“I see,” said Samuel; and gripped his hands so that his companion might not see how he was quaking.
Charlie got out his kit and examined it to make sure that the police had kept nothing. Then he went to a bureau drawer and got a revolver, examined it and slipped it into his pocket. “They kept my best one,” he said. “So I've none to lend you.”
“I—I wouldn't take it, anyway,” stammered the other in horror.
“You'll learn,” said the burglar with a smile.
Then he sat down again and drew a diagram of the streets of Lockmanville, so that Samuel could find his way back in case of trouble. “We don't want to take any chances,” said he. “And mind, if I get caught, I'll not mention you—wild horses couldn't drag it out of me. And you make the same promise.”
“I make it,” said Samuel.
“Man to man,” said Charlie solemnly; and Samuel repeated the words.
“How did you come to know so much about the house?” he asked after a while.
“Oh! I've lived here and I've kept my eyes open. I worked as a plumber's man for a couple of months and I made diagrams.”
“But don't the police get to know you?”