Could he believe his ears? As he lay face down he heard a voice address him.
“Quick, sir. I’m goin’ to cut the ropes.”
It was old Bob Bender. He cut and slashed to such good purpose that in a moment Hugh and Margot were both free.
“There’s not a moment to lose,” whispered Bob. “They’re hunting out in front but they may return any minute. You must escape by the back. Come, I’ll show you the way. Buck up, missy, you’ve got to make an effort.”
Hugh supported the girl, and Bob piloted them along the dark hallway. At the foot of a flight of stairs Bob opened a door. The pure air of the mountain caressed their faces.
“Take to the woods,” whispered Bob. “Climb high, make a wide circle. I’ll slip back and get that paper you wrote. Then I’ll join them in the hunt. Good luck to you. Krantz is a wonder. The Casino is saved.”
3.
Taking the girl’s hand Hugh led her through the darkness, down a narrow flight of stone steps, and along a steep pathway amid the shrubbery. He heard sounds of the pursuit from the other side of the house and once the sharp crack of a revolver. Once too, some one came panting along the pathway towards them. He had scarcely time to pull Margot into the deep shadow of the bushes before a burly form pounded past. Trembling and terrified the girl clung to him until the footsteps were drowned in silence.
Once more he dragged her on. At the end of the pathway, they came to a small door set in the high wall, secured by a rusted bolt that at first resisted all his efforts. Suddenly it shot back, and they found themselves on the mountain side.
From the door a steep trail led to higher altitudes, and up this he hurried her. Rocks tripped them, and thorny bushes clutched at them, but spurred by fear they stumbled on. Even when the tiny donkey-path faded out and they found themselves on the raw and ragged flanks of the mountain, they continued to climb and climb.