She pressed the point of the daimio's sword close to her
heart. A heavy knock fell upon the door and at the same
instant the girl was startled by a noise behind her--a noise
at the little window at the far end of the room.
Turning to face this new danger, she was startled into a
little cry of surprise to see the head and shoulders of the
mucker framed in the broken square of the half-demolished
window.
The girl did not know whether to feel renewed hope or
utter despair. She could not forget the heroism of her rescue
by this brutal fellow when the Halfmoon had gone to pieces
the day before, nor could she banish from her mind his
threats of violence toward her, or his brutal treatment of
Mallory and Theriere. And the question arose in her mind as
to whether she would be any better off in his power than in
the clutches of the savage samurai.
Billy Byrne had heard the knock upon the door before
which the girl knelt. He had seen the corpses of the dead men
at her feet. He had observed the telltale position of the sword
which the girl held to her breast and he had read much of the
story of the impending tragedy at a glance.
"Cheer up, kid!" he whispered. "I'll be wid youse in a
minute, an' Theriere's out here too, to help youse if I can't do
it alone.
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