Besides, you owe us for your lodgings: go to your bed, young man, as I shall to mine." And, so saying, Mr.Copperas proceeded to close the door.
But enraged at the brutality of the man and excited by the urgency of the case, Clarence did not allow him so peaceable a retreat.

With a strong and fierce grasp, he seized the astonished Copperas by the throat, and shaking him violently, forced his own entrance into the sacred nuptial chamber.
"By Heaven," cried Linden, in a savage and stern tone, for his blood was up.

"I will twist your coward's throat, and save the murderer his labour, if you do not instantly give me up your pistols." The stock-jobber was panic-stricken.

"Take them," he cried, in the extremest terror; "there they are on the chimney-piece close by." "Are they primed and loaded ?" said Linden, not relaxing his gripe.
"Yes, yes!" said the stock-jobber, "loose my throat, or you will choke me!" and at that instant, Clarence felt himself clasped by the invading hands of Mrs.Copperas.
"Call off your wife," said he, "or I will choke you!" and he tightened his hold, "and tell her to give me the pistols." The next moment Mrs.Copperas extended the debated weapons towards Clarence.

He seized them, flung the poor stock-jobber against the bedpost, hurried down stairs, opened the back door, which led into the garden, flew across the intervening space, arrived at the door, and entering Talbot's garden, paused to consider what was the next step to be taken.
A person equally brave as Clarence, but more cautious, would not have left the house without alarming Mr.de Warens, even in spite of the failure with his master; but Linden only thought of the pressure of time and the necessity of expedition, and he would have been a very unworthy hero of romance had he felt fear for two antagonists, with a brace of pistols at his command and a high and good action in view.
After a brief but decisive halt, he proceeded rapidly round the house, in order to ascertain at which part the ruffians had admitted themselves, should they (as indeed there was little doubt) have already effected their entrance.
He found the shutters of one of the principal rooms on the ground-floor had been opened, and through the aperture he caught the glimpse of a moving light, which was suddenly obscured.