Yet had such been the case, Balfour would not have
volunteered that form of assistance. He was of opinion that the rope was
there, then, and if so, it must have been thrown over by means of a
stone, or weight of some kind. In that case, if the stone had rolled
after reaching the ground, the rope might not be hanging like a
plumb-line from the wall, but at an angle from it, and at some distance.
He began to move, then, in a parallel line from the wall, still feeling
right and left; and on the third trial he caught in his stretched-out
hand a string--a string-line such as a boy uses for his kite; and for an
instant, the sense of the inefficacy of such means to effect his purpose
froze him with despair. But presently pulling on the string, he found it
gather in his hand, and pulling softly on, more string, and then an end
of thin but wire-strong rope, and then more rope. What was best of all
was, that this rope was knotted at intervals of every foot, so as to
afford a strong, firm hold.
After many yards of this had been hauled in he found resistance; the end
of it was evidently fast on the other side. Richard passed the rope
round the bottom of the iron spout, and beneath an iron clasp, that
prevented its slipping upward, and then made it taut. It was a perilous
bridge even then, and supposing the watcher with his musket had not
been, as he was, within easy gunshot of him; but it led from prison
walls to liberty, and Richard did not hesitate for a moment to commit
himself to it.
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