Page:Guy Boothby--A Bid for Fortune.djvu/165

Rh A minute could not have elapsed before I was at work upon the staple of my collar, and in less than half an hour it was filed through and the iron was off my neck.

If I tried for a year I could not make you understand what a relief it was to me to stand upright. I stretched myself again and again, and then crossed the room on tiptoe in the dark to where the Marquis lay.

"You are free!" he whispered, clutching and shaking my hand. "Oh, thank God!"

"Hush! Put down your head and let me get to work upon your collar before you say anything more."

As I was able this time to get at my work standing up, it was not very long before Beckenham was as free as myself. He rose to his feet with a great sigh of relief and we shook hands warmly in the dark.

"Now," I said, leading him towards the door, "we will attempt our escape, and I pity the man who attempts to stop us."