The night passed slowly. Tommy lived through an eternity of
hours, but at last he heard footsteps. He stood upright, drew a
deep breath, and clutched the picture firmly.
The door opened. A faint light streamed in from outside. Conrad
went straight towards the gas to light it. Tommy deeply regretted
that it was he who had entered first. It would have been pleasant
to get even with Conrad. Number 14 followed. As he stepped
across the threshold, Tommy brought the picture down with
terrific force on his head. Number 14 went down amidst a
stupendous crash of broken glass. In a minute Tommy had slipped
out and pulled to the door. The key was in the lock. He turned
it and withdrew it just as Conrad hurled himself against the door
from the inside with a volley of curses.
|