A tall, burly man, with a crape mask on, had him in his grasp.
‘It can’t be helped; he’d have raised a hullabaloo in a minute,’ cried the man. ‘Quick with the stuff, while I hold him!’
Some one, who never spoke, and whom the squire could not see, was moving about the room.
‘Now out with the gas and bolt!’ cried the man who held the squire.
At the same time he gave the squire a violent push, that sent him full-length on the floor.
There was a noise at the window, a thud on the lawn below, and then all was still.
The force with which the squire had been hurled to the ground had only partially stunned him. In a few minutes he came round and dragged himself up. He was trembling and exhausted, and the place was quite dark.
He rushed to the door and called for help. Presently the terrified servants came running up.
When the lights were procured, the squire gasped out his story.
A glance round the room showed that the burglars had left by the window.