“Who’s in the house? Who’s in that room?”
“My wife.”
The door burst open, and armed men raced through into the room beyond. They appeared to look at nothing, but I suppose they took everything in. They had guns strapped up and down their legs and round their bodies, and balmoral bonnets on the backs of their heads. One immense specimen was left to guard me. He stood by the empty fireplace and eyed me. I eyed him back again. Presently he smiled.
“You look cold,” I said, for he was shaking under his heavy coat.
“More tired than cold. Been at this without a break for three days and nights. It’s——!” He left the rest to me.
A series of heavy thuds overhead made me look up.
“It’s all right,” he said soothingly. “Only the chaps searching. The lady upstairs is a bad lot.”
“What?”
“I advise you to clear out. She’s coming into the limelight soon. Oh, we know all about her.”
“She’s harmless enough,” I said. “She talks rather.”