e time."

"Never fear for them; they've enough to do taking care of their own
yellow carcases."

I had noticed that a beam of the roof formed one side of the break, and
I proceeded to twist our handcuffs into a clamp, while Raoul peeled off
his leather breeches and commenced, tearing them into strips. In ten
minutes our "tackle" was ready, and, mounting upon my comrade's
shoulders, I flung it carefully at the beam. It failed to catch, and I
came down to the floor, my balance being lost in the effort. I repeated
the attempt. Again it failed, and I staggered down as before.

"_Sacre_!" cried Raoul through his teeth. The iron had struck him on
the head.

"Come, we shall try and try--our lives depend upon it."

The third attempt, according to popular superstition, should be
successful. It _was_ so with us. The clamp caught, and the string hung
dangling downwards. Mounting again upon my comrade's shoulders, I
grasped the thong high up to test its hold. It was secure; and,
cautioning Raoul to hold fast lest the hook might be detached by my
vibration, I climbed up and seized hold of the beam. By this I was
enabled to squeeze myself through the roof.

Once outside I crawled cautiously along the azotea, which, like all
others in Spanish houses, was flat, and bordered by a low parapet of
mason-work. I peeped over this parapet, looking down into the street.
It was night, and I could see no one below; but up against the sky, upon
distant battlements, I could distinguish armed soldiers busy around
their guns. These blazed forth at intervals, throwing their sulphureous
glare over the city.

I returned to assist Raoul, but, impatient of my delay, he had already
mounted, and was dragging up the thong after him.

We crawled from roof to roof, looking for a dark spot to descend into
the street. None of the houses in the range of our prison were more
than one story high, and, after passing several, we let ourselves down
into a narrow alley. It was still early, and the people were running to
and fro, amidst the frightful scenes of the bombardment. The shrieks of
women were in our ears, mingled with the shouts of men, the groans of
the wounded, and the fierce yelling of an excited rabble. The constant
whizzing of bombs filled the air, and parapets were hurled down. A
round-shot struck the cupola of a church as we passed nearly under it,
and the ornaments of ages came tumbling down, blocking up the
thoroughfare. W