comfortably on the lower edge; and then, very slowly and cautiously, I
drew back the sliding panel about six inches. The ruffians were still
wrangling on the same subject, for I heard one exclaim:

"'Don't be a fool, Piragoff. You'll only attract attention if you go
nosing about downstairs.'

"'I don't care,' was the answer; 'I feel uneasy. I must go down and see
that all is quiet before I go to sleep.' Here the sound of the opening
and shutting of the door put an end to the discussion, save for a
torrent of curses and maledictions from the two remaining men. But in a
few moments the door opened noisily and Piragoff shouted:

"'Come out! Come out! The house is empty! We are betrayed.'

"A howl of dismay was the answer. The two wretches burst into a
grotesque mixture of weeping and cursing, and I heard them literally
dancing about the room in the ecstasy of their terror.

"'Come out!' repeated Piragoff. 'We will kill them all! We will shoot
those pigs, every one of them! Some of us shall get away. Come!'

"'It is of no use, Piragoff,' whimpered one of his comrades. 'They are
in the house. It is an ambush.'

"'Yes,' cried the third man, 'it is as Boris says. The house is dark and
they are hiding in it. Bolt the door and let them come up to us; and we
will kill them--kill!--kill!--_kill_!' he ended with an unearthly shriek
and a burst of hysterical sobs.

"'I shall go,' said Piragoff. 'There is a chance.'

"'There is none,' shrieked the other. 'Come back, madman!'

"The door slammed, the key turned in the lock and a heavy bolt was shot.
I quietly closed the slide and ran down to the open window of the first
floor front room.

"The street appeared to be empty save for two constables who stood at a
corner conversing in low tones. A profound silence reigned--an unusual
silence, as it seemed!--through which the subdued murmur of the
constables' voices was faintly audible. I looked out anxiously, debating
whether I ought not to warn the unconscious sentinels even at the risk
of defeating my plans. Suddenly two sharp reports in quick succession
rang out from below; both constables fell, and a figure darted out of
the doorway and raced madly up the street.

"One of the fallen constables lay motionless; the other grasped his hip
with one hand and with the other fired his revolver repeatedly at the
retreating murderer, but apparently missed him every time. In a few
seconds a sergeant and another constable came flying