Harry feared that he had been heard. He stood and listened. He heard slight noises, but could not tell what they were. Then came silence. Harry waited.
Even the noise of the man’s breathing had ceased; It was grimly tense, here in utter darkness. The man was almost within Harry’s grasp; yet he must wait until the unknown person made some action. He felt that the man was listening also.
Any moment, the stranger might leap upon him. Harry’s only hope depended upon two factors: first, that the stranger had not detected his presence; second, that the man in the dark did not care to reveal his identity.
A sudden thought occurred to Harry Vincent.
Sooner or later, he must encounter the man who menaced the house of Blair Windsor. Why not force the issue now? An encounter here in the darkness of the cellar would be unknown to all save Harry and his opponent.
The young man reached in his pocket, and brought out a flashlight. He pointed it directly toward the spot where the hidden person stood, and pressed the button.
The bright ray revealed a corner of the cellar, which was arranged with shelves. But that was all it showed.
The man whom Harry Vincent had followed had completely disappeared!
It was impossible for him to have doubled on his tracks. The position in which Harry stood was a commanding one. In the darkness he had unknowingly forced the other man into a corner. Yet the person had escaped!
Sweeping the broad beam of the light before him, Harry made a tour of the large cellar. He learned the full arrangement of the place, but he found no one there.