le the pincers which I used in order to draw out the nails from
the holdfasts of the hinges.

Well, to return to the subject of my bed; when Bozza and Pedignone
came, I always told them to give it a wide berth, so as not to dirty
and spoil it for me. Now and then, just to irritate me, they would
touch it lightly, upon which I cried: "Ah, dirty cowards! I'll lay my
hand on one of your swords there, and will do you a mischief that will
make you wonder. Do you think you are fit to touch the bed of a man
like me? When I chastise you I shall not heed my own life, for I am
certain to take yours. Let me alone then with my troubles and my
tribulations, and don't give me more annoyance than I have already; if
not, I shall make you see what a desperate man is able to do." These
words they reported to the castellan, who gave them express orders
never to go near my bed, and when they came to me, to come without
swords; but for the rest to keep a watchful guard upon me.

Having thus secured my bed from meddlers, I felt as though the main
point was gained; for there lay all things useful to my venture. It
happened on the evening of a certain feast-day that the castellan was
seriously indisposed; his humors grew extravagant; he kept repeating
that he was a bat, and if they heard that Benvenuto had flown away,
they must let him go to catch me up, since he could fly by night most
certainly "as well or better than myself"; for it was thus he
argued:--"Benvenuto is a counterfeit bat, but I am a real one; and
since he is committed to my care, leave me to act; I shall be sure to
catch him." He had passed several nights in this frenzy, and had worn
out all his servants; whereof I received full information through
divers channels, but especially from the Savoyard, who was my friend
at heart.

On the evening of that feast-day, then, I made up my mind to escape,
come what might; and first I prayed most devoutly to God, imploring
his Divine Majesty to protect and succor me in that so perilous a
venture. Afterwards I set to work at all the things I needed, and
labored the whole of the night. It was two hours before daybreak when
at last I removed those hinges with the greatest toil; but the wooden
panel itself, and the bolt too, offered such resistance that I could
not open the door; so I had to cut into the wood; yet in the end I got
it open, and shouldering the strips of linen which I had rolled up
like bundles of flax upon two sticks, I wen