AN EFFORT TO ESCAPE
to the light, perceiving the red stain of blood. The murderer had hung there an instant before he dropped.
Somehow the sight brought with it a revulsion of feeling. I was not a coward; I would not run away like a cur. If I did, and if I succeeded in my escape, it would be with the brand of murder on me. They would say I did this deed; even Jean Denslow would believe it. The very chance thought of the girl served to spur my reviving courage. No, I would face this like a man; I would ally myself with her and her friends; I would help to trace down the fiend guilty of so foul an act. I stepped back over the motionless body, and opened the door. As I did so I came face to face with Jean Denslow.
[ 139 ]
