"Sleeping quietly," said the nurse; "but please don't make any more
noise than you can help."
"We won't," Godfrey promised, and crossed the hall to the door leading
into the little entry. Then he paused and looked around at Goldberger.
"Better go slow here," he cautioned. "The adept has a pet cobra."
"A snake?"
"The deadliest snake in the world."
Goldberger drew back a little, as did all the others.
"I don't think it will bite us, though," added Godfrey, cheerfully,
"if we don't crowd it. It's sitting there, too," and he opened the
outer door, passed through, and held back the curtain at the farther
end.
I was just behind Goldberger and Simmonds, and I heard their gasp of
amazement, as they saw what lay beyond.
The scene had not changed in the slightest detail. The crystal sphere
still softly glowed, with intangible shadows flitting across its
surface; the adept still sat cross-legged staring into its depths;
opposite him, the cobra, its hood distended, swayed slowly to and fro.
But as we stood there staring, a single delicate ray of sunlight
coming through a pin-hole in the curtained window, struck the sphere
and seemed to extinguish it.
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