Page:The Duke Decides (1904).djvu/108

 of that mysterious person for revising his plans and effecting his escape.

The thick pile carpet made for silence, and she stole quietly along the broad passage, touching and counting the doors till she reached that of Forsyth’s room—only a few feet from the gentle buz-buz that had attracted her attention, and only a few feet from someone stealthily at work in the dark. A steady snore from the interior of the Duke’s chamber explained his complacence under that uncanny tampering with his approaches.

Again giving herself no time for fear, Sybil beat a rat-tat on Forsyth’s door, calling him by name. The sound at the next door immediately ceased, an instant of intense silence following, and then almost simultaneously two things happened. An iron grip settled on the girl’s wrist, just as Forsyth flung open the door of his room, in which he had wisely turned the gas full on as he leaped out of bed. The light streamed into the corridor and shone upon a man in shabby tweeds and bowler hat, who was holding Sybil, but not so hampered that he was prevented from drawing a revolver and aiming straight at Forsyth’s head.

Whether he intended to fire or offer an ulti-