A light flickered suddenly in the little dormer window. The bars showed clearly against the orange glow. Then the light vanished as though cut off by the closing of a door. Dave was plucking at my elbow. I shook him off impatiently. Something told me what I should see and it fascinated me. For a moment the window remained as blind as the others. Then suddenly I saw what I was waiting for.
Pressed close to the panes was Manack's bearded face. I can see it now — haggard and drawn. He was looking out to the mine and his face caught the light of the sinking moon so that it was white as the face of a ghost.
CHAPTER NINE
Blasting Operations
The sight of the old man's face peering out from between the bars of that little window gave me a horrible sense of satisfaction I had wanted justice. This was vengeance. I thought of how my mother had looked out from behind those bars and how it drove her to suicide. And now, the man who had made her believe she had killed Kitty's mother, the man who had shut her in there away from the world, was himself locked in that room — and mad, really mad. I started to laugh. The sound of my voice jarred and frightened me. It was a harsh laugh, but I couldn't stop it.
Dave looked round. 'Ssh!' he said. 'Somebody might hear you.' But I went on laughing. 'Man alive, what's got into you?'
I shook my head. Gradually my laughter died away and I felt weak and exhausted. 'You wouldn't understand, Dave,' I said.
We had reached the shaft now. Dave stood aside and motioned me to go first. It was then that I remembered Kitty. It was two forty-five. I'd only quarter of an hour to wait. 'You go on down,' I said. 'I'll stay up top a bit.'
He looked at me quickly, his eyes suddenly suspicious. His hand came out of his jacket pocket. The blue steel of his gun glinted. 'Go on,' he said. 'Get down the shaft.' His voice had the high pitch of tension. He was scared of me.
'For God's sake, Dave,' I said. 'We came up for a breath of air, didn't we? It won't hurt to stay up top a little longer. You don't want to go down to that stuffy little hole again, do you?'