Lenora nodded, and breathed a prayer to herself. She was nearer the door than Craig by about half-a-dozen paces. Her hand groped in the little bag she was carrying and gripped something hard. She clenched her teeth for a moment. Then the automatic pistol flashed out through the gloom.
“Craig,” she threatened, “if you move I shall shoot you.”
It seemed as though the man were a coward. He began to tremble, his lips twitched, his eyes grew larger and rounder.
“What is it?” he faltered. “What do you want?”
“Just this,” Lenora said firmly. “I suspect you to be guilty of the crime for which Sanford Quest is in prison. I am going to have you questioned. If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear. If you are guilty, there will be some one here before long who will extract the truth from you.”
The man’s face was an epitome of terror. Even his knees shook. Lenora felt herself grow calmer with every moment.
“I am going outside to send a message,” she told him. “I shall return presently.”
“Don’t go,” he begged suddenly. “Don’t leave me!”
She turned around.
“Why not?”