There was not the least appearance of any light in any of the windows in the front of the house; but Blodget hardly supposed that such a residence would be left entirely without light in any of the rooms, so he fully expected that some of the back windows would no doubt show symptoms of the apartments being in some degree illuminated. ‘Halt! This is the house,’ he said. ‘All right, captain.’ ‘Now attend to me all of you, and you will know what you have to do—I will manage to open the door, and then you will remain just within it on the watch.’ ‘Yes, captain.’ ‘You will take charge of the pantry, which I will point out to you, and possess yourself of all the portable plate.’ ‘I’ll do it, captain.’ ‘You, then, will ransack the rooms on the first floor.’ ‘All’s right.’ ‘And you will follow me.’ ‘I’ll do it, captain. Now we know what we have all got to do, and can do it well.’ ‘You can if you will; and remember that we all assemble here in the hall again as soon as possible, and that if the one who is to keep guard at the door sees proper to give an alarm, it shall be with a whistle such as no doubt in the night time will be distinctly heard by all of you.’ ‘I have a whistle in my pocket,’ said the fellow, ‘that I’ll warrant you will all hear.’ ‘Then that is settled; so now let us go to work.’ Blodget himself commenced the attack upon the door, and he did so with amazing tact. With one of the picklocks he had in his possession he easily turned the lock of the door, and then he found that he was impeded by a couple of bolts and a chain. To most persons these would have been rather insurmountable obstructions, but to him they only required a little time and skill and perseverance to overcome them. With a fine and exquisitely tempered saw, which was so thin that he got it between the door and the joist, he managed to saw them both in two in a very short space of time. The door was now only fastened by the chain. ‘Is it done now?’ asked one of the thieves. ‘Not yet.’ ‘Soon?’ ‘Yes. Why do you ask?’ said Blodget. ‘I think—I may be mistaken though—but I think some one looked out at one of the windows of the house opposite rather more earnestly than they ought to have done.’ ‘The devil they did.’ ‘Yes, I think so.’ ‘A man or a woman?’ ‘It is too dark to say.’ ‘Curses on them, be it whom it may!’ ‘Amen to that, captain.’ ‘But you are quite sure you saw some one, be it man or woman?’ ‘Yes, I am.’ ‘Then go over two of you to the door, and wait there for a few moments while I work at this chain.’ ‘And if any one comes out?’ ‘Well?’ ‘What shall we do?’ ‘Do you ask me what you shall do while you have the use of your hands? It won’t do to make a noise, so I should say that the only thing open to you to do is to throttle any one who should appear.’ ‘Throttle!’ ‘Yes, and why not? Pray what business have the people opposite to interfere in my affairs, I should like to know?’ ‘Well, certainly—but—but—’ ‘Do you hesitate?’