He called down the stairs:
"Waiter!... Porter!"
But apparently the one and only manservant the house boasted was occupied elsewhere, for no one answered.
Fandor returned to the door of Elizabeth's room, knelt down and tried to look through the keyhole. The inside key was there, which seemed to confirm his agonising fear.
"She has not gone out then?"
He took a deep breath.
"What a horrible smell of gas!"
This time he did not hesitate. He rose, stepped back, sprang forward, and with a vigorous push from the shoulder, he drove the door off its hinges.
"My God!" he shouted.
In the centre of the room, Fandor had just seen Elizabeth Dollon lying unconscious. A tube, detached from a portable gas stove, was between her tightly closed lips! The tap was turned full on. He flung himself on his knees near the poor girl, pulled away the deadly tube, and put his ear to her heart.