re.

But that sharp dash of danger cooled admiration in my heart. I caught
Irma by the shoulders and, roughly enough, pulled her down beside me on
the platform behind the stone ramparts. For a moment I think she was
indignant, but the next thankful. For half-a-dozen balls clicked and
whizzed about, passing through the square gaps that went all round the
tower, as if the wall had had a couple of teeth knocked out at regular
distances every here and there.

Very cautiously we crawled to the stair-head, leaving our invisible
enemies cracking away at the fire basket, knocking little cascades of
sparks out of it, indeed, but doing no harm. For the beacon was
thoroughly well alight, and the chain good and strong.

As we descended the ladder I went first so as to help Irma. She was a
little upset, as indeed she might well be. For it was quite evident that
the number of our assailants had singularly increased, and we did not in
the least know whether our signal would do us any good or not.

"It may waken Boyd Connoway," I thought, "but that will be all. He will
come sneaking through the wood to see what is the matter so as to tell
about it, but he never used a weapon more deadly than a jack-knife with
a deer-horn handle."

As Irma's foot slipped on the bottom rung of the ladder, I caught her as
she swayed, and for a moment in that dark place I held her in my hands
like a posy, fresh and sweet smelling, but sacred as if in church. She
said, without drawing herself away, at least not for a moment longer
than she need, "Duncan, you saved my life!"

I had it on my tongue tip to reply, "And my own at the same time, for I
could not live without you!"

When one is young it is natural to talk like that, but my old awe of
Miss Irma preserved me from the mistake. It was too early days for that,
and I only said, "I am glad!" And when we got down there was Agnes Anne,
with her finger on her lip, watching little Sir Louis sleeping. She
whispered to me to know why we had made such a noise firing on the top
of the tower.

"It isn't like down in the cellar," she said, "you came as near as you
can think to wakening him!"

I was so astonished that I could not even tell Agnes Anne that she would
soon find it was not we who had done the firing. The most part of the
guns were in the cellar any way, as she might have remembered. Besides,
what was the use? She had caught that fell disease, which is
baby-worship.

Instead, I posted myself