to the fishes
and make for England."

"Thank you, Adolphe. If the other plans seem impossible we will
try that, but only as a last resource; for I know the chances are
a hundred to one against its success. I should have no fear as to
Carrier himself, but as I went through the streets some one else
might place a musket at the back of my head and shoot me. If I
could get him alone it would be different. You could go with me;
I would force him to sign the order of release; you could take it;
and I would stand over him till you had time to embark with them;
then I would blow out his brains and make my way down to the river.
But there would be no chance of finding him alone. Monsters like
this are always fearful of assassination."

"And what is monsieur's other plan?"

"The other plan is to get on board the boat in which they are to be
placed--you might find out which it is from your friend in prison--hide
down in the hold until the guards leave her; then join them;
and when she sinks fasten them to a spar and drift down the river
with them till out of sight of the town, when Pierre could row off
and pick them up."

"They say there are to be soldiers on each side of the river,"
Adolphe said despondently, "to shoot down any who may try to swim
to shore. But there would not be many who would try. Most of them,
they say, will be women and children; but the heads would be seen
as you drifted down."

"Yes; but we must think of something, Adolphe--think, man,
think--and you, Pierre, think; if you were in a sinking ship, and you
wanted something which would hide you from the eyes of people a
hundred yards away, what would you take?"

"But you would be seen on anything you climbed on to or clung to,
monsieur.

"But we need not climb on to it," Harry said. "I can take pieces
of cork with me and wrap round them so as to keep their faces just
afloat. I should only want something that would hide their faces."

"A hatch might do," Pierre said.

"The very thing!" Harry exclaimed with a fresh ring of animation
and hopefulness in his voice. "The very thing! Of course there
would be a hatchway to the forecastle of the lugger. We might get
that loosened beforehand, so that it would float off. What is the
size of such a hatch?"

"Some four feet square, monsieur."

"That will be enough," Harry said; "but how high would a hatch
float out of water, because there must be room between the top of
the water for us to breathe as we li