Part 38 (1/2)

Azrael hastily filed right round the whole of the link which Ha.s.san's smith had thought good to form of silver only on the outside, thinking that the fraud would never be discovered, and behold, the hard impervious substance which resisted the file was nothing but--gla.s.s.

”Ah!” said Azrael, ”all the better for us, the work will be quicker;”

and seizing an iron candlestick, she broke in pieces with a single blow the whole of the gla.s.s chain which was only covered by a light varnish of silver, only the two locked golden manacles remained in their hands.

”We shall be ready all the sooner,” she whispered to Mariska, ”now we must make haste and get you off.”

But Mariska still stood before her like one who knows not what is befalling her.

”Hast thou thought how we are to escape?” she inquired of Azrael. ”The guards of Ha.s.san Pasha stand at every door, and all the doors have been locked by his own hand. In front of the gates of the fortress the sentinels have been doubled. I heard what commands he gave.”

”I have nought to do with doors or guards; we are going to escape through the window.”

Mariska looked at Azrael incredulously; she fancied she had gone mad.

She could see nothing in the room by which they could descend from the window, and below stood the thickly planted sharp stakes.

”Help me to let down this gobaea ladder!” said Azrael, and quick as a squirrel herself, she leaped on the edge of the great porcelain tub, and thrust aside the vigorous shoots of the plant from its natural ladder within, which grew right up to the roof and thence descended again to its own roots.

Mariska began to see that her companion knew what she was about. She hastened to give her a.s.sistance, lowered the pliable trunk, and, looking round to see if anyone was watching, bent the branches towards the window.

But still it was too short. The longest creepers only reached to the edges of the palisade, and one could not count upon the green sprouts at the end of the creepers. Even if the ladder which formed the flower were attached to it, it would still not reach to the bottom of the trench.

Azrael looked around the room to see if she could find anything.

Suddenly she had hit upon it.

”Give me those scissors,” she said to Mariska, and when the latter had returned to her, the odalisk had already let down her flowing tresses.

Four long locks as black as night, reaching below her knee, the crown of a woman's beauty which make men rejoice in her, were twining there on the floor.

”Give me the scissors!” she said to Mariska.

”Wouldst thou cut off thy hair?” asked the Princess, holding back.

”Yes, yes, what does it matter? It is wanted for the rope, and it will be quite strong enough.”

”Rather cut off mine!” said Mariska. With n.o.ble emulation she took from her head her small pearl haube, and loosened her own tresses, which, if not so long and so full of colour, at least rivalled those of her comrade in quant.i.ty.

”Good; the two together will make the rope stronger,” said Azrael; and with that the two ladies began clipping off their luxurious locks one by one with the little scissors. One marvellously beautiful tress after another flowed from the head of the odalisk. When the last had fallen, a tear-drop also followed it.

Then she picked up the splendid tresses and began plaiting them together into strong knots.

”Wouldst thou ever have thought,” said Azrael, ”that the locks of thy hair would be so intermingled?”

Mariska gratefully pressed the hand of the odalisk.

”How can I ever thank you for your goodness?”

”Think not of it. Fate orders it so--and someone else,” she muttered softly.

And now the attached ladder was long enough to reach the bottom of the palisades. Then they pitched down all the pillows and cus.h.i.+ons of the divans till they covered the sharp stakes, so that their points might not hurt the fugitives. Moreover, Azrael tied the tough shoots of the gobaea to the cross piece of the window with the wraps of her turban and girdle.