The important
things are these: first, I learned why Sir Charles Abingdon had
been done to death!
"The unwelcome attentions of the man known as Ormuz Khan led Sir
Charles to seek an interview with him. I may say here and now
that Ormuz Khan is Fire-Tongue! Oh! it's a tough statement--but I
can prove it. Sir Charles practically forced his way into this
man's presence--and immediately recognized his mysterious patient
of years ago!
"He accused him of having set spies upon his daughter's
movements--an accusation which was true--and forbade him to see
her again. From that hour the fate of Sir Charles was sealed.
What he knew, the world must never know. He had recorded, in a
private paper, all that he had learned. This paper was stolen
from his bureau--and its contents led to my being summoned to the
house of Fire-Tongue! It also spurred the organization to renewed
efforts, for it revealed the fact that Sir Charles contemplated
confiding the story to others.
"What were the intentions of the man Ormuz in regard to Miss
Abingdon, I don't know. His entourage all left England some days
ago--with three exceptions. I believe him to have been capable of
almost anything. He was desperate. He knew that Ormuz Khan must
finally and definitely disappear. It is just possible that he
meant Miss Abingdon to disappear along with him!
"However, that danger is past. Mrs. McMurdoch, who to-day
accompanied her to his house, was drugged by these past-masters
in the use of poisons, and left unconscious in a cottage a few
miles from Hillside, the abode of Ormuz.
Pages:
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268