"Lord!" he muttered in an awestruck whisper. "I never thought the darn thing would work like this!"
That revived me.
"Don't be an idiot!" I cried sharply. "You don't suppose it's got anything to do with your beastly green monkey? The wretched woman's gone clean off her head. Something must be done at once."
At that moment there came a savage hammering on the panels of the door.
"I know what I'm going to do!" exclaimed Bruce hastily, "and that's get out of the window. She'll have Jones up in a moment if she goes on like that, and the man's as jealous as Satan. He'd kill me for a certainty before I had time to explain."
"Well, I'm not going to be left here with a couple of gibbering lunatics!" I protested, jumping up from the sofa.
He caught me by the sleeve.
"Come on then; we can get out on the balcony and climb down by the ivy. Anything's better than waiting for Jones."
By this time I was so bewildered that I think I should have fallen in with any suggestion, however ludicrous. I remember some vague wonder passing through my mind as to what the next-door people would think if they saw us swarming down the front of the house; but with the door threatening to yield every instant before Mrs. Jones's frantic assault, there was no opportunity for detached reflection. Grabbing my hat from the table, I followed Bruce out on to the balcony, shutting the window behind me. One glance up and down showed us that the road was empty.
"You go first," I said unselfishly; "you're in most danger."