After which, breathing hard and in a maze of perplexity, he got to
his feet. Already his hearing, quickened by the emergency, had
apprised him of the situation's imminent hazards. It needed not
the girl's hurried whisper, "_The servants_!" to warn him of
their danger. From the rear wing of the mansion the sounds of
hurrying feet were distinctly audible, as, presently, were the
heavy, excited voices of men and the more shrill and frightened
cries of women.

Heedless of her displeasure, Maitland seized the girl by the arm
and urged her over to the open Window. "Don't hang back!" he told
her nervously. "You must get out of this before they see you. Do
as I tell you, please, and we'll save ourselves yet! If we both
make a run for it, we're lost. Don't you understand?"

"No. Why?" she demanded, reluctant, spirited, obstinate--and
lovely in his eyes.

"If he were anybody else," Maitland indicated, with a jerk of his
head toward the burglar. "But didn't you see? He must be
Maitland--and he's my double. I'll stay, brazen it out, then, as
soon as possible, make my escape and join you by the gate. Your
motor's there--what? Be ready for me...."

But she had grasped his intention and was suddenly become pliant
to his will. "You're wonderful!" she told him with a little low
laugh; and was gone, silently as a spirit.

The curtains fell behind her in long, straight folds; Maitland