Out went the light. For nearly a minute absolute darkness prevailed.
A man was listening in that darkness. Not even his breathing disturbed the stillness. The light, still resting on the desk, came on again as the hands unfolded the original papers which had been taken from the envelope.
These papers were as blank as those that had been substituted!
THE hands remained motionless as though the mind directing them had been taken with surprise. Then came a low, almost inaudible laugh. It was a whispered laugh, scarcely more than a faint echo in the gloom.
The light was turned off; the hands reached the telephone table and replaced the key.
Silence prevailed for five full seconds. No one could have known that a man was moving through the darkness toward the door of the room. Perhaps it was that mysterious silence that brought action.
From somewhere in the house came a quick, short, trilling whistle. Some hand must have pressed a master switch. In an instant, the whole house was illuminated.
The little room at the head of the stairs was brilliant. Three men in plain clothes dashed up the stairs, headed for that room. Another— a tall fellow wearing a badge — stepped from a closet in the room. Two more closed in from the hallway. Every one of the six carried a loaded automatic.
In the midst of a suddenly formed group stood the object of their approach — a tall man clad in black.
The detectives stopped short. Their guns covered their victim. They waited before approaching him — waited the command of their leader, a short, stocky man who was one of those who had come up the stairs.