It was like treading upon air.
The lever, like the peg, did not work in an instant.
Nick felt himself falling, and made a desperate clutch at the door jamb—only to miss it.
Then the closet floor, with the detective upon it, went speeding down like an elevator cut loose from a top story.
CHAPTER XIV.
IN A WARM CORNER.
The crash with which Nick Carter vaguely expected his career might be abruptly ended, as the floor upon which he had fallen prostrate rapidly descended, did not come.
The terrific downward speed suddenly decreased, then became more gradual, all in the bare fraction of a second; and then the rushing sound of compressed air escaping through narrow crevices fell upon the detective's ears.
Nick immediately guessed the truth.