For a long minute the two at the head of the stairs
stood in tense silence listening for a repetition of the
gruesome sounds from below. The youth was frankly
terrified; he made no effort to conceal the fact; but
pressed close to his companion, again clutching his arm
tightly. Bridge could feel the trembling of the slight fig-
ure, the spasmodic gripping of the slender fingers and
hear the quick, short, irregular breathing. A sudden im-
pulse to throw a protecting arm about the boy seized
him--an impulse which he could not quite fathom, and
one to which he could not respond because of the body
of the girl he carried.
He bent toward the youth. "There are matches in my
coat pocket," he whispered, "--the same pocket in which
you found the flash lamp. Strike one and we'll look for a
room here where we can lay the girl."
The boy fumbled gropingly in search of the matches.
It was evident to the man that it was only with the
greatest exertion of will power that he controlled his
muscles at all; but at last he succeeded in finding and
striking one. At the flare of the light there was a sound
from below--a scratching sound and the creaking of
boards as beneath a heavy body; then came the clank-
ing of the chain once more, and the bannister against
which they leaned shook as though a hand had been
laid upon it below them.
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