The situation was interesting.
"Will you permit us to depart from here?" questioned the detective,
suddenly.
This speech brought a laugh to the lips of Darlington Ruggles.
"You do not seem to know me!" he said.
"I know that you pretend to be a professor of some sort, but I believe
that you are in disguise. I think, if you would cast aside that red
hirsute covering, we should see----"
"Zounds! Go for him, boys," cried Professor Ruggles in a loud voice,
completely drowning the faint accents of Dyke Darrel.
The two men who kept the Professor company, made a quick move to seize
the twain in front of them. On the instant came a flash and sharp
report.
One of the villains staggered and sank with a groan against the
stairs.
"I--I'm shot!" he gasped.
"The she jade!"
It was Nick Brower who uttered the hissing cry of rage, and the next
instant the villain's revolver flashed.
"My God! You have killed Nell!"
It was a cry expressive of the deepest agony, as the weak and reeling
detective caught the form of his sister in his arms, as she fell
backward, with the blood streaming down her face.
Poor Nell!
She hung a dead weight in the arms of Dyke Darrel--murdered by the
hand of a brutal assassin.
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