y the young man's attendants, and one of these,
a strikingly beautiful woman, insisted on remaining while the operation
was performed.

"'She seemed more especially to concern herself with preserving intact
a lock of the young man's jet-black hair, which was brushed in rather
an odd manner across his ivory forehead. Naturally enough, this
circumstance excited my curiosity and, distracting the woman's attention
for a moment--I asked her to bring me something from a table at the
opposite side of the room--I lightly raised this wayward lock and
immediately replaced it again.

"'Do you know what it concealed, Mr. Brinn?'

"I assured him that I did not.

"'A mark, apparently natural, resembling a torch surmounted by a tongue
of fire!'

"I was amazed, gentlemen, by Sir Charles's story. He was given his fee
and driven back to his quarters. But that he had succeeded where I had
failed, that he had actually looked upon Fire-Tongue in person, I could
not doubt. I learned from this, too, that the Prophet of Fire did not
always remain in his mountain stronghold, for Delhi is a long way from
the Secret City.

"Strange though it must appear, at this time I failed to account for Sir
Charles confiding this thing to me. Later, I realized that he must have
seen the mark on my arm, although he never referred to it.

"Well, the past leapt out at me, as you see, and worse was to come.
The death of Sir Charles Abingdon told me what I hated to know: that
Fire-Tongue was in England!

"I moved at once. I inserted in the Times the prearranged message,
hardly daring to hope that it would come to the eye of Naida; but it
did! She visited me. And I learned that not only Sir Charles Abingdon,
but another, knew of the mark which I bore!

"I was summoned to appear before the Prophet of fire!

"Gentlemen, what I saw and how I succeeded in finding out the location
of his abode are matters that can wait. 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