Then Nick was sure that something out of the common course had happened. It would be hard to say just how he knew it. Only his great experience enabled him to interpret the faint sounds which he heard.
The caller, whoever he was, was not ushered into the room in which Nick sat. Of that Nick felt certain.
Benton, however, returned. By straining every nerve in the most rigid attention, Nick ascertained that.
Afterward it seemed to him that Benton had touched some other person in the room and was leading him out.
A second time this occurred, and then a third.
Nick began to be anxious. He made a sign which should have elicited a response from Chick if he had been present, but only silence ensued.
For the fourth time Benton entered the room.
Nick could not see him, of course. The darkness was as profound as ever. But by this time he had learned to recognize the old man’s stealthy tread.
Then dead silence ensued.
Nick listened intently. He seemed to know by instinct that Benton was listening also.