He answered nothing.  He had to eat by himself, for my mind was too much occupied to think about dinner—­indeed, I had been unable to sleep.

The appointed hour struck—­and the angel came, Soradaci was going to fall down on his face, but I told him it was not necessary.  In three minutes the passage was completed, the piece of board fell at my feet, and Father Balbi into my arms.  “Your work is ended and mine begun,” said I to him.  We embraced each other, and he gave me the pike and a pair of scissors.  I told Soradaci to cut our beards, but I could not help laughing to see the creature—­his mouth all agape-staring at the angel, who was more like a devil.  However, though quite beside himself, he cut our beards admirably.

Anxious to see how the land lay, I told the monk to stay with Soradaci, as I did not care to leave him alone, and I went out.  I found the hole in the wall narrow, but I succeeded in getting through it.  I was above the count’s cell, and I came in and greeted the worthy old man.  The man before me was not fitted to encounter such difficulties as would be involved in an escape by a steep roof covered with plates of lead.  He asked me what my plan was, and told me that he thought I had acted rather inconsiderately.  “I only ask to go forward,” said I, “till I find death or freedom.”  “If you intend,” he answered, “to pierce the roof and to descend from thence, I see no prospect of success, unless you have wings; and I at all events have not the courage to accompany you.  I will remain here, and pray to God on your behalf.”

I went out again to look at the roof, getting as close as I could to the sides of the loft.  Touching the lower part of the roof, I took up a position between the beams, and feeling the wood with the end of the bar I luckily found them to be half rotten.  At every blow of the bar they fell to dust, so feeling certain of my ability to make a large enough hole in less than a hour I returned to my cell, and for four hours employed myself in cutting up sheets, coverlets, and bedding, to make ropes.  I took care to make the knots myself and to be assured of their strength, for a single weak knot might cost us our lives.  At last I had ready a hundred fathoms of rope.

In great undertakings there are certain critical points which the leader who deserves to succeed trusts to no one but himself.  When the rope was ready I made a parcel of my suit, my cloak, a few shirts, stockings, and handkerchiefs, and the three of us went into the count’s cell.  The first thing the count did was to congratulate Soradaci on having been placed in the same cell as myself, and on being so soon about to regain his liberty.  His air of speechless confusion made me want to laugh.  I took no more trouble about him, for I had thrown off the mask of Tartuffe which I had found terribly inconvenient all the time I had worn it for the rascal’s sake.  He knew, I could see, that he had been deceived, but