“It’s a chance, Bill. And if we don’t smother in the attempt, it’s worth trying, anyway. Come ahead.”
Bill pulled himself upward and over Sanborn’s body until he stood on the detective’s broad shoulders. Then he gasped in astonishment. The heat and smoke from the other chimney had subsided and the air was now bearable. The explanation came like a flash. This must be the outlet from the dining room, from which the fire had been removed. There was not a moment to lose.
Dropping his legs into the dining room shaft, he lay bellywise across the junction of the two openings and reached down toward Sanborn.
“Hurry up, old sport,” he cried, gripping the detective’s extended hands. “That’s right—up you come!”
“But what—the smoke’s gone—”
“Never mind that now—drop down this shaft beside me. It’s narrow enough to brace with your back and legs. And make it snappy, too, or you’ll get singed.”
Ashton Sanborn swung back beside Bill. There was a subdued roar down the chimney. Then a sheet of flame shot upward.
Chapter XVI
THE PROFESSOR TALKS
“That got the dear gentlemen!” There came a rasping chuckle from below. “Yes, that sent them to their happy hunting ground. Too bad the Indian wasn’t with them, but he will serve another purpose.”
“Beg pardon, Professor—” It was Lambert’s subdued voice this time. “If those two are really done for—burned to death, why don’t the bodies fall?”