“Mostingeniousand，Imustconfess，mostsuccessful，myyoungfriend！“heexclaimedpleasantly。“Whenyouhavemadetheladderquitesecure，perhapsyouwillbesogoodastodiscussthislittlematterwithus？“
Therewasnoimmediatereply。Theeyesofallfourmenwereturnednowuponthatemptyspacethroughwhichtheladderhadfinallydisappeared。Mr。Fentolin’sfingersdisappearedwithinthepocketofhiscoat。Somethingverybrightwasglisteninginhishandwhenhewithdrewit。
“Comeandparleywithus，Mr。Hamel，“hebegged。“Youwillnotfindusunreasonable。“
Hamel’svoicecamebackinreply，butHamelhimselfkeptwellawayfromtheopening。
“Theconditions，“hesaid，“areunpropitious。Alittletimeforreflectionwilldoyounoharm。“