Page:Arthur Stringer - The Door of Dread.djvu/378

 accents had failed to reach her ear. Then an even greater surprise took possession of her.

For, although she heard a. voice, it was the voice of the girl alone. And it rose shrill and expostulatory and was punctuated by the thump of the door as it was flung back and swung flat against the papered wall. She saw then that for a brief second or two a struggle had taken place, that the trained nurse had been tossed to one side, and was now running with little sobs of terror down the full length of the red-carpeted hallway.

But Sadie Wimpel's thoughts no longer centered on the nurse. It was the towering figure which stood just inside the door that held her attention.

The discovery that it was Keudell facing her left her passive, with a shadowy wonder in her eyes. That passivity was not due to fear. It was based more on the reluctance of her mind to accept the totally unexpected. She required time to digest her shock. She found herself compelled to reiterate, as she stared at the approaching figure, that this man was not Wilsnach, but Keudell. And Keudell was her enemy. And her enemy was advancing upon her.

She could see the smile of triumph which showed