Lord,
I'm sleepy!"
Still the stone moved upward, very slowly. It reached a height
of two feet, yet did not halt.
"This is no quipos" said Harry, "or if it is, they must be going
to send us in a whole library. Six inches would have been enough
for that."
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the ever-widening space at our feet.
"This means business, Hal. Stand ready with your club. Desiree,
go to the further corner, behind that seat."
She refused; I insisted; she stamped her foot in anger.
"Do you think I'm a child, to run and hide?" she demanded
obstinately.
I wasted no time in argument.
"You will go", I said sternly, "or I shall carry you and tie you.
This is not play. We must have room and know that you are safe."
To my surprise, she made no reply, but quietly obeyed. Then,
struck by a sudden thought, I crossed to where she stood behind a
stone seat in the corner.
"Here," I said in a low tone, taking the little jeweled dagger
from my pocket and holding it out to her, "in case--"
"I understand," she said simply, and her hand closed over the
hilt.
By that time the stone was half-way to the top of the doorway,
leaving a space over three feet high, and was still rising.
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