Stretched prostrate on the floor a few feet from the desk, with his face upturned in the full rays from the lamp, Nick had not ventured to lift so much as a corner[Pg 34] of an eyelid, lest the movement of it might be seen and rightly interpreted. He continued motionless and silent, as if still dead to the world, and in another moment the familiar voice of Deland fell upon his ears and convinced him of his assailant’s identity.
“Yes, I heard what you said, Madison,” he replied, with sudden ominous coldness. “I heard what you said—but you do not mean it.”
“On the contrary, Deland, I do mean it,” declared the lawyer, more forcibly.
“That you will not settle with me and my pals for what we have done?”
“That is precisely what I mean.”
“By Heaven, then, you shall pay the price in another way!” cried Deland, with renewed ferocity. “You shall meet the fate which—ha! they are here, now. We will see—we will see!”
“You’ll not be alone in seeing,” thought Nick, now comparatively himself again.
A low, peculiar whistle had come from within the conservatory. It brought Deland to his feet on the instant, turning quickly toward the alcove through which he had entered.
Three men now emerged from it, following close on the heels of one another. Though all were well dressed, all were of dark and sinister aspect, with faces that wore the unmistakable stamp of the crook.
Nick seized this opportunity for a momentary glance at them, and he instantly recognized all three as East Side gangsters, as Patsy Garvan had identified them by the names he had heard mentioned by Deland.