He knew that he was a poor, blind fool; that his plotting had been
known to those whom he had thought to betray; that the new key which
had opened a way into this place of dread was not the key which his
accomplice had given him. He knew that that upon which he had tripped at
the outset of his journey had been set in his path by cunning design, in
order that the fall might confuse his sense of direction. He knew that
the great vase of poppies had been moved, that night....
God! his brain became a seething furnace.
There, before him, upstood the sandalwood screen, with one corner of the
table projecting beyond it. Nothing of life was visible in the perfumed
place, where deathly silence prevailed....
No lion has greater courage than a cornered rat. Soames plucked the
pistol from his pocket and fired at the screen--ONCE!--TWICE!
He heard the muffled report, saw the flash of the little weapon, saw
the two holes in the carven woodwork, and gained a greater, hysterical
courage--the courage of a coward's desperation.
Immediately before him was a little ebony table, bearing a silver bowl,
laden to the brim with sulphur-colored roses. He overturned the table
with his foot, laughing wildly. In three strides he leapt across the
room, grasped the sandalwood screen, and hurled it to the floor.
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