They could see a slipper lying there—one that Maude had dropped.
The burglars had probably perceived this, and thence argued that people were afoot, for the light disappeared, and they could hear whisperings outside the door.
The big bedroom, as it was called, was a square chamber, barely furnished. The two bedsteads had been placed close to the window on the left-hand side.
Round and about these beds the six besieged persons were crouched or seated.
The moonlight poured in at the window in such a manner that while the whole of the opposite side, except one corner, was as light as day, the little nook by the beds was buried in impenetrable darkness.
The one dark corner on the opposite side was formed by the chimney, which jutted out some little way into the room.
They listened breathlessly for some moments, till they fancied that they heard a board creak inside the room close to the door; and at that moment, as if by magic, a voice issued from the corner of the chimney.
“We are armed with loaded revolvers; if you come a step nearer we fire!”
The lurid flash of a pistol flamed within the room, and they heard a ball strike sharply against the wall.
Maude betrayed their hiding-place with a shriek, and fell fainting in her brother John’s arms.