[CHAPTER VI]
THREE OUT
Sam noiselessly closed the stairway door and subsided on the lower step, a prey to disappointment. To win by Perkins was out of the question, while to reach the stable end of the building, where the stalls were, he would have to cross the room diagonally and be in plain sight of Perkins the whole distance. Of course, he might do it so quietly as not to be heard, but that was doubtful; and after he had reached the stalls he might find himself unable to leave the building. He must try for some other avenue of escape.
Back up the stairs he went and turned toward the loft in which was stored the hay and grain. From this, at the front, was a gable with two hinged doors through which the hay was brought from below with rope and tackle. But the doors were closed and padlocked, and although Sam searched about for the key it was not to be found. The only other outlet was a window looking straight down into the service yard of the house, and here again he would have to have a rope of some sort. That put a new idea into his head and he started a search for something with which to lower himself. And in the midst of it there was a noise below; the sound of wheels and voices, and then the unmistakable entrance of a carriage into the carriage house. There was an animated conversation between Perkins and some one else, probably a coachman, and then the horse was unhitched and led into the stable below. Sam retreated toward the piled-up bales of hay, and scarcely a minute too soon, for the door at the foot of the stairs opened and the coachman came up. Sam peeped from his hiding place and saw the newcomer, a younger man than Perkins, go along the entry and open the door of one of the rooms on the front of the building. He left the door open behind him, and Sam could hear him moving about and whistling a tune. Beneath, Perkins was taking the harness off the horse. Now was Sam’s opportunity! He crept stealthily to the stairway, and saw to his delight that the coachman had left the door ajar. Down he went, step by step, and at the bottom peered out into the carriage room. It was empty, and from beyond came the sound of Perkins’s steps and the drag of harness. For a moment Sam hesitated. Then he left his hiding place and started across toward the door. And at the same instant Perkins appeared at the opposite corner of the room with a bridle in his hand.
“Billy!” he shouted.
Sam did the first thing that occurred to him, which was to drop just where he was. Perhaps had he made a dash for the door he would have got safely away, but the advent of the stableman had startled him. Perkins had his gaze fixed on a corner of the ceiling.
“Billy!” he called again.
There was an answering hail from upstairs and Sam seized the opportunity to creep into the shadow of the brougham that had come in and still stood in the middle of the floor.