Butfaceswereshowingnowabovethelevelofthefloor，andtherewassuddenlyanincreaseduproarfromfurtherbackintherearuntilitseemedthatpandemoniumitselfwereloosed。
“It’sthepolice！Thepolicebehindus！“sheheardShluker’svoiceshriekout。
Shejumpedtoherfeet。TwooftheganghadreachedthelandingandweresmashingattheAdventurer。Thereseemedtobeaswirlingmobinriottherebelow。TheAdventurerwasfightinglikeamadman。
Itwashandtohandnow。
“Quick！Quick！“shecriedtotheAdventurer。“Jumpbackthroughthedoor。“
“Oh，no，youdon’t！“ItwasSkeeny-shecouldseetheman’sbrutalfacenow。“Oh，no，youdon’t，youshe-devil！“heshouted，and，over-reachingtheAdventurer’sguard，struckatherfuriouslywithhisclubbedrevolver。
Itstruckheraglancingblowonthehead，andshereeledandstaggered，butrecoveredherself。Andnowitseemedasthoughitwereanotherbattlethatshefought-andonemoredesperate；abattletofightbackahorriblegiddinessfromoverpoweringher，andwithwhichherbrainwasswimming，tofightitbackforjustasecond，thefractionofasecondthatwasneededuntil-until-“Jump！“shecriedagain，andstaggeredoverthethreshold，and，astheAdventurerleapedbackwardbesideher，sheslammedthedoor，andlockedit-andslidlimplytothefloor。
Whensheregainedconsciousnessshewaslyingonthecot。Itseemedverystill，veryquietinthegarret。Sheopenedhereyes。
It-itmustbeallright，forthatwastheSparrowstandingtherewatchingher，andshiftingnervouslyfromfoottofoot，wasn’tit？
Hecouldn’tbethere，otherwise。Sheheldoutherhand。
“Marty，“shesaid，andsmiledwithtremblinglips，“we-weoweyouagreatdeal。“
TheSparrowgulped。
“Gee，you’reallrightagain！Theysaiditwasn’tnothin’，butyouhadmescaredworse’ndownattheironplantwhenIhadtodotheroughactwiththatgentfriendofyourstostophimfromcrawlin’
afteryouandfightin’itout，andqueerin’thewholeworks。Youdon’towemenothin’，MissGray；and，besides，I’mgettin’alotmorethaniscomm’tome，’causethatsamegentfriendofyourstheresaysI’mgoin’tohorninontherewards，andIguessthat’sgoin’some，fortheygotthewholeoutfitfromDanglardown，andthestuffupintheceilingthere，too。“
Sheturnedherhead。TheAdventurerwascomingtowardthecot。
“Better？“hecalledcheerily。
“Yes，“shesaid。“Quite！OnlyI-I’dliketogetawayfromhere，fromthis-thishorribleplaceatonce，andbackto-tomyflatifthey’llletme。Are-aretheyallgone？“
TheAdventurer’sgrayeyeslightedwithawhimsicalsmile。
“Nearlyall！“hesaidsoftly。“And-er-Sparrow，supposeyougoandfindataxi！“
“Me？Sure！Ofcourse！Sure！“saidtheSparrowhurriedly，andretreatedthroughthedoor。
Shefeltthebloodfloodherface，andshetriedtoavertit。
Hebenthisheadclosetohers。
“Rhoda，“hisvoicewaslow，passionate，“I-“
“Wait！“shesaid。“Yourfriend-theassistantdistrictattorney-didhecome？“
“Yes，“saidtheAdventurer。“ButIshooedthemallout，assoonaswefoundyouwerenotseriouslyhurt。Ithoughtyouhadhadenoughexcitementforonenight。Hewantstoseeyouinthemorning。“
“Toseeme“-sheroseupanxiouslyonherelbow-“inthemorning？“
Hewassmilingather。Hishandsreachedoutandtookherfacebetweenthem，andmadeherlookathim。
“Rhoda，“hesaidgently，“Iknewto-nightintheironplantthatyoucared。Itoldhimso。WhathewantstoseeyouforistotellyouthathethinksIamtheluckiestmaninalltheworld。Youareclear，dear。EvenRoughRorkeissingingyourpraises；hesaysyouaretheonlywomanwhoeverputoneoveronhim。“
Shedidnotanswerforamoment；andthenwithalittlesobofgladsurrendersheburiedherfaceonhisshoulder。
“It-itisverywonderful，“shesaidbrokenly，“for-forevenwe，youandI，eachthoughttheothera-athief。“
“Andsowewere，thankGod！“hewhispered-andliftedherheaduntilnowhislipsmethers。“Wewereboththieves，Rhoda，weren’twe？And，pleaseGod，wewillbeallourlives-forwehavestoleneachother’sheart。“
End
