"A few minutes more," murmured Duncan. "A few minutes more, and we can only wait. Wait and hope."
This was more terrible than the gas-filled room above. There death had crept upon him almost unknown; here it was announcing its approach.
The young man and his Hindu servant stood silently side by side. Neither spoke. Both stared rigidly before them, calm yet fascinated by that huge moving surface.
Thump — thump — thump — thump—"
The wall was coming closer — closer — closer.
CHAPTER XV. BEYOND THE BARRIER
It was Harry Vincent who had answered Bruce Duncan's plea for help. As he had heard the last clicks of the code, he had realized that the situation must be desperate.
He had found this steel curtain in the darkness. His flashlight had shown that it was a barrier he could not pass. Then had come the taps to which he had replied.
He seemed to hear a dull thumping on the other side of the metal curtain. What did it signify? Perhaps the man behind the barrier would tell. Yet Harry realized that time must be short. He had found Bruce Duncan. It was his duty to aid the man. How could he help by standing there?
It would be best, he thought, to listen for a few minutes. Perhaps the coded clicks would give him some suggestion that might enable him to rescue the man whom he had come to save. But as he swept the flashlight along the side of the cellar, he understood the situation. It was not a wall that lay between him and Bruce Duncan — it was a curtain of steel that could evidently be raised from above.