There was silence for a moment or two between the two friends. Venner
appeared to be deeply immersed in his own thoughts, while Gurdon's eyes
travelled quickly between the table where the millionaire sat and the
deep armchair, in which the invalid lay huddled; and Venner now saw that
the cripple on the opposite side of the room was regarding Fenwick and
his companion with the intentness of a cat watching a mouse.

Dinner had now come pretty well to an end, and the coffee and liqueurs
were going round. A cup was placed before Fenwick, who turned to one of
the waiters with a quick order which the latter hastened to obey. The
order was given so clearly that Gurdon could hear distinctly what it was.
He had asked for a light, wherewith to burn the glass of Curacoa which he
intended to take, foreign fashion, in his coffee.

"And don't forget to bring me a wooden match," he commanded. "Household
matches. Last night one of your men brought me a vesta."

The waiter hurried off to execute his commission, but his intention was
anticipated by another waiter who had apparently been doing nothing and
hanging about in the background. The second waiter was a small, lithe
man, with beady, black eyes and curly hair. For some reason or other,
Gurdon noticed him particularly; then he saw a strange thing happen. The
little waiter with the snaky hair glanced swiftly across the room in the
direction of the cripple huddled up in the armchair. Just as if he had
been waiting for a signal, the invalid stretched out one of his long
arms, and laid his fingers significantly on the tiny silver box he had
deposited on the table some little time before. The small waiter went
across the room and deliberately lifted the silver box from the table. He
then walked briskly across to where the millionaire was seated, placed