A moment he stood lean and limp; every particle of the fever which consumed him concentrated in his starting eyes, which turned, with savage inquiry, toward the fastenings of the door.
The next instant, with a leap like that of a wild beast, he reached the threshold, examined the bolt with vivid glance and searching fingers, then raised his hand to his forehead with a gesture of utter distraction.
Nothing had been disturbed.
Even the check-pin which he had inserted over the bar for additional security was in place.
The only other possible means of entrance was by a window at the other extreme of the room.
But this was not to be considered, for it opened, with sheer precipitation, upon the unrelieved front of the house.
The windows adjacent were removed at a distance which could afford no possible basis from which to reach the one from which Raikes glared so grimly.
Moreover, the shutters had been clasped and the inner sash secured.
The conclusion was inevitable.
No one had entered the room during the night. It was impossible for a stranger to have access to the apartment during the day unobserved, and the recess behind the radiator was known to himself alone.