, I began to dress
with all possible speed. As I rose from lacing my boots I trod on a
loose board, which creaked so loudly that I felt certain it must be
heard throughout the house. Lest any one should be aroused, I got
quickly into bed again, dressed as I was, but although I lay there some
time I heard no sound. Creeping cautiously across the room, I moved the
dressing-table, and then, with the utmost care, drew up the green cotton
blind. The moon shone brightly, almost at the full, but this might be
either an advantage or a drawback. At least, it served to show my
surroundings, and, before opening the window, I stared through the panes
for some minutes. The house consisted of only one story above the ground
floor, and the rooms were by no means lofty. My window overlooked what
was evidently a fair-sized kitchen-garden, surrounded by a low hedge,
beyond which I could see nothing but fields.

Now, if it happened that Tiger was chained, and I could succeed in
reaching the garden, I determined to give up for the present every
thought of gaining the road to London or anywhere else. I would simply
get through the hedge at the earliest moment lest any one should detect
me in the bright moonlight, then make a straight dash across country. By
this means it promised to be far easier to avoid pursuit than if I
followed any kind of road. Being fully dressed, with the exception of a
hat, which did not seem to matter, I cautiously pushed up the lower half
of the window and leaned forward to survey the ground. Immediately below
me lay a bed about two feet wide, with flowers growing in it and one or
two standard roses. I saw that the distance would not be too great to
drop, and, anxious to lose no more time, I climbed out to the sill,
crouching there a minute with alarming thoughts of Tiger. But all was
perfectly still; one or two birds began to rustle in the leaves of the
ivy which seemed to cover the back of the house, that was all, until
turning round on the narrow sill, I heard the jangling of a chain.
Peering forth once more, however, I could see no sign of a kennel, so
that it seemed probable that Tiger was secured at the side of the house
or in the front. Placing my hands on the sill, I gradually lowered
myself until I hung by the fingers, then the next moment I dropped all
of a heap, but without making much noise, on to the bed, the only damage
being a scratch on the left cheek from a thorn on one of the standard
roses.

F