She saw then that the light in the little passage had been turned out also and that the door beyond, leading direct to the deck, was open. And as she watched the dark passage the man who had followed her and gone into the cabin beyond came out again and glanced down the short corridor in both directions.
He came opposite her darkened door and something stopped him. The man who had passed down the passage to the deck door without coat or vest returned quickly and flung himself into his cabin. "Thief!" his thick voice bawled. "Thief!" I left it here just a second ago and he got it! Thief!"
Running steps sounded immediately from the deck and from the corridor end of the passage; and with a quick start Miss Varris recognized the man who had stopped before her door and now was caught there. The steps flew nearer, and with a sudden impulse, almost before she herself knew that she did it, she threw her door wide open and caught him in.
316
