They were officials, true enough--one hasty glance through the balustrade assured me of that.

I even knew one of them by name--he was a sergeant of police and a highly trustworthy man.

But how they had been drawn to this place at a moment so critical, I could not surmise.

Do men of this stamp scent crime as a hound scents out prey?
They had the look of hounds.

Even in the momentary glimpse I got of them, I noted the tense and expectant look with which they endeavoured to pierce the dim spaces between us.