Red,however,suddenlystraightenedfromthedeskandstoodmotionless,listening。Hemadeaslighthissingnoisethatarrestedtheattentionoftheothersandheldtheminmovelesssilence。
\"Ihearsomething,\"hewhispered。Hewenttothekeyholeofthedoorleadingintothepassage。Thenhewhisperedagain,\"Andit\'scomingthisway。\"
Atthewords,Garsonsnappedhisfingers。Theroomwasplungedindarkness。
CHAPTERXVIII。THENOISELESSDEATH。
Therewasabsolutesilenceinthelibraryaftertheturningoftheswitchthatbroughtthepallofdarkness。Longsecondspassed,thenalittlenoise——theknobofthepassagedoorturning。Asthedoorswungopen,therecameagaspingbreathfromMary,forshesawframedinthefaintlightthatcamefromthesingleburnerinthecorridortheslenderformofherhusband,DickGilder。Inthenextinstanthehadsteppedwithintheroomandpulledtothedoorbehindhim。AndinthatsameinstantChicagoRedhadpouncedonhisvictim,thehugehandclappedtightovertheyoungman\'smouth。Evenashispowerfularmheldthenewcomerinaninescapableembrace,therecameasoundofscufflingfeetandthatwasall。Finallythebigman\'svoicecametriumphantly。