A NEW USE FOR A BIER.
As I had no means of knowing the time, I cannot say exactly how long
my slumbers lasted, but, as near as I can guess, it must have been
about a couple of hours before I awoke. On opening my eyes I saw,
with much surprise, that the moon had found its way into the tomb, as
there was a patch of yellow light shining upon the opposite wall, and
relieving the profound obscurity that reigned elsewhere. This was a
most cheering and hope-inspiring spectacle; for, as the door was
still closed as before, the moonlight certainly could not be entering
in that way; and the obvious deduction was, that the chapel walls
must have some second opening which we had not yet discovered.
Whatever it was, might we not escape through it?
I aroused the still sleeping Kitty to point out to her the pleasant
sight, and we got upon our feet to examine into the matter more
nearly. The light was evidently admitted through some aperture
situated in the gable of the roof just above the doorway, and the
shadows by which the patch of light was traversed proved that the
aperture was defended by bars. What the object of the opening may
have been I know not,--perhaps ornament, perhaps ventilation, perhaps
some whim of the architect's. Anyhow, there it was; and though
darkness had prevented our seeing it on our first arrival at the
chapel, yet now the friendly moon had come to our assistance, and was
indicating it as a possible means of regaining liberty. Never in my
life had I felt such a sincere admiration for the moon, and such a
conviction of its utility to the world, as I did then.
We were at that time standing where we had lain down, close to the
door, and the aperture was too immediately over our heads for us to
see it very well, so we advanced cautiously a few steps farther
towards the middle of the floor, in order to obtain a better view. On
looking up from this new point of observation, we saw that though the
hole was small, it nevertheless appeared to be large enough for an
ordinary sized person to be able to squeeze through, provided the
bars were out of the way. This was encouraging. But it remained to be
proved, first, whether we could get up so high without having any
ladder or other means of raising ourselves; and secondly, whether,
if we surmounted that difficulty, we should be able to remove the
obstructing bars without having tools to assist us.
It was very certain that the window was too high up for us to get at
it from the ground, since it was above the door, and I, who was
taller than Kitty, could only just touch the top of the door with my
finger-tips when I stretched out my arm to its fullest extent. How
on earth, then, were we to elevate ourselves to the height of the
window? The first suggestion was, that if one of us was lifted up,
perhaps she might be able to reach the desired niche, and we at once
put the idea into execution. I, being the strongest and heaviest of
the two, was naturally appointed to be the lifter; so I took hold of
Kitty round the knees, and raised her up as far as I could. My utmost
efforts, however, failed to get her to the required height, and I had
to set her down again without having advanced an atom towards the
accomplishment of our purpose.
"I'm sure I wasn't far short of touching the ledge of the window,"
she said, whilst I stood panting after my exertions; "if only I could
get hold of that, and you were to help me by shoving, I expect I
could pull myself right up, and manage to hitch on somehow to examine
the bars. What we want is some kind of elevation for you to stand on
when you lift me. Do try and invent some hoisting contrivance or
other; it would be too provoking not to get up to the window now
we've found it."
For a while we racked our brains vainly without discovering any
solution of the problem. At last an idea flashed across my mind.
No!--I would not mention such a thing--it was too horrible. Yet what
I had thought of was a method whereby we might perhaps supply such an
elevation as we wanted. And the unpleasantness of that method was no
sufficient reason for being silent about it, when the urgent peril in
which we were made it absurd to allow mere sentimental considerations
to stand in the way of any possible chance of escape. Therefore I
conquered my repugnance for the idea that had occurred to me, and
said: "There must be coffins in this place. Very likely they are all
more or less fallen to pieces, for Napoleon said that it had not been
used for a long time; but yet some of the wood may still be sound,
and perhaps if we grope about we may be able to collect enough boards
to make a stage that would serve our purpose."
Kitty did not answer immediately. I daresay that she recoiled from
the idea at first, as I had done. But if so, no doubt second thoughts
showed her, as they had me, the imperative necessity of regarding
matters from an exclusively practical, stern, and unimaginative point
of view, and of absolutely ignoring any fanciful objections to
whatever promised to aid our flight. She replied, after a short
pause:
"Well, it is not a very attractive plan, certainly; but as there
doesn't seem to be any other, I suppose we had better try it, and
endeavour to forget its unpleasantness by looking forward to the
delights of liberty if it succeeds. So now let's go to work. It's a
pity neither of us was ever inside a _chapelle mortuaire_ before,
isn't it? because then we should have some notion of how such places
are generally arranged, which would be a great assistance to us just
now in this pitchy darkness. As it is, however, I suppose we must
imagine what the plan of the interior is _likely_ to be like, and
then proceed according to that idea. If I were an undertaker I think
I should first deposit the coffins in a row along the wall, then pile
them up, two or three deep perhaps, and only take up the middle of
the floor when the sides were all occupied. Therefore I recommend our
exploring the sides first, as likely to afford the largest supply of
wood. Do you go to the right, whilst I take the left--unless you have
anything better to suggest?"
I had not; so we separated, and went off to the right and left
respectively, as she wished. But I had hardly got a yard away from
the door when she exclaimed, "Come here, Jill; I want you!"
"Yes; what is it?" inquired I, as I crossed over to her.
"I've found something that seems to me promising," she replied
eagerly. "I struck my hand against it directly I had got beyond the
doorway. What it is I don't know; but it's pretty big anyhow, and
it's not part of a coffin, and it's made of wood. I want you to help
me feel it over, and see if we can make it out."
We began carefully investigating the unknown object with our fingers,
and endeavouring to recognise by touch its shape and construction.
For a while it puzzled us; then suddenly Kitty had an idea and said:
"Do you think it's a bier? I never handled one before, but I daresay
it would feel something like this does. And it's not unlikely that it
might have been left here and forgotten after the last funeral, is
it?"
"No; that's it, depend upon it!" cried I; "and it's a grand
discovery, for a bier will help to raise us capitally, if only it's
not got rotten, lying here so long."
To ascertain its condition was our first anxiety. Accordingly we took
hold of the handles, lifted it off the ground, and gave it a smart
shake, though not without considerable misgivings lest it should come
to pieces in our hands. Fortunately it stood the test tolerably well,
and did not break down. At the same time, however, it quivered and
cracked in a way that did not give the impression of its being in
very first-rate order; and we decided that it would be imprudent to
expose it to the trial of bearing both of us simultaneously. If it
would support one at a time, we would make no further demands upon
its powers of endurance; and consequently we must utilise it in some
other way than by my standing on it and lifting Kitty up to the
window, as was our first idea.
Instead of that we raised it lengthwise, and placed it so that the
handles at one end rested on the ground, whilst those at the other
were against the door. When thus erected the upper part of the body
of the bier was, of course, a good deal elevated, and made a foothold
whence the window could easily be attained. To mount to this foothold
was now our intention; and Kitty, being the lightest, was selected to
ascend first. The only question was, How was she to get her foot to
the top of the bier, which was too high up for any legs of ordinary
length to step up to from the ground. But this obstacle was quickly
smoothed away by my stooping down and converting myself into a
stepping-stone. Mounted on me, and steadying herself against the
door, she put one foot cautiously on the edge of the bier, and began
to press upon it. The heavier she leant on it, the more ominously did
it crack and tremble; still it did not give way, even when she at
last stood upon it altogether, and it had to bear the whole of her
weight. Hurrah! now we should know what the window looked like at
close quarters; and whether the bars were wooden or iron, loose or
tight, removable or not.
Kitty's report was satisfactory. She said that the window had a ledge
on the inside which was broad and deep enough for a person to sit on
by crouching a good deal, and that the bars were only wooden.
"Are they breakable?" I asked anxiously.
"Don't know yet," she returned; "I shall be able to tell better if I
get right up on the ledge. They don't _feel_ very solid; but I'm
afraid of trying them from here. You see I'm not very confident of
the stability of my present foothold, and don't care to indulge in
violent exertions till I get to a safer situation. Wrestling with the
bars where I am now _might_ lead to an upset. If you'll help me by
pushing below, I will draw myself up on to the ledge."
By dint of our united efforts, the further ascent was accomplished
successfully. The ledge did not afford a very comfortable resting-place,
as she had to sit bent nearly double, with her feet hanging down
against the wall. But the position, though cramped and inconvenient,
was secure, and was a firm point of vantage from which to attack the
bars. She took hold of one, and shook it. Being completely rotted
through, it came in two in her hand at once. The next offered a more
obstinate resistance; in this also, however, as well as in the
others, decay had begun, and had gone too far for the wood to
withstand her vigorous jerks, pushes, pulls, shakes, and blows.
Therefore it was not very long before she announced triumphantly that
there was now nothing to hinder our egress through the window, which
was, as we had thought, big enough for us to pass through.
"There's one thing I don't quite see, though," she said, after poking
out her head and reconnoitring the exterior; "that is, how we're to
get down on the other side. It looks to me rather far for a drop. I
should say it would be a toss up whether we did it safely, or whether
we broke our legs. Of course we must risk it if there's nothing else
to be done; but if there _is_ any other way of descending--why, I
think it would be better."
"Is there room for us both to be on the ledge at the same time?" I
inquired, after a moment's reflection; "because if I were up there by
you, I might break the fall considerably by reaching down and holding
you up when you drop. And then when you are down, you may be able to
find some way of breaking the fall for me. Even if not, it would not
matter so much for me. I think I could drop the distance without
hurting myself; for when I was a child I used to do a deal of jumping
and climbing, and was always good at falling light."
"Well--we might try that, at all events," she answered, "if the
ledge is large enough to hold us both at the same time. I'm doubtful
whether it is--but we can soon see. Wait a moment and I'll make more
room by turning round, and sitting with my feet out instead of in.
There--now they're out of the way. Come and stand on the top of the
bier, and see if you can stow yourself away up here by my side."
It now for the first time struck us that it was by no means sure
whether I should be able to get to the top of the bier without having
any one to assist me from below as I had assisted Kitty. Yet if I
failed to reach that point, I must give up the idea of reaching the
window; and as that was equivalent to resigning my hopes of liberty,
it was evidently of the utmost importance that I should accomplish
the ascent.
Kitty was the first to suggest a way out of the difficulty.
"Can you alter the position of the bier," said she, "so as to make it
slant, instead of standing almost upright as it does now? Because
then you might manage to creep up it."
"I've no doubt I can, only I hadn't thought of it," replied I,
proceeding to drag the two lower handles away from the door, till the
steepness of the incline was much less than before. Then I grasped
the upper edge of the bier, and tried, partly by pulling and partly
by crawling, to bring my feet up to where my hands were. Alas! the
woodwork that was firm enough to support Kitty, standing upon it
quietly, had not strength to bear a person of my greater weight,
scrambling up it as I was doing. Collapsing altogether, it brought me
violently to the ground with a crash which alarmed Kitty, who, on
her perch overhead, half in and half out, could not see what was
happening in the darkness beneath.
"Oh, Jill!" she exclaimed, "what is it? Are you hurt?"
"No," I answered, feeling ready to cry with vexation, as I rose, and
cleared away the _débris_ of broken wood with which I was covered. "I
wasn't far enough off the ground for that. But the old bier has
smashed all to pieces; and however I'm to get up to the window now,
I'm _sure_ I don't know!"
"Are you certain," she returned, "that there isn't any sound corner
still holding together, which would do for you to stick up, and stand
on? It's worth while for you to feel about on chance of such a thing,
at all events."
This was true; and I explored carefully amongst the splintered
fragments in hopes of discovering some solid bit. But my efforts were
in vain.
"It's no use," said I, ruefully; "the thing is gone to pieces
completely."
Neither of us spoke for a while after this. First I exhausted my
ingenuity in vain endeavours to discover some means of raising
myself to the window. Then, when I made up my mind that I was doomed
to remain a captive, I began to reflect enviously on the superior
good fortune of Kitty. The only thing between her and freedom was the
trivial difficulty of getting down safely on the other side. Once
that was overcome, she would be off, and leave me by myself in this
abominable place. I did not at all like the idea of her going. For
one thing, I preferred having a companion in misfortune to being
solitary. And for another thing, her absence would greatly aggravate
my danger, as the _penitenciers_ would be sure to be rendered furious
by her having given them the slip, and would vent their wrath upon
me. Of course, if she were to fall in with efficient succour, and
return before they did, it would be a different matter. But then the
chance of that seemed too remote to be worth reckoning on; and I
thought it was decidedly more to my interest that she should stay
with me than that she should regain her liberty alone.
Why did she sit up there silently without saying anything about her
departure? I wondered. Ah! probably she hadn't yet discovered a
satisfactory method of managing the descent outside, which she seemed
to think difficult. _I_ could tell her how it was to be done, if I
chose--but then I wasn't going to chose anything of the kind. If her
own wits couldn't show her how to profit by her advantages, then let
her stay where she was, and keep me company!
These were the thoughts that first crossed my mind, when I recognised
the melancholy fact that I had no chance of escape. Yet, somehow or
other, I did not eventually hold my tongue, as I had intended to do,
about the means by which her descent might be accomplished. What
induced me to change my mind about it I don't exactly know. Perhaps
the fancy that I had for her may have been stronger than I realised,
and have made it impossible for me to refrain from doing whatever I
could to get her out of the power of two such ruffians as César and
Napoleon. Or perhaps I may have been influenced by the obvious
unreasonableness of allowing two people to be exposed to a danger
from which one of them might escape. Anyhow, the upshot of it was
that I said--though not without an effort:
"I've thought of a way for you to get down from the window without
damaging yourself. We'll tie our dresses, jackets--petticoats too, if
need be--into a rope which must be long enough to go through the
window and dangle down outside, whilst I keep hold of one end in
here. The outside end must have a loop for you to put your feet in;
and with the help of that, I'm pretty sure we can make the drop safe.
Then, if you should be lucky about falling in with respectable people
soon, perhaps you may be able to come back and get me away before the
_penitenciers_ reappear in the morning."
As I believed her to be only staying there because she did not know
how to get away, I took it for granted that she would be delighted at
my suggestion, and be in a desperate hurry to avail herself of it.
Instead of that, however, she only said coolly:
"Thank you, Jill; but I think it's perfectly impossible that I should
find help and return in time to rescue you, so I don't at all
contemplate going off alone, and leaving you to face the indignation
of César and Napoleon at my departure. Goodness knows what they
wouldn't do to you! No; I was the means of getting you into this
scrape, and I don't seem to see leaving you to shift for yourself
now. If there's no alternative between deserting you or taking up my
abode again inside the chapel--why, I prefer the latter. But it's too
soon to despair yet. Having got _one_ of us up here is something; and
it won't do to abandon that advantage until we're quite positive that
we can't turn it to account. There's your first plan of trying to get
enough wood to make a platform--why not take to that again?"
"For two reasons," said I, with a thrill of indescribable happiness
and comfort at finding that she was too staunch and plucky for there
to be a chance of her deserting me. "In the first place there isn't
time, because I should only get on at half the pace by myself that we
should have done working together. And besides that, I think that the
rottenness of the bier and bars is a conclusive proof that there
isn't likely to be any sound wood discoverable here."
"True," she returned. Immediately afterwards she added, exultingly,
"What idiots we are! As the men hadn't a key, they can't possibly
have locked us in, and there can't be any fastening except the bar
across the outside of the door. We never thought of that! As soon as
I get down and take away the bar, you can march out without trouble.
Off with your dress, and let's make that rope you talked of to let me
down with!"
It seems extraordinary that neither of us had remembered this simple
solution of the difficulty sooner; yet so it was. Now that it had at
last occurred to us, however, we lost no time in going to work. Our
garments were instantly put into requisition, and twisted and knotted
into as good an imitation of a rope as we could construct out of such
materials. The end which had a loop to it was hung out of the window,
whilst I retained the other end in my hands, and Kitty, placing her
feet in the loop, began to lower herself gently.
As long as she could keep hold of the window her weight was thrown
partly on her hands; thus I had not the whole of it to support until
during the last few seconds, when, taking her feet out of the loop,
letting go of the window, and clinging only to the rope, she
descended as near as she could to the ground. I held on to the rope
with might and main, till the tension relaxed with a sudden jerk that
threw me down, and informed me that she had regained _terra firma_.
"Sprained ankle, broken bones, or anything of that kind?" I asked,
anxiously.
"No, not hurt a bit," was the welcome response. "I'll get the door
open as quickly as I can; will you begin undoing the rope meanwhile?"
"All right!" I returned, commencing to restore it to its normal
condition of clothes as fast as I could in the dark. As I worked I
listened hopefully to the scratching and fumbling that went on
outside, and expected every moment to hear the downfall of the bar.
But the minutes passed on, and still the looked-for sound did not
come. I could not understand what could be causing so much delay
about so simple a matter as removing a bar from across a door, and I
began to grow feverishly nervous lest any unforeseen obstacle should
even now intervene, and deprive me of the freedom I had begun to
anticipate confidently. My alarm was not unfounded, for, to my
dismay, she called out:
"This bar is so dreadfully heavy that I can't raise it. I can only
move one end at a time, and lift it up a very small way above the
support it stands on; but not high enough for what I want."
Then it was all over with me, and I was fated to stay there alone to
be cut to pieces, or murdered in any way that might seem good to
those two ruffians! And when I had thought, too, that I was so sure
of getting away! The bitterness of the disappointment seemed to choke
me for a minute, so that I could not speak. However, when I could
control my voice, I shouted to her:
"There's no help for it! You can't get back inside again now, even if
you wish to. So you've no choice about going away. Goodbye!"
"I'm not at an end of my resources yet," she replied. "I've thought
of something fresh. I'm going away for a few minutes, but I shall be
back directly."
The sound of her steps gave me notice of her departure from and
return to the chapel. Then ensued much scraping, scratching, and
other noises, to which I listened with intense anxiety, longing to
know what she was about, yet fearing to ask, lest, if I interrupted
her with questions, I might perhaps hinder my deliverance.
Her operations meanwhile, as I afterwards learnt, were as
follows:--First, she went to fetch a supply of stones of various
sizes. Returning with these, she put her shoulder underneath one end
of the bar, and exerting all her strength, raised it as high as she
could above the broad projecting piece of iron on which it rested.
Then, before removing her shoulder, she inserted between the iron
support and the bar enough stones to maintain the latter at the place
to which she had raised it. This performance many times repeated, at
last elevated that end so far above the other that the bar was all
slanting, and only needed one vigorous push to set it in motion,
sliding downwards across the iron projection on which the opposite
end was supported. Moving slowly at first, the massive bar went
faster and faster every instant as its own weight gave it additional
impetus, till it dashed on to the ground with a resounding clang that
seemed to me the sweetest music that ever gladdened the ears of
mortal man or woman. I immediately pushed against the door. It
yielded slowly, and next minute I was emancipated from that horrible
_chapelle mortuaire_, and standing beside Kitty, free in the open air
once more.
To describe the rapture of that moment is beyond my powers. If any
one wants to know true bliss for once in their lives, I recommend
them to go through a similar experience. Only they must take into
account the possibility of _not_ escaping after all; which is
evidently a serious drawback, since a failure in that respect would
be quite fatal to the object of the experiment.