to the chair.
He had recovered from the shock, but he had recovered too late. In the
interval of his unconsciousness the body of Poltavo had been removed out
of his sight. They were doing to him all that they had done to Poltavo.
He felt the electrodes at his calf and on his wrists and clenched his
teeth, for he knew in what desperate strait he was.

"Well, Mr. Smith," said Farrington pleasantly, "I am afraid you have got
yourself into rather a mess. Where is the other man?" he asked quickly.
He looked at Fall, and the doctor returned his gaze.

"I forgot the other man," said Fall slowly; "in the corridor outside."
He went to the invisible door and it opened at his touch. He was out of
the room a few minutes, and returned looking old and drawn.

"He has got away," he said; "the woman has gone too."

Farrington nodded.

"What does he matter?" he asked roughly; "they know as much as they are
likely to know. Put the control on the door."

Fall turned over a switch and the other renewed his attention to T. B.

"You know exactly how you are situated, Mr. Smith," said Farrington,
"and now I am going to tell you exactly how you may escape from your
position."

"I shall be interested to learn," said T. B. coolly, "but I warn you
before you tell me that if my escape is contingent upon your own, then I
am afraid I am doomed to dissolution."

The other nodded.

"As you surmise," he said, "your escape is indeed contingent upon mine
and that of my friends. My terms to you are that you shall pass me out
of England. I know you are going to tell me that you have not the power,
but I am as well acquainted with the extraordinary privileges of your
department as you are. I know that you can take me out of the Secret
House and land me in Calais to-morrow morning, and there is not one man
throughout the length and breadth of England who will say you nay. I
offer you your life on condition that you do this, otherwise----"

"Otherwise?" asked T. B.

"Otherwise I shall kill you," said Farrington briefly, "just as I killed
Poltavo. You are the worst enemy I have and the most dangerous. I have
always marked you down as one whose attention was to be avoided, and I
shall probably kill you with less compunction because I know that but
for you I should not have been forced to live this mad dog's life that
has been mine for the past few months. You will be interested, Mr.
Smith, to learn that you nearly had me once. You see the whole w