had procured; and, last of all, with the
umbrella.

"Peter, if the rope bears me with all this, it is clear it will bear
such a creature as you are, therefore don't be afraid."

So whispering, he commenced his ascent; in about three minutes he was
up, and the rope pulled. I immediately followed him, and found the rope
very easy to climb, from the knots at every two feet, which gave me a
hold for my feet, and I was up in as short a time as he was. He caught
me by the collar, putting his wet hand on my mouth, and I lay down
beside him while he pulled up the rope. We then crawled on our stomachs
across the glacis till we arrived at the rampart. It was some time
before O'Brien could find out the point exactly above the drawbridge of
the first ditch; at last he did--he fixed his crow-bar in, and lowered
down the rope.

"Now, Peter, I had better go first again; when I shake the rope from
below, all's right."

O'Brien descended, and in a few minutes the rope again shook; I followed
him, and found myself received in his arms upon the meeting of the
drawbridge; but the drawbridge itself was up. O'Brien led the way
across the chains, and I followed him. When we had crossed the moat, we
found a barrier-gate locked; this puzzled us. O'Brien pulled out his
picklocks to pick it, but without success; here we were fast.

"We must undermine the gate, O'Brien; we must pull up the pavement until
we can creep under."

"Peter, you are a fine fellow; I never thought of that."

We worked very hard until the hole was large enough, using the crowbar
which was left, and a little wrench which O'Brien had with him. By
these means we got under the gate in the course of an hour or more.
This gate led to the lower rampart, but we had a covered way to pass
through before we arrived at it. We proceeded very cautiously, when we
heard a noise: we stopped, and found it was a sentry, who was fast
asleep, and snoring.

O'Brien thought for a moment. "Peter," said he, "now is the time for
you to prove yourself a man. He is fast asleep, but his noise must be
stopped. I will stop his mouth, but at the very moment that I do so you
must throw open the pan of his musket, and then he cannot fire it."

"I will, O'Brien; don't fear me."

We crept cautiously up to him, and O'Brien motioning to me to put my
thumb upon the pan, I did so, and the moment that O'Brien put his hand
upon the soldier's mouth, I threw open the pan. The fellow struggle