But she never reached it for suddenly the light in the room faded out altogether, there was a stifled scream and the sound of a scuffle, carried on wordlessly.
It was too much for my self-control. I turned over on the couch. My door was open and I saw a group of silent struggling figures framed in it for an instant against the light, now dim, in the big hall beyond. Then the door closed.
I jumped to my feet, groped my way to the door and flung it open, rushing out into the hall beyond. It was entirely deserted.
After a moment of hesitation I turned and staggered back to my room again, muttering drunkenly. I did not dare to start on a search yet, in any case, and what chance had I of finding my abrupt visitors in such a maze?
The door of my room had closed behind me. When I opened it, I found my light burning dimly as before. I went back to the divan, lay down on it and, still grumbling to myself, pretended to go to sleep again. At least they had treated me only as a guest as yet. So there was still a chance that I might escape. But before that I was determined to find out more about the place, the conditions under which it was run and, above all, the people running it.
So I lay quietly and waited, and presently I began to snore softly. And after a long time the light in my room slowly faded and went out altogether, leaving me in total darkness. This much at least was a good sign, I thought.
Chapter XIX.
Fast in the Web
My watch had a luminous dial, and after waiting half an hour or so, snoring softly now and then, I ventured to look at it. It was only ten-thirty!
That wait was the most trying time I have ever spent. I lay in the darkness, only daring to shift my position a very little now and then, for the better part of three hours, before I dared even consider making a move. Probably all the men at the banquet were snoring by this time. But what about the others, at the other entertainments? And did the people who ran the place ever go to bed? The evidence of efficiency they had shown did not lead me to think so.
During that wait I did not dare let myself think of the words of Ivanovitch about the gardens. Neither my sister nor Natalie was present at the banquet. I was certain of that, for I had looked at every girl in the room very carefully, as opportunity offered. Nor was either of them among the dancers. That left the entertainment, the gambling-rooms and the gardens. And of the last I dared not think.