care and trouble, removed the hinges from the door. The
casing and bolts prevented his opening it wide, so he chipped away the
woodwork, till at length he was able to slip through, taking with him
his linen ropes, which he had wound on two pieces of wood like two great
reels of thread.

Having passed the door he turned to the right of the tower, and having
removed a couple of tiles, he easily got out on the roof. He wore a
white doublet and breeches and white boots, into one of which he had
slipped his dagger. Taking one end of his linen rope, he now proceeded
to hook it carefully over an antique piece of tile which was firmly
cemented into the wall. This tile projected barely four fingers'
breadth, and the band hooked over it as on a stirrup. When he had made
it firm he prayed thus: 'O Lord, my God, come now to my aid, for Thou
knowest that my cause is righteous, and that I am aiding myself.' Then
he gently let himself slide down the rope till he reached the ground.
There was no moon, but the sky was clear, and once down he gazed up at
the tower from which he had made so bold a descent, and went off in high
spirits, thinking himself at liberty, which indeed was by no means the
case.

On this side of the Castle the governor had had two high walls built to
inclose his stables and his poultry-yard, and these walls had gates
securely bolted and barred on the outside.

In despair at these obstacles Benvenuto roamed about at random, cursing
his bad luck, when suddenly he hit his foot against a long pole which
lay hidden in the straw. With a good deal of effort he managed to raise
it against the wall and to scramble up to the top. Here he found a
sharply sloping coping stone which made it impossible to draw the pole
up after him, but he fastened a portion of the second linen band to
it, and by this means let himself down as he had done outside the donjon
tower.

By this time Benvenuto was much exhausted, and his hands were all cut
and bleeding; however, after a short rest he climbed the last inclosure,
and was just in the act of fastening his rope to a battlement, when, to
his horror, he saw a sentinel close to him. Desperate at this
interruption, and at the thought of the risk he ran, he prepared to
attack the sentry, who, however, seeing a man advance on him with a
drawn dagger and determined air, promptly took to his heels, and
Benvenuto returned to his rope. Another guard was near, but, hoping not
to have been observ