Lights flashed in many windows that had hitherto been in darkness. There was the sound of running feet and the clank of metal as though the guards were arming themselves with swords instead of rifles and automatic pistols.
Ned got to his feet, to find Tom at his side. The young inventor grasped his chum's arm, holding his automatic in his other hand, and gasped:
"Come on! Run for it! It's now or never!"
"But which way shall we run?" asked Ned. "I'm all turned around!"
It was no wonder. The night was dark and the weird ruin of a castle stood out in uncanny relief with lights in many windows. Tom and Ned had leaped from a window at the rear of the place, a view of the castle which they had never had before. So they were a bit confused.
"The main gate is around the other side!" panted Ned, as he ran on beside Tom.
"Never mind that. There must be a back way out, and I think it will be healthier for us to take that than the front way. They'll be sure to be laying for us there."
"Guess that's true!" muttered Ned.
The eyes of the escaped prisoners were now becoming accustomed to the darkness all about them, for they had come from comparatively well illuminated corridors into the pitch black night, and this is always confusing. They had a dim vision of a wall or a fence at the rear of the castle. It was probably a continuation of the fence in front, with its ornate and massive pillars, though the front gate was gone.
"If only the back gate is in the same condition we may be in luck," Tom remarked as they ran on.