CHAPTER XXIV—HOW IT ENDED
Verbeck’s whisper was so low that Riley and Muggs scarcely could hear it, yet they could detect the note of exultation:
“We’ve got him!”
That was all, and then they started to creep forward, their eyes on the vault, from which not a bit of light came. The Back Star evidently was working in the dark.
Foot by foot they made their way noiselessly toward the open door, expecting every instant to see their quarry step forth and confront them, ready to prevent him fighting his way to liberty. They listened, too, for the sound of feet in the room behind them that would tell of the arrival of the police, but the sound of feet did not come.
And now, at last, they were within six feet of the open door, staring into the blackness of the vault, from which came not the sl
