the dining hall presented an appearance quite as striking and imposing as the ballroom. it was magnificently paneled with elizabethan oak; the grand old buffets and furniture dated from the same period. the supper was laid out on a series of small tables forming a horseshoe, so that it was possible to move from one to the other without interruption. each table had its separate electric light stand, round which were trailed sprays of red roses. with its shaded lights, its dim, carved walls, with its glitter of crystal and glass, the room presented a picture that was not easily forgotten. but there were other things quite as important to think of as the artistic side of the scene. a few moments later, and anstruther came in with a tall woman, whom rigby instantly recognized as a great society leader, on his arm. it was evident enough that while anstruther knew his supper partner perfectly well, she was utterly puzzled as to his identity.
"so much the better for us," seymour said, as jack pointed this out to him. "but i must get back to my partner. i want you to try and keep me a place at the same table that anstruther sits at. i hope you will manage to secure lady barmouth for me. you will recollect that was to have been part of the programme."
the matter was arranged easily enough, and presently seymour and lady barmouth were seated opposite anstruther and his companion. they had all at once plunged gaily into an animated conversation. by this time the guests had found their level, and had thoroughly settled themselves down to enjoyment. it was just possible that a great many people recognized numbers of their friends there, but for the most part the recognition was ignored and the illusion maintained.
"really this is a most charming picture," seymour said, addressing anstruther in the friendliest fashion, though he had taken great care to modulate his voice. "with all my skill in the art of magic i could not have evolved a fairer scene than this. and my experience dates back a thousand years."
"quite the most respectable type of family magician," anstruther laughed, as he helped himself liberally to champagne. "we are all so dreadfully modern nowadays. i suppose you have nothing to do with up-to-date methods. no palmistry, i presume?"
seymour was delighted to find anstruther ready to take up the spirit of the game. "nothing comes amiss to me," he said. "to conjure up a scene like this would, perhaps, tax my efforts pretty severely, but i should get there all the same. if anybody requires a little something in the way of perpetual life or untold gold, they have only to drop me a postcard and the thing is as good as done."
"delightful," anstruther's partner cried. "i was just wondering how i was going to settle my racing debts, and now you come forward in the kindest way, and relieve me of all further anxiety. it is really more than kind of you."
"as for me," anstruther said, "i am concerned more with the future than the past. i have a little scheme on hand which is troubling me a good deal. without going into details, shall i be successful? now, can you tell me that?"
seymour gravely consulted a crystal ball, which he had taken from the pocket of his flowing robe. others were listening by this time, for the conversation at seymour's table was both amusing and interesting. he looked up from the ball in the same grave fashion. "you are giving me a hard task," he said. "i do not know you; i have not even seen your face. and yet your soul is reflected in my faithful crystal, and your heart's desire lies bare before me."
"but you have not told me if i shall be successful," anstruther said. "that is the point, after all."
"you will not be successful," seymour said in a loud voice, which had the desired effect of attracting much attention to the speaker. "there is something dark that stands between you and the thing you so much desire. the crystal is not so clear as usual, but i can see in it a face. it is a strange face--dark and repulsive, and yet absolutely familiar. yes, it is the face of the poster, the features of which have puzzled london for the last three months. it is this face which comes between you and your heart's desire. do i interest you?"
quite a score of guests were listening by now. they were thrilled and puzzled, and not a little interested. seymour was playing his part splendidly; even jack and rigby, who were in the plot, had to admit that. nothing could be seen as to the way in which anstruther took this shot, for his features were hidden behind his mask; but rigby noticed that his hands were clutched upon the edge of the table-cloth, is if they were about the throat of some hateful foe. anstruther sat quite quietly, almost rigidly, for a few moments, then burst into a hoarse, strident laugh.
"this is ridiculous," he said. "surely you must be aware of the fact that those nostalgo posters are nothing more or less than a clever advertisement."
"nevertheless, they have more to do with you than you imagine," seymour went on in the same grave way. "they stand between you like a sheet and the execution of your plans. let me look into my crystal again. ah, the scene grows clearer. i see a ruined temple; i see some weird religious ceremony, and the unconscious form of a man laid out for a sacrifice. he rises at length; he is no longer good to look upon, his face has become the face of nostalgo. call it foolish if you like----"
with a cry of something like anger, anstruther rose to his feet. he seemed to suppress himself almost immediately, then sat down again.
"capital!" he exclaimed. "i dare say it is exceedingly clever, but, at the same time, so much greek to me. what i want is information about the future."
"i should say you are a traveled man," seymour said calmly. "you have spent a great deal of your time in adventure abroad. now, let me hazard a guess. you have been in mexico?"
anstruther curtly admitted that such was the fact. in spite of the gravity of the whole thing, and seymour's admirable acting, he was getting nervous and excited. he would have given much to have removed the mask of his tormentor and studied the face behind.
"it is the little trifles of life that interest you, then," seymour said. "i am afraid you are very material, sir. well, we will be prosaic if you like. for instance, my crystal tells me that you are fond of works of art; in fact, you are a collector of such things. what would you say if i were to prophesy that you are going to add largely to your treasures in the course of the next few days? to be precise, one of your hobbies is old silver. like most collectors, you will do pretty well everything to gain your end."
"i am afraid that is about true," anstruther admitted.
"spoken like a man of the world," seymour went on. "for a long time you have coveted a fine specimen of cellini silver work. a whole set of it will pass into your possession, if it has not already done so, and the unique service will not cost you a farthing."
seymour delivered this shot calmly enough, pretending to be gazing at the crystal all the time. but the way in which anstruther writhed about in his chair was not lost upon jack and rigby, who were watching the drama with breathless interest. anstruther had half risen from his seat again, and then had forced himself down once more, as if struggling with his hidden emotions.
"i should like to see that precious crystal of yours," he sneered. "it seems nothing but a piece of glass to me."
by way of reply, seymour gravely polished the crystal on his serviette, and passed it across to anstruther with instructions to hold it firmly in his palms long enough for the imprint of his fingers to fix themselves. anstruther laughed as he complied with these instructions. then the crystal was laid upon the table very carefully, and was rolled into a small cardboard box, and there swathed in cotton wool. with the same grave demeanor, seymour called for wax and something unique in the way of a seal. a servant came presently with a piece of violet sealing wax, and one of the guests proffered his intaglio ring as a seal.
"i am going to ask a favor," seymour said. "i should like the gentleman to seal the box, and hand it over to another guest, who will take care of the whole thing for the next three days. you will all see what i mean--i want to prevent the possibility of the box being tampered with. will the gentleman kindly seal the packet, and will another gentleman kindly offer to take care of it?"
the box was sealed at length with the intaglio ring, then another guest came forward and volunteered to keep it in his charge. "that is exceedingly good of you," seymour went on; "only you will quite see that we cannot carry this through properly unless the gentleman who has taken charge of the box volunteers his name."
"no trouble about that," the second guest cried. "i am sir frederick ormond, under-secretary of foreign affairs. i hope that my name will be sufficient guarantee."
seymour nodded, and the statesman dropped the packet into the pocket of his cloak. anstruther laughed unpleasantly.
"and what is the upshot of all this to be?" he asked. "it is on the knees of the gods," seymour said gravely. "your individuality will become impressed upon the crystal through the grips of your hands, and at the end of the period suggested you will be able to see your whole future there. i dare say sir frederick will produce the crystal when the proper time comes."
anstruther turned away with a little laugh of contempt, and, as if nothing out of the common had happened, seymour turned and began to discuss ordinary topics with his hostess. supper was practically over by this time, and most of the guests were streaming back once more in the direction of the ballroom. amongst the few who still remained were jack and claire, the latter, of course, being jack's supper partner.
"that was very cleverly done," claire said. "i suppose there is some hidden meaning behind it?"
"of course," jack said. "only i have not the remotest idea what it was. don't let us go back to the ballroom yet--i have discovered one of the jolliest little places leading off the hall, where we can sit and have a cozy chat without the least fear of interruption."
it was precisely as jack had said--a little alcove, dimly lighted and filled with ferns, from which they could see much that was going on without being seen in their turn. it was very quiet down there, and jack made the most of his opportunities. a silence fell upon the pair presently, one of those long, delicious silences, only possible where there is a perfect understanding. jack came out of his reverie presently, conscious that claire was gripping him tightly by the arm. with the point of her fan she indicated the figure of anstruther, who had come down evidently in search of the telephone. the instrument was almost immediately opposite the alcove, and anstruther, little dreaming that he was being watched, plied the handle vigorously. he gave a number presently which was his own in panton square.
"are you there?" he whispered; "are you there? confound the girl! why doesn't she speak? oh, so you are there at last. what? oh, yes, yes. i am speaking to you. you know who i am. yes, there is danger--danger that is urgent and immediate. i have no time to explain now; you are to come here masked at once. do not come to the front door, but to the lane behind. you will find a small, green gate there, with number five upon it in white letters. i will see that the gate is unlocked. then make your way straight up the garden, and into the summer-house which is at the top of the marble steps by the fountain. you are not to be more than half-an-hour."
anstruther rang off, and replaced the receiver on the hooks. he strolled away without the slightest idea that every word he said was audible to the pair of lovers in the alcove. jack turned to claire with eager eyes.
"this must be seen to immediately," he said. "go back to the ballroom as if nothing had happened and wait for me there. as for myself, i am going to smoke a cigar in the garden, and wait to see who the mysterious individual is who has been so peremptorily summoned here. you see how important it is."
claire saw that there was much in what jack said. obediently enough she went off to the ballroom, and waited eagerly for the return of her lover. he seemed a long time coming, and nearly an hour had passed before he came back and strolled up to claire in as casual a way as possible. but she could see that his eyes were gleaming behind his mask. he was breathing fast, too.
"have you discovered who it was?" claire asked eagerly.
"yes," jack replied. "they are both together. as i more than half expected, the fresh arrival is serena."
