"Escaped! How did they escape?"
"You will not believe me, but it is true. They escaped underground—like moles."
"Underground!" cried the two boys, echoing the man's words in their astonishment.
"Yes," said the guide. "All those months they had been digging a tunnel. The hill is composed of a very soft kind of rock; and they had brought spades and picks from Maziriland. Day and night they worked, until at last the tunnel became a mile in length, extending from the inside of the fort into the very heart of the forest."
"Where is the entrance?" asked Harry.
"It is here."
The man led the way to the hut. The floor was covered with rushes, and these he gathered together in his arms and piled in a great heap before the doorway. Underneath was a circular piece of wood, like that which is often found on the top of a well. Lifting this, Fernando pointed to a flight of steps that led down into impenetrable darkness.
"They went this way?" asked Harry.
"Two escaped by way of the tunnel, whilst a third, who was already dying, covered up the entrance with rushes. When their foes got in they found only four men—dead. And they believed that they had been held at bay during all those months by four men instead of six."
"Does your brother know of this place?"