I have no idea how long the six figures remained motionless upon the
floor. It may have been an hour, it may have been two. The mystery of
the performance we were witnessing seemed to drag us into a world where
minutes and hours did not exist. We were dumfounded by the confirmation
of our suspicions and the peculiarly devilish exhibition, and I shook
off the lethargy with an effort as Holman prodded me with his finger and
pointed at a spot beyond the body of the dancer who lay immediately in
front of the spyhole.
Looking in the direction Holman pointed I saw that another light was
approaching through the gloom of the cavern. It bobbed toward us slowly,
a tiny pin point that came nearer and nearer as the bearer walked in the
direction of the six. The distance it was away from the dancers, which
was evident from the time that elapsed from the moment we saw it till it
was close up, convinced us that the cavern was of an enormous length,
and the words "Long Gallery" in the note which Soma had dropped came up
before my mind. There was no doubt that the cave was the meeting spot
which Leith had mentioned, and as I felt Holman's body stiffen as he
shouldered against me for a share of the peephole, I knew that he
believed that the treacherous brute was one of the three that were
approaching behind the bobbing lamp.
Pages:
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168