ion of
the truth of Kate's story. I descended again, and found a hammer in the
stable, with which I returned and removed the nails.

"Kate!" I called, as soon as I had opened the blinds.

"O, Ernest Thornton!" exclaimed she, opening the window. "I felt sure
that you had deserted me. I am so glad you have come!"

"We have no time to spare. Get your clothes as quick as possible; tie
them up in a bundle, and throw them out the window."

She did not occupy many minutes in this preparation for her departure.
The bundle was made up and thrown to the ground.

"How am I to get out?" asked she, glancing blankly at the ladder.

"Can you go down stairs and go out by the door?" I asked, willing to
spare her the descent by the ladder.

[Illustration: THE RESCUE OF THE CAPTIVE MAIDEN.--Page 49.]

"I cannot; the door is locked," she replied, in trembling tones, for she
was violently agitated by the situation.

"Then you must go down by the ladder," I added, ascending a few rounds
higher. "Now give me your hands, and don't be afraid, for I can hold you
so that you cannot fall."

I braced myself upon the ladder, which I directed Bob to hold firmly in
its place, and took her by both hands. It was a perilous feat to step
from the window to the ladder, and she was so terrified that I held her
whole weight; but the passage was safely effected. I held her by the
hands till she reached the ground, for she was so timid I dared not
trust her to her own energies. I went up again, closed the blinds, and
restored the nails, hoping that the escape of the prisoner would not be
discovered before the next day. The ladder was conveyed to the stable,
and placed where we had found it.

"Now run down to the pier and get into the boat as fast as you can,"
said I to Kate. "Crawl into the cuddy, and keep out of sight."

"Do you think any one will catch me?" asked she, quivering with terror.

"No; there is no person near to catch you," I replied, as I picked up
her bundle of clothes.

We reached the boat without meeting any person, though Mrs. Loraine's
man drove the cow into the yard just as we were pushing off from the
pier. I had only lowered the jib of the Splash, so that she was ready to
start without any delay; and in a few moments we were standing up the
lake, the breeze still fresh from the north-west.

"You may come out now, Kate," I called to our passenger, when we were
half a mile from the pier.

"Am I perfectly safe?" she asked,