move the other, but in practice it appeared
almost impossible, and again going back into the quarry to partake of
the food that was absolutely necessary, Archy returned to his task, and
after working away again for about half an hour he fell fast asleep.

How long he slept he did not know, but he started awake again to find
that it was quite dark, and he kept on like one in a dream.

The stone seemed as fast as ever, and his progress was getting very slow
now, for he had cleared away the mortar as fast as he could reach in;
but at last, seizing the stone and getting his fingers well in the
joint, he gave it a vigorous shove, and then uttered a shout of triumph,
for to his delight there came a sharp crack, and after giving a vigorous
shove, the stone, which was about twenty inches long, was drawn out, and
became the instrument for dislodging its fellows.

This was comparatively easy now, and in the course of the next two days
the prisoner had loosened and drawn out stones till he had made a way
through a rough piece of wall six feet thick, and had enlarged the hole
so that there was room to creep into the opening he had made and look
out.

Here came disappointment the first. The wall he had worked through did
not face out to sea, but was one side of a chasm, and he gazed at the
opposite side.

Soon after he learned that this had not been the place where the stones
were carried out for landing in boats, but the hole through which all
the refuse was discharged, to fall in a crumbling heap a tremendous
distance below, to be washed away by the waves which curved over and
over against the foot and rolled up into the chasm.

Still he worked on, enlarging the hole and sending the broken pieces and
mortar, rattling down the face of the cliff into the sea, till there was
nothing to hinder his crawling out at any time, and either getting to
the top of the cliff or down below to the shore.

He decided for the former as the more easy and the less likely to
suggest peril, and he spent the next few hours after cleansing himself
as much as possible, so as not to excite the attention of his young
gaoler, and in his efforts to do this he made use of a piece of
sailcloth, and an end of a coil of rope which lay with some sea-going
tackle hard by where he slept.

The day had come at last when the way was open, and he had but to creep
out into the fresh bright sunshine and run for his liberty.

He could hardly refrain from doing s