Within, I caught a glimpse of a startled face as the Chief jumped through and into the elevator. The operator grabbed the lever and the elevator shot down again with the two in it. We crowded into the doorway and looked down. And a moment later it came up again, revealing the operator on his back on the floor and the Chief with one hand on his throat and the other on the lever.
As the elevator stopped, the Chief jerked the man to his feet and threw him out into the garage, where a dozen or so of willing hands laid hold of him. The man was clearly terrified out of his wits. And a moment later I got my first and last sight of the Third Degree as it is practised.
“Let him go,” said the Chief. He walked over close to the man. “Who’s below?” he bellowed at him suddenly.
The man shook his head and the Chief’s fist shot out and caught him full in the face, stretching him flat on his back. The Chief leaned over and jerked him to his feet again, almost as soon as he touched the floor. “Who’s below?” he bellowed again.
The fellow broke down at that. “No one, sir. So help me God, there’s only me on duty to-night at this end. Don’t hit me again, sir!”
There came a strangled sound from the floor behind us, and I turned to see the two men we had tied up, lying purple in the face and making the most horrible faces at our new captive. The latter saw them too and he broke down completely. First, he tried to make a dash for the door. But we easily headed that off. Then he fell on the floor at the Chief’s feet. “My God, sir, don’t let none of them get at me. My heart never was in this dirty business, sir. S’help me God, it wasn’t!”
“All right,” answered the Chief. “Come along with us and show us the way, and we’ll see what can be done for you later on.”
It was a fairly sickening sight. For the man’s terror was abject, surrounded as he was by such an army of enemies, there in the dim garage. I was glad when the first car-load of us, including the Chief, the former operator and myself, stepped into the more brightly lighted elevator and started on our journey into the nether regions.
“This is the place all right,” I whispered to the Chief. “It’s exactly the same smell. Hope they don’t drown us out down there like rats in a trap. It’s a long tunnel.”
The Chief laughed. “I don’t think there is much danger of that. We haven’t given any one a chance to give the alarm yet. And if it had been given, this fellow would be a lot less anxious to come with us,” and he indicated the late elevator operator. “I’m banking on that.”