r off! I'll shut the gate."

Lawrence stepped forward and then clutched the ironwork as his advanced
foot went down into empty space. Instead of the floor of the lift,
there was a dark gap beneath him, and he knew he had come very near to
plunging down the shaft. He hung over it, with one foot on the edge
and his hand on an iron bar, and looked at the black hole with horror
as he braced himself for the effort to swing his body back. There was
some strain upon his right arm, because his right knee was bent and his
other leg dangled over the shaft. His hold on the ironwork had saved
him and he must use it to regain the passage.

Next moment a hand fastened on his wrist and he thought Walters had
come to his help. But the fellow was stupid; he ought to have seized
his shoulder. Then the sweat ran down his face as he guessed the
truth. Walters had not come to help; he meant to throw him down the
shaft.

He set his teeth and felt the veins on his forehead swell with the
effort he made. He was in horrible danger and must fight for his life.
Walters was trying to pull his hand off the bar, but he resolved that
if the fellow succeeded, he should go down the shaft with him. But
although his situation was desperate, he did not mean to fall.

Then Walters' fingers slipped away, and something jarred Lawrence's
knuckles as he got a firmer hold. The brute had struck him with a
pistol butt and the pain was sharp, but he did not let go. Though his
muscles were badly strained and his brain struggled with numbing
horror, he could think. Walters could have made him loose his grasp
had he used his knife, but the thing must look like an accident and
there must be no cut to show. The fellow had set a cunning trap for
him, but he might escape yet.

Then he thought he heard steps, but his hearing was dull, for there was
a sound like bells in his ears and the hand fastened on his wrist
again. He arched his back to ease the strain on his arm and wondered
vaguely how long he could hold on. Afterwards, he calculated that he
had hung over the shaft for about a minute.

Suddenly his antagonist's grasp slackened and his hand was loose.
There were running steps; somebody seized his arm and pulled him
strongly back. As he staggered across the passage he heard a heavy
blow. Walters, reeling past, struck the wall and leaned against it
with blood on his white face. He put his hand into his pocket, but a
man sprang forward and gra