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Semmler jumped to the nearest furnace and opened the door

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“Here,” Semmler shouted “In here”

Bell could see the bed of coals glowing yellow Red flame rippled over their incandescent surface Froed hirew hotter A corner of Bell’sdown on the tableau of the tri theh the furnace door sideways They would have to feed him into the fire either head- or feetfirst They would have to let go of his aro would be to let hio, they would have to incapacitate hi some bones

“Headfirst!” said Seh, his eyes fixed on Bell’s arms

For a single heartbeat theto maneuver in the cramped space Isaac Bell contracted everyand one arm free, and exploded in a flurry of kicks and punches A kick caught the tri his nose, and he let go with a cry Bell’s fist landed solidly Thehis arm fell backwards His head struck the ri, and he screa to escape the fire, he banged his brow on the rim of the furnace mouth and fell deeper into the coals, his head in the furnace, his body thrashing on the deck

Bell was already trying to roll beyond the range of Semmler’s slice bar, which hit the deck an inch froed a wild swing, then rounded unexpectedly on the tri up behind him, and dropped him with a punch that smashed his jaw

He spun around, reeling on his feet “Just us, Semmler”

Christian Se smile “First you’ll have to catch me”

He crouched, sprang up, caught the botto of the ladder that rose up the ventilator shaft that shared the interior of the No 4 funnel, and pulled himself up effortlessly Bell jumped for the ladder and went after him It was 220 feet to the top of the stack, and in the first hundred Bell realized he would not catch thetrue about Semmler’s nickname, he climbed like a monkey

Nearing the top, Bell saw daylight silhouette Se to the upper rim of the funnel S over hileamed eerily within that dark frame Then his teeth flashed

“Thank you for joining me,” he smiled “Now I have you where I want you” He folded back his sleeve, revealing the leather gauntlet that held the braided hich he had strangled so many It was Bell’s first close look at it, and he saw a lead weight on the end of the cable Seht drew six feet of wire from its spool and wrapped it around one of the steel stays stiffening the funnel top

Bell lunged suddenly and reached for the man’s foot

The Acrobathimself off the ladder to the other side of the ventilator shaft, where he hooked an elbow over the rim and smiled down on Bell

“The man who falls two hundred and twenty feet to the bottom of the ship will not be the man who learned to fly in the circus”