"That villain has not hurt you much, I hope?" for both Bob and Jim Sankey were bleeding freely, from the face, from the heavy blows the robber had dealt them.
"No, sir, we are not hurt to speak of," Bob said. "We belong to Tulloch's school."
"To the school!" the admiral exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing here, at four o'clock in the morning?
"But never mind that now. What is it, Jackson, has he got away?"
"No, sir; he was lying in a heap, at the bottom of the stairs. There was a lanyard fastened across."
"We tied a string across, sir, as we came up," Bob explained.
"Well done, lads!
"Are there any more of them, Jackson?"
"Don't see any signs of any more, admiral. There are the two plate chests in the passage, as if they had been brought out from the butler's strong room, in readiness to take away."
"Where is the butler? He must have heard the pistol shots!" the admiral exclaimed angrily.