The order to march was given. The two officers went first, followed by
Brown and Tom supporting Jack, and the gendarmes marched on either side
of them with their bayonets fixed.
Rayner and Oliver took the bearings of the house and remarked the
country as they went along. They found that they were proceeding
inland, and on inquiring of the sergeant he said that they were going to
a place called Le Trou, where other English prisoners were confined.
"Are there many of them?" inquired Rayner.
"Yes," answered the Frenchman, "some hundreds, I believe; for one of our
frigates captured a ship of yours not long ago, and most of the officers
and men who escaped death were sent there."
Rayner in vain endeavoured to ascertain what English ship was spoken of,
for he had heard of none taken by the French of late years. The
sergeant, however, was positive, though he did not know either the name
of the ship or the exact time of the capture.
"I suspect he has heard some old story, and he repeats it for the sake
of annoying us," observed Oliver.
"We must not let him suppose that we are cast down. We'll try to learn
how far off this Le Trou is."
Rayner questioned the sergeant.
"He says it is three days' journey. We shall have to stop at different
houses on the road. That he must first take us to the mayor, or some
official, who may perhaps send us to the governor at Leogane, by whom we
shall be examined, and if found to be spies, we shall be shot."
"Then Le Trou is not our first destination, and much will depend upon
the character of the mayor before whom we are taken," observed Oliver.
As they still continued in a northerly direction, they knew that they
were not going to Leogane, which lay to the westward, nor were they
increasing their distance from the Spanish border.
Towards evening they reached a house of some size built, as are most of
those in the country, on one storey, raised on a platform, with a broad
veranda and wide projecting eaves. At one end, however, was a circular
tower of considerable height.
"Here we shall stop, and there will be your lodging after you have been
examined by Monsieur le Maire," said the sergeant, pointing to the
tower.
They conducted them up the steps to a hall, at one end of which was a
baize-covered table, with a large chair and several smaller chairs on
either side.
After some time a little old gentleman in a red nightcap and flowered
dressing-gown, with slippered feet, and spectacles on nose, entered the
hall, followed by another in black, apparently his clerk. Two other
persons also came in, and took their seats at the table, while the clerk
began to nibble his pen and shuffle his papers.
The old gentleman, in a squeaky voice, inquired who were the prisoners
now brought before him, and of what crime they were accused.
The sergeant at once stepped up to the table, and giving a military
salute, informed Monsieur le Maire how he had heard of spies being in
the country, and how he had captured them at the house of Madame La
Roche.
"But if they are Englishmen, they cannot speak French, and we require an
interpreter," said the mayor. "Do any of you, my friends, understand
the language of those detestable islanders?"
No one replied. After the remark of the mayor, it might seem a disgrace
even to speak English.
Rayner, anxious not to prolong the business, on hearing what was said,
stepped up to the table, and observed that, as he spoke French, he
should be happy to explain how he and his companions came into the
country.
He then gave a brief account of the circumstances which led to the
shipwreck, and what had since occurred. He was sorry anybody present
should entertain ill-feelings towards the English, as for his part he
liked France, and had a warm regard for many Frenchmen.
Even the mayor was impressed, and a pleased smile came over his weazened
features.
"I am ready to believe the account you give me, and that you certainly
are not spies," he said. "The body of your countryman found on the
beach proves that you were shipwrecked. Still, as you are in the
country, we must consider you as prisoners of war, and treat you as
such. For this night you must remain here, and to-morrow I will
consider whether I will send you to Leogane or Le Trou, where you will
wait with others of your countrymen to be exchanged."
After some further remarks the examination terminated, and Rayner and
Oliver, with the three seamen, were marched off under a guard to the
tower.
It was nearly dark, and they were conducted by the light of a lantern up
two flights of steps to a room in an upper storey. As far as they could
judge, it was furnished with several pallet beds, a table, some chairs,
and stools.
"You are to remain here until to-morrow morning, messieurs, when I shall
know in what direction to proceed. Monsieur le Maire has ordered you
some food, and you will, I hope, not complain of your treatment," said
the sergeant, as he closed the door, which he locked and bolted. They
heard him descending.
"We are better off than I should have expected," remarked Rayner,
surveying the room by the light of the lantern which the sergeant had
left.
"The point is, Are we able to escape?" said Oliver.
"You mind, sir, how we got out of the prison in France, and I don't see
why we shouldn't get out of this place," observed Jack, going to one of
the two narrow windows which the room contained, and looking forth.
They were strongly-barred. The night was dark, and he could only see
the glimmer of a light here and there in the distance. It was
impossible also to ascertain the height of the window from the ground.
"We will certainly try to get out," said Rayner, joining Jack at the
window. "Though I fear that you with your bruises and battered ribs
will be unable to make your way on foot across the country."
"Don't mind me, sir," answered Jack. "I have no pain to speak of. If
the worst comes to the worst, I can but remain behind. I shall be
content if you and Mr Crofton and Tom and Brown make your escape."
"No, no, my brave fellow," said Rayner, "we will not leave you behind.
But before we talk of what we will do, we must try what we can do.
These bars seem very strongly fixed into the stone, and may resist our
attempts to get them out."
"There's nothing like trying, however," observed Oliver. "We must get
away to-night, for if the mayor decides on sending us either to Leogane
or Le Trou we shall have a very poor chance afterwards."
They tried the bars, but all of them were deeply imbedded in the stone.
"Where there's a will there's a way," observed Jack. "We may dig out
the lead with our knives, and if we can get one bar loose we shall soon
wrench off the ends of the others, or bend them back enough to let us
creep through. Brown wouldn't make much of bending one of these iron
bars, would you, Sam?"
"I'll try what I can do," said the seaman, "especially if it's to get us
our liberty."
"Then, not to lose time, I'll make a beginning, if you'll let me, sir,"
said Jack; and he got out his knife, but just as he had commenced
operations, steps were heard ascending the stairs. The door opened, and
one of the gendarmes appeared, followed by a negro carrying a basket of
provisions.
"Monsieur le Maire does not want to starve you, and so from his
bountiful kindness has sent you some supper," said the former.
"We are much obliged to Monsieur the Mayor, but we should be still more
so if he would set us at liberty," said Rayner.
Meanwhile the black boy was spreading the table with the contents of the
basket.
The gendarme laughed. "No, no, we are not apt to let our caged birds
fly," he answered. "I hope, messieurs, you will enjoy your suppers, and
I would advise you then to take some sleep to be ready to start early in
the morning, as soon as it is decided in what direction you are to go."
Rayner thanked the gendarme, who, followed by the black boy, went out of
the room, bolting and barring the door behind him.
The men now drew their benches to the table, and Rayner and Oliver,
taking their places, fell to with the rest, there being no necessity,
under such circumstances, for keeping up official ceremony.
Supper was quickly got through, and each man stowed away the remainder
of the provisions in his pockets. While they went to work with their
knives at the bars, Rayner and Oliver examined the beds. They were
thankful to find that the canvas at the bottom was lashed by pieces of
tolerably stout rope. These, with the aid of the ticking cut into
strips, would form a line of sufficient length and strength to enable
them to descend, should they succeed in getting out the bars. This,
however, was not easily to be accomplished. When the officers went to
the window, they found that Jack and his companions had made little
progress. The bars fitted so closely into the holes that there was but
a small quantity of lead, and without a hammer and chisel it seemed
impossible to make the hole sufficiently large to move the bars so as to
allow Brown to exert his strength upon them. If the two centre
perpendicular bars could be got out, the lowest horizontal bar might be
sent up. This would afford ample room for the stoutest of the party to
get through.
"We've got out of a French prison before, sir, and we'll get out now,"
said Jack, working away.
"Yes, but we were small boys then, and you, Jack, and I, would find it a
hard matter to get through the same sized hole now that we could then,"
observed Rayner.
"That's just it, sir. If two small boys could get out of a French
prison, I am thinking that five well-nigh grown men can manage the job.
We'll do it, sir, never fear. If this stone was granite it might puzzle
us, but it's softer than that by a long way, and I have already cut out
some of it with my knife, though, to be sure, it does blunt it
considerably."
The progress Jack and his companions made was very small, and it was
evident that unless they could work faster they would be unable to
remove the bar before daylight. Rayner and Oliver searched round the
room for any pieces of iron which might serve the purpose of a chisel.
They examined the bedsteads--they were formed entirely of wood. There
was, of course, no fireplace, or a poker might have assisted them. They
had just returned to the window when their ears caught the sounds of a
few low notes from a violin, played almost directly beneath them.
"Why! I do believe that's the tune Le Duc was playing to us last
evening," exclaimed Jack.
All was again silent. Rayner and Oliver tried to look through the bars,
but could see nothing; all was still. Again the notes were heard. Jack
whistled a few bars of the same air. A voice from below, in a
suppressed tone asked in French, "Have you a thin line? Let it down."
"It is Le Duc. He has got something for us. Maybe just what we want,"
cried Jack.
"Oui, oui," he answered. "It will quickly be ready."
The ticking of one of the mattresses was quickly cut up and formed into
a line, which was lowered. Rayner, who held it, felt a gentle tug, and
as he hauled it up, what was the delight of the party to find two strong
files! There could be no doubt that Le Duc had formed some plan to
assist them in escaping, or he would not have come thus furnished.
Probably they had to thank Madame La Roche for suggesting it. They did
not stop, however, to discuss the matter, but set to work immediately to
file away the bars, making as little noise as possible. While two of
them were thus employed, the rest walked about the room, and talked and
laughed and sang, so as to drown the sound of the files. Presently they
heard from the other side of the building the loud tones of a fiddle,
the player evidently keeping his bow going at a rapid rate. Then came
the sounds of laughter and the stamping of feet, as if people were
dancing.
"Why, our guards will be kept awake and we shall have no chance of
getting off, I fear," said Oliver.
"If our guards dance they will drink, and sleep afterwards, never fear,"
answered Rayner. "Our friend Le Duc knows what he is about. I'm sure
that we can trust him, or he would not have taken the trouble to bring
us these files."
The fiddle was kept going, and Brown and Jack kept time to the tunes
with the files as they worked, laughing heartily as they did so.
"Hurrah!" cried Jack, "there's one bar through. Take a spell here, Tom.
You've helped the armourer sometimes, and know how to use a file."
Tom, being as eager to get out as the rest, worked away better than he
did on most occasions.
Jack, however, soon again took the file, and in a short time announced
that both the centre bars were cut through at the bottom. They had next
to file the upper bars sufficiently to enable Brown to bend them back.
Losing patience, however, he at last seized one of them, when, placing
his feet against the window, he bent back with all his strength. He was
more successful than he expected, for the iron giving way, down he fell
on the floor with a tremendous crash, which would certainly have been
heard by the guards below, had not their attention been drawn off by the
fiddle of Le Duc, who was scraping away with more vehemence than ever.
Rayner and Oliver had in the meantime been manufacturing the rope by
which they hoped to descend to the ground. They could measure the
necessary length by the small line with which the files had been drawn
up, and they had the satisfaction of finding that it was amply long
enough for their purpose. They now secured it to one of the remaining
bars. Rayner and Oliver agreed that it would be wise to descend while
the fiddle was going.
"Let me go first," said Brown. "I am the heaviest, and if it bears me,
it will bear any of you."
Tom said nothing. His modesty or something else prevented him from
putting himself forward when any danger was to be encountered.
Rayner himself had intended to descend first, but the rest of the party
begged him to let some one else go, and at last Oliver led the way.
Judging by the still louder scraping of Le Duc's fiddle, he must have
suspected what they were about. Oliver could hear the notes coming
round from the other side of the building. All, however, below him was
silence and darkness. He could not judge, as he looked down, whether he
was to alight on hard or soft ground, whether into a ditch or stream, or
whether they should have a fence to climb. His chief fear was that some
of the dogs allowed to go loose in every country house might discover
him and his companions before they could effect their escape.
All this passed through his mind as he was letting himself down the
rope, to which he clung with arms and feet as a sailor only can cling
with security. He soon reached the bottom. The ground appeared to be
firm, and was, as far as he could judge, perfectly level. The tower
threw a dark shadow, in which he stood listening for any sounds which
might indicate danger. It had been agreed, even should one or two of
the gendarmes come round, to spring upon them, seize their arms, and gag
them. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he pulled out his
handkerchief, ready for the latter object. Presently another came down.
It was Brown, the best man to tackle an enemy, as his muscular strength
was equal to any two of the rest. No enemy appeared, however, and at
length Rayner, who came last, reached the bottom in safety.