out there in his younger days and so had his friend,
the Honourable Edward Decie. Suppose that rubies had something to do
with the papers that Sartoris declared Sir Charles possessed. Berrington
was feeling now that his weary hours of imprisonment had by no means
been wasted. He heard Sartoris's sullen negative, a sound of a blow, and
a moan of pain, then silence again.

Perhaps those strangers downstairs were applying torture. Berrington had
heard blood-curdling stories of what the Burmese could do in that way.
Bad as he was, Sartoris had never lacked pluck and courage, and he was
not the man to cry out unless the pain was past endurance. The guttural
language returned; it was quite evident that Sartoris was being forced
to do something against his will.

"You shall have it," he said at last. "I'll ask my secretary to bring
the papers down."

There was a shuffling of Sartoris's chair across the floor, and then a
puff of wind came up the tube. Very quickly Berrington replaced the
whistle. It flashed across him that Sartoris was going to call him to
assist to get rid of those yellow friends downstairs. But how was that
going to be done so long as the door was locked?

"Are you there?" Sartoris asked in French, and in a whisper, so low that
Berrington could hardly hear. "Speak to me, Colonel, and use the same
language that I am using."

"All right," Berrington replied. "Anything wrong downstairs? What can I
do to help you?"

"Come down as quickly as possible. Take your boots off, and creep into
my study. I am in the hands of two Burmese, members of a society to
which I belonged at one time. They have come to have my life or certain
information that I decline to give them. You know enough of the East to
be able to appreciate my danger."

The story was more or less of a lie, as Berrington was perfectly well
aware, but there was a large amount of truth in it, nevertheless.
Berrington smiled to himself.

"There is one little hitch in the programme," he said. "You seem to
forget that I am a prisoner here, behind a door that is protected by
steel."

"I had forgotten that for the moment," Sartoris proceeded rapidly. "But
it is quite possible to open the door from the inside, if you know the
secret. Turn the handle four times to the right quickly and firmly, and
then three times to the left, and the door will open. I dare not say any
more, as these fellows are beginning to look at me suspiciously. One
minute more, an