The lawyer leapt to his feet.
"Men in the garden!" he cried, and there was a note in his voice which startled even tough Ned Cromarty. "What are they doing?"
"I don't know, sir. It sounded almost as if they was digging."
Simon swayed for an instant and grasped the back of his chair. Then in a muffled voice he muttered:
"I'm going to see!"
He had scarcely made a step towards the door when Cromarty was on his feet too.
"Steady!" he cried. "Get out there, and shut the door!"
The towering form and formidable voice sent Mary out with a shut door between them almost as the command was off his tongue. A couple of strides and he had got the lawyer by the shoulder and pulled him back.
"Sit down!" he commanded.
Simon turned on him with a new expression. The terror had passed away and he stood there now as the sheer beast at bay.