At first I entertained some wild hope of trying to escape. The iron bars at the window were loose in the sill, and I was sure that by using all the strength at my command I could remove at least two of them, and thus make a space wide enough to allow the passage of my body.
I was on the point of putting this plan into execution when I paused and reflected that such a course would avail me nothing! I did not want to leave the district altogether, and to thus break jail would only be taken as an evidence that I was guilty of the crime charged against me.
So I sat down again, resolved to take matters as calmly as I could. There seemed to be no other prisoners in the building outside of Mr. Norton and myself; and after Squire Slocum and the crowd had left all became as silent as a graveyard.
I wondered what my guardian was doing and thinking. Certainly nothing good; for I was convinced beyond a doubt that Mr. Norton was a thorough rascal.
Presently I heard a slight scraping sound far down the corridor. I hoped fervently that Pointer or some of the other officers would capture the two strangers,—Avery and Yates,—and recover the stolen diamonds.
At noon Mr. Harris, the jailer, brought me my dinner. I asked him a number of questions, but he politely but firmly declined to answer them.
“Can’t do it, prisoner,” he said. “It’s against the rules.”
And I was left alone once more.
At length, about the middle of the afternoon, I heard a noise in the squire’s office overhead. Several men had entered, and a loud and rapid conversation was in progress. I listened, and was almost certain I distinguished the voice of Mr. Markham.