Matt had seen a sword swinging from the wall. Drawing the blade from its scabbard, he was holding it in his hand.
"I'd thought of borrowing this," said he, "until we see what's ahead."
"That's a regular jim-hickey of an idea!"
With one hand Ferral twitched at a lanyard about his neck and brought out a dirk.
"I might as well carry this, too," he added.
"Und vat vill I do some fighding mit?" asked Carl anxiously. "I don'd got anyt'ing more as a chack-knife."
"You stay behind and act as rear-guard, Carl," said Matt. "Dick and I will go ahead."
With sword and dirk in readiness for instant use, Matt and Ferral forged along the short hall to the stairs, peering carefully around them as they went. They did not see anything of their enemies and could not hear a sound apart from the noise they made themselves.
The flickering gleams of the candle showed a number of rich furnishings in the lower hall. The first story consisted of three rooms, parlor, library and kitchen. The parlor covered one side of the house, and was divided by a passage from the two rooms on the other side.
But in none of the rooms, nor the hall, was any of their lurking foes to be seen!