Nick did not trouble himself to find out whether the man was hurt badly or not. There was no time. Instead, he felt in the bed for pillows, and grabbed up two of them.
“The door! Get!” he shouted, but carefully disguising his voice in a sort of squeak. “You know where it is. I’ll attend to these others!”
Chick had seen the two men coming along the hall, and had recognized them. Before he could obey his chief and retreat, they had seen him, and Louden Powers cried out hastily:
“What’s the game, Howard? Why aren’t you undressed? Is it the jimjams you have? Say, young fellow, you ought to let the wine alone after this. It’s too much for that bean of yours. You’re not used to it. Get into bed and sleep. That will give the rest of us a chance. Holy blue! Have you been knocking the butlers down, too? Say, this is going to make trouble. None of ’em will stay with us, and they’ll be wanting their pay before they will get out, too!”
Louden Powders was advancing, with Lampton, as he said all this, and both men were in the bedroom, candles and all.
Nick did not give them time to say anything more, and he stopped their further progress into the room in a most effective fashion.
He hurled the two pillows, one after the other, at each candle, sending them both flying out of the hands of their holders and plunging the room again into black darkness.
Before he had thrown the pillows he saw that Chick had reached the part of the wall where the secret panel door was situated, and he knew that a simple pressure in the right spot would provide them both with an exit.
His aim was true with the pillows. Notwithstanding that he was hidden from the two rascals by the bed hangings, and that he had to hurl the pillows nearly the whole length of the room, he sent each straight to its mark, and neither Louden Powers nor Andrew Lampton saw where they came from.
No sooner was the apartment in darkness than Carter rushed over to where Chick stood and seized him by the arm.