which was panelled with wood painted white, and here and there
delicately carved into festoons of flowers. The recess ended in an
arch, supported by two slender pillars, and on the inner side of
the arch thick curtains of pink silk were hung. These were drawn
back carelessly, and through the opening between them the party
looked down the length of the room beyond. They passed within.




CHAPTER V

IN THE SALON


Julius Ricardo pushed aside the curtains with a thrill of
excitement. He found himself standing within a small oblong room
which was prettily, even daintily, furnished. On his left, close
by the recess, was a small fireplace with the ashes of a burnt-out
fire in the grate. Beyond the grate a long settee covered in pink
damask, with a crumpled cushion at each end, stood a foot or two
away from the wall, and beyond the settee the door of the room
opened into the hall. At the end a long mirror was let into the
panelling, and a writing-table stood by the mirror. On the right
were the three windows, and between the two nearest to Mr. Ricardo
was the switch of the electric light. A chandelier hung from the
ceiling, an electric lamp stood upon the writing-table, a couple
of electric candles on the mantel-shelf. A round satinwood table
stood under the windows, with three chairs about it, of which one
was overturned, one was placed with its back to the electric