V
There was a clicking sound, and the glare of a dark-lantern struck my blinking eyes.
"Pick up the candle, sir," said the tranquil voice from behind the light.
I obeyed readily enough. Fate was downright cruel to us. Not a dozen feet away was liberty; and now we were back at the beginning again, with the end nowhere in sight.
"Shall I light it, sir?" I asked, not to be outdone in the matter of formal politeness.
"Yes, sir, doubtless you will need it."
I struck a match and touched the candle-wick.
"Burglar?" said I. (For all my apparent coolness, my heart-beats were away up in the eighties!)
The girl snuggled close to my side. I could feel her heart beating even faster than mine.