Bearing this warning in mind, the two slowly crept round the edge of the roof, not daring to take the shorter cut and cross directly to the other side, for to have done so would have been fatal, the centre of the enclosing parapet being brightly illuminated. Arrived at the farther corner, Margetson halted for a few seconds, while he removed the skin covering. Then he began to wriggle his way through the hole, and in due time disappeared in the dark depths below.
"Hold on," whispered Jim, who was on the point of following, and, indeed, had already allowed his legs to dangle through the opening. "What if someone happens to notice that the covering has been removed?"
"Ah, that would be awkward, lad. It's fixed by pegs, and we cannot very well fasten them from the inside, though we could easily burst them open if we wished to do so."
"Then how's the door held?" asked Jim, lying down full length, and thrusting his head through the aperture.
"Just latched, that's all. No one would dare to meddle with the Mullah's goods, you see. It would mean certain death."
"Very well," responded Jim. "I'll fix this thing up here, and then slip over the wall. The drop's nothing, and I shall not be seen if I choose a moment when a cloud is passing over the moon. Hurry up, for there's one about to cross it now, and it won't do to be kept waiting."
Fumbling about in the darkness, it was not long before he had contrived to cover the opening in the roof, and to peg the skin down securely. Then he waited, with his eyes upon the disc above, and when it was clouded by a dense mass of vapour, he looked to see that no one was near at hand, and then clambered over the parapet and dropped noiselessly upon the soil below. The door was standing open, and as he entered Margetson closed it carefully behind him. Then they buried themselves in the darkness of the interior, carefully picking their way amidst the bundles and bales which were stored there.
"We shall be as cosy as possible," remarked John Margetson, indulging for the first time in a laugh. "Take care where you tread, for otherwise you will be tumbling into one of these bags of dates, or kicking against a skin of wine. Why, man, this is just the place for us, for we have food at hand, and can dine like gentlemen, with wine to wash the stuff down. An alderman could not hope for more. But supposing these ruffians find us out!"
"You said that we were not to be injured," answered Jim, "and therefore we have very little to fear. Let us make the most of our good fortune, and be content. What we have now to think about is not the possibility of capture, though we should do well to bear that in mind and take all due precautions, but our action in the future. How are we to get away from here when the scent and search are less keen, and how can we manage to take my father with us? There, you have enough to keep you awake all night."
"It's likely to prove a puzzling question, my lad, and at present I can see no more daylight through it than I can—well, through these walls. And talking of light, how are we to keep in touch with the outside world, and learn what is happening? To attempt to leave these snug quarters and slip out into the village would be suicidal policy. It would not help us in the slightest, and would lead to certain discovery."