I gave a glance at the nurse. She still sat huddled in the limp attitude of unconsciousness or deep sleep. I
stripped Ricori of his pajamas and went over his body. There was no mark upon him. I sent for
adrenalin, gave him an injection and went over to the nurse, and shook her. She did not awaken. I raised
her eyelids. The pupils of her eyes were contracted. I flashed a light in them, without response. Her pulse
and respiration were slow, but not dangerously so. I let her be for a moment and turned to the guards.
"What happened?"
They looked at each other uneasily. The guard at the window waved his hand as though bidding the other
do the talking. This guard said:
"We're sitting out there. All at once the house gets damned still. I says to Jack there, 'Sounds like they
put a silencer on the dump.' He says, 'Yeah.' We sit listening. Then all at once we hear a thump inside