Please hand over the keys to
this den of demons."
A cocked pistol was brought forward to emphasize the fair prisoner's
demand.
A sneering laugh answered the girl's demand. Madge Scarlet did not
seem to look upon the weapon as a dangerous one.
"Quick! I have no time to parley. Fling down the keys--toss them to
the door yonder, then take your place in yonder corner. Do you hear
me?"
So stern was the girl's voice, so full of intense meaning, as to amaze
the infamous woman who confronted her.
"This is all a joke----."
"It will prove a dear joke to you if you don't obey. Stop. One step
toward me and I fire! I am in deadly earnest."
And the sneering Madge Scarlet realized that she was. It was a most
humiliating position. Once the woman thought of making a quick spring,
but a pressure of the trigger was all that was necessary to send a
bullet on an errand of death.
With reluctance the woman drew a bundle of keys from her pocket and
flung them to the floor behind her, and close to the door that stood
ajar.
"Don't be so spiteful. Now, then, go to that corner. Move quickly!"
The girl still threatened her keeper with the cocked derringer, and
she crossed the floor with a growl that was not pleasant to hear.
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