"Where were you when she was locked in this room?"
The Doctor's eyes sought the floor--the walls--wildly--for any
possible loophole of escape.
"I didn't shut her in if that's what you mean!" he said defiantly.
"There was someone shut in there with her!" He gestured at the
Hidden Room. "Ask these people here."
Miss Cornelia caught him up at once.
"The fact remains, Doctor," she said, her voice cold with anger,
"that we left her here alone. When we came back you were here.
The corridor door was locked, and she was in that room--
unconscious!"
She moved forward to throw the light of her candle on the Hidden
Room as the detective passed into it, gave it a swift professional
glance, and stepped out again. But she had not finished her story
by any means.
"As we opened that door," she continued to the detective, tapping
the false mantel, "the Doctor deliberately extinguished our only
candle!"
"Do you know who was in that room?" queried the detective fiercely,
wheeling on the Doctor.
But the latter had evidently made up his mind to cling stubbornly
to a policy of complete denial.
"No," he said sullenly. "I didn't put out the candle.
It fell. And I didn't lock that door into the hall. I
found it locked!"
A sigh of relief from Bailey now centered everyone's attention on
himself and Dale. At last the girl was recovering from the shock
of her terrible experience and regaining consciousness. Her
eyelids fluttered, closed again, opened once more.
Pages:
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223