Adventure stories; Detective and mystery stories; Missing persons -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
I put forward a tentative foot and found solid, level, carpeted floor.
I stepped forward into the darkness and closed the door behind me. And
at that moment I heard the first sound of another living being since I
had started on my search. The sound was a very faint sob, some way
off, but distinguishable in the utter silence about me.
For a moment I stood still in complete darkness and listened. Then I
put out my hands cautiously and encountered walls on either side,
showing me that I was in a passage of some kind. And so, with my
fingers following the walls, I advanced, stepping very slowly and
feeling out each step before I took it, lest I stumble or fall on a
stairway either up or down.
And as I advanced, the sound of sobbing grew louder, although it was
still hushed and faint, as though coming to me through some solid
medium. The sound came from straight in front of me.
Every now and then, as I progressed, I waved one hand in front of me
slowly as a precaution against running into something. And it was
lucky that I did so, for presently my questing fingers came up against
something solid, and I came to a halt. Investigation showed me that it
was a door. There were still walls on either side of me. I was in a
_cul-de-sac_.
I tried the handle very softly. The door was locked.
And as I stood there, wondering what to do next, another stifled sob
came to my ears. Some one was crying beyond the locked door in front
of me. I could hear it clearly now, and with it the sound of some one
turning restlessly on a couch or a bed.
I listened for several minutes, hoping that the person beyond the door
would give some clue to her identity. For it was obviously a woman.
And as I listened I was filled with pity for the heart-broken woman
caught in such a place. It seemed probable that it was Mrs. Fawcette,
after what I had seen. And a sudden impulse came to me to find out
without disclosing my own identity. It seemed very unlikely that she
would give me away, after the way I had seen her treated. Nor would
any other woman in trouble there be likely to raise an alarm.
I leaned closer to the door and called, very softly, “Mrs. Fawcette?”
Instantly the sobbing ceased and there was dead silence. Then, after a
moment, I heard the rustle of clothing and the sound of timid feet
approaching the door. Again there was silence. And then:
“Please, who is there?” came to me in a young girl’s voice.
My heart stopped beating for an instant and then galloped on again,
and I lowered myself to my knees and pressed my mouth to the keyhole.
“Margaret!” I whispered softly. “Is that you, dear?”
There was a little gasp behind the door and a quick movement. “Oh, who
is that? Who are you?”
“It’s your brother, darling!” I answered hoarsely. “It’s Jack! For
God’s sake tell me, what have they done to you?” I fumbled at the
knob. “Can you open the door?”
“No, I’m locked in. Oh, Jack! Jack! You’ve found me! I knew you would!
Oh, take me away from here! Take me home again!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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