They began to breathe a little quicker, and grasped their guns more tightly. A gleam of light fell across the threshold. They could see a slipper lying there――one that Maude had dropped. The burglars had probably perceived this, and thence argued that people were afoot, for the light disappeared, and they could hear whisperings outside the door. The big bedroom, as it was called, was a square chamber, barely furnished. The two bedsteads had been placed close to the window on the left-hand side. Round and about these beds the six besieged persons were crouched or seated. The moonlight poured in at the window in such a manner that while the whole of the opposite side, except one corner, was as light as day, the little nook by the beds was buried in impenetrable darkness. The one dark corner on the opposite side was formed by the chimney, which jutted out some little way into the room. They listened breathlessly for some moments, till they fancied that they heard a board creak inside the room close to the door; and at that moment, as if by magic, a voice issued from the corner of the chimney. “We are armed with loaded revolvers; if you come a step nearer we fire!” The lurid flash of a pistol flamed within the room, and they heard a ball strike sharply against the wall. Maude betrayed their hiding-place with a shriek, and fell fainting in her brother John’s arms. A loud report rang in their ears, and the room was filled with a thick, sulphurous smoke. By the light of the powder’s flame when the first shot was fired, there was one who had seen the robber’s face――a face, once seen, not soon to be forgotten. The dark cavernous eyes of the “Badger” had been distinctly visible to Jane Ryan, who gave a scream of triumph and revenge. It was but momentarily that she had caught sight of the forbidding features of the miscreant; but it was enough for her purpose. She levelled her master’s gun at the supposed spot where the robber was; and as she fired, something fell heavily upon the floor. A shudder passed over them like a cold wind. They drew their breath and heard the same whisperings outside the door. John Ashbrook placed his sister behind himself and his brother. There was an interval of silence; they began to hope that the burglars had gone, when presently they perceived something on the opposite wall. They watched it with fascinated eyes. It was a small, dark shadow, creeping towards them along the wall. It was the shadow of a man’s hand. Then they heard a harsh, rustling sound, as if something was being dragged along the floor. The robbers were taking away the dead body of their comrade. They did not dare to move, for they knew the burglars were armed to a far greater extent than they were, and exposure might prove fatal. Ten minutes passed thus; ten minutes of frightful suspense to these farmers――who were brave but not phlegmatic――who now fought men for the first time, and fought them in the dark.