pen. "What's
she doing?"

But even while the words were still in his mouth he sensed the meaning
of the thing; shifting his position to the other window he saw that the
illuminated windows below belonged to different rooms; there was a wall
between Nora and the two men, and it was at this she was kneeling, one
ear held to it, listening.

"Ah!" said Bat. "That's it, eh? Good! Things are not to go off with the
excited bang I expected. I'll have at least a couple of minutes to get
myself in hand."

His first thought was of the big Colt which hung under his arm; a touch
assured him that it was still there and free. His next was as to the lay
of the land; to reach the main floor was simple enough; but how to get
to the rooms in which were Nora and the two men was another matter. As
he weighed the situation anxiously, an idea occurred to him. While
looking along the hall a while before he had seen a small red light
burning.

"Why, of course," he said. "A fire-escape. Just the thing. It's sure to
lead down into this courtyard; and from there it's only a step and a
smash, and I'm in and asking them about this little matter."

Quietly he opened the door and stepped into the hall. The red light
burned over a window some dozen feet away; he lifted the sash and in a
moment was out upon the platform. Below, all was darkness, save for the
light which came from the two windows he had been watching; and down
into this shadowy gulf went Bat with careful steps.

The courtyard was paved with the uneven stones of another day, and
gingerly Bat picked his way across it toward the light. This was thrown
out in two wide shafts, which met and merged in the first dozen feet of
their projection.

"I must hang around on the edge," Bat reflected. "If I dip into the
light they'll see me before I'm ready to have them do so."

Craftily he approached the window through which he had seen Nora, and
looked in. She was still there, but was now erect, talking with some one
whom Bat could not see. She stood with her back to the window, her hands
behind her; the revolver was still held in one of them, and while she
was in this position, she placed it upon the stand.

"Clever work," said Bat, as he watched and saw the manoeuvre
successfully accomplished. "Disarming in the face of the enemy, and the
said enemy never the wiser. But I wonder why the armament is not now
necessary, and was so much so five minutes ago?"

He shifted a little, taking a ch