This strange, shadowlike man was doing with his bare hands the work that the others had accomplished with the muffled sledge hammer.
His work completed, the man in black went along the corridor and turned out the light. He came back through the darkness so silently that Betty did not know of his approach until he was beside her. She felt the folds of a cloak as they fell over her.
“Who are you?” she whispered, in the darkness.
A soft laugh came in response. A sibilant voice spoke.
“You can call me The Shadow!”
THE girl had never heard the name before, but it seemed appropriate. The man was a shadow — invisible in the darkness; a black form in light.
Betty felt the strong arms of The Shadow lifting her to her feet. She drew the folds of the black cloak about her. It seemed like a garment of invisibility.
She tried to walk, but stumbled. She was raised from the floor, and The Shadow carried her along the passage as easily as one might carry a small child.
They were on the steep stairs now. The Shadow did not falter. The girl’s weight was no burden to him.
To Betty, it seemed as though she were being carried through the air by an unknown force. Silent and soundless, The Shadow was taking her to safety.