Illustration: RECORD OF SECOND ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE.]

I held the strand in my left hand and fell to filing with my right so
that at the snap there should be no noisy rebound of the spring-like
wire. A post was at my right, and, the wire having been nailed to it,
I was safe from this danger on that side.

The sound of the tramp of those faithful feet receded but the sound of
them came strongly back to me like a message of hope.

By the time they were back once more I had cut through three strands
and was crawling cautiously toward my objective, a pile of peat two
hundred yards distant, which seemed to offer cover as a breathing spot
and starting point. On the signal from the promenaders that I was
through the wire, Simmons followed, and after him, Brumley. The other
man lived up to the example he had previously set himself. He drew
back in alarm and refused to make the attempt.

With twenty-five guards all about and some only thirty feet away, the
very impudence of the plan offered our only hope of success. I still
lacked fifty yards of the peat heap when I heard three shots, next
the dogs, and then the general outcry which followed the detection of
Brumley.

I rose to my feet and ran. We had already mapped out our course in
advance by daylight, for just such a contingency; so I struck boldly
out. I was still in the swamp to my knees, and under those conditions
even the short start we had might prove sufficient, since our pursuers
would also bog down. The swamp was intersected by a series of small
ditches and scattered bushes, which added to the difficulty of the
passage. I heard Brumley floundering and swearing behind and went back
to pull him out of a bottomless ditch. Simmons joined us while I was
still struggling with him. In another hour Brumley's legs played out.
We could still make out the lights of the laager. It was vitally
necessary to push on; so we encouraged him as best we could and
managed, somehow, to reach the edge of the swamp by daylight. We put
ourselves on the meagre rations our store allowed, one biscuit for
breakfast and another for supper, with a bit of chocolate on the side.
We had apparently outdistanced the pursuit. We prayed that our friends
might not be too severely punished for their part in our escape.

We lay in the heather all day, soaked to the skin with the brackish
water of the swamp, the odor of which still hung to our clothes. It
was January and very cold and sleep was impossib