‘No—no. Don’t be in a passion, captain. If it must be done, why, it is no use saying anything more about it, and it just will be done.’ ‘I should imagine so.’ The two men who had been thus ordered over the way by Blodget went upon their errand; and although it is true they had at first rather started at the idea of throttling somebody who might be so very interfering and imprudent as to come from the opposite house, it is yet difficult to say whether after all, this admonition of Blodget was not very greatly increased by the off-hand manner in which he proposed to get rid of obstacles to the progress of the particular little enterprise upon which he was. ‘Curses on it,’ muttered Blodget to himself, ‘it seems as if I were fated to be thwarted to-night.’ He saw his two companions take up their station on the opposite door-step, and then he set to work upon the street-door chain. It was rather a peculiar process by which he, Blodget, got rid of the obstacle to his progress. Having sawed the bolts and opened the locks he could just get the street-door open as far as the slack of the chain would allow it to go, but although that was not above a couple of inches in all, yet it was sufficient for his purpose, as will be very quickly seen. He took from his pocket a very peculiar shaped iron instrument, capable of very great extension as regarded length by other pieces fitting into it like the joints of a fishing-rod, only that the sockets were squared, so that they fitted quite tight and would not turn. One end of this instrument he fixed in a link of the chain, and then he lengthened it about two feet, and fitted a cross piece on the end, so that he had a very good amount of leverage to work with. Blodget gave this instrument about three rapid turns, and then the iron chain broke in two or three places and hung uselessly from the door in the passage of the house. ‘It is done,’ he said, ‘Come in.’ The two thieves who were still with him now crept into the hall, and at that moment Blodget heard a noise opposite. He who had seen a head project from an opposite window had not been deceived. A man at the house opposite had chanced to see the persons on the door-step, and being a very cunning sort of individual, instead of giving a noisy alarm at once, which would have had the effect of scaring the thieves off, he thought he would gently slip out, and run to the nearest policeman and tell what he had seen. With this view he had hurriedly dressed himself and slipped down stairs. He opened the door with the utmost caution, and then made a dart into the arms of the men, who were there waiting for him so quietly and patiently. This sudden capture of the man from the opposite house was the noise that Blodget had heard opposite just as he had succeeded in removing the last obstacle to getting an entrance to the hall of the house.