Various distressing events then occurred.
A few minutes later, Frankie was able, if not to sit up, at least to take notice.
Close at hand she heard a faint groan. She peered about her.
As far as she could make out, she seemed to be in a kind of attic.
The only light came from a skylight in the roof, and at this moment there was very little of that. In a few minutes it would be quite dark. There were a few broken pictures lying against the wall, a dilapidated iron bed and some broken chairs, and the coal-scuttle before mentioned.
The groan seemed to have come from the corner.
Frankie’s bonds were not very tight. They permitted motion of a somewhat crablike type. She wormed her way across the dusty floor.
‘Bobby!’ she ejaculated.
Bobby it was, also tied hand and foot. In addition, he had a piece of cloth bound round his mouth.
This he had almost succeeded in working loose. Frankie came to his assistance. In spite of being bound together, her hands were still of some use and a final vigorous pull with her teeth finally did the job.
Rather stiffly, Bobby managed to ejaculate: ‘Frankie!’ ‘I’m glad we’re together,’ said Frankie. ‘But it does look as though we’d been had for mugs.’ ‘I suppose,’ said Bobby gloomily, ‘it’s what they call a “fair cop”.’ ‘How did they get you?’ demanded Frankie. ‘Was it after you wrote that letter to me?’ ‘What letter? I never wrote any letter.’ ‘Oh! I see,’ said Frankie, her eyes opening. ‘What an idiot I have been! And all that stuff in it about not telling a soul.’ ‘Look here, Frankie, I’ll tell you what happened to me and then you carry on the good work and tell me what happened to you.’ He described his adventures at the Grange and their sinister sequel.
‘I came to in this beastly hole,’ he said. ‘There was some food and drink on a tray. I was frightfully hungry and I had some.
I think it must have been doped for I fell asleep almost immediately. What day is it?’ ‘Friday.’ ‘And I was knocked out on Wednesday evening. Dash it all, I’ve been pretty well unconscious all the time. Now tell me what happened to you?’ Frankie recounted her adventures, beginning with the story she had heard from Mr Spragge and carrying on until she thought she recognized Bobby’s figure in the doorway.
‘And then they chloroformed me,’ she finished. ‘And oh, Bobby, I’ve just been sick in a coal-bucket!’ ‘I call that very resourceful of you, Frankie,’ said Bobby approvingly. ‘With your hands tied and everything? The thing is: what are we going to do now? We’ve had it our own way for a long time, but now the tables are turned.’ ‘If only I’d told Roger about your letter,’ lamented Frankie.
‘I did think of it and wavered – and then I decided to do exactly what you said and tell nobody at all.’ ‘With the result that no one knows where we are,’ said Bobby gravely. ‘Frankie, my dear, I’m afraid I’ve landed you in a mess.’ ‘We got a bit too sure of ourselves,’ said Frankie sombrely.
‘The only thing I can’t make out is why they didn’t knock us both on the head straight away,’ mused Bobby. ‘I don’t think Nicholson would stick at a little trifle like that.’ ‘He’s got a plan,’ said Frankie with a slight shiver.
‘Well, we’d better have one, too. We’ve got to get out of this, Frankie. How are we going to do it?’ ‘We can shout,’ said Frankie.
‘Ye-es,’ said Bobby. ‘Somebody might be passing and hear.
But from the fact that Nicholson didn’t gag you I should say that the chances in that direction are pretty poor. Your hands are more loosely tied than mine. Let’s see if I can get them undone with my teeth.’ The next five minutes were spent in a struggle that did credit to Bobby’s dentist.
‘Extraordinary how easy these things sound in books,’ he panted. ‘I don’t believe I’m making the slightest impression.’ ‘You are,’ said Frankie. ‘It’s loosening. Look out! There’s somebody coming.’ She rolled away from him. A step could be heard mounting a stair, a heavy, ponderous tread. A gleam of light appeared under the door. Then there was the sound of a key being turned in the lock. The door swung slowly open.