ith you."

Tom argued the point, considering that the question was one of honour,
like that of leading a forlorn hope; but, on my saying that I had
planned the enterprise and thereby was entitled by right to be the first
to venture down, quite apart from the fact of my supplying the rope, he
yielded gracefully. Thereupon, without any more fuss, I got over the
railings of the balcony, and holding on tightly to the frail cord with
both hands, letting my legs drop, and then obtaining a grip below with
my ankles, I allowed myself to slide down below, checking the rapidity
of my descent by the knots I had previously placed there, a foot or so
apart, for this especial purpose.

I swayed round a bit, but the rope held firmly; and in a few seconds I
was standing on the steps below, waiting for Tom to join me.

He came down much easier than I did, from the fact of my holding the
other end of our improvised ladder, thus preventing it from twirling him
about in the same way as it had treated me, causing me almost to feel
giddy.

As soon as he stood beside me I coiled up the end of the cord, flinging
it back with a dexterous heave, in the way my sailor friend had taught
me, over the balcony again, so that the end of it might not be seen
hanging down, and so betray us too soon should any passer-by notice it.

"Come on, Tom," I then said, "a long good-bye to the Doctor's, my boy,
the blessed place shall never see me again, if I can help it! Let us
make for the quay now, and get on board the brig if we can--that is,
unless it be too late, in which case we must hide somewhere till the
morning."

"All right," he replied; and the two of us at once started off at a jog-
trot up the terrace and along the road that led into the town.

We were successful so far, but we were almost captured on the threshold
of victory through an unforeseen contingency; for, just as we turned
round the corner of the terrace by the country inn, or "hotel," which I
had noticed on my way from the station when I first arrived at the place
with Grimes, the cantankerous old railway porter escorting me to the
school, who should we meet point-blank but that identical worthy!

He was evidently going home to bed having just been turned out of the
inn, which was shutting up for the night. He had, apparently, spent a
most enjoyable evening, for he seemed in good spirits--or, rather,
perhaps had a pretty good amount of spirits or beer in him--as he reeled
somew