"A hundred dollars in gold if you get that man clear of the house in ten minutes."
"Can't be done, marm. Mr. Rice has gone for more help. No moving a peg till he comes back."
"But you can lock him up; put a guard over him; do something to save us from this disgrace! If one hundred is not enough you shall have five!"
"But where shall we put him—every room in the house seems turned into a garden?"
"In the south wing, along that hall, you will find a room. It has but one door. Iron shutters are concealed under the ornamental work. Secure them, and it is impossible for him to escape. Hark! that is a carriage! A thousand dollars if you get him off before it reaches the entrance!"
She was pale as death, and her whispers sounded like the hiss of a reptile.
The two men consulted together a moment, and directly one of them touched Thrasher on the arm.
"Come, go with us into another room."
"What room?"
"That in the south wing, with iron shutters and only one door. It will do."