"My God!" he muttered, staring, too. "Look!"
We did look. A letter was slowly being inserted under the door.
I took a quick step forward. That moment I felt a rough tug at my
arm, and a voice whispered, "Wait--you chump!"
It was Kennedy. He had whipped out his automatic and had carefully
leveled it at the door. Before he could fire, however, Bennett had
rushed ahead.
I followed. We looked down the hall. Sure enough, the figure of a
man could be seen disappearing around an angle. I followed Bennett
out of the door and down the hall.
Words cannot keep pace with what followed. Together we rushed to
the backstairs.
"Down there, while I go down the front!" cried Bennett.
I went down and he turned and went down the other flight. As he
did so, Craig followed him.
Suddenly, in the drawing room, I bumped into a figure on the other
side of the portieres. I seized him. We struggled. Rip! The
portieres came down, covering me entirely. Over and over we went,
smashing a lamp. It was vicious. Another man attacked me, too.
"I--I've got him--Kennedy!" I heard a voice pant over me.
A scream followed from Aunt Josephine. Suddenly the portieres were
pulled off me.
"The deuce!" puffed Kennedy. "It's Jameson!"
Bennett had rushed plump into me, coming the other way, hidden by
the portieres.
If we had known at the time, our Michael of the sinister face had
gained the library and was standing in the center of the room.
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