Edward’s heart began to thump so vigorously that he was afraid Palmer would hear it. That queer, hissing noise, too, must be his breathing! He stopped it at once. Somebody _was_ coming; somebody was quite close to the wall. It was dreadful! A faint scuffling sound told him the wall was being climbed. And all the time he felt Palmer’s hand gripping his leg firmly, as if to keep him still. But the sounds at the wall had ceased. There was a longish pause, and then he became aware of voices whispering――of one voice at any rate. There followed another silence. Edward felt that Palmer’s hand had been withdrawn, and the next thing he noticed was the door of the shed slowly and noiselessly opening. He could see the thin streak of moonshine widening, he could make out Palmer’s form as he stood peering out. Next moment he was alone in the shed. Edward stood up. He seemed for the first time to realize that Palmer was running into great danger, and with that consciousness a new feeling dawned, a feeling that somehow passed through his blood like a warming, reviving cordial. He too rose and slipped out into the doorway, keeping in the blackness of the shadow. There was nothing to be seen. The man, if there was a man, had disappeared, and Palmer had disappeared also. Edward waited and watched and listened, his life-preserver stoutly gripped and ready for instant application. And then, all at once, the thing happened. The two figures were clearly before him in the moonlight. There was an oath from the man, followed by Palmer’s voice: “Put up your hands and stand still, or I’ll let you have it.” The man obeyed, and Edward was about to rush out to tie him up when he saw him make a sudden bound, striking at Palmer with a sidelong sweep of his arm. Palmer leaped back and the man ran for the wall, over which a head now appeared, shouting hoarsely, “Come on, George! It’s only a kid!” “No you don’t,” sang out Palmer, rushing in pursuit. “I’m damned if you do!” There was a flash and a report, and George yelled: then he slipped on the damp grass and went down. Palmer _had_ fired! Edward’s brain blazed with excitement, as if a thousand rockets had shot up within it. He rushed out of his hiding-place just as George scrambled to his feet. “He’s got me,” George muttered plaintively, taking another step forward. But Palmer was close behind him. “If you don’t stop, I’ll give it to you again, and this time through the body.” A dull crashing of breaking branches announced a hasty retreat on the other side of the wall, and George, forsaken, stood still, whining out a rapid string of entreaties: “Lemme go an’ I’ll say nothin’ about what you’ve done. I could get you five years for this, young fella. You’ve no call to go shootin’ a man that’s not done any harm――only a bit of trespassin’.”