“Stop that! If you try to scratch out, I’ll shoot.”
I stopped for an instant, and then began again, very softly, hoping to draw him close to the wall to listen. The ruse was most successful. Not only did he come close, but he stooped down with his ear to one of the chinks.
Now or never was our chance! and my watchful chum was not the one to miss it. At the moment when Bates bent down with his head close to the wall, Percy, leaping lightly from the roof, landed—by no means lightly—with both knees upon the middle of our jailer’s back, sending him to the ground with all the breath driven out of his body.
“Come on!” he shouted; and at the call I rushed at the door, burst it bodily from its fastenings, and ran round the house, to find Bates lying upon his face with Percy sitting upon him, holding him firmly by both elbows.
“Get some rope!” cried Percy, the instant I appeared.
Back I ran to the camp, cut off three feet of rope, and returned to the rear of the cabin. Within five minutes Bates was bound hand and foot—perfectly helpless.
Leaving our prostrate enemy where he lay—after first taking away his rifle—we hastened to the camp, whence, with our own rifles and cartridge-belts in our hands, we set off as hard as we could run across the valley.
Arrived at the bars, we paused for breath; and having held a brief consultation as to whether we should go on or await Squeaky’s return where we were, we decided finally to go on; for, though this would be an excellent place in which to lie in wait for him, and though by going on we might come upon him unawares and thus lose our present advantage of taking him by surprise, we were bound to think of Jack, who, for all we knew, might at that moment be in need of our help.
We had arrived at this conclusion, and I had put my foot upon the lowest rail preparatory to climbing over, when we heard faintly the sound of a horse’s hoofs clattering down the bare stone bed of the gorge.
“This way, this way!” whispered Percy, in great excitement; and turning about, we ran back a few steps and clambered up into the little fortification which I have before mentioned as commanding the passage.