No sooner had he admitted this last belief, than he again
descended, and raising the ladder himself, bore it
noiselessly to the spot whence it had been removed, then
ordering the candle to be extinguished, and the embers
to be drawn together, so as to deaden the light of the
fire, he with Green and Weston crept up the ladder, Cass
being left to complete the preparation of the turkey the
best way he could, while Philips and Jackson, posted at
the back and front doors, listened attentively for the
slightest sound of danger, which being heard, they were
at once to warn the party above.
When the corporal had gained the top of the ladder, Green,
who was the last, having yet his foot on the first step,
the former was evidently startled by some new danger.
But just as he was in the act of springing to the upper
floor, the ladder, too frail to sustain their united
weight, snapped suddenly asunder in the middle and fell
with some noise, thus separating him from his companions.
Regardless of this and having secured his own footing,
he now moved cautiously towards the opposite end of the
loft, where a small opening, about two feet in length,
and one in height, seemingly intended as a ventilator,
appeared nearly vertical to the window of the bed-room
below.
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