was nothing ominous in the choice of this old
song to end our concert. Moonlight would be fatal to our
enterprise; and I was quite ignorant whether the moon rose early or
late. But we had gone so far that our attempt must be made this
very night, for with the morning the cutting of the rope would
without doubt be discovered; the alarm would be given, and the
ensuing search would bring to light not merely the severed rope,
but our operations upon the wall.

We went up into our dormitory, taking with us our instruments as
usual, among them the bass viol of our invention. This was to serve
as our raft. We waited for several hours with feelings painfully
tense. None of us was inclined to talk; my nine comrades were, I
doubt not, wondering as anxiously as I myself what the issue of our
attempt would be.

When all was quiet, the strongest of them removed the stone at the
inner end of the tunnel, and set it down with many precautions on
the floor. Then Runnles, being a little man, crawled to the other
end and looped the rope about the loosened stone there. This we
hauled inwards an inch at a time, stopping after every pull to
listen. It seemed endless work to drag it into the room, but at
last it was done, and we set the stone alongside the other.

Our way was now clear. I had insisted on being the first to
descend, though Joe Punchard and two other men volunteered for that
office, pleading that they were mariners of longer standing than I,
and therefore fitter for the climbing work. But this I would by no
means agree to--the suggestion and the plan being mine, it was meet
that I should be the first to face what perils it might involve.
Accordingly, I first crawled through the tunnel to see whether the
aspect of the sky favored an immediate descent, and, being
reassured on that point, I went back into the room to make the
final preparations.

We stripped a plank from one of the truckle beds and placed it
across the opening, one end of the rope being knotted about its
middle; the knots were firm, you may be sure, as none but sailors
can make them. Then, taking the other end of the rope, I went to
the outward end and lowered it very gently towards the moat,
knowing that it would not be seen in the darkness by the sentry on
the battlements above even if he chanced to look over, and to that
he would have no temptation.

There was a good deal of doubt among us as to whether the rope was
long enough for our purpose. The bosu