uests that it was assumed to throw them off their
guard, and that he was eyeing them all the time, much in the way that a
hungry cat does a trapful of mice, which she knows will shortly be
thrown to her to torment. After some time, he took his departure, and
they heard him lock and bolt the doors behind him. There they were,
then, once more prisoners, at the very moment it was all important to
them to be free.

Fleetwood at first was in hopes that the Signora Nina might come to
liberate them; but he then recollected that, her lord being returned,
she would scarcely be able to escape from the tower without being
observed; and felt that they must depend on their own exertions to free
themselves. To open the door was out of the question, so they commenced
operations by examining the window. A small lamp had been left there,
which they had not on the previous night, and Pietro observed that Mila
had placed it on the table, at the moment her grandfather's back had
been turned to quit the room, and he suspected that she had done so by
the direction of the Italian lady.

The window was a mere aperture in the highest part of the building; but
it was secured with strong iron bars, so firmly fixed in the wall, that
they soon found it would be impossible to remove them without files or
tools to work with. They next tried the roof. On examination, they saw
that it was very rudely put together, and that a great part of it was
formed simply of the rough planks torn from the sides of a vessel--
probably some unfortunate craft cast on their shore, or brought there as
a prize. This they judged would be easily removed, if they could raise
a scaffolding to work from.

"Before we do anything, let us put a screen before the window, lest any
one from without should observe our proceedings," said Fleetwood, who
was the chief suggester of what should be done, though his companions
were not behind-hand in conceiving as well as executing the details of
their plan.

They waited for upwards of an hour, till they hoped old Vlacco would be
fast asleep; occupying themselves meantime in cutting up a small wooden
bench into wedges and levers, to rip open the boards. They then hung a
cloak across the window, and placed the table against the wall which
they calculated formed the outer side of the building. On it, they
piled two empty casks, which were ordinarily used as seats, and thus,
with the remaining bench, they were able, without diffi