mercer's patient was sleeping peacefully. there appeared to be no reason why he should give any further trouble, and so far the nurse had not put in an appearance. wilfrid concluded that only something out of the common would have brought uzali and russell at that time in the morning. from the way in which they spoke, too, their errand did not admit of delay. in the circumstances, it was no bad thing, either, to have a couple of friends in the house.
"one moment," mercer whispered. "stay where you are and i will let you in."
he unfastened the bolts of the front door, and the intruders strode into the dining-room where the lights were full on.
"perhaps you had better explain," wilfrid said. "i have been wondering what had become of you, russell. i could not stay in london as i had my own affairs to look after, and that is why i am here. but how did you guess it?"
"it was mere chance," uzali explained. "as for myself, i was bound to come here. i came to prevent bloodshed. we calculated you had left london and we thought it possible that miss galloway would prevail upon you to take up your quarters here for the present, and upon that theory i didn't hesitate to give you a signal."
"this is the second night i have been here," wilfrid explained. "miss galloway is staying with my mother in oldborough. but tell me what you want. mr. flower's nurse has gone into castlebridge for some necessaries and there is nobody but myself to look after the patient. and he is in no fit state to leave, i assure you. he has led me a pretty dance already to-night and i shall be very glad when mason comes back."
"is he in his right senses?" uzali asked.
"oh, dear, no, and i question very much if he ever will be again. but tell me what you want me to do. you would not have come at this hour of the night unless yours had been an exceedingly desperate errand."
"i forgot," uzali murmured. "i suppose everybody has gone to bed except yourself. if we stay here we are not likely to be disturbed by the servants."
"you need not worry about them," wilfrid remarked.
"very good. in that case we are safe. and now, assuming the nurse knows nothing about the family, he will be prepared to believe anything you say about us. we want to stay here just as we are till morning on the pretext that we are friends of mr. flower's and have come down on business. the rest you can leave to us. i suppose when the nurse comes back you will be free to help us if we give the signal. we may need your services."
wilfrid nodded emphatically. it was plain that uzali meant to say no more for the moment and he went upstairs again into the sick-room. flower was lying perfectly still, and there seemed to be no suggestion that he was likely to wake up. a few minutes later there was a ring at the front-door bell and mason returned. he seemed to have all he wanted, but he paused and looked at wilfrid as he caught the murmur of voices in the dining-room.
"friends of your patient," wilfrid said glibly. "they have come from london on urgent business. i presume they were not aware that mr. flower was so ill. they will stay till morning on the chance of mr. flower's being able to see them."
the nurse smiled grimly.
"there is no reason why they shouldn't wait, sir," he said. "but it is precious little business mr. flower will be able to transact for some time to come. i hope he was all right while i was away."
wilfrid smiled in non-committal fashion. on the whole, it seemed best to say nothing about the patient's escapade.
"you had better get yourself some tea or coffee," he said. "i don't mind sitting up for another hour or so, and then i shall go to bed."
the nurse made his preparations by means of a spirit-lamp which he had in the dressing-room. meanwhile, wilfrid sat in a chair before the fire and dozed off. he was utterly fagged. the anxieties of the day had told upon him more than he was aware. at last the nurse aroused him and intimated that one of the gentlemen downstairs wished to speak to him. in the interval uzali and russell had not wasted their time. at first they sat smoking and helping themselves freely to the decanters on the table till uzali grew more taciturn and appeared to be listening intently.
"what is the matter?" russell asked.
"our friends are beginning to move," uzali said in a whisper. "i have not been far out in my deductions and, if you will oblige me, i shall be glad if you will throw your cigarette into the fire whilst i turn the light off."
russell obeyed without comment. he felt he was entirely in the hands of his companion. uzali proceeded to shut off the light and also to open one of the windows that led to the lawn. he placed a screen across the fire and nodded with the air of a man who is satisfied with his plans.
"all right so far," he muttered. "now i want you to stand by the window with me, keeping quiet and being on the alert for what is going to take place. you will not find it so very dark when your eyes become accustomed to the gloom."
it was as uzali said. as russell's gaze was turned towards the darkness he began to make out objects here and there till it was possible to tell where the shrubs lay and where the flower-beds were located. everything was extremely still and the faintest sound could be heard. a quarter of an hour passed, then russell felt his companion's hand clutch eagerly on his arm.
"there!" uzali whispered. "did you see anything? did you hear anything? now listen! i am not mistaken."
as russell strained his ear he seemed to hear a footstep coming down the gravel path. by and by a tiny twig snapped and it could no longer be doubted that somebody was walking on the path. a moment later and a figure loomed against the grey of the sky, a figure which paused a moment and then crossed on to the lawn. russell felt his heart beating faster, especially when he realized that the outline was quite familiar.
"you could see that, anyway," uzali whispered.
"oh, i can see that," russell replied in the same low tone. "it seems incredible, and i may be mistaken, but if that man isn't jansen, call me blind."
a dry chuckle broke from uzali's lips. he was unquestionably pleased at something. he was no longer moody and despondent, but had the alert manner of a man who means business.
"you are not mistaken," he said. "that is jansen. i dare say you wonder how he got here. there is only one way in which he could have reached maldon grange; he caught the train which we missed. ah, we shall see some fun presently. our friend yonder little knows the danger he stands in."
"what on earth is he up to?" russell exclaimed.
so far as could be seen in the darkness, jansen seemed to be juggling with a ball of strong string. in one hand he carried a bundle of pegs which he proceeded to drive into the lawn at unequal distances. the head of the hammer was muffled and only the faintest sound came in response to his blows. as the work went on jansen could be heard chuckling to himself. soon he stood upright as if he had completed his task and then he connected the irregular row of pegs with the string. it suddenly flashed upon russell what he was doing.
"why, that is an old burglar trick," he exclaimed. "jansen means to make an attempt upon the house and trusts to those pegs and strings to save him in case of pursuit. hadn't we better catch him red-handed?"
"plenty of time for that," uzali said with a note of laughter in his voice. "see, he has vanished. it looks as if he had gone down to the basement. now we shan't be long. look over at the big cedar tree and tell me what you see; quick!"
two slight shadowy figures like huge night moths seemed to flit out from under the gloom of the cedar and make their way towards the spot where jansen had gone. russell would have darted out only uzali restrained him.
"wait," he whispered, "another ten minutes."
the minutes passed slowly, then came a sound like the splitting of wood, followed by a laugh which was drowned in a scream echoing horribly far and wide in the silence.
"now," said uzali sternly, "it is time to act!"
