Had he been in some old colonial house he would have fancied the fellow had gained admittance by means of a panel in the wall and a secret passage; but he was in a modern hotel, and it was beyond the range of probability that there were secret passages or moving wall panels in the structure.
These thoughts flitted through his mind swiftly as he stood there, trying to hear some sound that would tell him where the intruder was in the room.
Below in the street a cab rattled and rumbled along.
The silence was even more nerve-racking than the unexpected appearance of the masked man had been. The mystery of the whole affair was beginning to impress Merry, and a mystery always aroused his curiosity to the highest pitch.
"Take your time, sir," he thought, as he leaned against the door and waited. "I believe I can stand it as long as you can."
Near at hand the door of another room swiftly opened and closed. The sound of hurried footsteps passed the door of Merriwell's room.
Frank was tempted to fling open his door and call to the man, but he hesitated about that till it was too late.
"Let him go," he thought. "Perhaps he would have been frightened to death had I called him in here."
The push button by which he could call assistance from the office was in the alcove. At this time of night it was not likely there would be anything but a tardy answer to his call should he make it.
But the electric button which turned on and ignited the gas was also in the alcove.
Frank longed to reach that button. He longed to light the gas in order to look around for the intruder.
Of course he could have lighted it with a match; but he realized that such a thing might be just what the unknown hoped for and expected. The man might be waiting for him to strike a match.
"Something must be done," Merry at last decided.
Then he resolved to leave the door, move slowly along the wall, reach the button and light the gas--if possible.
With the silence of a creeping cat, he inched along. Every sense was on the alert.
It took him a long time to come to the foot of the bed at the opening of the alcove, but he reached it at last. Was the masked man waiting for him in the darkness of the alcove? It seemed certain that he could be nowhere else in the room.