“Draw,” he said briefly. “The one who gets the marked card is accepted by the Brotherhood as its Avenger.”
One by one four hands were slipped inside of the small opening in the end of the box and silently withdrawn, holding a card at which each glanced indifferently. Dick could not tell from their quiet movements which had drawn the fatal card. The leader rapped softly on the table before speaking.
“Our plans are now perfected,” he said. “There can be no failure. In this country of the free we, children of the Camorra, can wreak its vengeance upon those who have thwarted our society. The Grand Duke Sergius has seen fit to hound certain of our members who have come within his power. The Brotherhood has decreed his death. The Grand Duke, the President, the great men of this country, and the Diplomatic Corps will be assembled five days from now to attend the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. No better opportunity could be found. The means, I leave to the fortunate holder of the marked card. Remember—the Place and the Hour.”
Dick could hardly believe his ears. The Camorra! Surely he was in some mad dream. So bewildered was he that he missed a few sentences, but his wandering attention was attracted by the excited gestures of the masked man who sat facing the leader.
“You ask for an explanation,” said the latter. “For that you must apply to Giovanni Savelli. The Trevor affair is in his hands. But are you not his direct agent?”
The man’s answer was spoken in so low a tone that Dick, not catching what he said, bent far over the skylight, forgetful of the frailness of the structure. Glass and frame gave way beneath his weight, and, with a resounding crash, Dick fell forward into space.
CHAPTER XVIII
NIP AND TUCK
Before Dick, half stunned by his fall, could get upon his feet, the four masked men threw themselves upon him, and, despite his struggles, bound him hand and foot. They cleared away the débris made by him in his unlucky fall, and placed him in the cleared space.
“Do you speak Italian?” asked the leader in fairly good English, as the men, after reconnoitering outside, returned and grouped themselves about their prisoner.
“No,” lied Dick, calmly.