repose. The guard turned out, but as all
seemed quiet in the churchyard-prison when they peered through the iron
bars, they turned in again, and the sentinel recharged his musket.

Close beside one of the sodden graves lay the yet warm body of a dead
man. The random bullet had found a billet in his heart, and "Nature's
sweet restorer" had been merged into the sleep of death. Fortunate man!
He had been spared, probably, months of slow-timed misery, with almost
certain death at the end in any case.

Three men rose from behind the headstone of that grave, and looked
sorrowfully on the drenched figure.

"He has passed the golden gates," said one in a low voice. "A wonderful
change."

"Ay, Wull," responsed another of the trio; "but it's noo or niver wi'
us. Set yer heid agin' the wa', Quentin."

The shepherd obeyed, and the three proceeded to carry out a plan which
they had previously devised--a plan which only very strong and agile men
could have hoped to carry through without noise. Selecting a suitable
part of the wall, in deepest shadow, where a headstone slightly aided
them, Quentin planted his feet firmly, and, resting his arms on the
wall, leaned his forehead against them. Black mounted on his shoulders,
and, standing erect, assumed the same position. Then Wallace, grasping
the garments of his friends, climbed up the living ladder and stood on
Black's shoulders, so that he could just grip the top of the wall and
hang on. At this point in the process the conditions were, so to speak,
reversed. Black grasped Wallace with both hands by one of his ankles,
and held on like a vice. The living ladder was now hanging from the top
of the wall instead of standing at the foot of it, and Quentin--the
lowest rung, so to speak--became the climber. From Wallace's shoulders,
he easily gained the top of the wall, and was able to reach down a
helping hand to Black as he made his way slowly up Wallace's back. Then
both men hauled Wallace up with some trouble, for the strain had been
almost too much for him, and he could hardly help himself.

At this juncture the sentinel chanced to look up, and, dark though it
was, he saw the three figures on the wall a little blacker than the sky
behind. Instantly the bright flash of his musket was seen, and the
report, mingled with his cry of alarm, again brought out the guard. A
volley revealed the three prisoners for a moment.

"Dinna jump!" cried Black, as the bullets whizzed