Lucy began to cut some bread and butter, whilst Gus carefully placed the baby on the hearth-rug and gave him a spoon to amuse himself with. Having buttered two thick pieces, Lucy placed between them a slice of cold bacon; then, as she thrust the whole into Gus' hand, she whispered, "Oh, Gus, I wish you were not going with them! Be careful; oh, do be careful!"
"Now then, are you coming?" cried Jack roughly from the door.
Gus could not reply to Lucy. He felt uneasy as he hurried after Jack, and he wondered why Lucy had bidden him to be careful. Did she know more about the evening's job than he?
For a while Gus and Jack trudged on in silence. Gus had often to break into a trot in order to keep up with Jack's long strides. They took the way Gus now knew so well, and which he had twice before trodden in Jack's company. The day had been dull, and night was closing in early. A grey mist was creeping over the fields, and the wind, which blew in their faces, brought with it tiny drops of rain.
When they had gone some distance, and were in a lonely part of the road, Jack suddenly halted beneath a lamp-post, and drew something from beneath his coat.
"There, lad, do you know what that is?" he inquired, pointing at Gus the thing he held.
Gus recoiled in a manner that showed he knew it to be a deadly weapon.
"Ah, I see you do know," said Jack coolly; "that's my father's revolver, and I'd have you know he'll think nothing of turning it against you if you do not please him in this night's business. He'll just hold it like that and fire, and you'll be as dead as a door-nail in half a second."
Gus trembled at the prospect. Having shown him this incentive to obedience, Jack put the firearm back into its place, and they marched on again. A little further, in the darkest part of the road, Lucas met them.
"Here you are then," he said in a tone of relief. "You are a little late; I began to fear something had gone wrong. The dinner-bell has rung. We need not have feared it would not be dark enough by seven. I've got a ladder that the painters left in the garden below. Things are all as square as possible, and in another ten minutes it will be safe."