But this man paid them no attention whatever, and
did not even notice them.
He was feeling in his pockets now and he took out the revolver and
the coil of thin rope he had secured from the burglar.
"Now, do you know what I'm going to do?" he asked, with an air of
roughness and brutality that was a little overdone. He put the
revolver and the rope down on the bed, the revolver quite close to
her.
"I'm going," he continued, "to tie you up to one of those chairs.
I can't risk your playing any tricks or giving an alarm, perhaps,
while I'm searching the house. I shall take what's worth having,
and then I shall clear off, and if your stepfather's coming home
tonight you won't have to wait long till he releases you, and if he
don't come I can't help it."
He turned his back to her as he spoke and took hold of one of the
chairs in the room, and then of another and looked at them as though
carefully considering which would be the best to use for the
carrying out of his threat.
He appeared to find it difficult to decide, for he kept his back
turned to her for two or three minutes, during all of which time the
revolver lay on the bed quite close to her hand.
He listened intently for he fully expected her to snatch it up, and
he wished to be ready to turn before she could actually fire. But,
indeed, nothing was further from her thoughts, for she did not know
in the least how to use the weapon or even how to fire it off, and
the very thought of employing it to kill any one would have terrified
her far more even than had done her experiences of this night.
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