“You were more than a match for me,” said Manning, “but he wins best who wins last.”
“Well, what do you mean to do?” asked Ranney, doggedly.
“To capture you, Dick Ranney, and hand you over to the law which you have so persistently violated.”
“That you will never do,” said Ranney, and he dashed toward the window, thrusting Manning to one side.
But what he saw increased his dismay. The ladder had been removed, and if he would leave the room he must leap to the ground, a distance of over twenty feet.
“Confusion!” he exclaimed. “The ladder is gone!”
“Yes, I directed the stable-boy to keep awake and remove it,” explained Manning.
“I may be taken, but I will be revenged first,” shouted Dick Ranney, and he flung himself on Manning, who, unprepared for the sudden attack, sank to the floor, with Ranney on top. But the outlaw's triumph was short-lived. Walter sprang to Manning's rescue, seized the revolver, and, aiming it at the burglar, cried quickly:
“Get up, or I'll fire!”
Dick Ranney rose sullenly. He paid Walter the compliment of believing he meant what he said.