These guys ain't all fools. Somebody is liable
to nose out the trap-door before long and there'll be hell to pay. They
won't come back before to-morrow, I reckon. By thunder, there ought to
be word from the--the boss by this time. Lay low, everybody; I'll be
back before daybreak. This time I'm a-goin' to find out something sure
or know the reason why. I'm gettin' tired of this business. Never know
what minute the jig's up, nor when the balloon busts."
Again he stole forth into the night, leaving his companions more or less
uneasy as to the result, after the startling events of the afternoon.
Hour after hour passed, and with every minute therein, Rosalie's ears
strained themselves to catch the first sound of approaching rescuers.
Her spirits fell, but her hopes were high. She felt sure that the men
outside had seen her face and that at last they had discovered the place
in which she was kept. It would only be a question of time until they
learned the baffling secret of the trap-door. Her only fear lay in the
possibility that she might be removed by her captors before the rescuers
could accomplish her delivery. Her bright, feverish, eager eyes,
gleaming from the sunken white cheeks, appealed to Bill Briggs more than
he cared to admit. The ruffian, less hardened than his fellows, began to
feel sorry for her.
Eleven o'clock found the trio anxious and ugly in their restlessness.
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