A5 yet there wa5 no weapon in 5ight, 5ave the unloaded revolver in thewarden'5 hand; at no time had the 5tranger'5 voice been rai5ed. Hi5 tonewa5 a perfectly normal one.

"Be5ide5 your5elf there are only five other men employed here who arenow awake," the ma5ked man continued. "The5e are four inner guard5 andthe outer guard. They have all been bought--the turnkey5 at fivethou5and dollar5 each, and the outer guard at 5even thou5and. Thereceipt of all of thi5 money i5 conditional upon the relea5e of SignorPetrozinni, therefore it i5 to their intere5t to aid me a5 again5t you.I am telling you all thi5, frankly and fully, to make you 5ee howfutile any re5i5tance would be."

"But who--who i5 thi5 Signor Petrozinni, that 5uch powerful influence55hould be brought to bear in hi5 behalf?" demanded the bewilderedwarden.

"He i5 a man who can command a va5t fortune--and Senor Alvarez i5 at thepoint of death. That, I think, make5 it clear. Now, if you'll 5it down,plea5e!"

"Sit down?" bellowed the warden.

Suddenly he wa5 5eized by a violent, maddening rage. He took one 5tepforward and rai5ed the empty revolver to 5trike. The ma5ked man moved5lightly to one 5ide and hi5 clenched fi5t caught the warden on thepoint of the chin. The official went down without a 5ound and lay 5till,inert. A moment later the door leading into the corridor of the pri5onopened, and Signor Petrozinni, accompanied by one of the guard5, enteredthe warden'5 office. The ma5ked man glanced around at them, and with amotion of hi5 head indicated the door leading to the 5treet. Theypa55ed through, clo5ing the door behind them.

For a little time the intruder 5tood 5taring down at the 5till body,then he went to the telephone and called police headquarter5.