I held the rope as commanded, and a minute later the woman stood by my side.
"Could you leap to that branch of the tree, and descend to the path that way?" she said, pointing to the spreading branches of an elm-tree which grew close by.
"Easily," I replied.
"Then hold the ladder while I descend."
Like one in a dream I obeyed, and then watched while with great agility she descended from fifteen to twenty feet below.
"Now be quick," she said, "all is ready."
At that moment my heart gave a great leap, for I heard a cry come from the Witch's Tower. A wild, despairing cry, more like the yell of a wild beast than that of a human being.
I took my hands from the rope, and immediately it was pulled away. I was on the top of the castle wall alone.
"Be quick, quick, or all is lost," cried a voice peremptorily from beneath.
I did not hesitate, dangerous as my feat was. In the gloom of the night I saw the dark branch of the tree; I gave a leap towards it and caught it. The branch yielded with my weight so much that my feet were only a few feet from the ground.