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Show the Quest of Mohammed's Sacred Slipper : VI. DISC OF LIGHT. I STOOD in the foyer of ,the .Astoria' hotel. About mo was the pulsing stir of trans-Atlantic life; for the tourist season was now kt its height and I counted myself fortunate in that 1 had been a bio to secure a room at this establishment, always so popular with American visitors. Bristol, the tali military-looking man who stood beside me, planted about him with a rather grim smile. "Von ought to be s:ife enough here, Mr. Cavanagh.' ' lie said. 4iT ought to be safe enough in my own chambers,' ' 1 replied wearily. (Lo you think if I told that prospeS-ous New Yorker who is buying a cigar yonder, for instance, that I hail been driven from my chambers by a hand of Kastern assassins as-sassins founded sometime in the eleventh elev-enth century, he would believe it?" "I am certain he wouldn't!' replied Bristol. "I ehould not have credited it myself beforo I was put in charge of this damnablo ease."' My position at that hour was in truth an incredible one. The sacred slipper of Mohammed, which the late Professor Deeping had looted from Kl-Medineh or Mecca or Arrat I knew not and cared not where lay once more in the glass rase at the Antiquarian museum f rom which Karl Dexter, the American cracksman, cracks-man, had stolen it. And what was its history, to date? In brief it consisted (1) in a series of mutilations, for no unbeliever who had touched the ghastly ghast-ly thing had failed 1o have his hand mysteriously severed by an unseen assailant: as-sailant: (2) in the assassination of Professor Deeping and the death of two of the pursuing fanatics: (3) in cease-loss cease-loss espionage upon myself (since, under Deeping 's will. 1 held the keys of the Museum case) by weird, murderous creatures crea-tures of Hassan of Aleppo, the li Guardian Guard-ian of the Relics,'' who. with his company com-pany of hnshishin, had pursued the slipper slip-per to Europe; by Earl Dexter, and by a beautiful woman, violet-eyed, bewitching, bewitch-ing, who aided him In his warring against English law and eastern deviltry devil-try for Hassan of Aleppo and Scotland Scot-land Yard alike, pursued him. 1 was outcast from my own rooms and compelled, in self-defense, to live amid the bustle of the Astoria. So wholly nonplussed were the police authorities I that they could afford me no protection. Thev knew that a group of scientific murderers lay hidden in or near to London; Lon-don; thev knew that Earl Dexter, called the Sombrero Man, the foremost crook of his day, was also in the metropolis and they 'uld make no move, were helpless; indeed, as Bristol had conversed, con-versed, were hopeless! Bristol, on the previous day, had unearthed un-earthed a Ureek cigar merchant, one, Acepulos, of Moslem persuasion, who had replaced the slipper in its case (for a monetary consideration). He had performed per-formed a similar service when the bloodstained blood-stained thing had first been put upon exhibition ex-hibition at the museum, and for a considerable period had disappeared, but unite recently he had returned again to his Soho shop, in time thus to earn a second check. As Bristol and 1 stood glancing about the fover of the hotel, a plain-clothes officer.' whom I knew by sight, came in and approached niv companion. The detective whispered something to Bristol, and the latter started and paled. Ke turned to mo. ''Thev haven't overlooked him this time. Mr. Ca aiiaiih,' he said. ''Aeepu-lns ''Aeepu-lns has been found dead in his room, nearly decapitated ! ' ' Bristol started immediately for Soho and 1 parted from him in the Strand, he proceeding west and T eastward, for had occasion that morning to call at mv bank. 'Then, at the cloor of the bank. I found fresh matter for reflection. The assistant assist-ant manager, Mr. Colby, was escorting a ladv to the door. As I stood aside, he walked with her to a handsome car which waited, and handed her in with marks of great deference. She was heavily veiled and T had no more than a glimpse of her, but she appeared to be of middle age and had gray hair and a very stately manner. I'told myself that I was unduly suspicious, sus-picious, suspicious of everyone and of everything; vet, as T entered the bank, I found myself wondering where T had seen that "dignified, gray-haired figure before. Mv business transacted, I came out again by the side entrance, which opens on the little courtwav. for this branch of the London County & Provincial bank occupies a corner site. A raeeed urchin, who was apparently waiting for me, handed me a note written writ-ten upon a half -sheet oft paper and, doubting if it was really intended for me, I unfolded it and read the' following: follow-ing: I 'Mr. Cavanasrh, take the keys of the case containing the holy slinper to your 1 hotel this evening without f?.'l. "HASSAN." "Who gave you this, boy?' I asked sharply. " A foreign gentleman, sir, very dark like an Indian." "Where is he?'' "He went off in a cab, sir, after he give me the note. ' ' T handed the boy a sixpence, and sdowlv pursued mv way. An idea was. forming in mv mind to trap the enemy hv cp,-. mi no- a con iesce nee. I wondered j if my movements were watched at that moment. Since it was more than prob-1 able. I returned to the bank, entered and made some trivial inquiry of a cashier, and then came out again and I walked on as far a the Report office. t hail not been in the office more than , f'.ve minute before I received a telegram 1 from Inspector Bristol. It bad been banded band-ed in at Soho, and the mess;t?e was an old one. Ca nagh Report. Lnlon. FVt afoot lo steal kys. Cet them from bank and join me at 11 o'clock at Astoria. Have planned trap. BRISTOL. This was verv mysterious in view of the no:e so reeentlv received bv me. but I concluded that Bristol had hit upon a simiiar plan to that which was forming in mv nv.ii rr.hid. H seemed unnceseur-!)v unnceseur-!)v h'ar-irdoMs, 1 bough, actually to with-draw with-draw the key? from their place of safety. Pondering rieeoly upon the perplexities of t'iis maddening case I shortly afterward after-ward found myself at the hank. With the manager I descended to the strong room and the safe was unlocked which contained the much sought for keys of the f-ase at the Antiquarian museum. "There are the keys quite safe and by the wav. this is my second visit here this - morninc Mr. Cavanagh," said the manager, man-ager, with whom I was upon rather inti- mate terms. "A fore ism lady who has reeentlv become a customer of the bank deposited some valuable jewels here this morninc less tha.n an hour Rgo, in fact." "Indeed." I said, and my mind was working" rapidly. "The lady who came in the larsre blue ' f"ir; a grav-hafrod lady?" "Yes,"' was the reply. "Did you notice her. then?" I nodded and said no more. nor in truth I had no more to sav. I had eood reason to respect the uncanny powers of HaFsan of Aleppo, but I doubted if even . his omniscience could tell him (since I had actually gone down Into the strong room), whether when I emerged I had the kevs, or whether my visit and se&m-Ing se&m-Ing acceptance of his orders had been no more than a subterfuge! That tho hashish in had some means of communicating" with me at the Astoria As-toria was evident from the contents of the noLe which I had received, and as I walked in the direction of the hotel my mind was filled with all sorts of mis-givhips. mis-givhips. When 1 ren ciied the Astoria Bristol had not arrived. 1 lighted a elirarette and eat down in the lounge to await his coming. Presently a boy approached, handing me a message which had Leon takr-n down from the telephone by the clork. It was as follows; Tell Mr. Cavanagh, who Is waltinp In j the hotel, to take what I am expecting i to his chambers ami say that I will join him there in twentv minutes- LNSPBCTOP. BRISTOL. A train I doubted the wisdom of Bristol's plan. Ha d I not fled to the Astoria to escape from the dangerous solitude of my rooms? That he was laying sumo trap for the hashishin was sufficiently evident and while I could not Justly suspect him of making a pawn of me I was quite unable un-able to find any other explanation of this latest move. 1 was torn between conflicting doubts. I glanced at my watch. Yes ! There was just time for me to revisit the bank before be-fore joining Bristol at my chambers! I hesitated. After all, In what possible way could it jeojardize his plans for me merely 1 to pretend to bring tho keys? "Hang it all!" I said, and jumped to ' my feet. "Those maddening conjectures will turn my brain! I'll let matters stand as they are, and risk the consequences!" I hesitated no longer, but passed out from the hotel and once more turned my steps In the direction of Fleet street. As I passed in under the arch through whicli streamed many busy workers. I told myself that to dread entering- my own chambers at high noon was uttterly childish. Yet I did dread doing so! And as I mounted the stairs and came to the landing, which was always mere or less dark, I paused for quite a long time before be-fore putting the key in the lock. As I closed tho door behind me, something, some-thing, probably a slight noise, but possibly pos-sibly something more subtle and instinct made me turn rapidly. There facing" me stood Hassan of Aleppo ! That moment was pungent with diama. Tn the intense hush of the next five seconds sec-onds r could fancy that the world had slipped away from me and that I was become be-come an unsubstantial thing of dreams. Hassan of Aleppo appalled me; and now, with mv back to the door. I stood watching watch-ing him and watching the ominous black tube which he held in his hand. It was a weapon unknown to Europe and therefore there-fore more feared than the most up-to-date of death-dealing instruments. Hassan of AJeppo pointed it toward me. 'The keys, effendi," he said "hand me the keys!" He advanced a step; his manner was imperious. The black tube was less than a foot removed from my face. That I had mv revolver in my pocket could avail me nothing, for In my pocket it must remain, re-main, since 1 dared to make no move to reach it' under cover of that unfamiliar, terrible weapon. The black eyes of Hassan glared insanely in-sanely into mine. "You will have placed thm in your pocket-case." lie said. "Take tt out; hand'it to me!" I obeyed; for what else could I do. Taking. the case from my pocket I placed it in his lean brown hand. An expression of wild exaltation crossed his leanires; the eagle eyes seemed to be burning into my brain. A puff of hot vapor struck me in the face something was expelled from the mysterious black tube. And with memories crowding to m- mind of similr experiences at the hands of the hashishin. I fell back, clutching clutch-ing at mv throat, fighting for my life against the deadly, vaporous thing that, like a palpable cloud, surrounded me. Then a curtain of darkness descended. I experienced a violent blow upon the forehead fore-head (I suppose I had pitched forward), and for the time resigned my part in the drama of the sacred slipper. At about 5 o'clock that afternoon. In- sector Bristol, who had spent several hour.' in Soho upon the scene of the murder of the Greek, was walking along Fleet street, bound for the offices of the Kepon. As he passed the court on the corner of which stands a branch of the London County and Provincial bank his eye. was attracted ,to a curious phenomenon. phenome-non. ' , There are reflectors above the bank windows which face the court: and it appeared to Bristol that there was a hoie- in one of these, the furthermost from tho comer. A tiny beam of light shone from the bank window on the reflector, re-flector, or from the reflector on the window; win-dow; which vircumstance in itself was not curious. But above the reflector, at an acute angle, this mysterious beam was seemineiv projected upward. Walking a little wav "up the court he saw that It "hone through, and cast a disc of lisrht upon the ceiling of an office on the first floor of bank chambers, above. It is everv detective's business to be observant- and although many thousands of passers-bv must have cast their eyes in the same direction that day,, there is small matter Tor wonder In the fact that Bristol alone took the trouble to inquire irto the mvstery for his trained eye told him that there was a mystery here. He walked down the court and into the entrance of bank chambers. An inspection inspec-tion of the board upon the wail showed him that the first floor apparently was occupied hv three firms, two of them legal for tills is the neighborhood of the law courts and the third a press agency. He stepped up to the first floor. Past ihe doors bearing the names of the solicitors so-licitors and past that belonging to the pres agent he proceeded, to a fourth -mite of offices. Here, pinned upon the door frame, appeared a card which bore the leet-nd . THE COXOO FIBRE COMPANY. Evidentlv the Congo Fibre company had o reeentlv taken possession of the offices that there had been no time to inscribe their title either upon the doors or upon the board in the hall. Inspector Bristol was much impresses for Into one of the rooms occupied by the fibre companv shone that curious disc of Ucht which first had drawn his attention at-tention tn lmnt- chambers. He rapped on the door, turned the handle and entered. en-tered. The sole furniture of the office in which he found himself apparently consisted con-sisted of one desk and an office stool, which stool was occupied by an office boy. : The windows opened on the court, and a idoor marked "Private" evidently com- municated with an inner office, whose windows likewise must open on the court. 1 Tt was the ceilins of this inner office, I unless the detective's calculations erred, ! which be was anxious to inspect. Bristol produced a card which bore the j uncompromising legend: John Henry Smith. "Take my card to Mr. Boulter, boy," he said tersely. "Vr. Boulter, sir? There Isn't anyone of that nar.'e here." "Oh!" said Bristol, looking around him in aonarent surprise: "how long is he crone."' "I don't know. sir. I've only been here three weeks, and Mr. Knowlson only took thf office? a month ago." "Oh.." commented Bristol "then take mv card to Mr. Knowlson; he will probably prob-ably be able to give me Mr. Boulter's i present address " t The hov hesitated. "He's out, sir," he said, but without conviction. I "Is he?" rapped Bristol. "Well, I'll j leave mv card." He turned and quitted the office, carefully care-fully closing tho door behind him. Three seconds later he reopened it, and. peering peer-ing in, was in time to see the boy knock upon the private door. A little wicket, or movable panel, was let down, the card of John Henry Smith was passed through to someone unseen, and the wicket was reclosed ! The hov turned and met the wrathful eve of "the detective. Bristol re-entered, closing the door behind him. "See he:. vouns? fellow." said he. "I don't stand for ihne tricks! Why didn't von tell me Mr. Knowlson was in?" "I'm vent' soiry, sir!" the boy quailed beneath his glance "but he won't see anyone who hasn't an appointment." "Is there someone with him, then?" "No." "Well, what's he doing?" "I don't know, sir; I've never been In to see!" "What! never teen In that room?" "Never!" declared the boy solemnly. Bristol surveyed him thoughtfully." ".Look here, my lad," he said quietlv, "is that door locked?" " ' A I wa y s . " replied the boy. "Does Mr. Knowlson come to that shutter when you knock?" "Yes." "Then go and knock!" The boy obyed with alacrltv. The shutter was lowered and a grizzle-bearded face showed for a moment through the opening. Bristol leaned over the bov and pushed a card through into the hand of the man beyond. On this occasion it did not bear the legend. "John Henrv Smith," -but that of Ciiief Inspector Bristol, C. I. D., New Scotland Yard. "Good afternoon, Mr. Knowlson," said the detective, dryly. "I want to come in!" There followed a moment of silence, then a key was turned in the lock and the door thrown open. "Come right In, Inspector." Invited a strident voice. "Carter, you can go home." Bristol entered warily, but as the door was banged upon his entrance he faced around only in time to find himself looking look-ing down the barrel of a revolver. With his back to the door which contained con-tained the wicket, now reclosed, stood the man with the bearded face. The revolver was held in his left liand; his right arm terminated in a bandaged stump. , "Good God!" whispered Bristol "It's Earl Dexter!" "It Is!" replied the cracksman, "and you've looked in at a real inconvenient time! Sit down In that chair yonder." Bristol knew his man too well to think of opening any argument at that time. He sat down as directed, and ignoring the revolver which covered him all the time began coolly to survev the room in which he found himself. The only bright patch in the room was the shining disc upon the ceiling; and the detective noted with interest that this marked the position of an arrangement of mirrors. A white-covered table, entirely en-tirely bare, stood upon the floor Immediately Immedi-ately beneath this mysterious apparatus. Bristol turned his eyes again upon the daring man who had trapped him so audaciously au-daciously the man who had stolen the slipper of the Prophet and suffered the Iosb of his hand by the scimitar of the hashishin as a result. "I am sorry," said Dexter, with a quick glance at his maimed arm, "that I can't tie you up, but I am expecting a friend any moment now." Dexter sat down facing Bristol. "I have lost my hand in this game, Mr. Bristol," he said genially, "and had some narrow squeaks of losing my head; but having gone so far and lost so much I'm going through, if I don't meet a funeral! You see, I'm up against two tough propositions." propo-sitions." Bristol nodded! sympathetically. "The first," continued Dexter, "is you and Cavanagh, and English law generally. general-ly. My idea. if I can get hold of the slipper again is to get the Antiquarian Institution to ransom it. There's a dozen rich highbrows, cranks to a man. connected with It, and they are my likeliest like-liest buyers. But lo keep the tone of the market healthy there's Hassan of Aleppo, rot him! He's a dangerous customer to approach, but you'll note I've been in negotiation ne-gotiation with him already and am still, If not booming, not much below par!" "Quite so." said Bristol. "But you've cut off a pretty hefty chew nevertheless. Thev used to call you the Sombrero Man; vou used to dress "like a fashion plate and stop at the big hotels. Those days are past. Dexter, I'm sorry to note. You're down to the skulking game now." "Yep," said Dexter, sadly ; "I plead guilty; but I think here's Carneta!" Bristol heard the door of the outer office of-fice open, and a moment later that upon which his gaze was set opened In turn, to admit a girl who was heavily veiled, and who started, and then stooi still In the doorway, on perceiving the situation. Never for one unguarded moment did the American glance aside fiom his prisoner. pris-oner. "The Inspector's dropped in. Carneta!" he drawled in his strident way. "You're, handy with a ball of twine; see if you can induce him to stay the night!" The girl, immediately recovering her composure, took off her hat in a businesslike business-like way and began to look around her, evidently in search of a suitable length of rope with which to fasten up Bristol. Under cover of Dexter's revolver Bristol stoically submitted to having his wrists tied behind him. The-end of the line was then thrown through the ventilator above the door, which communicated with the outer office, and Bristol was triced up in such a way that, his wrists being raised behind him to an uncomfortable degree, he was almost forced to stand upon tiptoe. tip-toe. The line was then secured. "Very workmanllkel" commented the victim. "You'll find a large handkerchief in my inside pocket. It's a clean one. and I recommend it as a gag!" Very promptly it was employed for the purpose and Inspector Bristol found himself him-self helpless and constrained in a very painful position. Dexter laid down his revolver. "We will now give you a free show. Inspector." he said genially, "of our camera obsenra!" He pulled down the black blinds, but through an opening" in one ol" them a mysterious ray of light the same that he had noticed from Fleet street shone upon that point in the ceiling where the arrangement of mirrors wa3 attached. Dexter made some alteration, apparently in the focus of the lens (for Bristol had divined that in some way a lens had been fixed in the reflector above the bank window below) and the disc of light became be-came concentrated. The white-covered table wa.s moved slightly and in the darkness dark-ness some further manipulation was performed. per-formed. "Observe." came the strident voice "we now have upon a screen here, a minute moving picture. This little device is of my own invention, and proved extremely useful in the Arkwright jewel case, which startled Chicago. It has proved useful now. I know almost as much concerning the arrangements below as the manager himself. In confidence. Inspector, this is my last bid for the slipper. Madame Sforza, the distinguished Italian ' lady who recently opened an account below, opened it for 500 pounds cash. She has drawn a portion, but a balance remains which I am resigned to lose. Her motor car (hired ), her references (forged), the case of jewels which she deposited this morning (duds!) all represent a considerable consid-erable outlay. It's a nerve-racking line of operation, too. In short, I am at the end of my tether." Bristol, Ignoring- the increasing pain in his arms and wrists, turned his eyes upon the white-covered table and there saw a minute and clear-cut picture, such as one sees in the focusing screen of a camera, of the interior of the manager's office of the London County and Provincial Pro-vincial Bank! Certainly the Fates were playing with us. for at a time very nearly corresponding correspond-ing with that when Bristol found himself him-self bound and helpless in bank chambers. cham-bers. T awoke to find myseif tied hand and foot to my own bed. Nothing but the haziest recollections came to me at first : nothing but dim memories of the awful being who had lured me there; for I perceived now 'that all t lie messages proceeded, not from Bristol but from Hassen of Aleppo! Could I have known that almost within pistol shot of me the inspector was trussed up as helpless as I, then indeed my situation must have become unbearable, unbear-able, since upon him I relied for my speedy release. My ankles were firmly lashed to the rails at the foot of my bed; each of my wrists was tied back to a bedpost. I ached in every limb and my head burned feverishly, which latter sympton I ascribed as-cribed to the powerful drug which had been expelled into my face by Hassan of Aleppo. I reflected bitterly how, having transferred my quarters to the Astoria, I could not well hope for any visitor to my chambers. A gag, of the type which Dumas has described in "Twenty Years After," the poire d'angoisse, was wedged firmly lnio my mouth so that only by preserving the utmost composure could I breathe. So I lay listening to the familiar fa-miliar sounds without, and reflecting that It was quite possible so to lie, undisturbed, undis-turbed, and to die alone, my presence there wholly unsuspected. I weighed the chances of Bristol's seeking seek-ing me there; and eager as I was to give 1 them substance, I found them but airy and ultimately was forced to admit them to be nil. So I lay, whilst only a few hundred yards from me a singular scene was being be-ing enacted. Bristol, a prisoner as helpless help-less as myself, watched the concluding business of the day being conducted In the bank beneath him; watched the lift descend to the strong room the spying apparatus being slightly adjusted In some way; he saw the clerks hastening to finish fin-ish their work in the outer office, and. as he watched, absorbed by the novelty of the situation, he almost forgot the pain and discomfort which he suffered. "This little near-show of ours has been very useful," Dexter confided out of the darkness. "I got an Impression of the key of the strong room door a week ago. and Carnets got one of the keys of the safe only this morning, when she lodged her box of jewelry with the bank! I was at work on that key when you Interrupted In-terrupted me, and as by means of this useful apparatus I have learned the combination, com-bination, ybu ought to see some fun in the next few hours." The bank staff left the premises one by one until only a solitary clerk worked on at a back desk. His task completed, he, too, took his departure, and the bank messenger commenced his nightly duty of sweeping the offices. It was then that excitement, like an anaesthetic, dulled the detective's pain Indeed, he forgot his aching body and became merely a watchful watch-ful intelligence. So intent had he become upon the picture pic-ture before him that he had not noticed the fact that he was alone in the office of the Congo Fibre company. Now he realized it from the absolute silence about him and from another circumstance. The spying apparatus had been left focused, fo-cused, and on the s creen ben ea t h his eyes, bending low behind the desks and creeping, Indian-like, around toward the head of the stair which communicated .with the strong room and the apartment used by the messenger, came the alert i figure of Farl Dexter. i Tt may be a surprise to some people to j learn that at any time in the day the , door of a bank unguarded should be left 1 open, when only a solitary messenger is j within the premises, yet for a few mln-; mln-; utes, at least, each evening this happens i at more than one city bank, where one i of the duties of -the resident messenger I Is to clean the outer steps. Dexter had I taken advantage of the man's absence below in quest of scrubbing material to I enter the bank through the open door. Watching breathless, and utterly forgetful for-getful of his own position. Bristol saw I the messenger, all unconscious of danger, come up the stairs carrying a pal and broom. As his head reached the level of the ceilings the Sombrero Man neatly sandbagged him, rushed across to the outer door and closed it! Given duplicate keys and the private Information which Dexter so Ingeniously had obtained, there are many London banks vulnerable to similar attack. Certainly Cer-tainly bullion ts rarely kept in a branch strong room, but the detective was well I aware that the keys of the case containing contain-ing the slipper wore kept in tins particular particu-lar safe! He was convinced, and could entertain no shadowy doubt, that at last Dexter had triumphed. He wondered if It had ever hitherto fallen to the lot of a representative rep-resentative of the law thus to be made an accessory to a daring felony! But human endurance has well-defined limits. The fading light rendered the ingenious in-genious picture dim and more dim. Th pain occasioned by his position becamt agonizing, and, uttering a stifled groan. : he ceased to take an Interest In the rob- i bery of the Iondon County and Provincial i bank. Someone was breaking In at the dooi of my chambers. I roused myself from a etate. of coma almost deathlike and listened to the blows. The sun was streaming in at my windows. A splintering crash told of a panel broken. Then, a moment later, I heard the grating of the lock, and a rush of footsteps along the passage. "Try the study!" came, a voice that sounded like Bristol's, save that It was strangely weak and shaky. Almost simultaneously the Inspector himself threw open the bedroom dooi" and. very pale and haggard-eyed, stood there looking across at me. "Mr. Cavanaah?" he said huskily "Mr. Cavanagh! Thank God you're alive. But " he turned "This way, Marden !" he cried. "Untie him quickly. I've got no strength in my arms!" Marden, a Scotland Yard man, came running, and in a minute or less I was sitting up gulping brandy. "I've had the most awful experience of my life," said Bristol. "You've fared badly enough, but I've been hanging by my wrists you know Dexter's trick! for olose upon sixteen hours. I was't released re-leased until Carter, an office boy, came on the scene this morning." Very feebly I nodded; I could not talk. "The strong room of your bank was rifled under my very eyes last evening," he continued, "and five minutes after the Antiquarian museum was opened to the public this morning quite an unusual number of visitors appeared. "I saw the bank manager the moment he arrived, and learned a piece of news that positively took my breath away. I was at the museum seven minutes later and got another shock. There in the case was the red slipper." "Then," I whispered, "it hadn't been stolen?" "Wrong, It had! This was a duplicate, as Mostyn, the curator, saw at a glance. Some of the early visitors they were easterners had quite surrounded the case. They were watched, of course, but any number of orientals come to see the thing; and, short of smashing the glass, which would Immediately attract attention, atten-tion, the authorities were unprepared, of course, for any attempt. Anyway, they were tricked. Somebody opened the case. The real slipper of the prophet is gone." "They told you at the bank " "That you had withdrawn the keys! If; Dexier had known that!" . j "Hassan of Aleppo took them from me ' last night. At last the hashishin have , , triumphed!" ' i Bristol .sank into the armchair. ! "livery port is watched," he said. "But " : (The next storv in this series will be I "The Pool of Death.") |