at Richmond who supplies
Selby with orchids?"

"Harden, sir."

"Yes--Harden. You must go down to Richmond at once, see Harden
personally, and tell him to send twice as many orchids as I ordered, and
to have as few white ones as possible. In fact, I don't want any white
ones. It is a lovely day, Francis, and Richmond is a very pretty place,
otherwise I wouldn't bother you about it."

"No trouble, sir. At what time shall I be back?"

Dorian looked at Campbell. "How long will your experiment take, Alan?"
he said, in a calm, indifferent voice. The presence of a third person in
the room seemed to give him extraordinary courage.

Campbell frowned, and bit his lip. "It will take about five hours," he
answered.

"It will be time enough, then, if you are back at half-past seven,
Francis. Or stay: just leave my things out for dressing. You can have
the evening to yourself. I am not dining at home, so I shall not want
you."

"Thank you, sir," said the man, leaving the room.

"Now, Alan, there is not a moment to be lost. How heavy this chest is!
I'll take it for you. You bring the other things." He spoke rapidly, and
in an authoritative manner. Campbell felt dominated by him. They left
the room together.

When they reached the top landing, Dorian took out the key and turned it
in the lock. Then he stopped, and a troubled look came into his eyes. He
shuddered. "I don't think I can go in, Alan," he murmured.

"It is nothing to me. I don't require you," said Campbell, coldly.

Dorian half opened the door. As he did so, he saw the face of his
portrait leering in the sunlight. On the floor in front of it the torn
curtain was lying. He remembered that, the night before he had
forgotten, for the first time in his life, to hide the fatal canvas, and
was about to rush forward, when he drew back with a shudder.

What was that loathsome red dew that gleamed, wet and glistening, on one
of the hands, as though the canvas had sweated blood? How horrible it
was!--more horrible, it seemed to him for the moment, than the silent
thing that he knew was stretched across the table, the thing whose
grotesque misshapen shadow on the spotted carpet showed him that it had
not stirred, but was still there, as he had left it.

He heaved a deep breath, opened the door a little wider, and with
half-closed eyes and averted head walked quickly in, determined that he
would not look even once upon the dead man. Then, stooping down, and
taking up t