In two hours all your police
in New York cannot find us. But in two hours you two impostors
will be suffocated--perhaps you will die of cyanogen, like
Morowitch, whose jewels I have at last."
He went to the door into the hall and stood there with a mocking
laugh. I moved to make a rush toward them, but Kennedy raised his
hand.
"You will suffocate," Poissan hissed again.
Just then we heard the elevator door clang, and hurried steps
came down the long hall.
Craig whipped out his automatic and began pumping the bullets out
in rapid succession. As the smoke cleared I expected to see
Poissan and Francois lying on the floor. Instead, Craig had fired
at the lock of the door. He had shattered it into a thousand
bits. Andrews and his men were running down the hall.
"Curse you!" muttered Poissan as he banged the now useless lock,
"who let those fellows in? Are you a wizard?"
Craig smiled coolly as the ventilation cleared the room of the
deadly cyanogen.
"On the window-sill outside is a selenium cell. Selenium is a bad
conductor of electricity in the dark, and an excellent conductor
when exposed to light. I merely moved my coat and hat, and the
light from the furnace which was going to suffocate us played
through the glass on the cell, the circuit was completed without
your suspecting that I could communicate with friends outside, a
bell was rung on the street, and here they are.
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