Locke somersaulted to the floor and, seizing the broken stand, used it as a weapon with deadly effect.
The emissaries turned and fled.
An instant later Locke started to the panel through which Eva had been dragged, when he heard steps from the other side. It was the emissaries who had seized Eva, coming back to see what all the rumpus was about. Locke, forewarned, slipped close to the wall, and, as they passed through the panel, one at a time, he was able to fell them to the floor.
Then he rushed through the panel just in time to see Eva, pursued by the Automaton, running toward him.
The very strangeness of her terrible adventure had brought Eva out of the hypnotic state into which she had been thrown and she clung to Locke as though she were a child.
Locke took her in his arms and, swiftly evading the slow-moving monster, dashed back to the hypnotic room, calling to Zita to run to the street. Thus all three were able to make good their escape.
Eva had purposely left her motor turning over, and therefore it was barely an instant after they were in the street before they were streaking out of that quarter of the town.
Zita was now overwhelmed by her feelings, but it was Eva herself who spoke first.
"Forgive me, Zita," begged Eva, in the rush of her emotions forgetting all that Zita had done. "But for you, both of us would now be dead."
For some moments Zita could not reply in her silent sadness at seeing the joy of Locke with this girl.