ily spreading over the bench beneath his
head.

The first thought which presented itself was, "Is he dead, or merely
stunned?" The next--which flashed into my brain with the rapidity of
lightning--was, that there lay my gaoler, the man who stood between me
and liberty, helpless before me; and the chance of escape was once more
in my hands.

I rolled the senseless body off the bench on to the floor. It fell, and
lay there motionless; the muscles all relaxed, and the same livid hue
upon the face.

Hastily unrolling the crimson sash which encircled his waist, I cut it
into convenient lengths; and, rolling the body over face downwards,
quickly and with all the dexterity of a seaman secured the arms together
at the wrists, and the feet at the ankles; after which I lashed the
heels and hands close together, rolled the body back as far as it would
come, and thrust into the mouth, as a gag, the long haft of his
murderous sheath-knife, securing it in position by means of the
handkerchief which he wore round his throat.

I next possessed myself of the keys, of which there were two; one, of
course, for the cell-door, and the other, doubtless, for the door at the
foot of the stairs.

I had no difficulty in fitting the right key to the cell-door; and as
soon as I had done so I blew out the lamp, and placed it outside the
cell, closed and locked the door, and, removing my boots, stealthily
crept down the winding staircase.

The door at the bottom was open; and as it folded inwards I noiselessly
adjusted the key in the lock before venturing outside. I then stepped
through the doorway; drew the door quietly to, and, with the utmost
precaution, turned the key in the lock, managing to do so with very
little noise.

As I removed the key, and stood back in the recess to deliberate upon my
next steps, I became conscious of the sound of running water; and
looking along the passage into the barrack-yard, and the courtyard at
the back of the tower, I saw, by the faint light of one or two lamps,
that the ground was flooded, and that it was raining heavily. So much
the better; there would be fewer people about, and my chances of escape
would thereby be all the greater.

The first question was, how to get beyond the boundaries of the
barracks. The front or barrack-yard was bounded on three sides by lofty
buildings and on the fourth by a high wall, with gates in it, it is
true, but gates which would be closed and locked at that hou