"Bless my soul!" exclaimed Mr. Brodribb. "What an extraordinary thing!"
The effect was certainly very strange, for, the mirror being now exactly
diagonal to the two closets they appeared to be a single, continuous
passage, with a door at either end. On going up to the mirror, we found
that the opening which it had occupied was filled by a sheet of plain
glass, evidently placed there as a precaution to prevent any person from
walking through from one closet into the other, and so discovering the
trick.
"It's all very puzzling," said Mr. Brodribb; "I don't clearly understand
it now."
"Let us finish here," replied Thorndyke, "and then I will explain.
Notice this black curtain. When I pull the second cord, it slides across
the closet and cuts off the light. The mirror now reflects nothing into
the other closet; it simply appears dark. And now I pull the third
cord."
He did so, and the mirror swung noiselessly back into its place.
"There is only one other thing to observe before we go out," said
Thorndyke, "and that is this other mirror standing with its face to the
wall. This, of course, is the one that Fred Calverley originally saw at
the end of the closet; it has since been removed, and the larger
swinging glass put in its place.
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