Darting round the first corner so as to put a house between himself and Jack's pistol, he found himself suddenly seized by a vigorous hand, and dragged through an open doorway.
"Let go," hissed the assassin, fiercely, "or——"
He raised his long-bladed knife to strike, but before he could bring his arm down, the dagger was beaten from his grasp.
"Now," said the stranger planting his foot firmly upon the knife, "listen to me."
"You speak English," said the assassin, in surprise.
"Because you spoke English to me," was the reply; "until then, I took you for one of us."
"What do you want with me?" demanded the Englishman, doggedly.
"Not much," returned the other, speaking with great fluency, although his foreign accent was strongly marked. "I have saved you from the consequences of your failure. Had my friendly hand not been there to drag you out of sight, your young countryman would have shot you."
"Well," returned the assassin, surlily, "I owe you my thanks, and——"
"Stop—tell me would you like to succeed in this in spite of your late failure?"