iron pails with the movable bottoms, and one of these had been hung
over each bedroom door.

The hot water over Harkaway's door, the paint over Harvey's, and the
tar over that in which the two boys and Jefferson reposed.

A string was attached to each pail, and passed over a pulley, the end
being conveyed to a recess where the three watchers were concealed.
They were armed.

Sunday, Monday, and Petrus each had a six-chambered revolver, loaded.

Then came the clang of the old-fashioned clock as it proclaimed half-
past twelve.

Breathless silence prevailed both inside the house and out.

"Lights out," whispered Petrus, when, after a short pause, a slight
grating noise was heard at the back door.

In an instant all was darkness, except that the moon shone through a
narrow window at the extreme end of the corridor.

A few minutes afterwards Petrus, who was watching, saw three dark
figures come gliding into the long passage.

The first was a tall, bulky figure--Toro.

The second the Greek, and the third was evidently Hunston.