Page:BulldogDrummondSapper.djvu/281

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LAKINGTON PLAYS HIS LAST "COUP"
277

"In that box lies the power unknown to mortal man though the priests of the Temple City have sometimes discovered it before they pass beyond. Length you know, and height, and breadth—but in that box lies more."

"You don't mean the fourth dimension, do you?" demanded a man incredulously.

"I know not what you call it, sahib," said the Indian quietly. "But it is the power which renders visible or invisible at will."

For a moment Hugh felt an irresistible temptation to shout the truth through the window, and give Lakington away; then his curiosity to see the next move in the game conquered the wish, and he remained silent. So perfect was the man's acting that, in spite of having seen the substitution of the boxes, in spite of knowing the whole thing was bunkum, he felt he could almost believe it himself. And as for the others—without exception—they were craning forward eagerly, staring first at the Indian and then at the box.

"I say, that's a bit of a tall order, isn't it, Mr. Rum Bar?" protested the Duke a little feebly. "Do you mean to say you can put something into that box, and it disappears?"

"From mortal eye, Protector of the Poor, though it is still there," answered the Indian. "And that only too for a time. Then it reappears again. So runs the legend."

"Well, stuff something in and let's see," cried young Laidley, starting forward, only to pause before the Indian's outstretched arm.

"Stop, sahib," he ordered sternly. "To you that