MEN OF THE NIGHT

I had little time given me to realise the extraordinary and humiliating
position in which I found myself, for I was lifted up by my ankles, as
if I were a fowl pulled off a perch, and jerked roughly down into the
room, my back striking upon the stone floor with a thud which shook the
breath from my body.

'Don't kill him yet, Toussac,' said a soft voice. 'Let us make sure who
he is first.'

I felt the pressure of a thumb upon my chin and of fingers upon my
throat, and my head was slowly forced round until the strain became
unbearable.

'Quarter of an inch does it and no mark,' said the thunderous voice.
'You can trust my old turn.'

'Don't, Toussac; don't!' said the same gentle voice which had spoken
first. 'I saw you do it once before, and the horrible snick that it
made haunted me for a long time. To think that the sacred flame of life
can be so readily snuffed out by that great material finger and thumb!
Mind can indeed conquer matter, but the fighting must not be at close
quarters.'

My neck was so twisted that I could not see any of these people who were
discussing my fate. I could only lie and listen.

'The fact remains, my dear Charles, that the fellow has our
all-important secret, and that it is our lives or his.