Part 23 (1/2)

'I'll do what I can, ain I'll tell hiood-bye,' she said, and she held out her hand again and took her, and feeling a different ious chap, wasn't then, and I am farther off it now than ever, but I've heard a power of the Bible and all that read in my time; and when the parson read out next Sunday about Jesus Christ dying forto have their souls saved, I felt as if I could have a show of understanding it better than I ever did before If I'd been a Catholic, like Aileen and in Mary was like when she was alive, and never said a prayer to her without thinking of Miss Falkland

While I was dying one week and getting over it another, and going through all the ht was just his old self all the tiave any one trouble, and there wasn't a soul in the place that wouldn't have done anything for hi case, and believed in his heart that he had been thehim from the error of his ways--he and the chaplain between them, anyhow He even helped him to be allowed to be kept a little separate from the other prisoners (lest they should contaminate him!), and in lots of ways made his life a bit easier to him

It was reported about that it was not the first tiaol That he'd 'done tiht or he ht not He never said And he wasn't the man, with all his soft ways, you'd like to ask about such a thing

By the look of it you wouldn't think he cared about it a bit He took it very easy, read half his tin about hiot out to lead a new life, the chaplain said, and be the ht

One day we had a chance of a word together He got the soft side of the chaplain, who thought he wanted to convert me and take ood care that ere not overheard or watched, and then said rather loud, for fear of accidents--

'Well, Richard, how are you feeling? I am happy to say that I have been led to think seriously of my former evil ways, and I have made up my mind, besides, to use every effort in my power to clear out of this infernal collection of toain, about the end of this ious?' I said 'Are you quite sure that what you say can be depended upon? And when did you get the good news?'

'I have hadti, and listened for the word that was to coth heard the news that al, ill be waiting outside these walls with fresh horses I must now leave you, my dear Richard,' he said; 'and I hope my words will have made an iood I will ask leave to return'

After I heard this news I began to live again Was there a chance of our getting out of this terrible tomb into the free air and sunshi+ne once ed I could not ht, who see, and to be quite easy about the way it would all turn out

All that I could get out of hiht a aol wall; and that if we had the luck to get out safe, and he thought we should, ould be on their backs in three minutes, and all the police in New South Wales wouldn't catch us once we got five minutes' start

This was all very well if it caht; but there was an awful lot to be done before ere even near it The an to think over it the worse it looked; sometimes I quite lost heart, and believed we should never have half a chance of carrying out our plan

We knew from the other prisoners that et away Three had been caught One had been shot dead--he was lucky--another had fallen off the wall and broke his leg Two had got clear off, and had never been heard of since

We were all locked up in our cells every evening, and at five o'clock, too We didn't get out till six in the h in the bitter winter weather, that had then co, weary, wretched tiht

Well, first of all, we had to get the cell door open That was the easiest part of the lot There's always aol that all kinds of keys and locks are like large print to They can ic; what'sto do it for anybody else, or show the those above the out of the cell was easy enough, but there was a lot of danger after you had got out A passage to cross, where the warder, with his rifle, walked up and down every half-hour all night; then a big courtyard; then another smaller door in the wall; then the outer yard for those prisoners who are allowed to work at stone-cutting or out-of-door trades

After all this there was the great outer wall to clied to pick our night well A French convict, who liked that sort of thing, gavethe cell door It was three o'clock in the , when in winter most people are sleepy that haven't e wasn't likely to be asleep, but he ht, and not taken as much notice as usual This e trusted to Besides, we had got a few five-pound notes sh I wouldn't say that ere able to bribe any of the gaolers, we didn't do ourselves any harns about

I did just as I was told by the Frenchman, and I opened the cell door as easy as a wooden latch I had to shut it again for fear the warder would see it and begin to search and sound the alare I had only time to crouch down in the shadohen he passed ht; noould not be back for half-an-hour

I crawled and scraot to the gate through the last wall but one The lock here was not so easy as the cell door, and took ular treht coave way, and I found myself in the outer yard I went over to the wall and crept along it till I caht He was not there, and he was to bring some spikes to clis

I waited and waited for half-an-hour, which seemed a month What was I to do if he didn't come? I could not climb the thirty-foot wall by myself One had to be cautious, too, for there were towers at short distances along the wall; in every one of these a warder, armed with a rifle, which he was sure to ean to think he had ht

Then, that he had been discovered and caught the ht if he was prevented fro up would be harder to bear than ever