"And the place will flare like matchwood! It's touch and go this time, Petrie! To drop to the sloping roof underneath would mean almost certain death on the pavement...." I dragged my pistol from my pocket and began wildly to fire shot after shot into the holocaust below. But the awful Chinaman had escaped-- probably by some secret exit reserved for his own use; for certainly he must have known that escape into the court was now cut off. Flames were beginning to hiss through the skylight. A tremendous crackling and crashing told of the glass destroyed. Smoke spurted up through the cracks of the boarding upon which we stood--and a great shout came from the crowd in the streets.... In the distance--a long, long way off, it seemed--was born a new note in the stormy human symphony. It grew in volume, it seemed to be sweeping down upon us--nearer--nearer--nearer. Now it was in the streets immediately adjoining the Café de l'Egypte ... and now, blessed sound! it culminated in a mighty surging cheer. "The fire-engines," said Weymouth coolly--and raised himself on to the lower rail, for the platform was growing uncomfortably hot. Tongues of fire licked out, venomously, from beneath my feet. I leapt for the railing in turn, and sat astride it ... as one end of the flooring burst into flame. The heat from the blazing room above which we hung suspended was now all but insupportable, and the fumes threatened to stifle us. My head seemed to be bursting; my throat and lungs were consumed by internal fires. "Merciful heavens!" whispered Smith. "Will they reach us in time?" "Not if they don't get here within the next thirty seconds!" answered Weymouth grimly--and changed his position, in order to avoid a tongue of flame that hungrily sought to reach him. Nayland Smith turned and looked me squarely in the eyes. Words trembled on his tongue; but those words were never spoken ... for a brass helmet appeared suddenly out of the smoke banks, followed almost immediately by a second.... "Quick, sir! this way! Jump! I'll catch you!" Exactly what followed I never knew; but there was a mighty burst of cheering, a sense of tension released, and it became a task less agonizing to breathe. Feeling very dazed, I found myself in the heart of a huge, excited crowd, with Weymouth beside me, and Nayland Smith holding my arm. Vaguely, I heard;-- "They have the man Ismail, but ..." A hollow crash drowned the end of the sentence. A shower of sparks shot up into the night's darkness high above our heads. "That's the platform gone!" CHAPTER XXVII ROOM WITH THE GOLDEN DOOR One night early in the following week I sat at work upon my notes dealing with our almost miraculous escape from the blazing hashish house when the clock of St. Paul's began to strike midnight.