There was still no response from the girl. There were drops of
perspiration on her forehead. Quest shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Very good," he concluded. "You need not tell me. Only remember this! At
nine o'clock to-morrow morning you will bring those jewels to this
apartment.... Rest quietly now. I want you to go to sleep."

She obeyed without hesitation. Quest watched, for a moment, her regular
breathing. Then he touched a bell by his side. Laura entered almost at
once.

"Open the laboratory," Quest ordered. "Then come back."

Without a word or a glance towards the sleeping figure, she obeyed him. It
was a matter of seconds before she returned. Together they lifted and
carried the sleeping girl out of the room, across the landing, into a
larger apartment, the contents of which were wrapped in gloom and mystery.
A single electric light was burning on the top of a square mirror fixed
upon an easel. Towards this they carried the girl and laid her in an
easy-chair almost opposite to it.

"The battery is just on the left," Laura whispered.

Quest nodded.

"Give me the band."

She turned away for a moment and disappeared in the shadows. When she
returned, she carried a curved band of flexible steel. Quest took it from