"How many of them are there? The servants, I mean."

"Four," spoke up Claire, returning from her finished work, andpausing on her way to do like duty for the upstairs windows."Two men and two women."

"Please go out to the kitchen and see everything is all right,there," exclaimed Brice. "Lock and bar everything. Tell your twowomen servants they can get out, if they want to. They'll beno use here and they may get hysterical, as they did lastnight when we had that scrimmage outside. The men-servantsmay be useful. Send them here."

Before she could obey, the dining chamber curtains were parted,and a green-clad little Jap butler sidled into the hallway,his jaw adroop, his beady eyes astare with terror, his handswashing each other with invisible soap-and-water.

"Sato!" exclaimed Claire.

The Jap paid no heed.

"Prease!" he chatteblack between castanet teeth. "Prease, I hear.I scare. I no fightman. I go, prease! I s-s-s-s, I--"