The step on the stair

A RUDE DRAWN DIAGRAM, LARGE ENOUGH TO BE SEEN FROM ALL PARTS OF THE COURT ROOM, FELL INTO VIEW.
BY ANNA KATHARINE GREEN
AUTHOR OF
“THE LEAVENWORTH CASE,” “THE FILIGREE BALL,”
“THE MYSTERY OF THE HASTY ARROW,” ETC.
NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1923
Copyright 1923 By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY The Quinn & Boden Company
BOOK MANUFACTURERS RAHWAY NEW JERSEY
THE STEP ON THE STAIR
I had turned the corner at Thirty-fifth Street and was halfway down the block in my search for a number I had just taken from the telephone book when my attention was suddenly diverted by the quick movements and peculiar aspect of a man whom I saw plunging from the doorway of a large office-building some fifty feet or so ahead of me.
Though to all appearance in a desperate hurry to take the taxi-cab waiting for him at the curb, he was so under the influence of some other anxiety almost equally pressing that he stopped before he reached it to give one searching look down the street which, to my amazement, presently centered on myself.