Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/262

 244 "I think so. This is the left branch of the main hallway. It is about four feet wide, and this is the third door from the turn. Am I right?"

"Yes, as nearly as I can recall. I did not notice closely. The light is at the intersection, a coal-oil lamp in a bracket against the wall. There is a sentry stationed outside this door—the Colonel's orderly, I presume, but fully armed, and two others at the front entrance. These are twenty or thirty feet away, and out of sight from this door. I am not particularly afraid of passing them."

"It's the fellow stationed here?"

"Yes, he will be suspicious of a stranger coming out with me, for he has seen everyone who came in."

"There is only one course to pursue then. We must trust to force, and a quick assault which will give the fellow no time to raise an alarm. You go out alone, leaving the door slightly ajar, and engage him in conversation. Did he appear to be genial when you met him before?"

"Yes, rather eager to talk—a young man."

"Good; then you can gain his attention for a moment. Stand so that his back will be to the door."

"You are not going to kill him?"

"There will be no necessity; once I get my grip the affair will be over—you understand?"

Her lips were firmly set, her eyes gravely earnest.