“If I have need only of courage and coolness,” replied the queen, “be easy; neither the one nor the other will fail me.”
“Here is a file,” said George, giving Mary Seyton that instrument which he judged unworthy to touch the queen’s hands, “and this evening I shall bring your Majesty cords to construct a ladder. You will cut through one of the bars of this window, it is only at a height of twenty feet; I shall come up to you, as much to try it as to support you; one of the garrison is in my pay, he will give us passage by the door it is his duty to guard, and you will be free.”
“And when will that be?” cried the queen.
“We must wait for two things, madam,” replied Douglas: “the first, to collect at Kinross an escort sufficient for your Majesty’s safety; the second, that the turn for night watch of Thomas Warden should happen to be at an isolated door that we can reach without being seen.”
“And how will you know that? Do you stay at the castle, then?”
“Alas! no, madam,” replied George; “at the castle I am a useless and even a dangerous friend for you, while once beyond the lake I can serve you in an effectual manner.”
“And how will you know when Warden’s turn to mount guard has come?”
“The weathercock in the north tower, instead of turning in the wind with the others, will remain fixed against it.”
“But I, how shall I be warned?”
“Everything is already provided for on that side: the light which shines each night in the little house in Kinross incessantly tells you that your friends keep watch for you; but when you would like to know if the hour of your deliverance approaches or recedes, in your turn place a light in this window. The other will immediately disappear; then, placing your hand on your breast, count your heartbeats: if you reach the number twenty without the light reappearing, nothing is yet settled; if you only reach ten, the moment approaches; if the light does not leave you time to count beyond five, your escape is fixed for the following night; if it reappears no more, it is fixed for the same evening; then the owl’s cry, repeated thrice in the courtyard, will be the signal; let down the ladder when you hear it”.