“I—I’ve got to do it!” She set her teeth hard. “I’ll find out about the long-eared one; lift the trap door quick. If he’s there I’ll slam it down again.
“And if he’s not there, I—I’ve got to go down!”
Catching a quick breath and whispering: “Now!” she lifted the trap door.
She did not drop it. There was no one at the top of the ladder.
Who can say that it did not take courage to drag her feet off the top of the dome and allow them to dangle until they came into contact with a round of the ladder? Who can tell how many miles it seemed to the bottom?
Enough that she reached solid earth at last.
Then, catching her breath for the second time, she seized the knob, turned it, swung the door open, stepped out, closed it silently, glanced to the right and to the left, then dashed for the cool outer air of night—free!
CHAPTER VIII
JEANNE’S DOUBLE
On reaching the Tavern Jeanne found herself in a high state of agitation. The hour was late. How late? This she could not tell. Had she missed her appointment? Would the movie queen be gone? She caught her breath at the thought. Something had told her that this meeting meant an open door, one more great opportunity.
“Oh!” she breathed as, dropping into a chair, she looked at the clock. “It lacks ten minutes of the hour.”