Also, in the pocket of his overcoat, he had a neat Browning pistol; and
when the door at the back of the garage was opened for him by Said, he
found that the touch of this little weapon sent a thrill of assurance
through him, and he began to conceive a sentiment for the unknown
investigator to whom he was bound, akin to that which formerly he had
cherished for Mr. King!
Now the time was come.
The people of the catacombs acquired a super-sensitive power of hearing,
and Soames was able at this time to detect, as he sat or lay in his own
room, the movements of persons in the corridor outside and even in the
cave of the golden dragon. That mysterious trap in the wall gave him
many qualms, and to-night he had glanced at it a thousand times. He held
the pistol in his hand, and buttoned up within his coat was the leather
case. Only remained the opening of his door in order to learn if the
lights were extinguished in the corridor.
He did not anticipate any serious difficulty, provided he could overcome
his constitutional nervousness. In his waistcoat pocket was a brand new
Yale key which, his latest employer had assured him, fitted the lock
of the end door of Block A. The door between the cave of the dragon
and Block A was never locked, so far as Soames was aware, nor was that
opening from the corridor in which his own room was situated.
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