His first act was to take his revolver from his pocket, preparatory to reloading it from the cartridges stored in one of his trunks.
Two chambers of the pistol were undischarged, and, as he jerked back the extractor, these two shells fell on the bed. He looked at them stupidly.
Both cartridges were blank!
* * * * * * *
Had he heard T. B. Smith speaking as he went flying down the road, Poltavo might have understood.
"Where's the dead man?" asked T. B.
"Here, sir," said Van Ingen cheerfully.
"Good." Then, in French, he addressed a figure that stood in the doorway.
"Were you hurt, mademoiselle?"
Catherine's little laugh came out to him. "I am quite safe," she said quietly.