ion for him!" Louis
remarked.

"Why not?" she answered. "He was always kind to me, in his way."

There was a moment's pause. Then she spoke again, and her voice had in
it a note of sharp inquiry.

"Louis, whose stick is that?" she demanded.

I raised myself a little higher. Upon the table, close to where Louis
was standing, was a thick Malacca cane which I recognized at once.

"Mine!" Louis answered shortly.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Whose did you suppose that it was?" he demanded.

"Capitaine Rotherby was carrying one just like it," she declared. "I
noticed it in the railway carriage."

"They are common enough," Louis answered. "This one, at any rate, is
mine. Hush!"

They both, for a moment, seemed to be listening intently. Then Louis
pointed to the door.

"Go back to your room," he said, in a low whisper. "Go back at once,
and turn your key."

She stole away. When she was no longer in the room I could see more
clearly,--I could take account of other things! Distinctly I could
hear now the soft knocking upon the outer door!

CHAPTER XX

A TERRIBLE NIGHT

Louis disappeared from the room for the moment. I heard the outer door
softly opened and closed. Then he came back into the sitting-room,
followed by the man who had stood by our side at Charing Cross
Station. The latter looked around the room quickly, and seemed
disappointed to find it empty.

"I understood that Mr. Delora was here," he said.

"Mr. Delora is in his bedroom," Louis answered. "He is here, and
perfectly willing to see you. But it is against the doctor's orders,
and my instructions were that I was to warn you not to excite him. You
must speak slowly, and you may have to repeat anything which you wish
him to understand."

"Who are you?" the newcomer asked.

"I am Mr. Delora's servant," Louis answered.

The newcomer looked a little puzzled.

"Surely I have seen you before somewhere!" he exclaimed.

"It is very possible," Louis answered. "I am also a waiter in the cafe
below, but I come from South America, and Mr. Delora, when he is over,
is always kind to me. I spend most of my time, now that he is ill, up
here looking after him."

The newcomer shook his head thoughtfully.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Louis," was the quiet answer.

"Then, my friend Louis," the newcomer said, "understand me plainly. I
am not here to be bamboozled, or to give you an opportunity for
exercising any ability you may possess i