and look out."

This was soon done, and Walter seizing the bar, hauled himself up so
that he could see through the loophole.

"It is as I thought," he said. "The waters of the Somme are but a foot
below the level of this window; the river is yellow and swollen, and a
few hours' heavy rain would bring it above the level of this sill. Stand
steady, Ralph, I am coming down again."

When he reached the ground, he said:

"Take off your belt, Ralph; if we buckle that and mine together, passing
it round the bar, it will make a loop upon which we can stand at the
window and see how best we can loosen the bar. Constantly wet as it is,
it is likely that the mortar will have softened, in which case we shall
have little difficulty in working it out."

The plan was at once put into execution; the belts were fastened
together and Walter standing on Ralph's shoulders passed one end around
the bar and buckled it to the other, thus making a loop some three feet
in length; putting a foot in this he was able to stand easily at the
loophole.

"It is put in with mortar at the top, Ralph, and the mortar has rotted
with the wet, but at the bottom lead was poured in when the bar was set
and this must be scooped out before it can be moved. Fortunately the
knight gave no orders to his men to remove our daggers when we were
thrust in here, and these will speedily dig out the lead; but I must
come down first, for the strap prevents my working at the foot of the
bar. We must tear off a strip of our clothing and make a shift to fasten
the strap half-way up the bar so as not to slip down with our weight."

In order to accomplish this Walter had to stand upon Ralph's head to
gain additional height. He presently, after several attempts, succeeded
in fixing the strap firmly against the bar half-way up, and then placing
one knee in the loop and putting an arm through the bar to steady
himself, he set to work at the lead. The sharp point of the dagger
quickly cut out that near the surface, but farther down the hole
narrowed and the task was much more difficult. Several times Ralph
relieved him at the work, but at last it was accomplished, and the bar
was found to move slightly when they shook it. There now remained only
to loosen the cement above, and this was a comparatively easy task; it
crumbled quickly before the points of their daggers, and the bar was
soon free to move.

"Now," Walter said, "we have to find out whether the bar was first put