o the shrubbery, their object now being to
discover a way of escape from the garden into the streets of the city.

The first obstacle which they encountered was a stone wall about fifteen
feet high, surmounted by _chevaux de frise_; and deciding that this was
rather too formidable to be tackled until they had made a further
search, they followed the wall for some distance, and eventually arrived
at a stout wicket gate built of wood. Of course, it was locked; but
upon examination they soon came to the conclusion that, with the help of
their pruning knives and bars, it would not be a difficult matter to
burst the lock open. Unfortunately, however, this could not be done
without making a considerable amount of noise, and they had already
ascertained, while examining the lock, that a good many people were
still abroad in the city, for they heard footsteps frequently passing on
the other side of the wicket; they therefore decided to seek further
before attempting to force a way out, their decision being influenced by
the fact that it was evidently still early in the evening, or there
would not be so many people moving about, and that consequently it might
be wise to delay their final escape until the bulk of the population had
retired to rest. Soon afterward, however, while pursuing their
investigations, they reached a spot where the wall ended and where the
grounds were enclosed for some distance by a lofty iron railing which,
despite the fact that it was formidably spiked at the top, they thought
might be easily scaled by two men who were accustomed, as they were, to
climbing the masts and rigging of a ship. But on the other side of the
railing was a wide, open street, along which people were constantly
passing to and fro; the adventurers therefore retired to the shelter and
concealment of the shrubbery, having come to the resolution not to run
any unnecessary risk by undue precipitancy, since they had managed so
excellently thus far.

At length, however, the sounds of traffic in the streets began to
diminish sensibly, and finally they died away altogether; the good
people of Cuzco seemed to have gone home to bed at last; so, throwing
off his disguise for the moment, Dick essayed to climb the high railing
which was now the only barrier between them and liberty. The task was
not at all difficult, except when it came to his clambering over the
complicated arrangement of spikes at the top; but a steady head and a
little