wered it till it ceased to
draw. Then he counted a hundred. Then pulled the silk carefully up: it
came up a little heavier. At last he came to a large knot, and by that
knot a stout whipcord was attached to the silk. What could this mean?
While he was puzzling himself Margaret's voice came up to him, low but
clear. "Draw up, Gerard, till you see liberty." At the word Gerard drew
the whipcord line up, and drew and drew till he came to another knot,
and found a cord of some thickness take the place of the whipcord. He
had no sooner begun to draw this up, than he found that he had now a
heavy weight to deal with. Then the truth suddenly flashed on him, and
he went to work and pulled and pulled till the perspiration rolled down
him: the weight got heavier and heavier, and at last he was well-nigh
exhausted: looking down, he saw in the moonlight a sight that revived
him: it was as it were a great snake coming up to him out of the deep
shadow cast by the tower. He gave a shout of joy, and a score more wild
pulls, and lo! a stout new rope touched his hand: he hauled and hauled,
and dragged the end into his prison, and instantly passed it through
both handles of the chest in succession, and knotted it firmly; then sat
for a moment to recover his breath and collect his courage. The
first thing was to make sure that the chest was sound, and capable of
resisting his weight poised in mid-air. He jumped with all his force
upon it. At the third jump the whole side burst open, and out scuttled
the contents, a host of parchments.

After the first start and misgiving this gave him, Gerard comprehended
that the chest had not burst, but opened: he had doubtless jumped upon
some secret spring. Still it shook in some degree his confidence in the
chest's powers of resistance; so he gave it an ally: he took the iron
bar and fastened it with the small rope across the large rope, and
across the window. He now mounted the chest, and from the chest put his
foot through the window, and sat half in and half out, with one hand on
that part of the rope which was inside. In the silent night he heard his
own heart beat.

The free air breathed on his face, and gave him the courage to risk what
we must all lose one day--for liberty. Many dangers awaited him, but the
greatest was the first getting on to the rope outside. Gerard reflected.
Finally, he put himself in the attitude of a swimmer, his body to the
waist being in the prison, his legs outside. Th