Chapter 19: Found At Last.
The next morning, early, Dick and Surajah set to work to perfect theirdisguises. They had, before, appeared simply as two young traders,well to do, and of a class above the ordinary peddling merchant. Theynow fitted on the ample beards that had been made at Tripataly. Thesewere attached so firmly to their faces, by an adhesive wax, that theycould not be pulled off without the use of a good deal of force. Withthe same stuff, small patches of hair were fastened on, so as to hidethe edge of the foundation of the beard. Tufts of short grey hair wereattached to their eyebrows; a few grey lines were carefully drawn atthe corner of the eyes, and across the foreheads; and when this wasdone, they felt assured that no one was likely to suspect thedisguise.
Ibrahim, who had assisted in the operation, declared that he shouldtake them for men of sixty-five, and as, before beginning it, both ofthem had darkened their faces several shades, they felt confident thatno one at the fort was likely to recognise them. When Surajah had puton the padded undergarment, and converted himself into aportly-looking old man, and Dick the great horn spectacles, theyindulged in a burst of laughter at their changed appearance, whileIbrahim fairly shouted with amusement.
He was to stay behind in the wood, when they went on, for it would buthave added to the risk had he accompanied them, as, unless alsocompletely disguised, he would have been recognised by the soldierswith whom he had talked, during his twenty-four hours' stay inside theTower walls. He was, in the evening, to proceed along the road, toencamp in the last grove he came to, at a distance of a quarter of amile from the gates, and to remain there until they returned.
Under his garments Dick had wound a thin, but very strong, silken cordthat he had purchased at Bangalore. It was four hundred feet inlength, and considerably increased his apparent bulk, although he wasstill far from emulating the stoutness of Surajah. The halters of thepack horses were attached to the cruppers of the riding ponies, andafter a final instruction to Ibrahim that if at the end of four daysthey had not returned, he was to endeavour to find out what hadhappened to them, and was then to carry the news to Tripataly, theystarted for the fort. When they approached the gate they were, asbefore, hailed by the sentry.
"We are merchants," Surajah said, "and we have with us a richassortment of goods of all descriptions--silks and trinkets for theladies of the governor's harem, and handkerchiefs, scarves, silverornaments, and things of all kinds suitable for the wives of those oflower rank. We pray for permission to enter and exhibit our wares,which have been collected by us in the cities where they weremanufactured, and which we can therefore sell at prices hithertounheard of."
"I will send word up to the governor," the officer said. "It is a longtime since we have been visited by traders, and maybe he will grantyou permission. You had best go back to the shade of those trees. Itwill be a good hour before the answer comes."
"I think it likely they will let us in," Dick said, as they moved awaytowards the trees. "It is but a short time since things weresufficiently settled for traders to venture up here, and as Savandrooglies altogether off the roads between large towns, it is possible thatnone with such goods as we have have come this way, since the garrisontook over Savandroog from the British detachment that occupied it."
In little over an hour there was a shout from the walls, and onapproaching the gate again, they were told that the governor had givenpermission for them to enter.
"You are to be blindfolded," the officer said, as the gate closedbehind them. "No one may ascend the rock, unless he consents to this.Your horses will be led, and beware that you do not attempt to removethe bandages, until you have permission to do so."
It took nearly an hour to mount the steep road, and when they came toa standstill, and the sub-officer who had accompanied them told themthey could now remove their bandages, they found themselves in frontof a small building, close to the commander's quarters. The packswere, by the order of the officer, taken off the horses by thesoldiers who had led them up, and carried into the house. The horseswere fastened in the shade to rings in the wall, and on Surajahpointing out the packs containing goods he wished to show to theladies, two of the soldiers carried them across to the governor'shouse. The old officer himself came to the door.
"Enter, my friends," he said. "You are the first traders who have comeup here since we took over the fort, some six months ago, and methinksyou will do a brisk business if your wares are, as you sent up to say,good and cheap."
The bales were taken into a room, the soldiers retired, and in aminute the commander's wife, accompanied by three or four otherladies, entered. Dick and Surajah, after salaaming profoundly to theveiled figures, at once began to unpack their bales.
The assortment had been very judiciously made, and to women who had,for more than six months, been deprived of the pleasure of shopping,the display was irresistible. In their desire to examine the goods,the ladies speedily lifted their veils, and, seating themselves oncushions they had brought in with them, chattered unrestrainedly;examining the quality of the silks which Surajah and Dick, squattingbehind their wares, handed for their inspection; comparing thecolours, asking each other's advice, and endeavouring to beat down theterms Surajah named.
In the first place, he asked the prices marked on small labelsattached to each article, but suffered himself, after the properamount of reluctance, and protests that he should be a ruined man, toabate his terms considerably, although the ladies were evidently wellsatisfied that the goods were indeed bargains.
It was a long time before the ladies could make up their minds whichto choose, among the many silks exhibited for their selections. Whenthis had been settled, the pack containing delicate muslins wasopened, and the same scene gone through. It was, altogether, fourhours before the purchases were all made, and even then the boxes oftrinkets remained unopened, the governor's wife saying:
"No, we will not look at them. We have ruined ourselves already.Tomorrow, when our husbands know how much we have spent, you can showthe trinkets to them, and try your best to get them to buy. Thesethings we have been getting are our own affair. It is for them to makeus presents of ornaments, if they are disposed to.
"This evening you must come in again. The ladies from the other fortwill be here, then."
The purchases made were paid for, the bales again fastened up, andcarried across to their room. The governor met them as they went out.
"I suppose you have been ruining us all?" he said good humouredly."Well, it is a dull life up here, and the ladies have but few chancesof spending money."
"We are to see the ladies from the other fort this evening, my lord,"Surajah said. "Have we your permission, in the meantime, to go andsell in the soldiers' quarters? We have goods suited to the needs oftheir wives also, as well as those for the ladies."
"Certainly. You can go about as you please up here. It is only as tothe approaches that we have to be careful. But wait in your room for ashort time. I will have food sent over to you."
In a few minutes a servant brought across a large dish of pillau, andseveral cakes of sweetmeats, the latter being, as he informed them,the special gift of the governor's wife. There was no occasion forthem to start, as they had intended, after their meal, for the news oftheir coming had spread, and by the time they had finished, a numberof women were waiting outside. Until sunset they were busily engagedin selling their goods--for the most part bright cotton cloths, redsilk handkerchiefs, and cheap silver trinkets. Soldiers sauntered inand out. For these they had provided a store of pipes, tobacco,tobacco boxes, knives, and muslins for turbans; and as the news spreadthat these were to be obtained, the number of soldiers increased,until the room was quite crowded with them, as well as by many nativesengaged in the work of rebuilding the fortifications.
Surajah did the selling, while Dick's part of the work was receivingthe money and giving change. As he was stooping over a tray in frontof him, piled with copper, picking up the change for silver coin, heheard a man ask Surajah for a pound of h
is best tobacco and a pipe.
There was something in the accent that caused him to look up sharply.As he did so, he started. The blood rushed to his head so violentlythat a mist seemed to pass across his eyes, and his hand shook so thathe dropped the coins he was counting. Forgetful of the dark stain onhis face, he bent forward over the tray again to conceal his emotion,forced himself to pick out the right change, and then, handing it toits owner, again looked up.
The man who was standing before Surajah was broader and taller thanthose around him. The sun had darkened his face, until its shadeapproached those of his companions, and yet there was no mistaking thefact that he was a European. A heavy moustache and beard, streakedwith grey, concealed the lower part of his face. Dick dared not gazeon the man too earnestly, and could see no likeness to the picture onthe wall at Shadwell; but, allowing for the effects of hardship andsuffering, he judged him to be about the age of his father.
The man was evidently on good terms with the soldiers, one or two ofwhom were chaffing him on his purchase.
"Will nothing but the best tobacco satisfy you?" one laughed.
"Nothing; and even that won't really satisfy me. This stuff is goodenough, when rolled up, for cigars, and it does well enough inhookahs; but I would give all this pound for a couple of pipes ofpigtail, which is the tobacco we smoked at sea."
Again Dick's heart beat rapidly. This man must have been a sailor. Hecould not restrain himself from speaking.
"Have you been a sailor, then?" he asked.
"Ay, I was a sailor, though it is many years ago, now, since I saw thesea."
"We got some English tobacco at Madras," Dick said, not hesitating foronce at telling an untruth. "We sold most of it to the Feringheesoldiers, on our way up, but I think I have got a little of it stillleft somewhere in the pack. I am too busy to look for it now, and weshall soon be going to show our goods to the officers' wives; but ifyou can come here at nine o'clock, I may have looked it out for you."
"I can't come at nine," the man said, "for at half-past eight I amshut up for the night."
"Come at eight, then," Dick said. "If I am not back, come the firstthing in the morning, before we get busy."
"I will come, sure enough," the man said. "I would walk a hundredmiles, if they would let me, for half a pound of pigtail."
"Get rid of them, Surajah," Dick whispered, as the man shouldered hisway through the crowd. "Make some excuse to send them off."
"Now, my friends," Surajah said, "you see it is getting dusk. It willsoon be too dark to see what you are buying, and we have been sellingfor eight hours, and need rest. At eight o'clock tomorrow we will openour packs again, and everyone shall be served; but I pray you excuseus going on any longer now. As you see, we are not as young as we oncewere, and are both sorely weary."
As time was no object, and the work of purchasing would relieve thetedium of the following day, the crowd good humouredly dispersed.Surajah rose and closed the door after the last of them, and thenturned to Dick. He had, himself, been too busily engaged in satisfyingthe demands of the customers to look up, and had not noticed that oneof them was a white man.
"What is it?" he asked, as he looked round. "Has the heat upset you?"
Then, as his eye fell on Dick, his voice changed, and he hurriedtowards him, exclaiming anxiously:
"What is it, Dick? What has happened?"
For Dick was leaning against a bale by the side of him, and had hiddenhis face in his arms. Surajah saw that his whole frame was shakingwith emotion.
"My dear lord," Surajah said, as he knelt beside him and laid his armacross his shoulder, "you frighten me. Has aught gone wrong? Are youill?"
Dick slightly shook his head, and, lifting one of his hands, made asign to Surajah that he could not, at present, speak. A minute or twolater, he raised his head.
"Did you not see him, Surajah?"
"See who, Dick?"
"The white man you last served."
"I did not notice any white man."
"It was the one you gave a pound of the best tobacco to. Did you nothear me speak to him, afterwards?"
"No. I was so busy, and so fearfully hot with this padded thing, itwas as much as I could do to attend to what they said to me. A whiteman, did you say? Oh, Dick!"
And as the idea struck him, he rose to his feet in his excitement.
"Do you think--do you really think he can be your father?"
"I do think so, Surajah. Of course, I did not recognise his face. Nineyears must have changed him greatly, and he has a long beard. But heis about the right age, and, I should say, about the same figure; andhe has certainly been a sailor, for he said, to one of the soldiers,that he would give that pound of tobacco for a couple of pipes ofpigtail, which is the tobacco sailors smoke. I told him that, perhaps,I might be able to find him some in my packs, and asked him to comehere at eight o'clock this evening. If I was not in, then, he was tocome the first thing tomorrow morning; but of course I shall be in ateight. You must make some excuse to the ladies. Say that there aresome goods you wish to show them, in one of the other packs, and askme to go and look for it."
"Oh, Dick, only to think that, after all our searching, we seem tohave come on him at last! It is almost too good to be true."
Great as was Surajah's confidence in Dick, he had never quite sharedhis faith that he would find his father alive, and his non-successwhile with the army, and since, had completely extinguished any hopeshe had entertained. His surprise, therefore, equalled his delight atfinding that, after all, it seemed probable that their search waslikely to be crowned with success.
"Of course we will manage it," he said. "I will put aside that narrowBenares cloth-of-gold work for trimmings, and you can be as long asyou like looking for it. They will be too busy examining the otherthings to give it a thought, after you have gone out."
"I can be back at half-past eight," Dick said, "for the man told me hewas locked up at that hour. If it had not been for that, I should havearranged for him to come a little later. But, of course, I shall haveopportunities for talking to him tomorrow.
"There is someone at the door."
Surajah opened it, and a soldier entered with their evening meal, anda request that they would go across to the governor's as soon as theyhad finished it, as the ladies had already assembled there. Theyhurried through their food, and then went across. There was quite alarge gathering, for not only had the wives of the officers in theother fort come over, but all those who had been there in the morningwere again present, several of them prepared to make furtherpurchases. Trade was as actively carried on as it had been before.
When he judged it to be nearly eight o'clock, Dick nudged Surajah, whosaid, a minute afterwards:
"We have forgotten the Benares cloth-of-gold. I am sure that willplease the ladies for waist bands, or for trimmings. It must have gotinto the other bales, by mistake."
"I will go and fetch it," Dick said, and, rising, left the room.
A figure was standing at the door, when he reached the house.
"I was afraid you had forgotten me," the man said. "It is not quiteeight o'clock yet, but as I found that you were both out, I began tobe afraid that you might be detained until after I had to go; and youdon't know how I long for a pipe of that tobacco. The very thought ofit seems to bring old days back again."
By this time they had entered the house, and Dick shut the door behindhim. He had left a light burning, when they went out. Dick was soagitated that he felt unable to speak, but gazed earnestly in theman's face.
"What is it, old chap?" the latter said, surprised at the closescrutiny. "Is anything wrong with you?"
Dick took off his spectacles, rather to gain time than to see moreclearly, for a plain glass had been substituted for the lenses.
"I want to ask you a question," he said. "Is your name Holland?"
The man started.
"My name is Jack Holland," he said, "sure enough; though how you cometo know it beats me altogether, for I am alwa
ys called Jack, andexcept the governor, I don't think there is a man here knows my othername."
"You were captain of the Hooghley, wrecked on the Malabar coast, nineyears ago," Dick said, this time speaking in English.
After an exclamation of startled surprise, the man stared at him in anastonishment too great for words.
"Are you English?" he said slowly, at last. "Yes, I was in command ofthe Hooghley. Who, in God's name, are you?"
Dick took his two hands.
"Father," he said, "I am your son, Dick."
The sailor gazed at him with a stupefied air.
"Are you mad, or am I?" he said hoarsely.
"Neither of us, Father. I am disguised as an old man, but really I amlittle more than eighteen. I have been searching for you for more thantwo years, and, thank God, I have found you at last;" and, burstinginto tears, Dick would have thrown his arms round his father's neck,but the latter pushed him off with one hand, and held him at arm'sdistance, while his other hand plucked at his own throat, as if toloosen something that was choking him.
"It can't be true," he muttered to himself. "I am dreaming this. Ishall wake presently, and you will be gone."
"It is quite true, Father. Mother is down at Tripataly, waiting for meto bring you to her."
With a hoarse cry the sailor reeled, and would have fallen, had notDick caught him and allowed him to sink gradually to the ground; wherehe lay, half supported by one of the bales. Dick ran to one of thesaddlebags, where he carried a flask of brandy in case of emergencies,poured some into a cup, and held it to his father's lips. The sailorgasped.
"It is brandy," he said suddenly. "I can't have dreamt that."
Then he broke into a violent sobbing. Dick knelt by his side, and tookhis hand.
"It is assuredly no dream, Father," he said gently. "I am really yourson, Dick. I am here with a trusty friend, and now we have found you,you may be sure that we will, in some way, manage your escape. Thereis no time, now, to tell you all that has happened. That I can do,afterwards. All that is important for you to know, is, that Mother isquite well. She has never given up hope, and has always insisted thatyou were alive, for she said that she should surely have known, if youhad died. So she taught me her language, until I could speak like anative; and two years and a half ago, she came out here with me.
"I accompanied the army, with my uncle's troop, and searched everyhill fort they took, for you. Since they went back, I have been up inMysore with my friend Surajah, and, thank God, at last we have foundyou!"
"Thank God, indeed, my boy. I do thank Him, not only that you havefound me, but that your mother, whom I had never hoped to see again,is alive and well; and also, that He has given me so good a son."
"And now, Father, about your escape. In the first place, have yougiven your parole not to try to get away?"
Captain Holland was himself now.
"No lad, no. At the fort, where I was for six years, there was nopossibility of escape; and as I was a long time, before I began tospeak the language, even if I had got away I could never have made myway through the country. Then the governor--it was the same we havehere--took me with him to Kistnagherry. I was the only white captivewho went there with him. At Kistnagherry there were five or sixothers, but when Tippoo heard that an English army was coming up theghauts, an order came that they were to be killed. But the governor isa kind-hearted old fellow, and as I had become almost a chum of his,he chose to consider that the order did not apply to me, but only tothose he had found at Kistnagherry--for I fancy my existence had beenforgotten altogether.
"I had great hopes that the British would take the place. I think thatis the only time I have hoped, since I was made prisoner; but the oldman is a good soldier, and beat them off.
"When peace was made, Kistnagherry was, as you know, given up, and thegovernor was ordered to evacuate the place, and to come here. Hebrought me with him, making me dye my face before I started, so thatin my native dress it would not be noticed, in any town we passedthrough, that I was a white. For had this been done, the news mighthave come to Tippoo's ears, and there would have been an end of me.
"Except that I am locked up at night, I am not treated as a prisoner;but the governor, who has a strong sense of duty, has a certain watchkept over me. He has a real friendship for me, and would do all in hispower to save my life, short of disobedience to an actual order. Buthis view is that I have been confided to his care, and that if, at anymoment, the Sultan should write to demand me of him, he would be boundto produce me."
"Well, Father, it must be nearly half-past eight. I will go with you,and see where you are confined--that is the first step. We will both,tonight, think over the best way of attempting your escape; and in themorning, when your guard is removed, if you will come straight here wewill talk it over.
"I am afraid you will have to wait for your pigtail till we get toMadras."
Captain Holland laughed.
"I can afford to wait for that, now. God bless you, my boy! I havenever looked for such happiness as this again. But, as you say, it istime for me to be off. I have never been late yet, and if it werereported to the governor that I was so tonight, he might think thatthere was something in the wind."
Dick walked with his father across the fort.
"That is the house, in the corner," the captain said, pointing to onebefore which a group of soldiers were standing. "Don't come anyfarther."
Dick stood looking after him, and heard a voice say:
"You are late, Jack. I was beginning to wonder what had become ofyou."
"I don't think it is past the hour, yet," Captain Holland replied. "Ihave been with those traders. They told me, this afternoon, they mightbe able to find me some English tobacco in their pack; but they havebeen too busy to look for it. I hope they will light on it, tomorrow.If they do, I will give you half a pipeful. I won't give you more, forit is strong enough to blow your head off, after this tasteless stuffyou smoke here."
Then Dick hurried off to the house, snatched up the stuff he wassupposed to be looking for, and joined Surajah at the governor's.
It was another hour before the ladies had completed their purchases.Dick, on entering, had given a little nod to Surajah, to let him knowthat it was really his father whom he had discovered, and had thentried to keep his attention upon his work as a salesman; and Surajah,as he handed him the goods, had given a furtive squeeze to his hand intoken of his sympathy.
"So it is really your father?" he said, as, carrying their greatlydiminished pack, they walked across to their house.
"It is, indeed. You may imagine his surprise and joy, when I told himwho I was. Now we have got to talk over the best plan of getting himout."
When the door was shut, and they had seated themselves on two of thebales, Dick first repeated all that his father had told him, and then,for a long time, they discussed the best plan of attempting an escape.Both agreed, at once, that it would be next to impossible to get himdown the road and out of the gate. In the first place, they would haveto leave by daylight; and even could a disguise be contrived thatwould deceive the sentries and guard at the gate, all of whom werewell acquainted with Captain Holland's figure and appearance, it wascertain that, as but two had come up the rock, a third would not beallowed to leave, unless he had a special order from the governor.
They agreed, therefore, that the escape must be made over theprecipice. That this was a matter of great difficulty was evident fromthe fact that the captain had made no attempt to get away in thatmanner. Still, there was hope that, with the assistance of the silkrope Dick had brought with them, it might be managed.
There was, too, the initial difficulty of getting out from the fort tobe faced.
"We can do nothing, till we have had a long talk with my father," Dicksaid. "I have no doubt that he has thought all these things over, andhas, long before this, made up his mind as to the point at which adescent would be easiest. As at present we know little, except by thecasual examination we made last time, we ca
n decide on nothing byourselves."
"I hope it won't be a long way to let oneself down," Surajah said,"for I am quite sure I could not hold on, by that thin rope, for anydistance."
"Nor could I, Surajah, if I had to trust only to my hands. My father,as a sailor, will be able to put us up to the best way to do it. Butat any rate, he might let you down first; and I think that by twistingthe rope two or three times round my body, and then holding it betweenmy knees and feet, I might manage. But I dare say my father will hiton some better plan than that.
"And now we will lie down. I am so stiff that I can hardly stand, fromsquatting for so many hours behind those things of ours. I thoughtthat I had got pretty well accustomed to it, but I never calculated onhaving to do it from ten in the morning until ten at night, with onlytwo half-hours off."
Dick, however, had little sleep that night. He was too excited overthe glorious success he had obtained to be capable of closing an eye,and it was not until day was breaking that he fell into a doze.
An hour later, he started to his feet at a knock at the door. He waswide awake in a moment, and on running to it, his father entered.
"You look older today than you did yesterday," the latter said, as heheld his hand and gazed into Dick's face. "I fancy that neither of ushas had any sleep to speak of. As for myself, I have not closed aneye."
"Nor did I, Father, until day began to break. Now please, let us talkover our plan of escape first, for we may be interrupted at anymoment."
"Right you are, lad. Does your friend here speak English? For I havenever got to be a good hand at their lingo. I want to thank him, too,but as you say, time is precious, and we must postpone that."
"He understands it, Father, and can talk it pretty fairly. We havebeen constantly together for nearly two years.
"Now, in the first place, is there any place where we can get downfrom the top here, with the aid of a rope?"
"It would be a pretty tough job, anyhow, but at the farthest end ofthe rock is a place where it goes sharp down, as if cut with a knife.That would be the best place to try. I take it to be about two hundredfeet deep. Beyond, the ground seems to slope regularly away. If Icould have got a rope I should have tried it, but they are prettyscarce commodities up here--in fact, I have never seen a piece twentyfeet long since we came. What sort of rope have you got?"
Dick opened the front of his garment, and showed the rope round hisbody. Captain Holland gave a low whistle of dismay.
"I should not like to trust a child with that thing, Dick, much less agrown man. It is no thicker than a flag halliard."
"It is thin, Father, but there is no fear as to its strength. I testedevery yard of it, and found it would bear six hundred weight."
"Well, that is ample; but how is one to hold on to a cord like that?"
"That is just what we want you to tell us, Father. There must be someway of managing it, if one could but hit upon it."
"Yes, that is so, lad," the sailor said thoughtfully. "I will think itover. Anyhow, I think I could lower you both down, and by knotting itI might get hold enough to come down after you; but even the knotswould be precious small."
"One might get over that, Father, by fastening a short stick across,every five or six feet; or every two or three feet, if you like."
"Good, Dick. That would prevent one's coming down with a run,certainly, and by keeping it between one's legs, one could always geta rest. Yes, that will do, lad, if I can think of nothing better.There are a lot of spears stowed away, in the room adjoining mine. Ifwe were to cut them up into six-inch lengths, with one of a foot longto each ten, for sitting on, they would be just the thing."
"That is capital, Father. I had a lot of practice in rope climbing,before I came out, and I am sure that I could manage with the helpthat would give. I don't think Surajah could, but we could let himdown first, easily. Now, as to your prison."
"There are bars to the windows," the captain said, "and a sentry isalways on duty outside. The only way would be to escape at the rear. Ihave often thought it over, but it was of no use breaking out there,if I could not get any farther. The wall is built of loose stone,without mortar. You see, it would have been a big job to bring upeither mortar or bricks from down below, so most of the buildings areentirely of stone. The wall is two feet thick, but there would be nogreat difficulty in getting out the stones, and making a hole bigenough to crawl through. I could not do it in my room, because theyalways look round to see that everything is safe before they lock meup; and it would take so long to do it noiselessly that half the nightwould be wasted, before I could get out. But the magazine, where thespears are kept, communicates with my room, and I could slip in therein the daytime, when no one was looking, get behind the spears, whichare piled against the wall, and work hidden by them. No one would belikely to go into my room during the day, and if he did, he would notexpect to find me there, as I am generally about the place. In thatway, I could get out enough stones to render it an easy job to finishit, after I was locked up. A spear head is as good a thing, to help meprize them out, as one could wish for."
"Very well, Father. Then we had better settle that you shall get outin that way. Now, shall we go round on the outside, and help you?"
"No; I don't say but that your help would make it easier to get thestones out, without making a noise. Still, your going round might benoticed."
"Well then, Father, shall we seize and gag the sentry? We have donesuch a thing before, successfully."
"No, that wouldn't do, Dick. The guard house is hard by, and theslightest noise would destroy us all. Besides, as they have not manysentries posted up here, they relieve guard every hour, so that thething would be discovered in no time.
"No; when I get out I will creep along noiselessly by the wall. Thereare houses in the yard almost all along, and though the sentry wouldnot be likely to see me, in the shade of the wall, I will take care tocross the open spaces when his back is turned. I will then comestraight here for you, and we will make for the wall behind thegovernor's house. There is no sentry on that side, for that steepravine covers it from attack there. However, there are six or eightfeet of level ground between the foot of the wall and the edge of theravine. The walls are twenty feet in height. With fifty feet of thatrope I will make a ladder, and will get hold of a piece of iron tomake a grapnel of. How much time can you give me?"
"I should think we could stay here today and tomorrow, without seemingto be dawdling without reason. Do you think you could get ready bytomorrow night, Father?"
"Yes, that will give me plenty of time. Let me see. There is the shortladder to make. That won't take me over an hour. There are a hundredbits to cut for the long ladder, putting them about two feet apart.That will be a longish job, for the spear shafts are of very toughwood. However, I have a saw, and some oil, which will prevent itmaking a noise, and can make fairly quick work of it. I have severaltools, too. I very often do carpentering jobs of all sorts--that iswhat first made the governor take to me. I can get all that part ofthe work done today. Tonight I will do the knotting. Of course, Ishall make it a goodish bit over two hundred feet long, for it mayturn out that I have not judged the depth right, and that the cliff ishigher than I thought it was.
"I don't think sawing up the spear shafts will take more than an houror two, so I shall be able to show myself about the place as usual. Iwill go over and take a good look at the rock again, and stick a spearhead into the ground, at the point where it seems to me that it goesdown straightest, and where there is the least chance of the ropegetting rubbed against a sharp edge. I sha'n't begin at the wall untiltomorrow, for I don't suppose I shall be able to get out the first fewstones without making a bit of a noise, and it would not do to work atnight.
"Now, lad, I think we can consider that as all settled, and I won'tcome near you again, unless there is some change of plan. I shall behere tomorrow evening, I hope it will be by ten o'clock--that mustdepend upon how long it takes me to get down the outside layer ofstone.
&n
bsp; "If you should hear a sudden row, make at once for the wall behind thegovernor's house, and wait there for me to join you. You see, some ofthe stones may come down with a run, and if they do I shall give therest a shove, and be out like a shot. I shall hear which side thesentry is running round the house, and shall belt the other way. Ofcourse, he will see the stones and give the alarm; but in thedarkness, I have not much doubt of being able to slip away, and I willthen make my way straight to the wall. Of course, I shall have theladders tied up into bundles, and shall take care not to leave thembehind me."
"All right, Father. We will be ready tomorrow evening. We shall waitquietly for you until you come, unless we hear a sudden alarm. If wedo, we will go round behind the governor's house, and wait there foryour coming."
"That is it, my lad. Now I will be going. I am glad that no one hascome in while I have been here."