Page 168 - Among the camps, or, Young people's stories of the war

the men outside, but the chimney would be partly between
them, and as they climbed down the shadow would, he believed,
conceal them, He did not know how long1 he had been work­
ing, so he thought it best not to wait any longer. Therefore,
after taking a peep through the cracks down on the men
below, and finding them all asleep, he began to wake Jake.

Having got him awake, he lay down by him and whispered
his plans to him. He would go first to test the chimney, and
then Jake would come. They were not to speak under any
circumstances, and if either slipped, they were to lie perfectly
still. The blanket— except one piece, which he cut off and

hung over the hole to hide the sky, in case the men should
come up and look for them—was to be taken along with
them to fling, over them if their flight should be discovered.
The soldiers might think it just one of their blankets. After
they got to the woods, they were to make for their tree. If

they were pursued, they were to lie down under bushes and
not speak or move. Having arranged everything, and fas-
tened the piece of blanket so that it hung loosely over the
hole, allowing them to get through, Jack crawled out of the
window and let himself down by his hands. His bare feet

touched the shoulder of the chimney, asid letting go, he
climbed carefully down. Jake was already coming out of the
window. Jack thought he heard a noise, and crept around
the house through the weeds to see what it was. It was
only a horse, and he was turning back, when he heard a great

racket and scrambling, and with a tremendous thump Jake