"Who's there?" he cried.
"Some one who desires to speak to you," came back in firm tones.
"To me? At this hour?" asked the secretary in a daze.
"Yes, to you—open quickly or I shall burst in the window."
Melosan saw that it could not be a thief, and so he hesitatingly shoved back the bolt.
A powerful hand raised the window from the outside, and Melosan raised his weapon threateningly; but at this moment the light from the room fell full on the man's face, and the secretary let the pistol fall, and cried in a faint, trembling voice:
"You! You! O God! how did you get here?"
"Ha! ha! ha! Don't you see I came from the roof?" cried the man, mockingly.
"But you shall not come in," cried Melosan, angrily, as he cocked his pistol. "Get out of here, or I shall blow your brains out."
"You won't do any such thing," said the other, coolly. "Do you think because you are posing as an honest man that other people will imagine you are one? Ha! is the situation clear to you? A good memory is a good thing to have, and if one does not like to hear names it is better to acquiesce. Well, what do you say? Shall we talk over matters peacefully, or do you persist in firing off your pistol and attracting the attention of the police?"