A faint, sobbing breath escaped the man, and Kent felt the whole
figure against which he pressed, quiver and relax; the taut muscles
of chest and arms grew slack, collapsed.

Kent stood in wonderment, peering ahead, his hands empty - the man
had vanished!

Drawing a long, long breath Kent felt his way back to the electric
switch and pressed the button, lighting both the wall brackets and
the table lamps. With both hands on his throbbing temples he gazed
at the over-turned chairs; they, as well as his aching throat,
testified to his encounter having been a reality and not a fantastic
dream. His glance traveled this way and that about the room and
rested longest on the opposite side of the room where he had pinned
the man to the wall. Wall -! Kent leaned against a tall highboy
and laughed weakly, immoderately. He had pushed the man straight
against the door leading into Rochester's bedroom, and not, as he
had supposed, against the solid wall.

The man had been quick-witted enough to grasp the situation; his
pretended weakness had caused Kent to relax his hold, a turn of
the knob of the door, which swung inward, and he had made his escape
into the bedroom, leaving Kent staring into dark, empty space.

Gathering his wits together Kent hurried into the bedroom - it was
empty; so also was the bathroom opening from it. From there Kent
made the rounds of the apartment, switching on the light until the
place was ablaze, but in spite of his minute search of closets and
under beds and behind furniture he could find no trace of his
late adversary. Kent stopped long enough in the pantry to refresh