By this examination
he learnt two things: The explanation of the draught, and that of a
peculiar property possessed by the mural decorations. These (as Soames
had observed before him) assumed a new form if one stared at them
closely; other figures, figures human and animal, seemed to take
shape and to peer out from BEHIND the more obvious designs which were
perceptible at a glance. The longer and the closer one studied these
singular walls, the more evident the UNDER design became, until it
usurped the field of vision entirely. It was a bewildering delusion; but
M. Max had solved the mystery.
There were TWO designs; the first, an intricate Chinese pattern,
was painted or printed upon material like the finest gauze. This
was attached over a second and vividly colored pattern upon thick
parchment-like paper--as he learnt by the application of the point of
his pocket-knife.
The observation trap was covered with this paper, and fitted so nicely
in the opening that his fingers had failed to detect, through the
superimposed gauze, the slightest irregularity there. But, the trap
opened, a perfectly clear view of the room could be obtained through the
gauze, which, by reason of its texture, also admitted a current of air.
This matter settled, M.
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