then the loud clang of the upper door slamming shut , and i raced up the winding stairs to the first floor , down the hall to the exit , and that door was swinging shut and i caught a glimpse of the brown burlap , and then i was through the door and on the street and he 's swinging onto a horse behind another man also wearing a bowler hat and i fired again as the horse bolts , hooves clattering on the granite , beneath the smoky arc lights and the nak*d branches of the trees etched against the winter sky .