came to the surface his hand encountered the rope, which, newly
lightened of his weight, was swinging wildly to and fro. There was a red
glow overhead, and looking up, he saw, by the light of several torches
and a cresset full of burning coals, the battlements lined with faces.
He saw the men's eyes turning hither and thither in quest of him; but he
was too far below, the light reached him not, and they looked in vain.

And now he perceived that the rope was considerably too long, and he
began to struggle as well as he could towards the other side of the moat,
still keeping his head above water. In this way he got much more than
halfway over; indeed the bank was almost within reach, before the rope
began to draw him back by its own weight. Taking his courage in both
hands, he left go and made a leap for the trailing sprays of willow that
had already, that same evening, helped Sir Daniel's messenger to land.
He went down, rose again, sank a second time, and then his hand caught a
branch, and with the speed of thought he had dragged himself into the
thick of the tree and clung there, dripping and panting, and still half
uncertain of his escape.

But all this had not been done without a considerable splashing, which
had so far indicated his position to the men along the battlements.
Arrows and quarrels fell thick around him in the darkness, thick like
driving hail; and suddenly a torch was thrown down--flared through the
air in its swift passage--stuck for a moment on the edge of the bank,
where it burned high and lit up its whole surroundings like a
bonfire--and then, in a good hour for Dick, slipped off, plumped into the
moat, and was instantly extinguished.

It had served its purpose. The marksmen had had time to see the willow,
and Dick ensconced among its boughs; and though the lad instantly sprang
higher up the bank, and ran for his life, he was yet not quick enough to
escape a shot. An arrow struck him in the shoulder, another grazed his
head.

The pain of his wounds lent him wings; and he had no sooner got upon the
level than he took to his heels and ran straight before him in the dark,
without a thought for the direction of his flight.

For a few steps missiles followed him, but these soon ceased; and when at
length he came to a halt and looked behind, he was already a good way
from the Moat House, though he could still see the torches moving to and
fro along its battlements.

He leaned against a tree,