"
"Then, let's go back and try the other," she urged. "That opens
directly into the valley and is probably not guarded. What is
happening now?"
A grey gleam of light struck the steps from above, recognised instantly
as a reflection of day, as though some cover had been uplifted
connecting this underground labyrinth with the clear sky. A dim shadow
touched the illumined rocks for a brief moment, a moving shadow
uncertain in its outlines, grotesque, shapeless: and then the daylight
vanished as suddenly as it dawned. There was a faint click, as though
a door closed, while darkness resumed sway, the silence unbroken, but
for the scraping of a step on those rude stairs. The two guards below
came to their feet, rigid in the glow of the lantern, their faces
turned upward. Then a man came slowly down the last few steps and
joined them.
CHAPTER XXVII: A DANGEROUS PRISONER
He was tall and thin, wearing a wide cloak about his shoulders, and
high hat with broad brim. Even at that distance it could be seen that
his long hair was grey, and that a heavy moustache, snow-white, made
more noticeable the thin features of his face.
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