‘All up with us. There is a force in the street of police. They don’t seem to know which house it is, but they are on the look-out about something being amiss at one or other of the houses on this side of the way.’
‘Humph! What do you mean by a force?’
‘About a dozen of them.’
Blodget bit his lips.
‘Yes, and they are close outside too.’
‘No!’
‘Yes they are.’
‘I will satisfy myself. If it be only the ordinary watch I don’t think a couple of dozen of them ought to stop us from proceeding, and I will not permit them doing so either; but if they are some of these cursed Vigilance fellows, it is another affair.’
Blodget acted promptly. Nobody certainly could accuse him of want of courage or decision. He knew that the only way of discovering who were without was to take a good look himself; so, to the consternation and surprise of his comrades, he opened the street door and coolly looked out into the street.
A sudden rush was made at the door by a couple of men, and Blodget soon saw ten or twelve others not far off.