try
running right down to the water's edge; while beyond these two points
the outlook was restricted by the outer edges of the splay in which the
window was built. From the same cause, also, Frobisher was unable to
see the ground close enough to the wall to judge whether the fort was
surrounded by a moat or a dry ditch of any description, although from
the general appearance of things he surmised that it was.

By estimating the angle at which his line of sight was cut off by the
outer edge of the sill, he calculated that he must be confined in a room
situated on the second story of the fort, and that there would
consequently be a considerable drop from the bottom of the window to the
ground, without taking into consideration the probable existence of a
ditch of fifteen or twenty feet deep running round the base of the
walls.

In any case, even if the iron bars could by some means be removed, it
did not appear as though it would be possible for him to squeeze his big
body through the opening, so the question of the depth of the drop
outside was hardly worth worrying about. His one and only means of
egress seemed to be the door by which he had entered, and to that he now
turned his attention, with the view of ascertaining whether any hope lay
in that direction.

As has been mentioned, the door was constructed of timber very much
resembling oak, and its inner surface was reinforced by stout iron
straps some three or four inches wide, at least half an inch thick, and
extending across the whole width of the door. The round heads of bolts
studded at intervals along the whole length of the straps indicated that
similar iron bands existed on the other side of the door, and that the
straps, inside and outside--of which there were no less than seven
pairs--were connected together, thus clearly indicating the immense
strength of the door. It was thus hopeless to think of cutting a way
out through it; the only manner in which it could be passed was by
opening it in the usual manner.

Frobisher therefore set to work to examine the lock, to discover whether
there existed any possibility of picking it. It was an old-fashioned
piece of mechanism, and, luckily, the iron case was on the inside of the
door, the great keyhole being placed near the centre. Now for a piece
of stout wire, the stouter the better! The young Englishman proceeded
at once to hunt about among the various machines and instruments in the
dim corners of th