the door. We are held up!"
There was an immediate response. The door, under the pressure of a human
battering-ram, burst open with a crash. On the threshold the
intruders--four or five in number--stopped starkly for a moment, held in
astonishment by the extraordinary scene that the light from the hall,
and of their own bull's-eyes, revealed.
Flat on their faces, to present the least possible surface to Carrados's
aim, Dompierre and Montmorency lay extended beside the window and behind
the door. On the couch, with her head buried beneath the cushions,
Madame Dompierre sought to shut out the sight and sound of violence.
Carrados--Carrados had not moved, but with arms resting on the table and
fingers placidly locked together he smiled benignly on the new arrivals.
His attitude, compared with the extravagance of those around him, gave
the impression of a complacent modern deity presiding over some
grotesque ceremonial of pagan worship.
"So, Inspector, you could not wait for me, after all?" was his greeting.
THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. An inconsistency
in the spelling of Messina/Messana (pages 269 and 274) has been
retained.
The following amendments have been made:
Page 250--Carados amended to Carrados--""True," agreed
Carrados."
Page 251--urning amended to turning--"They walked through the
house, and turning to the right ..."