“Well, no doubt you are right, Paolo; and though the night is warm enough the air is damp under this thick covering of leaves, and it will certainly be more cheerful.  We will go a short distance among the trees before we light it.”

Feeling their way —­ for it was pitch dark in the forest —­ they went on until Hector stumbled over a fallen trunk.

“This is the best place for a halt,” he said, “for here is wood ready to hand.  This tree has been lying here for years, I can feel that it is quite rotten.”

Paolo set to work —­ took a handful or two of the crumbling wood, broke it up into dust, then struck a spark on to the tinder, touched it with a slow match and inserted this into the little pile of wood; a minute’s blowing and the flames sprang up.  He drew out the slow match and putting his foot upon it placed it in his wallet, then he broke off some more wood and soon had a blazing fire.

“We have enough food left for supper, master, and if I spit some of this cold meat on the ramrod of one of my pistols and hold it over the fire it will be all the more tasty.  I wish we had those flasks of wine that you were speaking of.  It seems to me that after sleeping for some ten hours we shall find it hard to go off again for some time, even though neither of us got any sleep last night.  How furious the governor will be when he finds that you have escaped!”

“He is a good fellow,” Hector said, “and save that he will be annoyed —­ because he will be blamed for my escape —­ I do not think he will be sorry that I have got off.  I left a note for him on the table saying that I was about to make my escape, but that on my honour I had not obtained anything that would aid me, by your assistance, and that you had never brought anything into the castle save what you showed on entering to the guards.  I should not like him to think for a moment that I had broken my promise and taken advantage of his kindness.  How does your face feel?”

“It is mightily sore, but it does not smart as it did at first.  I can tell you that I was very glad when I was able to slip that great lump of tow out of my mouth as soon as I entered the forest.”

“I don’t think in future that you need use so large a wad, Paolo; half that size will be ample; and of course you need only slip it into your mouth when we are going through a village, or meet a party likely to question us.  As to your cheek, it will be days before that fiery mark disappears.”

They talked until nearly midnight, and then lay down and slept till four, by which time day had broken, for it was now the first week in July.  After walking for half an hour along the edge of the wood, they came to a track issuing out of it.  This they followed, and in about two hours saw a village in front of them.

“I will go in and buy the things that we want, Paolo, and do you make a circuit round it.  If the news has reached them of our escape they will have been told to look for two men; and the entry of a single countryman will excite no suspicion, for of course no one will know what disguise we have chosen.