The physician himself was as motionless as the statue. A long interval had passed before he moved. Then only his lips acted, as they spoke aloud.
“The image of Chong,” said Doctor Palermo. “Patient, unmoving, and unyielding. With it here, I shall know absolute security. It is a perfect reproduction.”
His voice rose, and he seemed to be playing a dramatic part, as he spoke venomously.
“One man blocks my path to power! One man! I shall eliminate him!
“Tonight, his identity is unknown to me. Soon I shall know him. Once I have seen him—”
He did not complete the sentence. A sudden intuition told him that he was not alone in the room.
He turned quickly, expecting to see the form of Hassan. Then Palermo became motionless, his gaze transfixed.
A tall man in black cloak stood in the center of the room. The figure’s hands were hidden by its folded arms. The man’s face was invisible because of the black brim of a large turned-down hat. Yet, from beneath that brim, glowed two eyes of fire!
“Once you have seen him”—it was a whispered voice that came from the man in black—”once you have seen him — what then? Answer my question! The man you seek is here!”