His heart that had been racing brought up bump.
"Any one there, Toadie?" came a voice through the man-hole.
"Only the boy," rumbled the man in the drain.
The words woke Kit to his position. With a ghastly effort he confirmed his mind and faced the situation.
There was one thing for it—to make for the opening, and trust his heels.
Better to be shot down in the open, anyway, than killed in the drain like a rabbit.
He turned round.
As he did so, a hand appeared at the opening, and swept back the tamarisk. A smiling face showed at the mouth of the drain.
"Tiger, Tiger, burning bright
In the forest of the night,"
came the voice of a playful ogre. "Did you ever hear of a man called Blake, Little Chap? One of God's own."