“We went upstairs together,the colonel first with the lamp,the fat manager and I behind him.It was a labyrinth of an old house, with corridors,passages, narrow winding staircases,and little low doors,the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an air as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at least a fellow-countryman.
“Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door,which he unlocked. Within was a small, square room,in which the three of us could hardly get at one time.Ferguson remained outside,and the colonel ushered me in.
“‘We are now,’ said he,‘actually within the hydraulic press,and it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set it right.’
“I took the lamp from him,and I examined the machine very thoroughly.It was indeed a gigantic one,and capable of exercising enormous pressure.When I passed outside, however,and pressed down the levers which controlled it,I knew at once by the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage,which allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders.An examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller’s-earth was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the colonel looking down at me.
“‘What are you doing there?’ he asked.
“I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as that which he had told me. ‘I was admiring your fuller’s-earth,’ said I; ‘I think that I should be better able to advise you as to your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it was used.’
“The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of my speech.His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in his grey eyes.
“‘Very well,’ said he,‘you shall know all about the machine.’ He took a step backward, slammed the little door,and turned the key in the lock.I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle,but it was quite secure,and did not give in the least to my kicks and shoves. ‘Hullo!’ I yelled. ‘Hullo!Colonel!Let me out!’
“And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and dragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to let me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering down upon me?Already I was unable to stand erect,when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope back to my heart.
“I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron,the walls were of wood.As I gave a last hurried glance around,I saw a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards,which broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward.For an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door which led away from death. The next instant I threw myself through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me how narrow had been my escape.
“I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist,and I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor,while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand,while she held a candle in her right.It was the same good friend whose warning I had so foolishly rejected.
“‘Come!come!’ she cried breathlessly.‘They will be here in a moment.They will see that you are not there. Oh,do not waste the so-precious time, but come!’
“This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice.I staggered to my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about her like one who is at her wit’s end. Then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon was shining brightly.
“‘It is your only chance,’ said she. ‘It is high,but it may be that you can jump it.’
“As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the passage,and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a butcher’s cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom, flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet and wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between my saviour and the ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill-used, then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance. The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms round him and tried to hold him back.
“‘Fritz!Fritz!’ she cried in English,‘remember your promise after the last time.You said it should not be again. He will be silent!Oh, he will be silent!’