russell sat unmoved; he was not acting without due deliberation, though he realized that he had a dangerous foe to deal with. for some time uzali played with the string, tying and untying the knots as if he were making up his mind what to do next. to wilfrid mercer, looking on, the incident reminded him of two chess masters bent over a table.
"you are a stranger to me," uzali said.
"that, to a certain extent, i am prepared to admit," russell replied. "i don't know whether you are a religious man or not, mr. uzali, but probably you will agree with me——"
"so you know my name at any rate," uzali said.
russell shrugged his shoulders.
"i don't want any credit for that," he said. "i could have learnt your name from a score of people since i have been here. besides, it is no news to me seeing that i am under the impression that you are using it as a nom de guerre. on the other hand my name is swan russell, and this is my friend, dr. wilfrid mercer. i have spent a great deal of time in borneo seeking a fortune, which, until a short time ago, appeared to be within my grasp. unfortunately, i had unscrupulous people to deal with, and am really hard up for a hundred pounds. my friend, dr. mercer, is even in worse case than myself. he had the misfortune to be a medical attendant on board a steamer which was wrecked in the east. i should not be surprised if you have heard of a boat called the guelder rose, which was owned by mr. samuel flower, of the flower line of steamers. believe me, i am not occupying your time merely to hear myself talk."
uzali glanced keenly at the speaker. the look of suspicion had died from his face. something like a smile lurked in the corners of his mouth.
"i may be mistaken," he said, "but i think you are a man after my own heart. now tell me candidly—have you suffered any wrong at the hands of this samuel flower? is your friend in the same predicament?"
"that is so," russell said gravely. "but for samuel flower i should be a rich man. but for samuel flower my friend mercer would not be so desperately situated as he is. i think i have given you enough evidence of my bona fides in the piece of string which you are holding in your hand."
"i am not going to deny it," uzali said. "and i see the necessity for caution. i suppose you realize that mr. flower is in some danger?"
"flower is in imminent peril of his life i know," russell replied. "upon my word, i hardly know how to go on. to all practical purposes, you are as good as an englishman, mr. uzali, and you know our laws as well as i do. if anything happened to flower now and the trouble were traced home to you, for instance, you would have considerable difficulty in saving your neck. in other words, i am going to accuse you of being concerned in a conspiracy to put an end to samuel flower. i know this is a bold assertion."
"oh, we will grant it for the moment," uzali said coolly. "i confess you startled me when you passed me that piece of string. i see you understand the significance of those five knots, and, indeed, you have already told me that you have spent a good deal of your time in north borneo. you pay me the compliment of deeming me to be an antagonist worthy of his steel, and i have an equal respect for your courage and audacity. but you are wrong in asserting that samuel flower stands in danger from me at the present moment. later, perhaps, circumstances may alter. in the meantime he is as safe as yourself."
the last words were uttered with a grimness which was not lost upon the listeners.
"i thank you for those words," russell said gravely, "and none the less because they prove to me that you don't know everything. you are unaware, i suppose, that two of your fellow-countrymen were, until recently, engaged to a circus proprietor who is touring in kent. it does not matter who this circus proprietor is. the main point is that he picked these men up in the mediterranean and they have been a great draw to his show. a little time ago the circus was at a place called castlebridge, which happens to be quite close to maldon grange, the country residence of our friend mr. samuel flower."
uzali nodded his lean yellow head restlessly. it was evident that this information was new to him. he looked at russell rather searchingly, as if trying to read his inmost secrets. the company in the theatre was beginning to get smaller. not more than a score or two of guests remained, and these were mostly men who had crowded into the refreshment-room.
"you cannot tell how vastly i am obliged to you," uzali said. "but please go on. i give you my word of honour that i had not the least idea of this. i had not the remotest knowledge that one of my own clansmen was in england. but i still see you have something important to say. i am all attention."
"well, how, i don't know," russell resumed, "but these men found out that samuel flower was in the neighbourhood. they made one or two excursions to maldon grange, because my friend mercer happened to see them himself. he will describe to you what incantations they were going through and the mysterious way in which they vanished when he interrupted them. late that night an attack was made on the life of mr. flower, and, but for the intervention of dr. mercer, the ship-owner's troubles would have been at an end. but perhaps my friend had better tell the story in his own way."
"incantations," uzali muttered. "oh, yes, i understand. there were brass crucibles, a peculiar smell, strange globes of light. oh, yes, i have seen it all before. and, mind you, it is not the poor make-believe of magic such as you get in europe. that was the real thing. but i am interrupting you, doctor. i shall be greatly obliged if you will tell me everything."
nothing loth, wilfrid proceeded to tell his story which uzali followed with breathless attention.
"i assure you i knew nothing of this," he said, when at length mercer had finished. "i never guessed anything of the kind. on the contrary, i would give more than half i possess to insure samuel flower's safety for the next few weeks. we are wasting time here. i shall be glad if you gentlemen will come with me as far as castlebridge without delay so that i may interview these fellow-countrymen of mine. they will listen to me as they will listen to nobody else. when they have my commands they will obey them as well-trained hounds should do. it is perhaps fortunate that samuel flower is in town, but those men are so fearless, so reckless of life, that it is little—but we must be moving. i shall be glad if you will come with me as far as my house so that we can take the motor without delay and get to chatham before daylight. it is the only way i can see."
"but i cannot leave town," mercer protested. "i have some urgent business which will keep me here till saturday at the least. you seem to have forgotten what i told you about those countrymen of yours. they were fetched back to the theatre at the end of a whip by the proprietor and his big negro, but by the morning they had vanished. it seemed so strange to see them return in that docile fashion. i am afraid you will have great trouble in finding them now."
"it is annoying," uzali muttered. "i had forgotten that those fellows had given the circus proprietor the slip. at any rate, i shall not have to look for them in the country. if they are not already in london, they are on their way here. and now, gentlemen, will you do me the honour of coming with me as far as my house? there is still much to be said between us, much to explain, and i am sure that if you will only put out a hand to help me, i shall do everything in my power to assist you. is that a bargain?"
the lights were going out one by one. the few late stayers were drifting away from the bar. it was not far short of three o'clock in the morning, but none of the trio were disposed to sleep. the air seemed to be charged with magnetic fluid; something like danger lingered in every nook.
"by all means," russell said. "i should like to tell you my story, and then you can judge whether i am right or not in what i have resolved to do."
without another word uzali slipped into his overcoat and bade his companions follow. they entered a cab and were whirled westwards until they came to a tall block of flats at the corner of oxford street. uzali put his key in the latch and opened the door. then he stood back with a bow signifying that his companions might precede him.
