"He learned it the last time you came," was the reply from the man at the table. "He's been following me every time; to-night when I walked to the door to wait for you, he grunted and pushed me aside. So I let him try it."
The man at the table was seated on a box. The newcomer picked up a similar stool and joined him. The stooped figure with the ugly face did the same.
"Jupe has to get in on the conference," said the man who had come through the rain.
The ape-faced man leaned sideways with a snarl. His eyes turned toward the passageway.
"He hears something," said the newcomer.
"Only the rain," replied the other man. "He's always listening for something. The other night a loose stone fell from that high corner of the building, and he was bothered about it for half an hour."
* * *
The speaker rose and raised the lantern, hooking it to a wire that was suspended from the low ceiling.
The range of the light increased. Under its glow the shadows of the three men became grotesque. They were long, ugly shadows. The profile of the ape-faced man was plainly visible upon the floor. Beyond those dark, moving silhouettes, a black blot projected from the corner of the room. It, too, seemed like a human shadow, except that it was motionless.
The visitor's eyes fell on the shadow; they moved toward the corner, where two long white-pine boxes seemed to account for the extending blackness.