Dan was almost dead with fright at the weird thing.
"Here they come, too, Chief," he gasped, as, down the hall he could hear the family shouting out that someone was in the library.
With a parting thrust, Clutching Hand sent Elaine reeling.
She held on to only a corner of the papers. He had the greater part of them. They were torn and destroyed, anyway.
Finally, with all the venomousness of which he was capable, Clutching Hand rushed at the armor suit, drew back his gloved fist, and let it shoot out squarely in a vicious solar plexus blow.
"There—take that!" he roared.
The suit rattled, furiously. Out of it spilled the vocaphone with a bang on the floor.
An instant later those in the hall rushed in. But the Clutching Hand and Dan were gone out of the window, the criminal carrying the greater part of the precious papers.
Some ran to Elaine, others to the window. The ladder had been kicked away and the criminals were gone. Leaping into the waiting car, they had been whisked away.
"Hello! Hello! Hello!" called a voice, apparently from nowhere.