was going on in the
courtyard.

In time he came to know which was the entrance to the apartments of
the governor and his family, where the married officers were
quartered, and where the soldiers lodged. He saw that on the ground
floor of the tower he occupied were the quarters of a field officer
belonging to the garrison.

One day he saw a number of men employed in clearing out some unused
quarters, on one side of the outer courtyard, and judged that an
addition was about to be made to the garrison. This gave substance
to a plan that he had been revolving in his mind. That evening,
when the warder brought him his food, he said carelessly:

"I see you have some more troops coming in."

"Yes," the man replied, "there are three hundred more men coming.
They will march in tomorrow afternoon. They will be getting the
room on the first floor, below here, cleared out tomorrow morning
for the officer who commands them."

Fergus had, all along, considered that there would be no difficulty
in suddenly attacking and overpowering the warder, when he came in
or out of his room, for no special precautions were taken. The fact
that the prisoners were all in their uniforms, and that on showing
themselves below they would be instantly arrested, seemed to forbid
all chance of their making any attempt to escape. It was the matter
of clothes that had, more than anything else, puzzled Fergus; for
although he thought that he might possibly obtain a uniform from
some officer's quarters, it was evident that the guard would at
once perceive that he was not one of the officers of the garrison.
The arrival of the fresh detachment relieved him of this
difficulty, and it now seemed that a way of escape was open to him.

Much depended upon the hour at which the regiment would arrive. The
later they did so the better, and as the weather had for some days
been terribly rough, and the roads would be deep and heavy, it was
likely that they would not arrive until some time past the hour
fixed.

The next afternoon he listened for the roll of drums that would
greet the arrival of the newcomers. Just as the door opened, and
the sergeant entered with a lantern, he heard the sound that he had
been listening for.

[Illustration: As the man was placing his supper on the table,
Fergus sprang upon him]

Nothing could have happened more fortunately. As the man was
placing his supper on the table, Fergus sprang suddenly upon him,
hurled him down