ing, boring. To free the under edge; the top did not matter. Not
knowing if Kitty were below--that was the worst part of the job.

The sweat of agony ran down Hawksley's face; but he never faltered. He
was going to die to-night, somehow, somewhere, but with free hands, the
way Stefani would have him die, the way the girl would have him die. All
these thousands of miles--to die in a house he had never seen before,
just when life was really worth something!

An hour went by. Then they heard Kitty's signal. Instinctively the two
of them knew that the taps came from her. They were absolutely certain
when her signal was repeated. She was below, alone.

"Faster!" whispered Cutty.

Hawksley smiled. To say that to a chap when he was digging into his
tomb!

When the sides of the trap were free Cutty tapped to Kitty again. There
was a long, agonizing wait. Then three taps came from below. Cutty
flashed a signal to the warehouse windows. In five minutes the raid
would be in full swing--from the roof, from the street, from the cellar.

With their short crowbars braced by stout fulcrums the two men heaved.
Noise did not matter now. Presently the trap went over.

"Look out for your hands; there's lots of loose glass. And together when
we drop."

"Right-o!" whispered Hawksley, assured that when he dropped through the
trap the result would be oblivion. Done in.

CHAPTER XXXI

Karlov, upon forcing his way past Kitty's barricade, stared at her
doubtfully. This was a clever girl; she had proved her cleverness
frequently. She might have some reason other than fear in keeping him
out. So he put a fresh candle in the sconce and began to prowl. He
pierced the attic windows with a ranging glance; no one was in the yard
or on the Street. The dust on the windows had not been disturbed.

To Kitty the suspense was intolerable. At any moment Cutty might tap a
query to her. How to warn him that all was not well? A scream would
do it; but in that event when Cutty arrived there would be no Kitty
Conover. Something that would sound unusual to Cutty and accidental to
Karlov. She hit upon it. She seized a plank from her barricade, raised
it to a perpendicular position, then flung it down violently. Would
Cutty hear and comprehend that she was warning him? As a matter of
fact, Cutty never heard the crash, for at that particular minute he was
standing up to get the kinks out of his knees.

Karlov whirled on his heels, ran to Kitty, and