"Is it thee, Jack? Thou scoundrel! Thou shouldst have been here an hour ago. What kept thee so long, thou dog? I will lash that lazy hide of thine," and grumbling to himself he unlocked the door. "Why stand like a struck boar?" he shouted at me. "Thou fool! hast thou all night to stand there?"
And with a curse he locked the door again, and strode away with me at his heels, leaving the man who had stood by him during his brief monologue staring after us as we left him. He walked at a rapid gait, I at his heels, down the long passage, speaking never a word. We passed several guards lounging in the hall, who straightened up, all attention, as we neared them. Evidently the old soldier kept his men under strict discipline.
As we neared a little knot of guards, he cried out:
"Come on, thou fool, I will teach thee to sleep at thy post again! I will tear the very flesh from thy bones!" And with that he unlocked the door which barred our passage, and passing the man who stood beside it, he kept on down the hall. I could hear the men on the other side mutter to themselves as it swung to, but what they said I could not catch.
We were alone now in the hall, no one was in sight of us. Peering around him the old warrior halted a moment, and turning to me, one eye closed, he winked; then with a growl, he resumed his journey. Several more doors we unlocked and passed through, meeting a dozen little groups of men in the hall, but Sir Henry said not a word, only as we neared them, he would curse me for my tardiness and laziness, and swear to tear me limb from limb.
With my cap pulled down over my face and wrapped in the great dark cloak, I followed him, my head bowed as though in dejection and fear; and so we traversed the great building, until finally we stood at the huge door that led out into the open air, where he halted. There was no one there, and unbolting it, he motioned for me to walk out.
"Forget not to deliver the message that I gave thee to Lord Pendleton," he said, in a loud tone of voice, for the benefit of any who might chance to see us, "thou dog, and waste no time about it, or I will trounce thee well with my stirrup—begone!" And with a kindly look upon his old face, he pushed the door to, and I heard the chain rattle as he secured it.
I stood alone in the low courtyard of the prison, the cold night air blowing against my face. Carefully I picked my way over the uneven stones, with which the yard was paved, until I reached the gate which led into the street. It was unlocked, and opening it, I stood once more upon the street of London—free.
A man started from the shadow of the wall, and came toward me, his head muffled in his cloak; as he neared me, I saw that it was Bobby.
"I had almost given thee up," he whispered. "But come, we have no time to lose. It will be only a few hours at the most until they discover thy escape, and they will search all England thoroughly for thee." And catching me by the arm, he hurried me down the street.