Nick smiled and turned his face to the wall. He was listening intently for some indication of the presence of his assistants. He had no idea how they would get to him, but he was satisfied that get to him they would.
Presently there came a ring at the door. Nick knew by the sound that he was on the second floor of the house. He had little doubt that he was still in the house occupied wholly or in part by the African fortune teller. He was now convinced that the woman was a confederate of the diamond thieves.
Nick listened with his heart beating wildly as he heard the front door opened. He was naturally anxious about the safety of his assistants and Joseph. He had not the least doubt that the thieves had actually planned a robbery at his house. As fate would have it, there was no one in the house save Joseph, if Chick and Patsy had obeyed his telephone call. The thieves might really secure his diamonds, but that was not the chief cause of his anxiety.
“There will be a long score to settle when I get out of this,” he thought.
Presently the man arose from the desk and approached the door leading into the hall. There were now loud voices out there, and Nick was listening with all his senses alert. The man opened the door a trifle.
“What is coming off out there?” he demanded, in French.
“This fool servant won’t let me into the house,” came a voice which sounded remarkably like that of the alleged reporter who had guided Nick to the place. It was like the young fellow’s voice, and yet it was not. There was a note in it which Nick recognized. He was satisfied that it was Chick playing a desperate game.
“What is the matter, Maurice?” asked the man, standing in the doorway.