" And he stood there with a
motionless patience, waiting.
Achmet! I remembered an afternoon in the Enchanted Wood, and that
name ringing in my ears--Achmet!
"I will follow you," I said. And instantly The Jinnee pushed open
the unlocked door of the spring-house and stepped inside.
I hesitated for a moment, turning my head toward Hynds House,
blazing with lights. I could hear voices, laughter, snatches of
song. From the kitchen Mary Magdalen's great, rich, unctuous laugh
rolled out like an organ peal. Silhouetted against the lighted
library window was one of our big black cats, with an arched back
and an uplifted and expressive tail.
"I wait," said a quiet voice. And, clutching Boris by the collar, I
stepped inside the door.
It was dark in there; only a faint and broken light came through the
one window, set high in the wall. Boris's eyes were balls of fire,
and his feet made a stealthy, scuffling sound on the flagged floor.
The little spring bubbling in its stone basin was like a whispering,
secretive voice.
Achmet stooped down, over in one corner. Then, shading a very modern
flash-light with a fold of his robe, he showed me one of the square
flags lifted, and a black hole yawning in the floor.
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