. Your mistress
gone to bed?"

"She's in the drawing-room," Williams said, "singing. And Miss Enid's
there. I am sure they will be glad to see you, sir."

Henson doubted it, but made no reply. There was a chatter of voices in
the drawing-room, a chatter of a lightsomeness that Henson had never
heard before. Well, he would soon settle all that. He passed quietly into
the room, then stood in puzzled fear and amazement.

"Our dear nephew," said a cool, sarcastic voice. "Come in, sir, come in.
This is quite charming. Well, my sweet philanthropist and most engaging
gentleman, and what may we have the pleasure of doing for you to-night?"

"Lord Littimer?" Henson gasped. "Lord Littimer _here_?"

CHAPTER LIII

UNSEALED LIPS

Bell gave a gesture of relief as the door closed upon Henson. Heritage
looked like a man who does not quite understand.

"I haven't quite got the hang of it yet," he said. "Was that done for
my benefit?"

"Of course it was," Bell replied. "Henson found out that Van Sneck was
here, as he was certain to do sooner or later. He comes here to make
inquiries and finds you; also he comes to spy out the land. Now, without
being much of a gambler, I'm willing to stake a large sum that he
introduced the subject of your old trouble?"

"He invariably did that," Heritage admitted.

"Naturally. That was part of the game. And you told him that you had got
over your illness and that you were going to do the operation. And you
told him how. Where were you when the little conversation between Henson
and yourself took place?"

"He was asked into the dining-room."

"And then you told him everything. Directly Henson's eyes fell upon that
wall-plug he knew how to act. He made up his mind that the electric light
should fail at a critical moment. Hence the dramatic 'accident' with the
cycle. Once Henson had got into the house the rest was easy. He had only
to wet his fingers and press them hard against the two wires in the
wallplug and out pops the light, in consequence of the fuses blowing out.
I don't know where Henson learnt the trick, but I do know that I was a
fool not to think of it. You see, the hall light being dropped through
from the floor above was on another circuit. If it hadn't been we should
have had our trouble with Van Sneck for nothing."

"He would have died?" David asked.

The two doctors nodded significantly.

"What a poisonous scoundrel he is!" David cried. "Miss Chris Henson does