"
"What a big furnace!" she exclaimed, as we came into view of the huge
heating apparatus. "And there's more coal."
A man stepped out from behind the furnace, and confronted us. A red
bandana covered the lower part of his face and his hat was pulled down
over his eyes. But I recognized him instantly. It was the fellow with
the villainous pipe! Something glittered ominously at the end of his
outstretched arm.
"If you make any noise, sir, I'll have to plug you, sir," he said in
polite but muffled tones.
The candle slipped from my fingers, and the three of us stood in
darkness!
V
There was a clicking sound, and the glare of a dark-lantern struck my
blinking eyes.
"Pick up the candle, sir," said the tranquil voice from behind the
light.
I obeyed readily enough. Fate was downright cruel to us. Not a dozen
feet away was liberty; and now we were back at the beginning again,
with the end nowhere in sight.
"Shall I light it, sir?" I asked, not to be outdone in the matter of
formal politeness.
"Yes, sir, doubtless you will need it."
I struck a match and touched the candle-wick.
"Burglar?" said I. (For all my apparent coolness, my heart-beats were
away up in the eighties!)
The girl snuggled close to my side.
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