ike. I wos used to help him when a
boy. P'r'aps if yer honour, now, has got a old umbrella as wants
refittin', I might try my hand on that."

The governor smiled. "Vell, I do tink I have von old omberilla. You
sall try for to mend him."

Next day saw Bill and Ben surrounded by tools, scraps of wood and
whalebone, bits of brass and tin, etcetera, busy as bees, and as happy
as any two children who have invented a new game.

Ben mended the umbrella admirably. At the same time, Bill fashioned and
carved two or three paper-knives of wood with great neatness. But when
it was discovered that they could sew sail-cloth expeditiously and well,
a quantity of that material was given to them, and they were ordered to
make sacks. They set to work accordingly, and made sack after sack
until they grew so wearied of the monotonous work that Ben said it made
him wish to sit down in sackcloth and ashes; whereupon Bill remarked
that if the Mounseers would only give them the sack altogether, it would
be very much to their credit.

Soon the imprisoned mariners began again to plot and plan their escape.
Of course they thought of making ropes of the sail-cloth and twine with
which they wrought, but as the turnkey took the material away every
night, and brought it back every morning, they gave up this idea, as
they had given up many other ideas before.

At last, one afternoon, Bill looked up from his work, hit his thigh a
slap which produced a pistol-shot crack that echoed up into the high
ceiling of the cell, as he exclaimed, "I've got it!"

"I hope you'll give us a bit of it, then," said Ben, "if it's worth
havin'."

"I'll give you the benefit of it, anyhow," said Bill, throwing down his
tools and eagerly beginning to expound the new plan which had struck him
and caused him to strike his thigh. It was to this effect:--

That they should beg the turnkey to let them have another old umbrella
to work at by way of recreation, as the sack-making was rather
monotonous; that, if they should be successful in prevailing on him to
grant their request, they should work at the umbrella very slowly, so as
to give them time to carry out their plan, which was to form a sort of
parachute by adding sail-cloth round the margin of the umbrella so as to
extend it to twice its circumference. After it should be finished they
were to seize a fitting opportunity, cut the bars of their window, and,
with the machine, leap down into the yard below.