Page:Wadsworth Camp--the gray mask.djvu/222

212 He shook off her hands. He entered the dark room, and immediately he knew she had been right, that he had advanced too precipitately. He stumbled against something soft and yielding, and went down, stretching out his hand to save himself. He knew what his fingers had found. He snatched them away with a little cry:

"Get back to the hall, Nora!"

But he heard no movement from her, so, since he didn't dare wait, he took his flashlight from his pocket, pressed the control, and turned the ray on the features his hand had touched in the dark. Marvin was stretched, face downward on the floor near the head of the bed. His arm lay beyond his head, pitiful evidence that he had reached for the electric light switch which had been just beyond his grasp.

Nora with a reluctant air had come closer. Crying out her horror, she indicated the collar, at the back of Marvin's neck.

"Blood!"

Garth nodded.

"Like Brown. The same place as Brown's wound."

Nora covered her face with her hands.

Garth sprang up, unconsciously quoting Brown's words:

"That's madness!"

He ran to the bathroom and brought water with which he bathed Marvin's face and head. He looked up after a moment with a sigh of relief.