Suddenly, as he reached the second floor, a little cry from the
crowd warned him of what had happened. Tongues of flame curling out from
the blazing building, had caught the rope, which was being burned through
not a dozen feet away from him. He descended a little further and paused
in mid-air.
A shout from the crowd reached him.
"The cables! Try the cables!"
He glanced round. Seven or eight feet away, and almost level with him was
a double row of telegraph wires. Almost as he saw them the rope below him
burned through and fell to the ground. He swung a little towards the side
of the house, pushed himself vigorously away from it with his feet, and at
the farthest point of the outward swing, jumped. His hands gripped the
telegraph wires safely. Even in that tense moment he heard a little sob of
relief from the people below.
Hand over hand he made his way to the nearest pole and slipped easily to
the ground. The crowd immediately surged around him. Some one forced a
drink into his hand. A chorus of congratulations fell upon his deafened
ears. Then the coming of the fire engines, and the approach of a police
automobile diverted the attention of the on-lookers. Quest slipped about
amongst them, searching for Craig.
"Where is the man who came down before me?" he asked a bystander.
"Talking to the police in the car over yonder," was the hoarse reply.
"Say, Guv'nor, you only just made that!"
Quest pushed his way through the crowd to where Craig was speaking eagerly
to Inspector French.
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