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1"Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the utter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The
2woman was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind her, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her
3eager and beautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own
4heart. She held up one shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few whispered words of broken English at
5me, her eyes glancing back, like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her. "'I would go,' said she, trying
6hard, as it seemed to me, to speak calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no good for you to do.' "'But,
7madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.' "'It is
8not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I
9smiled and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made a step forward, with her hands wrung
10together. 'For the love of Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too late!' "But I am somewhat
11headstrong by nature, and the more ready to engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I thought of my
12fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to go
13for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried out my commission, and without the payment which was my due?
14This woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more
15than I cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention of remaining where I was. She was about to
16renew her entreaties when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She
17listened for an instant, threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as
18she had come. "The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man with a chinchilla beard growing out of
19the creases of his double chin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson. "'This is my secretary and manager,' said the
20colonel. 'By the way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just now. I fear that you have felt the
21draught.' "'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I felt the room to be a little close.' "He shot
22one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we had better proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I will
23take you up to see the machine.' "'I had better put my hat on, I suppose.' "'Oh, no, it is in the house.' "'What, you
24dig fuller's-earth in the house?' "'No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that. All we wish you to
25do is to examine the machine and to let us know what is wrong with it.' "We went upstairs together, the colonel first
26with the lamp, the fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house, with corridors, passages, narrow
27winding staircases, and little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had crossed
28them. There were no carpets and no signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster was peeling off the
29walls, and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an air as
30possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon
31my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent man, but I could see from the little that he said that he
32was at least a fellow-countryman. "Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which he unlocked. Within
33was a small, square room, in which the three of us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside, and the
34colonel ushered me in. "'We are now,' said he, 'actually within the hydraulic press, and it would be a particularly
35unpleasant thing for us if anyone were to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the end of the
36descending piston, and it comes down with the force of many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns
37of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The
38machine goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working of it, and it has lost a little of its force.
39Perhaps you will have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set it right.' "I took the lamp from him,
40and I examined the machine very thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising enormous pressure.
41When I passed outside, however, and pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by the whishing sound
42that there was a slight leakage, which allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An
43examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not
44quite to fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to
45my companions, who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical questions as to how they should
46proceed to set it right. When I had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the machine and took a good
47look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller's-earth was the merest
48fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a purpose.
49The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a
50crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a
51muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the colonel looking down at me. "'What are you doing
52there?' he asked. "I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as that which he had told me. 'I was
53admiring your fuller's-earth,' said I; 'I think that I should be better able to advise you as to your machine if I knew
54what the exact purpose was for which it was used.' "The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of my
55speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in his grey eyes. "'Very well,' said he, 'you shall know all
56about the machine.' He took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key in the lock. I rushed towards
57it and pulled at the handle, but it was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and shoves. 'Hullo!' I
58yelled. 'Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!'
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