noon
Bentley watched him , sprawled now on the sidewalk , surrounded by a group of men . The man was dying , no question about that . The talons , which had scored him , had bitten deeply and he was destined to bleed to death soon even if the wounds were not otherwise mortal . Bentley noticed something clutched tightly in the man 's right hand -- something that sent a chill through his body despite the heat of a mid-July noon . The officer , apparently , had not noticed it . Soon a clanging bell announced the arrival of an ambulance , and as the crowd stepped aside to clear the way , Bentley bent over the dying man . The man 's lips were parted and he was trying with a mighty effort of will to speak .