Unique angle of thought, he mused. He wanted mud to trample them in,
Russian mud. The same mud that had filled the mouth of Anna's destroyer.
He was, then, a formidable antagonist for any two strong men; let alone
two one of whom was rather spent, the other dizzy with pain, holding
himself together by the last shreds of his will. They dropped through
the trap, Cutty in front of the candle, Hawksley a little to one side.
The elder man landed squarely, but Hawksley fell backward. He crawled to
his feet, swaying drunkenly. For a space he was not sure of the reality
of the scene.... Torches and hobnailed boots!
"So!" said Karlov.
The torturer must talk; he must explain the immediate future to double
the agony. He could have maimed them both, then trampled them to death,
but he had to inform them of the fact. He pointed the automatic at Cutty
because he considered this man the more dangerous of the two. He at once
saw that the other was a negligible factor. He spoke slowly.
"And the girl shall witness your agonies," he concluded.
Cutty, bereft of invention, could only stare. Death! He had faced it
many times, but always with a chance. There was none here, and the
absolute knowledge paralyzed him.
Had Cutty been alone Kitty would have rushed at the madman; but the
sight of Hawksley robbed her of all mobility. His unexpected appearance
was to her the Book of Revelation. The blind alley she had entered and
reentered so many times and so futilely crumbled.... Johnny Two-Hawks!
As for Hawksley, he knew he had but little time. The floor was
billowing; he saw many candles where he knew there was only one. He
was losing his senses. There remained but a single idea--to do the old
thoroughbred one favour for the many. Scorning death--perhaps inviting
it--he lunged headlong at Karlov's knees.
This reckless challenge to death was so unexpected that Karlov had no
time to aim. He fired at chance. The bullet nipped the left shoulder
of Hawksley's coat and shattered the laths of the partition between the
attic and the servant's quarters. Under the impact of the human catapult
Karlov staggered back, desperately striving to maintain his balance. He
succeeded because Hawksley's senses left him in the instant he struck
Karlov's knees. Still, the episode was a respite for Cutty, who dashed
at Karlov before the latter could set himself or raise the smoking
automatic.
Kitty then witnessed--dimly--a primordial, titanic conflict which
haunted her dreams for many nights to come. They were no longer men, but
animals; the tiger giving combat to the gorilla, one striking the quick,
terrible blows of the tiger, the other seeking always to come to grips.