All at once, at the last flashing of the lucifer, the detective saw some words on the wall.
It reminded him of the words on the wall of the room where Jack, his spy, had been strangled.
Had the same hand written them there?
He threw the match to the ground, struck another and sprang eagerly forward.
He held the little light against the wall and read as follows:
“I am doomed to perish here. There is no escape from this hole of death. I was decoyed here like a rabbit, and I die for my folly. Let the next unfortunate person know that I, Lewis Newell, was the victim of Opal Lamont’s cunning. The woman is a tigress. Farewell.
“Lewis Newell.”
For a full half minute the detective seemed to hold his breath.
He read the writing again and again, and at last threw the stump of the match at his feet.
Doomed to die!