This time he
went straight to the window, looked at it, tried the stanchions,
and then, with an amused attempt at being cunning and hiding his
own vigilance, he asked me, with laborious hypocrisy, if I had seen
Captain Lancy pass the window. And so for weeks and weeks we played
hide-and-seek with each other.
At last I had nothing to do but sit and wait, for the groove was
cut, the bar had room to play. I could not bend it, for it was fast
at the top; but when my hour of adventure was come, I would tie a
handkerchief round the two bars and twist it with the piece of
hickory used for stirring the fire. Here was my engine of escape,
and I waited till April should wind to its close, when I should,
in the softer weather, try my fortune outside these walls.
So time went on until one eventful day, even the 30th of April
of that year 1758. It was raining and blowing when I waked, and
it ceased not all the day, coming to a hailstorm towards night. I
felt sure that my guards without would, on such a day, relax their
vigilance. In the evening I listened, and heard no voices nor any
sound of feet, only the pelting rain and the whistling wind.
Pages:
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338