“There’s nobody in the yard but us. Must be outside.”
“We better look around.”
Footsteps sounded close and the woodshed door creaked. “Nothing here.”
Lanternlight flashed in the door of the Navy kitchen. Tim could hear the hissing of the dying embers in the stove. A voice sounded loud. “No sign of anyone in here. Must have been outside.”
The guards looked into the Army kitchen and went back to the wagon gate.
Tim felt again and found that the wall was rotten all around the window. The mortar had dried and crumbled. One by one he loosened the bricks and handed them to Red, who set them in a pile on the floor. He hoped Devil could put them back, or at least conceal the work so that other prisoners could use this route at a later time.
By the time Tim reached firm brick there was a gaping, ragged hole in the wall. Tim tried again, this time with a boost from Red. He scrambled up and perched in the opening. All he could see was the light of a lantern burning slits of yellow through the cracks in the boards of the shed wall.
One of the guards said, “You wouldn’t try to cheat on me?”
The other guard laughed. “Cheat you? Hell, Randy, you know I’m not a cheatin’ man.”
Tim scrambled across and stepped blindly onto the pile of wood. There was a rumble as the pieces settled but his foot held firm. He waited again, listening.