"
In the Lewis car were several men. They descended hurriedly, and
when one of them ran around the front of the car to turn off its
lights both women saw that he carried a rifle. Evidently Tad Lewis
had come prepared for desperate measures.
A small door gave entrance to the boiler-room, and into the lock
of this Mrs. Austin fitted a key; the next moment she and Paloma
were safely inside. They found themselves in utter darkness now,
with a smooth brick floor beneath their feet and a strong odor of
oil and burnt fuel in their nostrils.
Alaire was agreeably surprised in Paloma Jones, for, although the
girl was wrought to a pitch of hysterical excitement, she had,
nevertheless, retained her wits; nor had she faltered in the
slightest. It was evident that the fighting blood of her father
was aroused in her, for she said, calmly:
"When it gets light enough to shoot, I'm going to get Tad Lewis."
"Don't act too quickly," cautioned Alaire. "Perhaps your father
and Dave have come and gone. Anyhow, we can warn them just as well
by firing into the air."
In reply to this suggestion Paloma merely muttered something under
her breath.
The brief night ride had given Alaire time in which to recover
from her first apprehensions, and now she was surprised at her own
coolness.
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