The robber put a whistle to his lips and blew a shrill blast.
In answer to this summons six other men burst from the covert, all armed, all dangerous.
“You see,” said the first speaker, “we are stronger than you thought. Fire at me, and all your lives are sacrificed. Your triumph will be short.”
“Don’t shoot, Herr Gates,” said the Dutchman in an agony of apprehension. “I don’t want to die. What would become of Katrine and the Kinder?”
Gates was a sensible man. He saw that to fire would only be to throw away his own life and that of his companions. This he felt that he had no moral right to do.
“What shall I do?” he asked, turning to Morton.
“It’s useless to resist,” said the latter nervously.
“And what do you say, Tom?”
“Since these gentlemen are so very pressing, we shall be obliged to yield.”
“I believe you are right.”