“I deal with no scoundrels!” the old man defied them.
Harvey Maxwell looked at his watch again. “You have exactly twenty-five minutes in which to make up your mind, Jasko. We’ll leave you alone to think it over.”
Fergus trussed up the old man’s hands and placed a gag in his mouth. Then the two hotel men left the room, turning out the light and locking the door behind them.
CHAPTER
23
RESCUE
After the door had closed there was no further sound for a moment. Then in the darkness Penny heard a choked sob.
Moving closer to the window she tried to raise it. Failing, she tapped lightly on the pane. Pressing her lips close to the glass she called softly:
“Don’t be afraid, Mr. Jasko! Keep up your courage! I’ll find a way to get you out!”
The old man could not answer so she had no way of knowing whether or not he heard her words. Moving back along the ledge she reached another window, and upon testing it was elated to find that it could be raised up.
She climbed through, lowered it behind her and hastened to the door. Quietly letting herself out, she went down the deserted hall to the next door. Without a key she could not hope to get inside. For a fleeting instant she wondered if she were not making a mistake by delaying in starting after the authorities.
“I never could get back here in time,” she told herself. “Maxwell will return in twenty-five minutes with the doctor, possibly earlier. Jasko may sign the paper before help could reach him.”