"

We all ran our best and swiftest. But Eltham outran us. Like a fury
he tore at bolts and bars, and like a fury sprang out into the road.
Straight and white it showed to the acclivity by the Roman ruin. But
no living thing moved upon it. The distant baying of the dog was borne
to our ears.

"Curse it! he's crippled," hissed Smith. "Without him, as well pursue
a shadow!"

A few hours later the shrubbery yielded up its secret, a simple one
enough: A big cask sunk in a pit, with a laurel shrub cunningly affixed
to its movable lid, which was further disguised with tufts of grass. A
slender bamboo-jointed rod lay near the fence. It had a hook on the
top, and was evidently used for attaching the ladder.

"It was the end of this ladder which Miss Eltham saw," said Smith, "as
he trailed it behind him into the shrubbery when she interrupted him in
her fathers room. He and whomever he had with him doubtless slipped in
during the daytime--whilst Eltham was absent in London--bringing the
prepared cask and all necessary implements with them. They concealed
themselves somewhere--probably in the shrubbery--and during the night
made the cache. The excavated earth would be disposed of on the
flower-beds; the dummy bush they probably had ready. You see, the
problem of getting IN was never a big one. But owing to the 'defenses'
it was impossible (whilst Eltham was in residence at any rate) to get
OUT after dark. For Fu-Manchu's purposes, then, a working-base INSIDE
Redmoat was essential. His servant--for he needed assistance--must
have been in hiding somewhere outside; Heaven knows where! During the
day they could come or go by the gates, as we have already noted."

"You think it was the Doctor himself?"

"It seems possible. Who else has eyes like the eyes Miss Eltham saw
from the window last night?"

Then remains to tell the nature of the outrage whereby Fu-Manchu had
planned to prevent Eltham's leaving England for China. This we learned
from Denby. For Denby was not dead.

It was easy to divine that he had stumbled upon the fiendish visitor at
the very entrance to his burrow; had been stunned (judging from the
evidence, with a sand-bag), and dragged down into the cache--to which
he must have lain in such dangerous proximity as to render detection of
the dummy bush possible in removing him. The quickest expedient, then,
had been to draw him beneath. When the search of the shrubbery was
concluded, his bo