“What do you mean?” he asked, in a hushed way.
“My hands are untied,” said Frank. “I’ve been working at the thongs for the last half hour. Keep still now; I’m going to see what can be done for yours.”
Jack felt a fumbling about his wrists; the tree to which they were tied was not a very large one, and Frank had no difficulty in reaching around it, even though his back was turned. Frank’s long, strong, clever fingers had been noted in the school at Richmond, and Jack now recalled some of the feats which his friend had then performed. So it was with growing interest and hope that he felt the fumbling at the thongs increase.
“How are you doing?” he asked, anxiously.
“The knot’s the same,” answered Frank, “but I broke my nails badly on my own; so this will be harder.”
However, in a few minutes, Jack, to his keen delight, felt the thong loosen. He had difficulty in restraining the cry of exultation which leaped to his lips, but managed to pass the supreme moment without giving any evidence of the situation. A little more and the thong was loose enough for him to slip his hands through.
“Now,” said Frank, “feel around for the knots in the strip that fasten you to the trunk; once we get them untied we’ll have some sort of a chance, anyway.”
The tree to which they were bound was well within the shadows; they worked quietly, and so did not attract the attention of their guards. The knots were hard to find and when their searching fingers had found them, they were in such difficult positions for working that it was almost impossible to do anything with them. However, they gave themselves steadily and doggedly to the task and, finally, were elated to feel the tough leather give; a few moments afterward their bonds were in such a condition that they could step out whenever it pleased them to do so.
“Now that that’s done,” breathed Jack, “let’s give a little more attention to the lay of the land.”
The quiet of the night, the uneventful nature of their duty, had caused the braves guarding them to lag in their steps. Finally one of them, his war club upon his shoulder, had paused and leaned against a tree. It was not long before the other two had followed suit. However, as all three of them faced the captives there was no apparent increase in the chances of the latter for escape.