Mike was an active as well as a strong man, and speedily was by his side.
"Now we will drop down," Desmond said, and, setting the example, lowered himself till he hung by his hands, and then dropped.

Mike was soon beside him.
"What shall we do next ?" "We will go and knock boldly at the door; but before we do that, we will unbar the gate and shoot the bolt of the lock.

We have no idea how many men there may be in the house.

Maybe we shall have to beat a retreat." The lock was shot without difficulty, but the bolts were still fast, and were not drawn without noise.

They pushed back the last of these, and then opened the gates, which creaked noisily as they did so.
"They can hardly help hearing that," Desmond muttered; and indeed, as he spoke, the door of the house opened suddenly, and five men came out, two of them holding torches.