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.Toward ten o’clock the storm broke.Milady was comforted to see nature share her agitation.Thunder roared like the anger in her soul, and she seemed to feel the rain buffeting her face while the wild lament of the wind echoed her despair.Suddenly she heard someone tap on her windowpane, and in the glare of a lightning flash she saw a man’s face on the other side of the bars.She ran to the window and opened it.“Felton! I’m saved!”“Yes,” said Felton, “but we must keep our voices down.I’ll need time to cut through the bars with my file.Be careful they don’t see you through the grille.”“They’ve nailed a board across the grille—that proves the Lord is with us!”“God has taken away their reason.”“But what must I do?” asked Milady.“Just close the window and go to bed with your clothes on.I’ll tap on the glass when I’ve finished.But will you be able to go with me?”“Oh, yes!”“What about your wound?”“It’s still painful, but it won’t prevent me from walking.”“Be ready to go as soon as you hear my signal.”Milady closed the window, put out the lamp, and got into bed.Amid the moans of the gale she heard Felton’s file grating on the bars, and each time the lightning flashed she saw his shadow in the window.She lay still for an hour, scarcely daring to breathe.Anxiety gripped her heart at each sound she heard from the hall.It was one of those hours that seem to last a year.Finally she heard Felton’s signal, leapt out of bed, and opened the window.Where two bars were missing there was now an opening large enough for a man to pass through.“Are you ready?” asked Felton.“Yes.Shall I take anything with me?”“Gold, if you have any.”“I have some.Luckily they let me keep what I had.”“Good, because I’ve spent all my money chartering a ship.”“Here,” she said, handing him a bag of gold.He dropped it to the ground below.“And now, let’s go.”She stood on a chair, put the upper part of her body through the window and saw Felton suspended high above the ground on a rope ladder.For the first time, sudden fear reminded her that she was a woman.She stared in horror at the sheer drop below her.“I thought you might have that reaction,” said Felton.“Never mind, it’s nothing.I’ll climb down with my eyes closed.”“Do you trust me?”“Of course.”“Put your arms in front of you and cross your wrists.”He tied her wrists together with his handkerchief, then with a rope over the handkerchief.“What are you doing?” she asked with surprise.“Put your arms around my neck and don’t be afraid.”“But I’ll make you lose your balance, and we’ll both fall!”“Don’t worry.I’m a sailor.”There was no time to lose.She put her arms around his neck and let herself slide out of the window.He began slowly climbing down the ladder.Despite the weight of their two bodies, they swayed in the wind.Suddenly he stopped.“What’s the matter?” she asked.“Quiet.I hear footsteps.”“They’ve seen us!”They were both silent for a few moments.“No,” he said, “it’s nothing to worry about.”“But what’s that noise?”“A patrol.They’re only making their rounds.”“Are they coming this way?”“Yes.They’ll pass under us.”“They’ll see us!”“Not if there’s no lightning.”“They’ll run into the bottom of the ladder!”“It’s higher than their heads.”“Here they come!”“Quiet!”They hung motionless and held their breath while the soldiers walked past, laughing and talking, twenty feet below them.It was a terrible moment for the two fugitives.“We’re safe now,” Felton said when the sound of the soldiers’ voices and footsteps had faded away.Milady heaved a sigh and fainted.Felton continued climbing down the ladder.When he came to the bottom, he hung by his hands from the last rung and dropped to the ground.He picked up the bag of gold, gripped it between his teeth, and, carrying Milady in his arms, swiftly walked off in the direction from which the patrol had come [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]