Every one of us in this room,
with the exception of the traitor who is amongst us"--he pointed
a finger in denunciation at Desmond--"is in the most imminent
peril as long as we stay here. The rest of you can please
yourselves. I'm off!"
He turned and pressed the spring. The book shelves swung open.
Behrend sprang forward.
"Not so fast," he cried. " Yon don't leave this room until we
know who you are!"
And he covered him with his pistol.
"Fool!" exclaimed Bellward who had stopped on the threshold of
the secret door, "do you want to trap the lot of us! Tell him,
Minna," he said to Mrs. Malplaquet, "and for Heaven's sake, let
us be gone!"
Mrs. Malplaquet stood up.
"This is Basil Bellward," she said, "see, he's wearing the ring I
gave him, a gold snake with emerald eyes! And now," she cried,
raising her voice shrilly, "before we go, kill that man!"
And she pointed at Desmond.
Bellward had seized her by the arm and was dragging her through
the opening in the shed when a shrill whistle resounded from the
garden. Without any warning Mortimer swung round and fired
point-blank at Desmond. But Desmond had stooped to spring at the
other and the bullet went over his head. With ears singing from
the deafening report of the pistol in the confined space, with
the acrid smell of cordite in his nostrils, Desmond leapt at
Mortimer's throat, hoping to bear him to the ground before he
could shoot again.
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