Suddenly a plan flashed across his mind.  Hanging from the ceiling a few feet in front of him he could see an enormous chandelier.  Throwing his hands above his head, he grasped the rope, thus relieving the strain on his neck.  Then, snapping his body backward, his feet came in contact with the wall.  With tremendous force he kicked out, causing his body to swing in an arc toward the chandelier.

It was not until he had wrapped his legs about the branches of the chandelier that the emissaries noticed what he was doing, so fascinated were they by the revolving mirrors.  Even then they could scarcely resist the auto-hypnotic powers of the contrivance.  Finally, however, with a shout they came to the attack.

Locke was now hanging head downward.  With one hand he succeeded in loosening the noose from about his neck, while with the other he struck out, hitting an emissary a fearful swinging blow that sent the fellow staggering backward, to fall against the lever controlling the trap-door.

With a crash the trap was sprung, with the pit yawning beneath it.  Struggling, striking, grappling with his assailants, Locke managed to hurl three of them to their deaths in the underground river below.

Horror-stricken at the fate of their companions, the other emissaries stepped back, when, to add to their confusion, Zita, with remarkable strength for so frail a girl, lifted the stand of mirrors and hurled it among them.

Locke somersaulted to the floor and, seizing the broken stand, used it as a weapon with deadly effect.

The emissaries turned and fled.

An instant later Locke started to the panel through which Eva had been dragged, when he heard steps from the other side.  It was the emissaries who had seized Eva, coming back to see what all the rumpus was about.  Locke, forewarned, slipped close to the wall, and, as they passed through the panel, one at a time, he was able to fell them to the floor.

Then he rushed through the panel just in time to see Eva, pursued by the Automaton, running toward him.

The very strangeness of her terrible adventure had brought Eva out of the hypnotic state into which she had been thrown and she clung to Locke as though she were a child.

Locke took her in his arms and, swiftly evading the slow-moving monster, dashed back to the hypnotic room, calling to Zita to run to the street.  Thus all three were able to make good their escape.

Eva had purposely left her motor turning over, and therefore it was barely an instant after they were in the street before they were streaking out of that quarter of the town.

Zita was now overwhelmed by her feelings, but it was Eva herself who spoke first.

“Forgive me, Zita,” begged Eva, in the rush of her emotions forgetting all that Zita had done.  “But for you, both of us would now be dead.”

For some moments Zita could not reply in her silent sadness at seeing the joy of Locke with this girl.