Next they
bound him with ropes until he was utterly helpless in the meshes of the
net.
Eva, half crazed with horror, was in a far corner, and the Automaton was
advancing upon her. She was paralyzed with fear.
What fate was in store for her--what for Locke?
CHAPTER XXII
The sharp crack of an automatic echoed through the shack. The detective
known as Jim had come back to consciousness, and now, from behind an
overturned table where he had fallen, he started to fire shot after shot
into the mob of emissaries.
He had fallen in a far corner and could be reached only after an attack
of some paces, and even the emissaries, numerous as they were, hesitated
to advance on a determined man placed in such an advantageous position.
Furthermore, the diversion caused by the shots had other effects. The
sound of the shots brought Locke fully out of his stunned condition and
he started to struggle frantically in the meshes of the net that held
him prisoner.
The Automaton, for the moment, ceased to follow Eva, and moved over to
its men in order to take command and to direct their movements, while
yet another detective came to his senses and began to threaten the mob.
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