Quick as thought she made one step to the window, pushed the ladder outwards with all her force, and shut down the sash.
As it closed, the ladder, poising for an instant, fell with a crash on the ground below.
“Now,” she said, quietly, “you are trapped and taken. Better make no resistance, for the man servant can be summoned if I choose, and I have no wish to see you ill-treated.”
Peace was aghast. What could it all mean? Was he awake or dreaming?
“She must be well backed,” he said to himself, “to assume such a position as this, and she looked so firm and resolute.”
Nevertheless, instinctively, rather than of intention, he mattered hoarsely—
“Drop it, let’s have no more of this. One word out loud and I’ll shoot you as you stand there.”
“Fire away,” she answered, with perfect composure. “You will save me the trouble of giving an alarm. They expect it, and are waiting for it every moment below stairs. Light those candles and let me see what damage you have done before you return the plunder.”
A pair of wax candles stood on the chimneypiece, and he obeyed, mechanically wondering to himself the while.
His cunning, however, had not quite deserted him, and he left his pistol lying on the table ready to snatch it away if she tried to take possession.