I'm dead," cried the janitor, quaking.
Then suddenly trying to overpower Gerard's thunder, he shouted, with all his lungs: "OPEN THE GATE, YE KNAVES! WAY THERE FOR GERARD ELIASSOEN AND HIS COMPANY! (The fiends go with him!)" The gate swung open as by magic.

Eight soldiers lowered their pikes halfway, and made an arch, under which the victorious three marched in triumphant.

The moment they had passed, the pikes clashed together horizontally to bar the gateway, and all but pinned an abdominal citizen that sought to wedge in along with them.
Once past the guarded portal, a few steps brought the trio upon a scene of Oriental luxury.

The courtyard was laid out in tables loaded with rich meats and piled with gorgeous plate.

Guests in rich and various costumes sat beneath a leafy canopy of fresh-cut branches fastened tastefully to golden, silver, and blue silken cords that traversed the area; and fruits of many hues, including some artificial ones of gold, silver, and wax, hung pendant, or peeped like fair eyes among the green leaves of plane-trees and lime-trees.