om was generally abandoned by the prisoners because of its inundated
condition, and four o'clock in the morning, when the earliest risers
were again astir. It was necessary to do the work with an old jack-knife
and one of the chisels previously secured by Rose. It must be done in
darkness and without noise, for a vigilant sentinel paced on the Carey
street sidewalk just outside the door and within ten feet of the
fireplace. A rubber blanket was procured, and the soot from the chimney
carefully swept into it. Hamilton, with his old knife, cut the mortar
between the bricks and pried a dozen of them out, being careful to
preserve them whole.

The rest of the incision was made in accordance with the design
described, but no conception could have been formed beforehand of the
sickening tediousness of cutting an S-shaped hole through a heavy wall
with a feeble old jack-knife, in stolen hours of darkness. Rose guarded
his comrade against the constant danger of interruption by alert enemies
on one side and by blundering friends on the other; and, as frequently
happens in human affairs, their friends gave them more trouble than
their foes. Night after night passed, and still the two men got up after
taps from their hard beds, and descended to the dismal and reeking
kitchen to bore for liberty. When the sentinel's call at Castle Thunder
and at Libby announced four o'clock, the dislodged bricks were carefully
replaced, and the soot previously gathered in the gum blanket was flung
in handfuls against the restored wall, filling the seams between the
bricks so thoroughly as to defy detection. At last, after many weary
nights, Hamilton's heroic patience and skill were rewarded, and the way
was open to the coveted base of operations, Rat Hell.

Now occurred a circumstance that almost revealed the plot and nearly
ended in a tragedy. When the opening was finished, the long rope was
made fast to one of the kitchen supporting posts, and Rose proceeded to
descend and reconnoiter. He got partly through with ease, but lost his
hold in such a manner that his body slipped through so as to pinion his
arms and leave him wholly powerless either to drop lower or return--the
bend of the hole being such as to cramp his back and neck terribly and
prevent him from breathing. He strove desperately, but each effort only
wedged him more firmly in the awful vise. Hamilton sprang to his aid and
did his utmost to effect his release; but, powerful as he was,