Volna opened the door and went out to escape the din and repulsive sight and then called me hurriedly.
In a moment the whole infernal scheme of the two was made clear. The heavy burden which we had heard set down outside the door and which had so puzzled me was explained, as well as the mysterious rustling which had set me wondering.
The one was a cask half full of petroleum; the other a huge heap of shavings, chips and hay, ready saturated with petroleum.
“They meant to bind us in our sleep and fire the house. I did not think there could be such fiends,” said Volna, trembling.
It was too obvious to question. The heap of shavings laid ready for lighting told its own story; and with the petroleum thrown into the room where we were to have been left bound and unconscious, nothing could have saved us.
Volna clung to my arm faint and cold with the horror of it. “Let us go,” she whispered.
“That is why the woman was dressed to go out. I see it now. That fear of hers of the police, the noise we heard outside; they were expecting the police and meant to fly on our horses. Such devils ought not to be allowed to escape.”
But it was obvious that we dared not run the risk of denouncing them.
“Let us go,” said Volna again. “The very air of the place makes me faint and ill.”
I went back into the room.