A door led from the passage into a yard at the back of the house, and through this Edgar sped with his burden as rapidly as he could. The yard was separated from the next by a low wall, and over this he pressed, making for the door at the back of the house opposite to him. This door, however, was fast, and was too strongly made to be readily battered down; so without a moment’s hesitation Edgar sprang at the single-shuttered window on the ground floor. Placing the cripple lad down for a moment, he seized a corner of the shutter with both hands, and, exerting all his strength, tore it bodily away. Flinging it to the ground with a clatter, he again lifted the cripple lad, placed him on the sill, and leaped up after him. Not until then did he pause to glance inside the room, but now he saw that it contained four men, who had evidently been drinking and playing at cards when disturbed by the sudden wrenching of the shutter from off its hinges. They were rough-looking men, and stared fiercely, albeit with some alarm, at the two figures perched upon the window sill. "Who are ye?" challenged one in a rough and threatening tone. "Speak--what want ye?" Edgar would have retreated had there been time, but already some of his pursuers were dropping over the low wall behind, shouting in fierce exultation as they saw their prey almost within their grasp. In another moment or two he would have to defend himself in the rear, whilst his front was threatened by these four men, who looked as ripe for mischief as any of the ruffians closing in behind. Desperate measures alone could save him. Whispering to the cripple to cling to his back and so free both arms, Edgar flung his legs over the sill, sprang into the room, and dashed for the door. Two of the men drew their knives and made as though to stop him, but Edgar, who still carried his sword naked in his hand, instantly attacked them. Two rapid thrusts from his practised hand and the men fell back, shrieking and snarling, leaving him free to pass unmolested through the door and down a passage into another alley on the farther side. Edgar’s exertions in running and climbing, burdened by the cripple lad, had been so great that he felt he must at once find a refuge, even if only a temporary one, or resign himself to selling his life as dearly as he could. Eagerly he glanced up and down the alley. At one end was a blank wall, and at the other were a number of men, who raised a shout the instant they caught sight of him. In front were what appeared to be the backs of a number of solidly-built warehouses, and these, Edgar felt, could and must provide his only refuge. The lowest windows were too high to be reached, and the doors were unusually strong, doubtless owing to the poverty of the neighbourhood. There was, however, no choice open, so Edgar again put the lad down and turned to the nearest door.