was there, instead of this mummy of a
man. But such as he was I had to make the best of him, and it was very
evident that no escape could be made unless he were my partner in it,
for what could I possibly do without him observing me? I hinted at it,
therefore, and then by degrees I spoke more plainly, until it seemed to
me that I had prevailed upon him to share my lot.

I tried the walls, and I tried the floor, and I tried the ceiling, but
though I tapped and probed, they all appeared to be very thick and
solid. The door was of iron, shutting with a spring lock, and provided
with a small grating, through which a warder looked twice in every
night. Within there were two beds, two stools, two washstands--nothing
more. It was enough for my wants, for when had I had as much during
those twelve years spent in camps? But how was I to get out? Night after
night I thought of my five hundred hussars, and had dreadful nightmares,
in which I fancied that the whole regiment needed shoeing, or that my
horses were all bloated with green fodder, or that they were foundered
from bogland, or that six squadrons were clubbed in the presence of the
Emperor. Then I would awake in a cold sweat, and set to work picking and
tapping at the walls once more; for I knew very well that there is no
difficulty which cannot be overcome by a ready brain and a pair of
cunning hands.

There was a single window in our cell, which was too small to admit a
child. It was further defended by a thick iron bar in the centre. It was
not a very promising point of escape, as you will allow, but I became
more and more convinced that our efforts must be directed towards it. To
make matters worse, it only led out into the exercise yard, which was
surrounded by two high walls. Still, as I said to my sullen comrade, it
is time to talk of the Vistula when you are over the Rhine. I got a
small piece of iron, therefore, from the fittings of my bed, and I set
to work to loosen the plaster at the top and the bottom of the bar.
Three hours I would work, and then leap into my bed upon the sound of
the warder's step. Then another three hours, and then very often another
yet, for I found that Beaumont was so slow and clumsy at it that it was
on myself only that I could rely.

I pictured to myself my Third of Hussars waiting just outside that
window, with kettle-drums and standards and leopard-skin schabraques all
complete. Then I would work like a madman, until my iron was c