It was half-past seven when the jailer entered the cell in which the four friends were imprisoned. He carried a large tray, on which was loaded food. As he entered the cell, he dropped his heavy key ring. Hal pounced upon it.
The man's back was toward him. The lad raised the heavy ring, but he did not strike.
"Here, jailer," he said; "you've dropped your keys."
The jailer looked around. Hal hoped he would spring forward, that he might have an excuse for striking, but the man only said simply:
"You know what to do with them."
He turned his back again. For a moment Hal hesitated.
"Well," he said finally, "if it has to be done, the sooner the better."
He raised the heavy bunch of keys aloft again, and brought it down on the jailer's head. The man dropped to the floor and lay still. Hal threw the keys down beside him.
"Hope I didn't hurt him too much," he muttered. He turned to the others. "Now," he said, "shall we eat of this food or shall we leave at once?"
"Let's get out of here," said Stubbs. "We can eat any time. Something may turn up to defeat our plan."