Quickly we divided and backed away even further.
I heard an exclamation of fear from Elaine.
Kennedy had pushed his way past us and picked up the deadly
infernal machine in his bare hands.
I watched him, fascinated. As near as he dared, he approached the
hole in the floor, still holding the thing off at arm's length.
Would he never throw it?
He was coolly holding it, allowing the fuse to burn down closer to
the explosion point.
It was now within less than an inch sure death.
Suddenly he raised it and hurled the deadly thing down through the
hole.
We could hear the imprecations of the crooks as it struck the
cellar floor, near them. They had evidently been still cramming
jewelry into the capacious maw of the bag. One of them,
discovering the bomb, must have advanced toward it, then retreated
when he saw how imminent was the explosion.
"Leave the store--quick!" rang out Kennedy's voice.
We backed away as fast as those behind us would permit. Kennedy
and Bennett were the last to leave, in fact paused at the door.
Down below the crooks were beating a hasty retreat through a
secret entrance which they had effected.
"The bag! The bag!" we could hear one of them bellow.
"The bomb--run!" cried another voice gruffly.
A second later came an ominous silence. The last of the three must
have fled.
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