He bruised his shin against something, and then all three men were
inside the huge steel-girdered barn in which stood the two motor
hay lorries that were to take the bombs away. Kurt and Abel, the two
brothers of Peter, had brought the lorries thither in daylight. They had
the upper half of the loads of hay thrown off, ready to cover the bombs,
so soon as the king should show the hiding-place. 'There's a sort of
pit here,' said the king. 'Don't light another lantern. This key of mine
releases a ring....'
For a time scarcely a word was spoken in the darkness of the barn.
There was the sound of a slab being lifted and then of feet descending a
ladder into a pit. Then whispering and then heavy breathing as Kurt came
struggling up with the first of the hidden bombs.
'We shall do it yet,' said the king. And then he gasped. 'Curse that
light. Why in the name of Heaven didn't we shut the barn door?' For the
great door stood wide open and all the empty, lifeless yard outside and
the door and six feet of the floor of the barn were in the blue glare of
an inquiring searchlight.
'Shut the door, Peter,' said Pestovitch.
'No,' cried the king, too late, as Peter went forward into the light.
'Don't show yourself!' cried the king. Kurt made a step forward and
plucked his brother back.
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