"Would you rather go back and
wait for me?" he said.
"Oh, no!" she said, instantly. "No; I am coming too."
He said no more, but grimly stalked in the wake of Warden.
The latter moved quickly till he reached the place where the lamp was
lodged in a niche in the wall. Here he stopped, stooped, and fitted a key
into a narrow door that had been let into the stone. It opened outwards,
and he drew aside, waiting for Hill.
"I will go and dismiss the men," he said. "May I leave you in charge till
I come back? They will not come this way."
Hill paused on the threshold. The lamp cast a dim light into the place,
which was close and gloomy as a prison.
"There are two steps down," said Warden. "One of them is badly broken,
but it's worth your while to go in and have a look at our latest finds.
You had better go first, sir. Be careful!"
He turned to depart with the words, still ignoring Dot. She was close to
Hill, and something impelled her to lay a restraining hand on his
shoulder as he took the first step down.
What followed happened with such stunning swiftness that her memory of
it ever afterwards was a confused jumble of impressions, like the wild
course of a nightmare.
She heard Warden swing round again in his tracks, but before she could
turn he had caught her and flung her backwards over his arm. With his
other hand simultaneously he dealt Hill a blow in the back that sent him
blundering down into the darkness, and then, with lightning rapidity, he
banged the door upon his captive.
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