Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-09-07

He sat there, aOdtttng, aoqtchtnq, looking
into the night.
fully bore 1t on deck and poured It into
the sea. Then. lighting his pipe. he
drew a deck chair beside the taffrail
and as the evening closed about him
sat there, waiting, watching, looking
into the night, alert and expectant.
Five miles away beside the castle
moat stood Hilmar and Desmond. Grit
about his waist was a long coil Of cord,
and sheathed In his belt was his knife,
flanked by file and brace Of pistols
In his hand he held crowbar For an
instant he staid and looked down at
his companion. The moment for the
attempt was come.
"Goodby, Hilmar-dear!" The last
word came shyly and haltingly. He
looked at her half doubtfully.
She turned her eyes up to his visit
fully. They were shining with unshed
tears, but her glance was brave and
there was no tremor in her voice.
"Goodby. Desmond, dear" she an
swered, with a tender infection on the
word that had come so falteringly
from him. She pronounced 1t steadily
Somehow her lips closed over it with
a delicious pout. Desmond wavered
and looked at her almost inquiringly.
Then he stopped and kissed her and
met with no repulse.
With the touch of that sweet fare
well on his lips and no room in his
| heart for fear or aught but triumph he
turned silently from her and caught at
a poplar bough. He swung his legs
across it. rose up and gained another,
higher. Thus from bough to Dough he
swung himself till 80 feet above the
ground he reached the great limb that
shot out above the water, stretching
far toward the castle walls. He made
his way along it inch by inch. desisting
only when its dropping twigs told him
that the farthest point of safety was
reached. He unslung the cord from his
waist. attached to one end his crowbar
and silently began to swing it to and
fro. Backward and forward 1t pendu-
lated. widening its reach at every beat,
till finally its utmost swing brought it
over the barn roof There was a ring
of metal, and the cord Quivered and
staid taut Desmond pulled with all
his strength. The rope was rigid. Then
he dashed the end he held to the bough
beside him. The gulf was bridged.
He waited minute or two to see IL
any sentry had heard the clang of the
meeting iron. Family up and down the
courtyard he could hear the regular
beat of steps. These stopped, and the
sound of Il grating lock came distinct
ly to him across the silence of the
night. A ray of light shot up through
| the easement in the roof The man
must have heard the faint clatter Of
the falling bar and was examining his
prisoners to see if any one stirred In
some ways 1t was n fortunate matter.
Seeing them safe and still bound, he
would be less likely to visit them dur
ing the next hour or two. The light
snapped out, and the bang of shut
ting door re-echoed in the hollow of
the yard There was jingle of keys
as the warder drew them from the
lock. Then to and fro the monotonous
beat of the sentry was resumed.
Desmond gripped the rope with both
hands and swung his knees across It.
1t ran at a steep angle toward the
roof and it took him all his strength
to restrain too swift descent. Check
| ing his way strenuously with alternate
graspings Of the cord, he slid down
and alighted beside the window graf
ing.
He had to use the utmost caution to
prevent dislodging the stone roof slabs.
Splinters, the result of many win
ter's frost, lay about him in heaps.
Fortunately those he displaced fell al
most noselessly into the stream. Any
one hearing them might mistake them
| for the rise of feeding fish. He took
from his pocket little jar of grease
the grating. Then with his rasp he
began to rub at the iron, eating stead-
ly through the metal, which was rust
ed by. storm and damp to half it's orig
| inal thickness. He kept to his work
without ceasing, save to rub now and
again more grease into the niche he
made, swinging the long file backward
and forward, pressing desperately
upon the bars, gasping with excite
ment and the energy Of his toll, the
perspiration raining from his forehead
Half an hour Of unceasing toll, ant
the bar broke. Rising to his feet, he
sought sure fosthold and then seizet
the severed end and tore 1t SLOWLY
back. The metal, softened by expo
sure, gave under his strenuous tugs
Unfortunately as he bent and pred 4
back the far end snapped at the angle
of the bend. With chatter that sound
ed out with horrible distnctness he fel
prone upon the roof. He lay still, his
heart throbbing in great beats tina,
seemed to suffocate him. The steps OF
the sentry ceased in the courtyard. He
could but have heard the clatter ana
his suspicious were aroused. Then 8
desperate idea came into Desmond's
head. "Yee-ow, yee-oww he miawed
the tremor Of his voice giving a par
ticularly feline ring to the sounds
"fee-ow, fzz-st" And he spat and
scrabbled at an imaginary rival, dis
lodging one or two bits of shale reck
lessly.
UGH! grunted the sentry and, pick
Ing up pebble, cast it at the roof and
resumed his walk down the center Of