"Who lives here?" Tavernake asked.
"Did you call me up at one o'clock in the morning to ask silly
questions?" the man replied insolently. "Every one's in bed here
and I was just going."
"There's a light in your ground floor room," Tavernake remarked.
"There's some one talking there now--I can hear voices."
The man closed the door in his face. For some time Tavernake
wandered restlessly about, starting at last reluctantly
homewards. He had reached the Strand and was crossing Trafalgar
Square when a sudden thought held him. He stood still for a
moment in the middle of the street. Then he turned abruptly
round. In less than five minutes he was once more on the
Terrace.
CHAPTER XIX
TAVERNAKE INTERVENES
Tavernake had the feelings of a man suddenly sobered as he turned
once more into the Adelphi Terrace. Waiting until no one was in
sight, he opened the door of the empty house with the Yale key
which he had kept, and carefully closed it. He struck a match
and listened for several minutes intently; not a sound from
anywhere. He moved a few yards further to the bottom of the
stairs, and listened again; still silence. He turned the handle
of the ground floor apartment and commenced a fresh search. Room
by room he examined by the light of his rapidly dwindling
matches. This time he meant to leave behind him no possibility
of any mistake. He even measured the depths of the walls for any
secret hiding place.
Pages:
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206