A man cautiously but very neatly wormed his body through the
aperture of the grating. The watchers could only see his form
indistinctly in the darkness.
Then, being fairly within the cellar, he walked without the least
hesitation to the electric switch and turned on the light. It was
unmistakably Jules, and he knew the geography of the cellar very
well. Babylon could with difficulty repress a start as he saw this
bold and unscrupulous ex-waiter moving with such an air of
assurance and determination about the precious cellar. Jules went
directly to a small bin which was numbered 17, and took there
from the topmost bottle.
'The Romanee-Conti - Prince Eugen's wine!' Babylon exclaimed
under his breath.
Jules neatly and quickly removed the seal with an instrument
which he had clearly brought for the purpose. He then took a little
flat box from his pocket, which seemed to contain a sort of black
salve. Rubbing his finger in this, he smeared the top of the neck of
the bottle with it, just where the cork came against the glass. In
another instant he had deftly replaced the seal and restored the
bottle to its position. He then turned off the light, and made for the
aperture. When he was half-way through Nella exclaimed, 'He will
escape, after all. Dad has not had time - we must stop him.'
But Babylon, that embodiment of caution, forcibly, but
nevertheless politely, restrained this Yankee girl, whom he deemed
so rash and imprudent, and before she could free herself the lithe
form of Jules had disappeared.
Pages:
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227