Burton removed the gag first of all and tried to help the man to sit up, but he was so bound to the framework of the bed that nothing could be done until the cord was cut. While he was still struggling with the cord, other people began to come rushing in,--servants from the house and men from the street or the hotel, attracted, as Burton had been, by the girl's cries, and a stray policeman. Their exclamations and questions, rather than any recognition on his own part, told him that this absurdly undignified figure, almost too terrified to talk, was none other than his pompous friend, Mr. Hadley.
Under their united efforts the cord was soon cut, and Mr. Hadley was lifted to a sitting position.
"Are you hurt, Mr. Hadley?" some one asked.
He only groaned reproachfully in reply.
Burton had for the moment forgotten about Henry. Now he glanced anxiously about the room, which already seemed crowded. Henry was not to be seen, and Burton drew a breath of relief. Thank heaven he had cleared out!
Ralston had been one of the first to arrive on the scene, and his practical question soon brought order into the confusion.
"Now, Mr. Hadley, you must pull yourself together and give us all the information you can at once, so that we can take steps to discover who did this before he gets beyond reach. Did some one enter your bedroom?"
"Yes. Oh, Lord, yes!"
"Did you see him come in?"
"I was asleep. Then I felt some one touching me and tried to sit up. I couldn't move. I tried to call out, but my jaw was tied up with that horrible cloth. I couldn't see, because the handkerchief was tied over my eyes."