As he opened it and sprang through, he had the visual
impression that only two of his assailants were rising from the floor.
For the space of a second he hesitated in the little hallway. Down the
stairs was light--and people. He knew that he was bleeding and his
clothes were torn, and that flight in that direction was impossible. At
the opposite end of the hall was a curtain which he judged must cover a
window. With a swift movement he tore down this curtain and found that
he was right. In another second he had crashed the window outward with
his shoulder, and felt the cool air of the night in his face. The door
behind him was still closed when he crawled out upon a narrow landing
at the top of a flight of steps leading down into the alley. He paused
long enough to convince himself that his enemies were making no effort
to follow him, and as he went down the steps, he caught himself grimly
chuckling. He had given them enough.
In the darkness of the alley he paused again. A cool breeze fanned his
cheeks, and the effect of it was to free him of the horror that had
gripped him in his fight with the yellow men. Again the calmness with
which he had faced Kao possessed him.
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