w; but he did know
that this one was. Perhaps he could free himself.

He tried to force his massive hands to the task of investigating the
lock. But what an effort! It was like trying to hypnotize a subject
that did not wish to be hypnotized. A distinct effort of will, like
trying to force someone to turn and look by staring at the back of
that someone's neck in a crowd. It was like trying to make an entirely
different person move his arm, or his leg, merely by willing that he
move it.

But the great arms, which might have weighed tons, though Bentley
sensed no strain, raised to the door and fumbled dumbly, clumsily. He
tried to close the gnarled fingers, whose backs were covered with the
rough hair, to manipulate the lock, but he succeeded merely in
fumbling--like a baby senselessly tugging at its father's fingers, the
existence of which had no shape or form in the baby's brain.

But he strove with all his will to force those clumsy hands to do his
bidding. They slipped from the lock, went back again, fumbled over it,
fell away.

"You must!" muttered Bentley. "You must, you must!"

He would discover the secret of the lock, so that he would be able to
remove it when the time was right--but so slow and uncertain and
clumsy were the movements of his ape hands, he was in mortal fear that
he would unlock the door and then not be able to lock it again, and
Barter would discover what he had in mind.

* * * * *

But he struggled on, while foul smelling sweat poured from his mighty
body and dripped to the floor. He concentrated on the lock with all
his power, knowing as he did so that the lock would have been but a
simple problem for a child of six or seven. It was nothing more than a
bar held in place with a leather thong. But the powerful fingers which
now were Bentley's were too blunt and inflexible to master the knot
Barter had left.

Bentley paused to listen.

From Ellen's room came the sound of weeping. From the front room came
Barter's pleased laughter as he talked with the thing which so much
resembled Bentley. That was a relief--to know that his other self had
been at least temporarily removed from any possibility of injuring
Ellen.

In Bentley's mind were certain pictures of Barter. He saw him plainly
on his knees begging for mercy, while Bentley's ape hands choked his
life away. He saw him tossed about like a mere child, and casually
torn apart, ripped limb from limb by th