Perhaps her captors had returned to save her from death — only to plan new tortures and some more terrible end.
The light went out. Betty felt herself lifted and carried from the room. She was placed upon the cold floor of the corridor. She lay there, still bound.
She heard soft footsteps going up the passage. The light in the ceiling came on, and Betty could see the yawning abyss of the room from which she had been carried.
Betty turned her gaze toward the end of the corridor. There she saw the strange form of a man in black — that same fantastic being whom she had observed in the study, nights before! His shadow formed a long, grotesque silhouette along the corridor.
The man was approaching. Betty felt no fear. It was as though her hopes had been answered.
The man leaned over her and Betty gazed intently upward, trying to glimpse the face beneath the broad-brimmed hat. But his head was between her and the light. She could see only the gleam of two eyes.
Betty gasped audibly. A low, warning hiss came from the man in black.
The cords that bound her were cut. The man in black turned away, and closed the barrier that hid the secret room.
Now the girl watched with still greater amazement. She had seen the efforts required to move those pillars that concealed the opening. Three strong men had struggled with them.
The man in black required no assistance. With smooth, powerful effort, he moved the pillars back into place. Betty could see a black-gloved hand as it pounded against one pillar.