The keys to these two doors were never out of the possession of William Spantz; one of his guards held the key to the stairway door.

His only chance lay in his ability to suddenly overpower two men and make off by way of the armourer's shop.
When his little door was opened on the morning of the 23d, Truxton King's long, powerful figure shot through as if sped by a catapult.

The man with the candle and the knife went down like a beef, floored by a blow on the jaw.
The American, his eyes blazing with hope and desperation, kept onward--to find himself face to face with Olga Platanova! She was staring at him with frightened eyes, her lips apart, her hands to her breast.

The tableau was brief.

He could not strike her down.