The rajah arose and went into another room, the entrance of which was hidden behind the tapestries in the corner. This was his consultation room. It was as exotic as the room which he had just left. Beneath the dim lights a huge crystal ball glittered upon the lap of a smaller Buddha. The fragrance of incense pervaded the room.
A small cushioned throne was in the corner. There the rajah took his seat and waited, the sole occupant of a weird pagan shrine. The curtains opened across the room. A man slipped through and approached the seated figure.
The newcomer was Professor Raoul Jacques, the medium who had conducted the seance at which Herbert Harvey had been slain.
Rajah Brahman motioned his visitor to a chair. Jacques glanced furtively toward the curtained doorway as he sat down. In a low, excited voice he began to speak.
"I got your message," he said. "I had to be careful coming here, though, because they may still be watching me. You know about the trouble I got into."
Rajah Brahman spoke. His voice was low and solemn, as impressive as his appearance and his environment.
"You have made a grave mistake," he said. "This disturbance in your circle may cause untold harm. You were not wise to act as you did. You should have concluded your seance when you encountered difficulty."
"I didn't know what was coming," declared Jacques. "I've had a few funny things happen before, and that luminous dagger was always a good stunt. It was planted on Harvey, and he slipped it to me. I didn't think there was going to be a fracas.
"I was trying to get the other guy, but he slipped away. There I was in a jam, for sure!
Lucky for me the cops didn't get wise to those gags on the chair. They let me go. They were sure I couldn't have been loose. I stuck to my story, and had a lucky break with it—"