the delight of the party to find two strong
files! There could be no doubt that Le Duc had formed some plan to
assist them in escaping, or he would not have come thus furnished.
Probably they had to thank Madame La Roche for suggesting it. They did
not stop, however, to discuss the matter, but set to work immediately to
file away the bars, making as little noise as possible. While two of
them were thus employed, the rest walked about the room, and talked and
laughed and sang, so as to drown the sound of the files. Presently they
heard from the other side of the building the loud tones of a fiddle,
the player evidently keeping his bow going at a rapid rate. Then came
the sounds of laughter and the stamping of feet, as if people were
dancing.

"Why, our guards will be kept awake and we shall have no chance of
getting off, I fear," said Oliver.

"If our guards dance they will drink, and sleep afterwards, never fear,"
answered Rayner. "Our friend Le Duc knows what he is about. I'm sure
that we can trust him, or he would not have taken the trouble to bring
us these files."

The fiddle was kept going, and Brown and Jack kept time to the tunes
with the files as they worked, laughing heartily as they did so.

"Hurrah!" cried Jack, "there's one bar through. Take a spell here, Tom.
You've helped the armourer sometimes, and know how to use a file."

Tom, being as eager to get out as the rest, worked away better than he
did on most occasions.

Jack, however, soon again took the file, and in a short time announced
that both the centre bars were cut through at the bottom. They had next
to file the upper bars sufficiently to enable Brown to bend them back.
Losing patience, however, he at last seized one of them, when, placing
his feet against the window, he bent back with all his strength. He was
more successful than he expected, for the iron giving way, down he fell
on the floor with a tremendous crash, which would certainly have been
heard by the guards below, had not their attention been drawn off by the
fiddle of Le Duc, who was scraping away with more vehemence than ever.
Rayner and Oliver had in the meantime been manufacturing the rope by
which they hoped to descend to the ground. They could measure the
necessary length by the small line with which the files had been drawn
up, and they had the satisfaction of finding that it was amply long
enough for their purpose. They now secured it to one of the remaining
b