For a long time she stood, dazed and unbelieving, in the centre of the room, staring at the door. She held her breath, listening for the shout that was so sure to come--and the shot, perhaps! A prayer formed on her lips and went voicelessly up to G.o.d.

Suddenly she roused herself from the stupefaction that held her, and threw off the slinky peignoir. With feverish haste she s.n.a.t.c.hed up garments from the chair on which she had carefully placed them in antic.i.p.ation of the emergency that now presented itself. A blouse (which she neglected to b.u.t.ton), a short skirt of some dark material, a jacket, and a pair of stout walking shoes (which she failed to lace), completed the swift transformation. She felt the pockets of skirt and jacket, a.s.suring herself that her purse and her own personal jewelry were where she had forehandedly placed them. As she glided to the window, she jammed the pins into a small black hat of felt. Then she peered over the ledge. She started back, stifling a cry with her hand.

A man's head had almost come in contact with her own as she leaned out.

A man's hand reached over and grasped the inner ledge of the cas.e.m.e.nt, and then a man's face was dimly revealed to her startled gaze.

CHAPTER XIV

A FLIGHT, A STONE-CUTTER'S SHED, AND A VOICE OUTSIDE

He saw her standing in the middle of the room, her clenched hands pressed to her lips. At the angle from which he peered into the room, her head was in line with the lighted transom.

His grip on the ledge was firm but his foothold on the lattice precarious. He felt himself slipping. Exerting all of his strength he drew himself upward, free of the vines that had begun to yield to his weight.

An almost inaudible "Whew!" escaped his lips as he straddled the sill.

An instant later he was in the room.

"Why have you come up here?" She came swiftly to his side.

"Thank the Lord, I made it," he whispered, breathlessly. "I came up because there was nowhere else to go. I thought I heard voices--a man and a woman speaking. They seemed to be quite close to me. Don't be alarmed, Miss Cameron. I am confident that I can--"

"And now that you are here, trapped as I am, what do you purpose to do?

You cannot escape. Go back before it is too late. Go--"

"Is Sprouse--where is he?"

"He is somewhere in the house. I have heard no sound. I was to wait until he--Oh, Mr. Barnes, I--I am terrified. You will never know the--"

"Trust him," he said. "He is a marvel. We'll be safely out of here in a little while, and then it will all look simple to you. You are ready to go? Good! We will wait a few minutes and if he doesn't show up we'll--Why, you are trembling like a leaf! Sit down, do! If he doesn't return in a minute or two, I'll take a look about the house myself. I don't intend to desert him. I know this floor pretty well, and the lower one. The stairs are--"

"But the stairway is closed at the bottom by a solid steel curtain. It is made to look like a panel in the wall. Mr. Curtis had it put in to protect himself from burglars. You are not to venture outside this room, Mr. Barnes. I forbid it. You--"

"How did Sprouse get out? You said your door was locked."

He sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. She was still trembling violently. He took her hand in his and held it tightly.

"He had a key. I do not know where he obtained--"

"Skeleton key, such as burglars use. By Jove, what a wonderful burglar he would make! Courage, Miss Cameron! He will be here soon. Then comes the real adventure,--my part of it. I didn't come here to-night to get any flashy old crown jewels. I came to take you out of--"

"You--you know about the crown jewels?" she murmured. Her body seemed to stiffen.

"Very little. They are nothing to me."

"Then you know who I am?"

"No. You will tell me to-morrow."

"Yes, yes,--to-morrow," she whispered, and fell to shivering again.

For some time there was silence. Both were listening intently for sounds in the hall; both were watching the door with unblinking eyes.

She leaned closer to whisper in his ear. Their shoulders touched. He wondered if she experienced the same delightful thrill that ran through his body. She told him of the man who watched across the hall from the room supposed to be occupied by Loeb the secretary, and of Sprouse's incomprehensible daring.

"Where is Mr. Curtis?" he asked.

Her breath fanned his cheek, her lips were close to his ear. "There is no Mr. Curtis here. He died four months ago in Florida."

"I suspected as much." He did not press her for further revelations.

"Sprouse should be here by this time. It isn't likely that he has met with a mishap. You would have heard the commotion. I must go out there and see if he requires any--"

She clutched his arm frantically. "You shall do nothing of the kind.

You shall not--"

"Sh! What do you take me for, Miss Cameron? He may be sorely in need of help. Do you think that I would leave him to G.o.d knows what sort of fate? Not much! We undertook this job together and--"

"But he said positively that I was to go in case he did not return in--in fifteen minutes," she begged. "He may have been cut off and was compelled to escape from another--"

"Just the same, I've got to see what has become of--"

"No! No!" She arose with him, dragging at his arm. "Do not be foolhardy. You are not skilled at--"

"There is only one way to stop me, Miss Cameron. If you will come with me now--"

"But I must know whether he secured the--"

"Then let me go. I will find out whether he has succeeded. Stand over there by the window, ready to go if I have to make a run for it."

He was rougher than he realised in wrenching his arm free. She uttered a low moan and covered her face with her hands. Undeterred, he crossed to the door. His hand was on the k.n.o.b when a door slammed violently somewhere in a distant part of the house.

A hoa.r.s.e shout of alarm rang out, and then the rush of heavy feet over thickly carpeted floors.

Barnes acted with lightning swiftness. He sprang to the open window, half-carrying, half-dragging the girl with him.

"Now for it!" he whispered. "Not a second to lose. Climb upon my back, quick, and hang on for dear life." He had scrambled through the window and was lying flat across the sill. "Hurry! Don't be afraid. I am strong enough to carry you if the vines do their part."

With surprising alacrity and sureness she crawled out beside him and then over upon his broad back, clasping her arms around his neck.

Holding to the ledge with one hand he felt for and clutched the thick vine with the other. Slowly he slid his body off of the sill and swung free by one arm. An instant later he found the lattice with the other hand and the hurried descent began. His only fear was that the vine would not hold. If it broke loose they would drop fifteen feet or more to the ground. A broken leg, an arm, or even worse,--But her hair was brushing his ear and neck, her arms were about him, her heart beat against his straining back, and--Why be a pessimist?

His feet touched the ground. In the twinkling of an eye he picked her up in his arms and bolted across the little gra.s.s plot into the shrubbery. She did not utter a sound. Her arms tightened, and now her cheek was against his.

Presently he set her down. His breath was gone, his strength exhausted.

"Can you--manage to--walk a little way?" he gasped. "Give me your hand, and follow as close to my heels as you can. Better that I should b.u.mp into things than you."

Shouts were now heard, and shrill blasts on a police whistle split the air.