Froman dipped his hand into the mass, and let scores of sparkling stones trickle through his fingers.
“No one can take it from us!” he exclaimed. “No one! Here, these jewels can never be seen by other eyes than ours!”
“So you think!”
The words came in an evil tone from a corner of the room. Froman and Noyes turned in consternation.
Before them stood a gloating man who held a revolver in his hand.
Ivan Motkin!
ALTHOUGH they did not know the man’s identity, both Froman and Noyes recognized that he was an agent of the Reds in Moscow.
“I have come here from Russia—”
Motkin’s declaration was triumphant — “come from Moscow to kill! To kill you as I have killed others! Thieves!”
Froman was cold and stolid. He faced Motkin with a spirit of challenge. Noyes, backing away from the jewels, had a piteous expression upon his face.