“The alternative?” The Russian lifted his cigarette to his lips and blew a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. “Deplorable for you, my dear captain, but inevitable.” “I shall kill you, Rezonoff,” said Grail, in a low tone. “I shall kill you if ever I have the opportunity.” “I suppose,” the other returned, “that means a refusal of my offer, eh, captain? Well, I shall not take it as final now. You shall have twenty-four hours to think it over.” Then, with a glance at his watch, he turned on his heel, and strode from the hut; and a few minutes later the prisoners heard the chug-chug of his automobile as it sped away. Grail and Sergeant Cato glanced furtively at one another, the same thought mirrored in the eyes of each. They had a respite of twenty-four hours to go on, it seemed, and in twenty-four hours much can be accomplished. CHAPTER XXIII. VAIN EFFORTS. Of the five confederates who had been at the hut with Rezonoff, two--Vance and Minowsky--accompanied him in the automobile, while Pepernik, under his orders, returned to the rooming house to serve as a “stalking horse” against the police, and lead them off the trail. This left Matschka and Simmons to guard the prisoners, each man taking a relief of three hours, with Matschka accepting the first turn at sentry duty. It was a period of quiet in the hut, broken only by the mutterings and tossings of Simmons as he slept somewhat restlessly, rolled up in a blanket over in the corner. Matschka, silently alert, sat on a box smoking innumerable cigarettes, but never letting his glance drift from the captives, who shifted about uneasily in the effort to relieve the chafing of the cords at their wrists and ankles, the while they feverishly revolved methods of escape. One conclusion was very speedily reached by both of them: That it would not be wise to make the attempt under the eye of their present sentinel. He steadfastly declined to be drawn into conversation by them, or to have his attention diverted in any way, and his discernment was almost uncanny. Let one or the other of them feel even the slightest slackening of his bonds, and immediately Matschka was there to tighten up the knots. They soon decided, therefore, to defer active measures until Simmons took the watch, and in the meantime devote all their energies to devising an effective plan of escape. Eagerly each sought to recall all the tales of the old Indian fighters which are handed down in the service, with their details of almost miraculous deliverance from similar situations, but none of the expedients used seemed adaptable to their present plight.