When Bruce dropped down into the arena to Kathlyn's side he had never
given a thought to the possibility of the key not being the right one.
Trapped!--and Ahmed but a few yards away with a zenana gharry, ready to
convey them to the camp, freedom! It took the heart out of him for a
moment. The confusion all about, the pall of dust, the roaring of the
frightened lions which had escaped destruction, the shrill cries of the
panic-stricken populace, who now looked upon the white Mem-sahib as the
daughter of Shaitan, these dulled his inventive faculties for the
nonce. Here was the confusion, properly planned, and he could not make
use of it. Possibly, when no further explosion shook the air, the mob
and the soldiers would return out of curiosity. And then, good-by!
But the sight of a lion emerging from the murk, the wrong side of the
crevice, roused him thoroughly.
"Save yourself!" said Kathlyn in despair: "there is no possible way of
saving me. I have never in all my life injured any one, and yet God
makes me go through all this. . . . I am mad, you are, the whole world
is! . . . Run!"
Bruce laughed; it was that kind of laughter with which men enter
battle. He drew Lal Singh's revolvers and thrust one into her hand.
"Shoot at the keyhole. Leave the lion to me. With the pandemonium no
one will note the shots, or if they do, will think that more explosions
are on the way. I'll get you out of this nightmare; that's what I was
born for."
"Nightmare!"
"There, now!"--as Kathlyn leaned dizzily against one of the supports.
"I've gone through a good deal," she said. Without more ado she
pressed the muzzle of the revolver into the keyhole and fired. She
heard a shot behind her, another and another; but she kept on firing
into and about the keyhole till the revolver was empty.
A firm hand drew her aside.
"The lion?"
"Gone to sleep. Let me have a whack at that door."
"Where's Ramabai?"
"Went back over the wall. Probably to warn Ahmed; maybe gone directly
off toward camp. Anyhow, he has faith in me."
"And, oh! so have I, so have I!"
Bruce bore his weight savagely against the door, once, twice, thrice;
and pitched forward on his knees, outside. He was up instantly. He
caught Kathlyn by the hand and hurried her along; and all she could
think of was Winnie romping toward the canopied studio, her father half
asleep on the veranda and the leopard cat sprawled on the divan!
"Sahib! Huzoor!" a voice called. "This way!"
"Ahmed! Ahmed!" cried Kathlyn.
"Yes, heaven born; but hurry, hurry! Umballa will return to search as
soon as he can get the better of his legs. Siva take that battery that
was worn out! Heaven born, you are now a queen in fact. . . ."