it, and as the guard
turned back again, gruffly ordering us to hurry up, Peter was at the
opposite side of the table gathering up the dishes, his bald head shining
brilliantly, his eyes as dull as those of a fish. I leaned back watching
him, clutching the paper pellet in the palm of one hand, until he passed
out with his tray, and the door clicked behind him. Not once did he
glance toward me, or acknowledge my presence. Fearful lest I might be
spied upon, my heart beating wildly in anticipation, I lay down in the
bunk with face to the wall, and unrolled the pellet. It contained but a
few words, hastily scribbled, in a lady's delicate handwriting. "Don't
despair; if they are away until after dark I will arrange. Can do nothing
before." There was no signature, but I needed none to know whose fingers
had held the pencil. My lips pressed the paper ere I tore it into
fragments, and scattered them outside the bars.
The hours of that afternoon dragged themselves along with exasperating
slowness, as I listened for hoof-beats, imagining every sound the
approach of returning horsemen. With no longer any doubt of her
intention, my apprehension riveted itself on the possibility of the
British getting back before darkness gave opportunity for putting her
plans into execution. As to what they might be I cared nothing, being
ready to assume any risk which would lead to escape. The room I occupied
must have been upon the west side of the house, as the afternoon sun
streamed in through the bars, and stretched golden across the floor. I
could almost count the minutes as those shafts of light crept up the
wall, and then slowly faded. The silence all about was intense, even the
branches of the trees without having no movement. As the gray of twilight
approached, my ears, strained to the slightest sound, distinguished the
changing of sentinels. But I waited vainly for any visitor; darkness
closed me in, but no one came with food.
I pressed my face against the bars striving to look into the night, my
only reward the glimpse of a few distant stars. Suddenly, as I stood
there, voices sounded at a distance, the words indistinguishable, and
then footsteps crushed along the gravelled footpath, as though a number
of men were running toward the back of the house. They were below my
range of vision, but a moment later I heard the sounds of scattered
shots, and saw the sharp flash of firing. I was still clinging to the
bars, trying to determine wh
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