No matter how wicked a man may be, he has rights under the law as well as anybody else, and unless I knew or suspected him (for good reasons) to be guilty of some particular crime, I had no business to interfere with him.
So I did not wish to make any further move by making any arrests of the inmates of the dive.
Nor, on the contrary, did I wish to give them an opportunity of putting a surreptitious bullet in me.
And again, I had begun to consider Shadow as an ally of mine, and did not wish to run the risk of upsetting or balking any scheme he might be working up through his presence in that place.
Nevertheless, I naturally felt resentful toward the men who, for a moment, had my life in their power, and who seemed inclined to use their power. But I knew them all, and I would have my revenge when, some day—as they surely would—they fell into the strong grasp of the law.
I hung around the vicinity for an hour or more, but as I saw nothing of Shadow, I concluded to turn my steps homeward, and did so.
And Shadow?
He, too, had started toward the door, but had been too slow in his movements to reach it before it was barricaded.
Made aware that he could not pass through it, he quietly made his way back to where he had been sitting, and there sat down again, just before a lamp was hastily lighted.
By this time the ignited clothing had all been extinguished, with no more results than a few painful burns, and consequently the first thought of everybody was concerning the detective.