cried the sergeant when O'Grady attempted to enter
one of the lower chambers; and at length they found themselves in a room
at the very top. The sergeant, grumblingly observing that they would
not require food till the next morning, gave Reuben a push which nearly
sent him sprawling into the middle of the chamber, closed the door with
a slam, and locked and bolted it securely.

Reuben whipped off his wooden leg, and began flourishing it about and
making passes at the door whence the sergeant had disappeared,
exclaiming with a laugh, "Well, the beggars haven't found me out, and
they'll be surprised at what a man with a timber toe can do!"

He tied it on again, however, very soon, for a heavy step was heard on
the stairs, and they saw by the light of the moon that their own wallets
and a jug of water were placed on the floor just inside the door.

"We have a friend somewhere, probably the old gentleman at the chateau,
or we should not have got back those things," observed Paul; "so let's
cheer up: we might have been much worse off."

All agreed to the truth of this remark, and, as they were hungry, took
some supper, and then Paddy proposed that they should reconnoitre the
premises.

The windows were very narrow, with an iron bar down the centre, so that
it was impossible to get through them. There was not a particle of
furniture in the room, nor anything which would serve for their beds.

"It isn't cold yet, and we must make ourselves as comfortable as we can
in the least windy corner of the place," observed Paul.

"What do you think of trying to get away instead?" asked O'Grady.

"With all my heart!" answered Paul; "but what do you say to the moon?
Should we not be seen?"

"It might help us, and it might betray us," said O'Grady. "Let us ask
Cole."

Reuben said that he must have a look round from the windows, before he
pronounced an opinion. The midshipmen helped him up to each of them in
succession. He considered that in so bright a light they were nearly
certain to be seen; but as the moon rose later every day they would have
a fair chance of making good their escape. That they could not go at
once was very evident, so they dusted a corner, and coiled themselves up
to sleep. Daylight revealed the dirty condition of the room, and also
the rotten state of the roof. Reuben pointed it out and remarked,
"There, if we can't get through the windows, it will be hard if we do
not make our way out by the roof.