“The wall is too high for us to climb, Mike,” Desmond said.  “Even if I stood on your head, I could not reach the top.  Let us go round to the front again.”

They returned, and closely scrutinized the gate.  It was not so high as the wall itself, but was fully twelve feet.

“I have got a pistol with me, your honour,” Mike said.  “I have seen doors blown in, by firing a gun through the keyhole.”

“That would do, if we were sure that there were no bars, Mike; but the chances are that it is barred, as well as locked.  Besides, I am sure that we should not be justified in blowing in the door of a private house.  It may be that they were the cries of a mad woman.  I would rather get over as quietly as possible.”

“Well, sir, I will stand against it, and if you will get on to my shoulders and put your foot on my head, you will reach the top.  Then, if you lower one end of your sash to me, I can pull myself up beside you.”

“Yes, I think we can manage it that way, Mike.  I am convinced that there is something wrong going on here, and I don’t mind taking the risk of getting into a scrape by interfering.  Now do you stoop a bit, so that I can get on to your shoulder; then you can raise yourself to your full height.  Take off your hat, first.  I shall certainly have to put my foot on your head.”

“All right, your honour.  Don’t you be afraid of hurting me.  My skull is thick enough to stand the weight of two of you.”

In a minute, Desmond had his fingers on the top of the gates, drew himself up, and, moving to the corner, where he could get his back against the end of the wall, lowered his sash to Mike.

“You are sure I shall not pull you down?”

“I am not sure, but we will try, anyhow.”

This was said in a whisper, for there might, for anything he knew, be two or three men in the garden.  Mike took off his boots, so as to avoid making a noise.  Desmond was sitting astride of the gate, and had his end of the sash over the top of it, and under his leg, thereby greatly reducing the strain that would be thrown on it, and then leaning with all his weight on it, where it crossed the gate.  Mike was an active as well as a strong man, and speedily was by his side.

“Now we will drop down,” Desmond said, and, setting the example, lowered himself till he hung by his hands, and then dropped.  Mike was soon beside him.

“What shall we do next?”

“We will go and knock boldly at the door; but before we do that, we will unbar the gate and shoot the bolt of the lock.  We have no idea how many men there may be in the house.  Maybe we shall have to beat a retreat.”

The lock was shot without difficulty, but the bolts were still fast, and were not drawn without noise.  They pushed back the last of these, and then opened the gates, which creaked noisily as they did so.

“They can hardly help hearing that,” Desmond muttered; and indeed, as he spoke, the door of the house opened suddenly, and five men came out, two of them holding torches.  A man, who seemed to be the leader of the party, uttered an exclamation of fury as the light fell upon the figures of the two men at the open gate.