Van Nesten, braced as he was, took a step forward under the quick strain. The belt sagged, and the burglar sunk to a level with the roof. Its cornice was almost in his face. Terror was upon him as he hung, and he could not move. Then the belt slipped: Van Nesten could not hold it. The burglar gasped and clutched at the edge of the roof. Van Nesten, tangled in the belting, thought that he had fallen, and he hurried forward. The white face was beneath him and his own wild eyes stared into it.
Van Nesten, breathing heavily, bent over and took the burglar by the wrists. Terror now was upon them both. Slowly Van Nesten drew up the burglar who hung inert. It was not till his waist had passed the point of safety that the burglar exerted himself. Then he made a sudden frantic effort, and, wrenching himself free from Van Nesten, he crawled out upon the roof.
He lay flat for a moment from sheer exhaustion, then he sat up.
“By God!” said the burglar, passing his hands over his face, “I don’t want nothing more like that.”
Van Nesten, feeling suddenly weak, had sat down also. Now he turned toward the burglar and burst out laughing.
The burglar gave Van Nesten a quick look.
“What’s to do with you and me?” he asked.
Van Nesten remained cheerful.
“Don’t know,” he said. “Say,” he immediately added, “got anything you want to burn up? The firemen’ll be here in about a minute, you know.”
The burglar took the hint. He stood up and cast certain things through the window to the room they had just left.