As the dagger was thrust towards eddie dickens the second time,he managed to throw himself clear,crashing down against a pile of barrels that rolled haphazardly across the bare-planked floor.

`There's no escape my boy!' bellowed the knife-wielding masked man looming above him,weapon poised and ready to strike.

`stop that at once!' cried a voice,grating enough to peel of the zest of a lemon at one-hundred-and two paces,and the next thing the masked man knew was that he was being battered about the head with stuffed stoat.

The actor - manager Mr plumblesnook [for it was he in the costume of villian]had always tried to impress upon those under his tution that ,when performing ,it was of the utmost -the utmost-importance to stay in character ,no matter what.