"That? Oh, that is part of the Threat. You see the hand that holds it? That is the so-called 'Hand of Penn.' From the tower above, his hand is extended in blessing. Down here it grasps the sword. It is attached to a sort of mechanical arm, long enough to pass halfway across the Hall of Justice. The arm runs back through the wall there, between the ceiling of the corridor and the floor above. It is controlled by a mechanism to which only the Servants hold a key."
"And what happens when the queer machine is used?" asked Trenmore. It seemed a useless invention, on the face of it.
"It isn't used," she replied with an amused smile. "If it ever were, the hand would drop so that the sword was level; then shoot out and the sword's point would strike the edge of that Red Bell and recoil. Of course, it couldn't strike now, because of the scaffolding. Mr. J. S. has an idea that the bell will look well with a ring of red electric lamps around it. They are wiring it for that."
"The sword is a kind of elaborate gong-striking device then," commented Drayton. He recalled Cleverest's description of the singular dread in which the Red Bell was held by the Numbers. "What would happen if it were used?" he queried in turn.
"Oh, the city would go up in smoke, I suppose." The woman laughed as she said it. Clearly she herself had no great faith in the probability of such a catastrophe.
"But how do your people imagine that a miracle of that sort could be brought about?" persisted Drayton.
"You do ask such questions! By a special dispensation of our Lord Penn, I suppose. Will you come with me, please? Under no circumstances must His Supremacy be kept waiting."
They followed her, back into the red corridor, and thence through a long series of luxurious living apartments, smoking, lounging, and drawing-rooms, each furnished in a style compatible only with great wealth or the system of "credit" peculiar to Penn Service. Crossing the old patrol entrance, they at last reached that part of the Temple which was held consecrate to the use of the highest Servant, Mr. Justice Supreme. While possessing several residences in various pleasant locations, he preferred, the lady informed them, to live almost entirely in the Temple. To the visitors, this "Temple," with its more or less resident "Servants" bore a close resemblance to a clubhouse for luxury-loving millionaires.
They waited in an anteroom with their guide, who had given her card and a penciled message to one of the half-dozen uniformed page boys who lounged there. The lad returned with a verbal message to the effect that Mr. Justice Supreme begged to be excused.
At almost the same moment Cleverest emerged from the door leading to the inner sanctum. He came straight to them with a smile of welcome which made him look almost good humored. Close behind appeared the plethoric Mr. Virtue.