n upon his knees and
began to pick out the hard dirt and cement that filled the cracks around
the broad, flat stone.

It was rough work, but he had the satisfaction of feeling that he was
making very fair progress, scraping up the pieces from the place around,
and as fast as he secured a handful going to the window and throwing it
out with a good jerk, looking out afterwards to see if it showed, and
finding it was concealed by the long grass.

He was well upon the _qui vive_, having placed the straw close to the
place where he was at work, and holding himself in readiness at the
slightest alarm to scatter a portion over the slab.

But no one came, and he worked steadily on hour after hour till the
crack all round was quite clear, and he had no need to do more till he
tried to raise the stone by using the cutlass as a lever.

To guard against surprise he now scattered about some of the chaff and
small scraps that had been shaken out of the two bundles of straw, and
after listening attentively, he could not resist the temptation of
taking out the heavy sword and trying whether he could lift the slab.

The point went in easily, and he was just about to press upon the handle
when he snatched the weapon out and hastily thrust it back in its
hiding-place, for there was the sound of an opening door, and a minute
later Allstone walked in with a small loaf and a jug of water, placing
them upon the table with a sour and malicious look at the prisoner, who
did not even notice his presence, and then left the place.

"Bread and water, eh!" thought Hilary. "Well, the greater need for me
to get away, for ship living will be better than this."

His hearty young appetite, however, was ready to induce him to look with
favour upon food of any kind, and he set to at once, munching the bread
and refreshing himself with draughts of water.

"If this is Sir Henry's doing," he said, "it is mean; but I'll put it
down to the credit of our amiable friend Allstone. Perhaps I may be
able some day to return the compliment. We shall see."

At his time of life low spirits do not last long, and he was too full of
his idea of escape to trouble himself now about the quality of his food.
All being well, he hoped to get down into the cellar, where, among
other things it was evident that the smugglers kept their store of
spirits; he might, perhaps, find firearms as well. At all events he
hoped that the exit might prove easier than from the place