ss and
cruelty on his heavy features as the cry pealed forth that, on the
instant, the feeling of passive repugnance with which the two Englishmen
had thus far regarded the fellow was converted into fierce, hot, active,
unreasoning hatred; for the fraction of a second they glanced
questioningly into each other's eyes, then, each reading in that
lightning glance the thought of the other, the pair flung themselves
upon the fellow. And while Dick, exerting all his giant strength,
pinned the man's arms to his sides, and at the same time, by a deft
movement of his left foot, tripped the fellow up so that he crashed
violently forward upon his face on the stone pavement of the passage,
Phil clasped the man's throat with his two hands, compressing his
windpipe in such a vice-like grip that it was utterly impossible for the
fellow to utter the slightest sound, and thus locked together, the three
went down in a bunch under the impetus of the sudden attack, the jailer
being undermost. The hard pavement seemed to fairly ring with the
violent impact of the man's skull upon it, and the next instant Dick
felt the fellow's tense muscles relax as though the violence of the blow
had either partially or wholly stunned him, whereupon the youngster,
still acting upon an impulse that seemed to emanate from somewhere
outside himself, pushed Phil on one side, flung himself in a kneeling
posture upon the prostrate jailer's shoulders, and, grasping the man by
the hair with both hands, pulled up the fellow's head and dashed it
furiously upon the pavement again thrice, after which the victim lay
silent, inert, to all appearance dead.

"Roll him over, quick, and unbuckle his belt; we must have his keys,"
hissed Phil in Dick's ear, and before five seconds had passed the two
Englishmen were on their feet standing over their victim, while Phil
rapidly examined the keys, one after the other. Quickly he selected one
that showed signs of more frequent wear than the others, and then
glanced keenly about him. They were near the far end of the corridor,
which ended in a wall lighted by a fair-sized window, and there were
only four more doors to be passed, two on either side, before the end of
the corridor was reached.

"Stay here until I beckon you, and then bring the man to me," whispered
Phil, and darted off to the end of the corridor, leaving Dick to mount
guard over the prostrate body of the jailer. Rapidly, yet with the
utmost coolness, Phil tri