Page:Betty Gordon in Washington.djvu/198

 CHAPTER XXIII

ANOTHER RESCUE

black eyes of the little man suddenly disappeared. They were so bright and glistening that their disappearance was noticeable. He had closed them tight and was laughing!

As suddenly as he had laughed, his mirth stopped, and he stared sternly at the anxious Betty.

"You expect me to believe that?" he asked incredulously.

"It is true," she said quietly.

"True—bah!" The vehemence of his tone quite startled her. "True ! When all you had to do to reach the first floor—had access to the street been your object—was to let down the folding flight to the ground."

Betty's jaw dropped. She and Bob looked at each other helplessly.

"We—we never thought of that!" she faltered.

It was true. In her excitement she had not noticed the folding flight of steps that let down to the ground in an emergency, and for protection against sneak thieves was always drawn up Rh