g my hand.

I opened my hand and placed the casket in his.

"From the Baroness d'Altenberg," I replied. "I made the journey from
Europe to give it to you. My task is accomplished."

The casket had reached its destination.

CHAPTER XIV

THE CASKET

"Now there are two favours I wish to ask you, Don Juan," I said, as he
stood with the precious casket in his hands, "the first is to put that
casket in a place of safety; the second to release this poor wretch
from the snake."

He awoke from a fit of deep meditation with a start.

"I will grant your two favours immediately," he answered quickly as he
put the casket in his breast pocket and buttoned his frock-coat over
it; "see one is already done, now I will accomplish the other."

He went to the end of the apartment, and lifting a curtain hanging over
the base of a bookcase, took from a shelf there a silver bowl, filled
apparently with bread and milk.

With this he went out on to the terrace, through the French windows,
and commenced to make a peculiar sibilant noise between his teeth, half
whistle half hiss.

It had a most peculiar effect upon the boa-constrictor, who, from the
first production of the silver bowl, had shown a lively interest in it
by moving its great head up and down excitedly. The noise made by Don
Juan, however, decided it; it began to uncoil itself from the would-be
assassin and finally dropped on the floor with a "slump" and wriggled
out of the window on to the terrace. As the man was released, I
covered him with the revolver as I was taking no risks, but it was
quite unnecessary, as he fell fainting on a couch to which he had
staggered almost immediately he was free.

Don Juan returned from the terrace with a pleased smile.

"My pets are a great source of comfort to me," he remarked as he sank
into a chair, after courteously making me take another. "To see that
poor dumb thing take its food so healthily compensates me almost for
the shock which this villainous fellow has given us."

"Snakes," he continued, "are greatly affected by sound, as no doubt you
noticed just now. There is little question that the snake was
attracted to Lopes by some sound."

"But still," he continued, placing his hand in his breast, "the sight
of the casket which you have brought to me is a greater shock than the
desperado's pistol presented at your head was to you."

He passed his hand over his forehead as if the idea bewildered him.

"And you