One of the villains staggered and sank with a groan against the stairs.
"I—I'm shot!" he gasped.
"The she jade!"
It was Nick Brower who uttered the hissing cry of rage, and the next instant the villain's revolver flashed.
"My God! You have killed Nell!"
It was a cry expressive of the deepest agony, as the weak and reeling detective caught the form of his sister in his arms, as she fell backward, with the blood streaming down her face.
Poor Nell!
She hung a dead weight in the arms of Dyke Darrel—murdered by the hand of a brutal assassin.
No wonder the bruised and almost helpless man-hunter groaned with inward anguish at the sight.
He fell no easy prey into the hands of his enemies, however.