best of times, or it would have thought of some
plan for getting out of this place before now.'

"At last, I hit on a plan. It was a dangerous one, there was no
doubt of that; but as I was desperate, I did not think much of the
danger. The worst they could do was to shoot me, which I suppose
is what they would have done. My idea was to pounce suddenly on
one of the sentries, who kept guard all night; to gag him, and tie
him up, before he could give the alarm; and then to dress up in
his clothes, and take his matchlock.

"But the difficulty was, what was I to do next. The soldiers came
on duty for twelve hours, coming in at six in the morning and
going out at six in the evening.

"It was clear to me that it could only be done in the dark, and I
had to wait for nearly two months. It was the beginning of October
before it was dark enough, at six in the morning, for me to fall
in with the others and march out without being noticed.

"At last, the time came. I stole out of my hut an hour before the
change would be made, and crept along quietly, till I heard a
sentry marching up and down between our huts and those of the
soldiers. I had torn up a blanket into strips, and twisted them
together to make ropes; and with these in one hand, and a big
piece ready to shove into his mouth in the other, I stole up close
to him; and when he turned his back to me, I jumped upon him.
Luckily, instead of carrying the musket on his shoulder, he had it
under his arm, so that I was able to seize the lock with one hand,
and clutch him by the throat with the other. I gripped pretty
hard, and the man, in half a minute, slipped down to the ground.

"Before he could recover, I had stripped off his coatee and cloak;
then I tied his hands and feet, fastened the gag firmly in his
mouth, and dragged him in between two huts, where he would not be
found till morning. Then I took off my own coat and threw it over
him, for the night was chilly, and put on his cloak and shako, and
took his place.

"In half an hour I heard a tramp of men, and knew the relief had
entered. Then there was a bugle call, and two or three sentries
passed towards the entrance. I ran on, too. When they fell in, I
managed to get in the last section. Some sergeants ran down the
line counting the men, and reported that all were present. The
gates were opened, and we marched out.

"As soon as we got among the tents, we fell out, and I had no
difficulty whatever in getting off