Down in the cellar the Automaton had succeeded in rubbing off the
insulation of the feed wires. There was a flash of light as he laid his
steel hand over the two feed wires--then darkness.
In the dining-room Brent and Flint, already keyed to the highest pitch,
leaped to their feet with an exclamation of terror.
Late as it was, Locke was working in his laboratory on the second floor
of the house when the lights winked out. Surprised for the moment, he
ran out into the hall.
Already there was the butler, groping about with a candle.
"What's the matter, Quentin?" asked a breathless voice behind them.
It was Eva in a filmy dressing-gown. Locke turned to vision a creation
of loveliness in the candle-light which set his heart thumping.
"Nothing," he reassured. "Just the lights short-circuited, that's all.
I'll see."
Just then the dining-room door opened and Eva saw her father, disheveled
and preoccupied, stride out and take the five-branched candlestick from
the hall table. Nervously he began to light the candles. They sputtered
a bit and he turned quickly, still holding the candlestick, as the smoke
drifted away from them all.
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