, and
warn the queen if danger threatened. Roger was to be at the foot of
the wall with a boat, as soon as it became dark. I was to undertake
to get you out.

"The first thing to do was to get a rope. This I carried to a quiet
place on the wall, knotted it, and put it round me under my
doublet. Then there was nothing to do but to wait. I went several
times to hear if Jacques had any news, and was glad when he told me
that most of the troops were ordered to be under arms, at eight
o'clock. This would make matters simpler for me for, with numbers
of people going in and coming out of the castle, it would be easy
to slip in unnoticed.

"As soon as it was dark, Jacques and I went down a lane; and he
gave me his steel cap and breast piece, and took my cap in
exchange. Then I went up towards the castle. The gates were open,
and I was told that they would not be closed until midnight; as so
many were coming out and going in, and there was no hostile force
anywhere in these parts. Presently, numbers of gentlemen began to
arrive with their retainers, and I soon went in with a party of
footmen.

"The courtyard was full of men, and I was not long before I found
the staircase leading up to the top of the wall, on the river side.
I went boldly up and, halfway, found a door partly open. Looking
in, I saw that it was evidently used by some gentlemen who had gone
down, in haste, to join the party below; so I shut the door and
waited. I heard the troops start and guessed, from the quiet that
followed, that the greater portion of the garrison had left.

"I felt pretty sure that there would be a sentry at your door, and
waited until the time I thought he would be expecting a relief.
Then I went up. He was in a mighty hurry to get down, and did not
stop to see who I was, or to ask any questions; which was well for
him, for I had my knife in my hand, and should have stabbed him
before he could utter a cry. Everything went off well, and you know
the rest, sir."

"You managed wonderfully, Pierre. I thought over every plan by
which you might aid me to escape, but I never thought of anything
so simple as this. Nor, indeed, did I see any possible way of your
freeing me.

"How are we going to get our horses? The farmer will think that we
are a party of thieves."

"They are in an open shed," Jacques said. "I told the farmer that
our reason for bringing them out of the town was that you might
have to start with orders, any time in the ni