In the village hard by the church, a man, his features muffled in a dark cloak, was waiting under the shadow of a row of trees. Feigning to ignore him, we passed on; but bef ore we had gone a few steps he tapped thrice with a stick against the stump of a tree. Thereupon we retraced our footsteps, and the man introduced himself as the royal page, Firebrace.
Without further parley, for each man seemed thoroughly to understand his work, we turned down N a side street, through which a brook babbled, the rippling of the water sounding in the night air. Then we began to climb the steep hill on which the castle stands.
Neither lights nor any other signs of human beings were to be seen, and without misadventure we gained the base of the barbican. Here we took shelter in the dry moat, concealing ourselves underneath the centre of three low arches that carried the road from the outwork of the embattled gateway.
Captain Dixon pulled out a gold watch, and holding it close to his face, announced in a low tone that it was a quarter to twelve. Then we heard the tramp of the musketeers relieving guard, every sound of the instructions given to the sentry at the barbican being distinctly audible.
"'Tis Captain Titus," whispered Firebrace, "and he is with us."
This seemed to be the case, for we heard him tell the musketeer to pay no attention to any sounds he might hear without the castle, and to this the man readily complied, he also being a party to the enterprise.
"Now 'tis time," whispered the page; and walking swiftly along the bed of the dry moat, we at length came to a part of the castle where the walls were considerably lower than the rest. Here a stout rope was dangling from the battlements.
"Five minutes will decide whether we have set our heads in a rat trap or not," said Major Hosken. "Now, Dixon, you first—up you go."
Seizing the rope with both hands, the captain swung himself lightly up the sheer face of the wall, and instantly afterwards a shake of the hemp announced that he had reached the battlements in safety. Firebrace followed, and I ascended third, followed in turn by Hosken, while the remaining officer stayed without to facilitate our descent.
I found myself on a narrow stone ledge, protected on its outer side by a parapet breast-high, while the inner side was unfenced. A slip or a false step in the dark, and we should have fallen a depth of thirty feet on the ground of the base-court.