He
became conscious of a kind of joyous excitement, which claimed him at
such moments; an eagerness and a lust of action. But he stood
perfectly still, listening and waiting.
There came a faint creaking sound, and a new damp chilliness was added
to the stale atmosphere of the passage. Someone had quietly raised the
trap.
Cutting through the blackness like a scimitar shone a ray of light
from above, widening as it descended and ending in a white patch on
the floor. It was moved to and fro. Then it disappeared. Another vague
creaking sound followed--that caused by a man's weight being imposed
upon a wooden framework.
Finally came a thud on the bare boards of the floor.
Complete silence ensued. Kerry waited, muscles tense and brain alert.
He even suspended the chewing operation. A dull, padding sound reached
his ears.
From the quality of the thud which had told of the intruder's drop
from the trap to the floor, Kerry had deduced that he wore rubber-
soled shoes. Now, the sound which he could hear was that of the
stranger's furtive footsteps. He was approaching the doorway in which
Kerry was standing.
Just behind the open door Kerry waited. And unheralded by any further
sound to tell of his approach, the intruder suddenly shone a ray of
light right into the room.
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