These were the questions which ran through Nick’s mind.
CHAPTER VII.
IN THE GLOOM.
All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick. He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus.
He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish.
There was a purpose in all this, however. By keeping a good many silly mysteries in motion he managed very often to cover up the real mystery and direct attention elsewhere.
Nick knew Benton for a desperate man at heart. Was he playing a deep game here?
It was just like him to collect the whole Helstone gang in the dark for no other purpose than to show them what a mysterious character he was. By and by he might bring a lamp, and then the business would proceed in the most ordinary way in the world.
But, on the other hand, he might have a deadly trap concealed in this gloom.
Nick wondered whether it was possible that he had been recognized. If so, he knew that Benton would never let him get out of the place alive, unless he couldn’t help it.
Presently the bell rang again. This time, by listening with the deepest attention, Nick made sure that Benton went to the rear door—the one by which Nick himself had been admitted.