"Open the door!" cried Locke, again.
As there was no answer, heavy blows were rained upon the door, and finally it gave way.
Three men stumbled into the room. They stared about, then started to search the place. One by one they started to cough. Locke, who was the farthest away from the brazier, seemed to be the least affected.
Finally he spied the note on the table and snatched it up. By the dim light he read:
You will never live to capture me. The deadly gas is even now killing you.
Locke gasped. There was the sound of a heavy fall behind him. He turned and saw that one of his men was down.
He took a step forward, when the other pitched on his face.
Locke tried to rescue them, but by this time the deadly fumes had reached him and he, too, fell to the floor, coughing his life away.
At that moment Balcom got up from the divan and, stepping over Locke's prostrate body, left the place, forgetting to close the door behind him.
When Zita telephoned Paul, Paul made an immediate appointment for her to meet him at Doctor Q's, and when she arrived there Paul was already in conference with the doctor.