“Very well.  I don’t think that it will make any difference, for the rope is strong enough to hold the three of us together.  However, here goes.  We may as well leave our coatees behind us.  They might get us into difficulties, if we took them.”

So saying, he took off his coat, fastened the end of the rope securely to the bars that had been left for the purpose, and, holding it firmly, made his way through the opening and swung himself over.  With his muscles strengthened by military exercises and sword practice, he found it easier work than he had expected.  The depth was some sixty feet, and in a couple of minutes his feet touched the ground.

Mike had been hanging on by the rope to steady it, and as Desmond descended, he seized him by the hand and shook it enthusiastically, murmuring brokenly, “My dear master, thank God that you are free!”

“Thanks to you also, my dear fellow.  Now, hold on again.  My friends O’Neil and O’Sullivan shared my cell with me, and are following me.”

He added his weight to that of Mike, and it was not long before O’Neil came down; but not so quietly as Desmond had done, for his strength had failed him, and the rope had slipped rapidly through his fingers, and Mike and Desmond narrowly escaped being knocked down by the suddenness with which the descent was made.  He stood for a minute, wringing his hand, and swearing in an undertone in English, Irish, and French.

“By the powers,” he said, “it has taken the skin off the inside of my hands, entirely!  A red-hot poker could not have done it more nately!

“Mike, you rascal, what are you laughing at?  I have a mind to break your bones before thanking you.”

O’Sullivan succeeded better, but was completely exhausted when he joined his friends.

“Now, Mike, where are the disguises?”

“Here they are, your honour.  They are just like my own.  Loose coats, rough breeches, white stockings and buckled shoes, and soft hats with wide brims.  I thought that you would pass better, like that, than in any other way; for if you were dressed up as citizens, your tongues might betray you, for somehow they don’t speak English as we do; and whenever I open my mouth, they discover that I am an Irishman.”

Desmond laughed.

“There would be no difficulty about that.  Now, let us put on our disguises at once, and be off.  Sometimes the turnkeys take it into their heads to look in during the night, and we had to keep one on watch while we were at work, and take to our beds when we heard a footstep approaching.

“I see you have brought shoes.  I forgot to mention them.  Our jack boots would have attracted attention, so we have left them behind us, after getting our stores of money from their hiding places.”

They were soon dressed.

“What are we supposed to be, Mike?”

“You are sedan chair men, sir.  Most of the chairs are carried by Irishmen, who seem to be stronger in the leg than these London folk.  You will have to cut your hair short, and then you will pass without observation.”