Perhaps Nick was surprised to find that the trail ended at the stone foundation wall of the house, at the back, where the cover of the tunnel that used to be part of the “underground railway” was made to look like the surrounding stones. The tunnel has already been described.
“Get in there!” commanded Carter.
The man was not inclined to obey. He seemed to fear it meant getting him at a disadvantage—perhaps locking him up in some dungeon from which he might never emerge save to go into a regular prison.
But Nick was not in a mood to be held back by anybody—least of all by one whom he felt had no right to consideration.
So the man went down the chute, just as Chick had, not so long before, and the detective followed him.
There is no necessity to tell bit by bit how they went along the secret corridor which finally brought them to the back of the large picture in the dining room, where Nick and his assistant had listened to the conversation of the conspirators—one of whom was now actually in the corridor himself.
Suddenly a man sprang out of the blackness and seized Nick by the throat, forcing him backward and almost to his knees.
It was only for an instant that the detective was held at a disadvantage. He hurled his assailant away, and, bringing out his pocket flash, saw the man who had come with him lying on the floor in the narrow space, while facing him, with wild, vengeful eyes, was the sick man from the Universal Hospital!
It was evident that the escaped patient did not recognize either Nick or the other man, and equally certain that he regarded them both as enemies.
Even as the detective watched, he could see the long fingers, lean and clawlike from long illness, twitching to get at his throat, while the madman’s feet shuffled slightly, as if preparing for a sudden spring.