Thiswassoquicklydone，andthedemeanourofbothgentlemen——whowerenotyoungmeneither——wassogallantandresolute，thatthecrowdfalteredandstaredateachotherwithirresoluteandtimidlooks。Manytriedtoturntowardsthedoor;someofthefaintest-
heartedcriedtheyhadbestgoback，andcalledtothosebehindtogiveway;andthepanicandconfusionwereincreasingrapidly，whenGashfordwhisperedHugh。
’Whatnow！’Hughroaredaloud，turningtowardsthem。’Whygoback？
Wherecanyoudobetterthanhere，boys！Onegoodrushagainstthesedoorsandonebelowatthesametime，willdothebusiness。
Rushon，then！Astothedoorbelow，letthosestandbackwhoareafraid。Letthosewhoarenotafraid，trywhoshallbethefirsttopassit。Heregoes！Lookoutdownthere！’