'
"Thereupon Mariora paid no more attention to me but began wringing her
hands and I snatched up the child, who had been awakened by the noise
and begun to cry. I drew my pistol from my bosom and planted myself
beside the door. If there's nobody else, I thought, I must bear the
brunt of it.
"The robber planted his shoulder against the door and pressed it inwards
with tremendous force. The boards cracked and as the middle of the door
was barricaded by a stout beam, there was soon a regular gap between the
two folds of the door and the door inclined more and more inwards.
Through the opening thus made, I held the pistol, pointed straight at
his temples and only an inch away from him. He is a very strong man, I
thought, but another effort of strength and he will be lying dead at my
feet."
The girl was quite overcome by the narration of this scene. She paused
for a moment to recover herself, during which Henrietta, as pale as a
statue, gazed at her in silence.
Presently she resumed:
"At that critical moment, a cry like the howl of a wild beast resounded
in front of the hut. The door fell back into its proper place and
rushing to the little window, I saw that _two_ men now stood in front
of the hut.
"Juon Tare had arrived at last!
"It was neither speech nor language that he addressed to his antagonist
in the first instant of their encounter, it was the savage roar of a
wild beast rushing upon its prey.
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