Manford's fragile fingers pulled at his moustache. The humor in his eyes did not quite veil a real admiration.
"Well!" he said gaily. "Let me congratulate you, inspector. The police have put something worth while over—through a woman."
Garth, whose eagerness had carried him closer to the girl, noticed for the first time on her neck a bruise left by Black's urgent fingers. A sudden, unreasoning temper swept him with the necessity for atonement. Impulsively he burst out:
"Inspector, one of the beasts you want is behind those curtains." Nora cried out.
"Jim! You might have let me have that. His wife!"
The inspector glanced from one to the other.
"What's on your mind, Nora?"
Manford laughed easily.
"No sentiment in this game, young woman. If we thought of the wives there'd be few arrests."
With an air of satisfaction, as if the climactic feature of the raid had been reserved for his importance, he snatched the curtains open. Black cowered in the embrasure of the boarded window, glaring out at his brother-in-law. He moistened his lips.