the men before the doors in a casual voice, though he was breathing
heavily from the unaccustomed exertion. "They've smashed up the
fruit-stand on the ground floor and stolen the contents. It's nothing
but blue funk! Only, if any of them start to gather around here,
hit them first and talk it over afterward. You'll do that?"

"We will!" the men said heartily.

"Shall we use our guns?" asked another hopefully.

Van Deventer grinned.

"No," he replied, "we haven't any excuse for that yet. But you might
shoot at the ceiling, if they get excited. They're just frightened!"

He took Arthur's arm, and the two walked toward the stairway again.

"Chamberlain," he said happily, "tell me why I've never had as much
fun as this before!"

Arthur smiled a bit wearily.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!" he said. "I'm not. I'm going
outside and walk around. I want to see if any cracks have appeared
in the earth anywhere. It's dark, and I'll borrow a lantern down
in the fire-room, but I want to find out if there are any more
developments in the condition of the building."