“I am very glad he is not leading them,” said Maurice thoughtfully, “for he would be keen enough to mistrust appearances, and refrain from entering the pass in case of treachery, in which case we would be kept prisoners up here.”
Helena uttered a low cry of fright, and hid her face on Maurice’s shoulder, for at this moment the earth began to tremble slightly. The shock, however, was not a severe one, and did no damage, still it made the whole party feel uneasy, and wish they were relieved from their perilous position. The four Melnosians, who had lost all their friends and relatives, looked like statues of despair; still, so selfish is man for himself, that, though all their pleasure in life was gone, they were as uneasy and anxious to be saved as the rest of the party.
Luckily, owing to the ardor with which the enemy were forming their lines, they had not noticed the ominous warning of the earthquake, and were evidently about to make a grand assault on the barrier. At a given signal, they rushed wildly up the hill, shrieking like fiends, but recoiled in dismay as they saw the ruins of the palisade. Evidently suspecting treachery, they consulted together for a moment, then cautiously went forward into the pass. Finding no foe there to confront them, they became more confident, and as Caliphronas, who could have shown them the way, was not present, they took no notice of the iron gate, but marched boldly up the gorge, firing their rifles at intervals, until there was not a single man left either at the palisade or on the beach.
There was not a moment to be lost, so, Justinian leading, with Maurice and Dick following with the women and the Melnosians, they went down to the foot of the stair, unlocked the door, and as rapidly as possible ran down the hill to the beach. Placing Helena, Zoe, and all their bundles in the best boat they could select in their hurry, Dick and Argyropoulos pushed it off into deep water.
“Where is Alexandros?” asked Maurice, noticing the absence of the electrician for the first time.
Justinian, with a grim smile, turned his face towards the cliffs and raised his hand, both to point out Alexandros to Maurice, and to give the signal for the exploding of the mine. Maurice stared aghast for a moment, and would have spoken, but before he could open his mouth there was a tremendous roar, and the great rocks at the mouth of the pass crashed down with a noise like thunder, blocking up the entrance for ever.
“You have shut the pirates in, uncle!”
“Yes,” said the Demarch fiercely; “I have triumphed over my enemies.”
“But Alexandros?”
“Is safe. See! he is sliding down the rope.”