Accordingly I took advantage of the commandant's gracious
appearance among our audience to ask him (having now picked up
enough French to make myself understood) to allow all the members
of the band to sleep together, explaining that we should attain to
greater efficiency if, after the lower doors were locked for the
night, we could practice for an hour or so together before the sun
went down. His grim face relaxed into a smile at the serious manner
in which we took our diversion, and he readily granted the
permission we desired. By this change we got rid of Vetch, who was
glad enough to leave us, I doubt not.
The first step having thus been gained, I began to devote myself
earnestly to the problem of escape. I did not make light of the
difficulties. The only entrance to the castle precincts was, as I
have said, the gateway at the end of the drawbridge, and this was
so stoutly guarded that escape in daylight was impossible. At night
we were locked in the dormitory nearly thirty feet above ground,
with a thick stone wall between us and freedom, and supposing we
could make a hole in the wall, which seemed unlikely, there was
still the moat to be reckoned with. It was not only too far below
for any one to dive into it with safety, but it was, as I had
learned from the soldiers, choked with mud to within a very little
of the surface, so that I could not but doubt whether it were
possible even to swim across. But I did not despair of crossing it
if we could only get down: that was the difficulty, and for long
tedious weeks it seemed to me insuperable.
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