"I have you, and I propose to keep you. No more talk! Come down-stairs, Captain Coonly, or I will order my men to fire!"
The leader of the marauders hesitated, and then took a single step in the descent; he halted there.
"I only want to say"—
"Say nothing more! Come down, or you are a dead man in another second!" added Deck, still calm and resolute.
"Go down, Cap!" said several of his followers as they retired from the dangerous locality at the head of the stairs.
The captain did not hesitate any longer, but descended the steps very slowly, as though he was marching at his own funeral.
"Win, bring all the cords and straps you can find. We shall want a lot of them," said Deck in a low tone to the guide. "Bugler, go with him and help him bring them."
"This is not fair play," said the captain as he landed in the hall.
"No more talk!"
