“Speak!” cried the fellow.  “Who are you?”

At a glance I took in the peril of the situation, and without a second’s hesitation made a dive for the man beneath his weapon.  He lowered it, but it was too late, for I gripped him around the waist, rendering his gun useless.  It was the work of an instant, for I knew that to close with him was my only chance.

Yet if the boat was not in waiting below that closed door?  If my Finn driver was not there in readiness, then I was lost.  The unfortunate girl whom I was there to rescue drew back in fright against the wall for a single second, then, seeing that I had closed with the hulking fellow, she sprang forward, and with both hands seized the gun and attempted to wrest it from him.  His fingers had lost the trigger, and he was trying to regain it to fire and so raise the alarm.  I saw this, and with an old trick learned at Uppingham I tripped him, so that he staggered and nearly fell.

An oath escaped him, yet in that moment Elma succeeded in twisting the gun from his sinewy hands, which I now held with a strength begotten of a knowledge of my imminent peril.  My whole future, as well as hers, depended upon my success in that desperate encounter.  He was huge and powerful, with a strength far exceeding my own, yet I had been reckoned a good wrestler at Uppingham, and now my knowledge of that most ancient form of combat held me in good stead.

The man shouted for help, his deep, hoarse voice sounding along the stone corridors.  If heard by his comrades-in-arms, then the alarm would at once be given.

We struggled desperately, swaying to and fro, he trying to throw me, while I, at every turn, practiced upon him the tricks learned in my youth.  It seemed an even match, however, for he kept his feet by sheer brute force, and his muscles seemed hard and unbending as steel.

Suddenly, however, as we were striving so vigorously and desperately, the English girl slipped past us with the carbine in her hand, and with a quick movement dragged open the heavy door that gave exit to the lake.

At that instant I unfortunately made a false move, and his hand closed upon my throat like a band of steel.  I fought and struggled to loose myself, exerting every muscle, but alas! he gained the advantage.  I heard a splash, and saw that Elma no longer held the sentry’s weapon in her hands, having thrown it into the water.

Then at the same moment I heard a voice outside cry in a low tone:  “Courage, Excellency!  Courage!  I will come and help you.”

It was the faithful Finn, who had been awaiting me in the deep shadow, and with a few strokes pulled his boat up to the narrow rickety ledge outside the door.

“Take the lady!” I succeeded in gasping in Russian.  “Never mind me,” and I saw to my satisfaction that he guided Elma to step into the boat, which at that moment drifted past the little platform.

I struggled valiantly, but against such a man of brute strength I was powerless.  He held my throat, causing me excruciating pain, and each moment I felt my chance of victory grow smaller.  My strength was failing.  While I held his arms at his sides, I could keep him secure without much effort, but now with his fingers pressing in my windpipe I could not breathe.