strangers.”
“I have not been out of the rooms,” the other insisted, stubbornly.
“Let it pass,” Lemon said, in a moment. “There may be some mistake. Any one been here?”
“No one.”
The servant appeared to have a perfect knowledge of English. He looked into his master’s face with a bland smile, but now and then his eyes sought the screen behind which Ned was hidden.
“Well, some of the boys will be up here to-night,” Lemon said. “See that there is plenty to eat. Go, now.”
The servant turned to the door opening into the private hall, stood with his hand on the knob for an instant, and then, apparently changing his mind, went out through the doorway by which he had entered. If Lemon had been listening intently he would have heard a quick movement in the back room as Jap closed the door.
In a moment there was another movement in the private hall, and then Ned heard the corridor door open. He pushed the screen aside and stepped out before the astonished occupant of the rooms.
“What does this mean?” Lemon demanded, a quiver of excitement—or it might have been consternation—in his voice.