“Do so,” replied Kneebone; “but remember the door is locked.”
“Monster!” cried Winifred. “Help! help!”
“You call in vain,” returned Kneebone.
“Not so,” replied Jack, throwing down the skreen. “Release her instantly, villain!”
Both Winifred and her suitor started at this sudden apparition. Jack, whose clothes were covered with dust, and whose face was deathly pale from his recent exertion, looked more like a phantom than a living person.
“In the devil's name, is that you, Jack!” ejaculated Kneebone.
“It is,” replied Sheppard. “You have uttered a wilful and deliberate falsehood in asserting that I have murdered Thames, for whom you well know I would lay down my life. Retract your words instantly, or take the consequences.”
“What should I retract, villain?” cried the woollen-draper, who at the sound of Jack's voice had regained his confidence. “To the best of my belief, Thames Darrell has been murdered by you.”
“A lie!” exclaimed Jack in a terrible tone. And before Kneebone could draw his sword, he felled him to the ground with the iron bar.
“You have killed him,” cried Winifred in alarm.