The sinking floor stopped with a bump that brought the baron to his knees. He heard the piece of timber which he had seen over him scuttling down, and threw up his arm to ward it off; failing to do so, it rapped him on the head, knocking him heavily to the floor.
The door opened; and the baron, dazed and bewildered, was seized by strong arms and dragged out, not knowing at the moment what was happening to him.
When he came back to something like clearness of thought a dim light was shining before him, and by it a man was sitting. The man was Gopher Gabe, and the light was from a candle stuck on top of a box. The place seemed to be a cellar, and had the odor of one.
The baron’s first effort was to brush away cobwebs that seemed to obscure his vision. In trying it, he made the discovery that he was tied up, hand and foot. He was dizzy and half blind.
“Vale,” he said, “how iss dhis?”
His voice sounded strange to him, and far off.
“You know where you are?” came in answer.
“I seem to be in der cellar. Who ar-re you, eenyhow? Somedings seems to pe fluddering pefore mine eyes, so dot I do not see so blain as I wouldt like.”
“How did you get in here?”
“Idt iss der kvestion I am vandting to ask uff you.”