“Whew!”
Both the Colonel and the Lieutenant uttered exclamations. The Colonel was red and excited; the Lieutenant half rose from his seat behind the desk. The prisoners stared in astonishment. What could there be so very extraordinary in the simple statement they had made?
There was a dead pause for a moment. Then the Colonel again turned to the Lieutenant.
“This is certainly very strange—very wonderful,” he said. “They must be taken in hand pending developments. Care must be taken of them—that they do not succumb——”
“What is so strange—what is it that is so wonderful?” broke in the Professor.
But the Colonel disregarded the question.
“I will take them with me—to my place,” he continued, addressing the Lieutenant. “They will be properly cared for there.”
“But the charge! How about the charge which has been preferred against them?”
“As a county magistrate, I am empowered to admit them to bail.”
“That’s true, Colonel.”