CHAPTER XVI
Breaking Out
What a picture a snapshot photographic artist could have made of thatscene in the narrow cell occupied by Geoff and Philip for so many wearyweeks, and into which the unctuous and scheming von Hildemaller hadthrust himself so unexpectedly. A portrayal alone of the features ofthat huge and unwieldy German would by itself have provided a picture ofconsuming interest. That is to say, a portrayal of what features wereleft visible now that Geoff's strong muscular hand was tightly claspedacross them. For above the hand there were left merely theclosely-cropped head which gave the Teuton such an uncouth appearance, aforehead broad enough to give the impression of brain-power, a pair ofeyes, deepset enough as a rule, and sparkling with suppressed humour ifit happened to be a stranger who looked into them, with suppressedcunning if the observer knew the man, eyes now projecting in a hideousmanner over the strong fingers which gripped below. And below those eyesa stubby nose, from which burst gusts of air as von Hildemaller gruntedhis astonishment. Underneath the hand, there was left just an edge ofthe somewhat square and determined chin possessed by this extraordinaryindividual. As for the rest of him--the huge body, the arms, thelegs--all were in motion, writhing, kicking, plunging, striking out andtearing at the captor who gripped him so firmly.
"The gag!" Geoff called softly to Philip, who, appreciating thesituation in an instant, had leapt from his position near the door toassist his comrade; "it's in my left hand. Jam it into his mouth as Iforce it open."
In a moment Philip had the gag, and, standing by, made ready tointroduce it.
"Supposing he shouts though?" he asked.
"He won't," said Geoff abruptly. "When he opens his jaws it'll be with ajump, for I'll squeeze him. Ready?"
There was an emphatic nod from Philip, while the gay features of theyoung subaltern were again smiling jovially; he was grinning indeed, agrin of pure delight and triumph. Then those powerful fingers of ourhero sought the interval on one cheek between the upper and the lowerjaw, while his thumb sought the similar spot on the other cheek. Asecond later he pressed fingers and thumbs together and shot theGerman's mouth wide open, displaying a huge cavity out of which not asound could come, for even if the grip on his jaw had not incapacitatedvon Hildemaller, the grip which Geoff's left arm now had round his bulkychest, the crushing power with which he compressed it, had driven allthe breath out of the Teuton's body.
"In she goes, pop!" gurgled Philip, thrusting the gag in between thatdouble row of yellow teeth. "Now we bind her!"
Quick as a flash he ran the strings from the edge of the gag outthrough the corners of the open mouth, and bound them tightly behind theGerman's neck. He needed no further instruction from his chum, seeingthat the two had discussed the matter so very often, had discussed it,let us remember, not in connection with the tricing up of a visitor--avisitor so unexpected as von Hildemaller--but in connection with theirTurkish jailer.
"Somehow I'd have been sorry for him," Philip murmured, as he seized theblanket-ropes already prepared, and tied von Hildemaller's wrists behindhis back.
"What, this beggar?"
"No, no! I was thinking of the jailer. I'd have been somehow sorry forhim, for he's been such a decent fellow, such a friendly beggar,"corrected Philip. "But this chap! Jingo, ain't it jolly!"
He set about the completion of the job in a manner which showed hisdelight almost better than words could do, and in a trice had vonHildemaller's wrists most scientifically tied together, and his elbowspulled so close that movement of his upper limbs was out of thequestion. Then, at a nod from Geoff, these two powerful young fellowsgripped the heavy German and lifted him, as if he were a babe, to thewooden divan. It took, perhaps, another two minutes to secure his legsand ankles, and to leave him like a helpless bundle.
"And now?" asked Philip, mopping his forehead, for the work had beenfurious while it lasted.
"We move!" declared Geoff promptly. "It's getting dusk already, and it'squite dark in this cell. Though, 'pon my word, von Hildemaller's eyespierce the dusk like gimlets. My word! If only he were free and could dohis worst for us! Now let's put the money we promised the Turk on thistable, and then go. No time like the present."
They were indeed in the position of being unable to choose the time forthe attempt to regain their liberty. In any case they were bound toseize the first opportunity that came, to seize it whenever it came,regardless of the hour or of the circumstances. But the coming of vonHildemaller had forced their hand in a manner neither had anticipated.He had, as it were, complicated their difficulties; for, now that he wassecured, trussed like a bird, and laid out helpless, there was still theTurkish jailer to be considered--the man they had proposed to capture,the man who, once shut up in the cell, gagged and triced just as was vonHildemaller, would be out of the way, unlikely to run up against them inthe corridor outside, unable to give the alarm and let others know thatthey were escaping.
"Can't be helped, the change in our plans," said Geoff, as he tookanother look at the German; "just squint outside, Phil, and tell mewhether there's anyone in the corridor. If not, we'll pull off our bootsand make our way along it in stockinged feet. Of course, if the jailerturns up, well, we'll have to be guided by circumstances."
In any case there was no time for discussion, no opportunity for makingfurther or other plans, nothing to do but seize the opportunity, strikewhile the iron was hot, and free themselves from this prison. To stripoff their boots and tuck them into their belts was the work of a moment,and then, unarmed but strong as lions--thanks to their own forethoughtand energy--they tiptoed into the corridor outside and stole rapidlyalong it, having gently pulled the iron door of their cell to upon theGerman. Some twenty paces along they found themselves at the head of ashort flight of stone steps, and were quickly at the bottom. A turn tothe left took them along another corridor, and then both suddenlyhalted.
"Voices--men talking--the jailer."
Philip nodded.
"The jailer and that fellow who often visited us with him. They're inthat room to the left, the door of which is ajar, and the sooner we passit the better."
Stealing forward again they were soon opposite a massive iron door,similar to the one which had closed their cell, and, halting for amoment, listened to the conversation of the two men within it. Listenedlong enough to assure themselves that they were right, and that withinthe cell their jailer and his friend were certainly seated. Then theymoved on again, and, traversing a long corridor and turning to theirright, found themselves in a different part of the prison. They hadreached, in fact, an entrance-hall, as it were, out of which a heavy,barred door led, probably to the open.
"Locked and barred," said Geoff, inspecting it rapidly and as well asthe dusk would allow; "no way out for us there, I think. Now, whathappens?"
"S--sh! Someone coming," whispered Phil, "someone coming down thestairs, I think. From the sounds he is making he is coming towards us."
For a moment or two they stared in the direction from which the noise offeet descending the stairway had come to them, and then lookeddesperately about them, for not even the dusk in that big entrance-hallwould prevent them from being discovered once an individual was withinsome yards of them. What were they to do? Bolt back towards the cellthey had so recently vacated? Stand still and chance discovery andrecognition? Or advance and throw themselves upon the individual who wasapproaching? Geoff threw out a hand and caught Philip by the sleeve,pulling him towards his left, towards the door which he had been sorecently examining, pulled him in fact into the angle the door made withthe heavy stone pillar which supported it. No one in his wildestthoughts could have described it as a safe hiding-place, no one in factin similar circumstances would have willingly entrusted his chances ofliberty to it, or would have leapt at the scanty security it barelyoffered. Yet it was a chance, a chance in a hundred, the only chance theoccasion could produce, the only spot possible for Geoff and Philip. Andthere together they crouched against the stone pillar, wishing that thedusk mig
ht grow rapidly deeper, and that some friendly shadow would castitself about them and hide them from the eyes of the intruder.
Those seconds which followed were long-drawn-out, agonizing seconds,seconds during which the slow, plodding, heavy footsteps which they hadheard descending the stairway drew nearer, and nearer, and nearer. Thena figure came into view, a figure but dimly illuminated, which, reachingthe centre of the hall, came to a halt, while the man--for undoubtedlyit was a man--peered about him inquisitively, as if seeking forsomething, as if he too had heard sounds, sounds which had roused hiscuriosity and perhaps his suspicion. It gave the two young subalternshiding in that shady corner quite an unpleasant start, sent quite achill through their frames when they first cast their eyes on thatfigure.
"Von Hildemaller!" said Geoff under his breath, speaking to himself infact. "Now, how----?"
Philip moved and nudged his comrade.
"That beast," Geoff heard him whisper; "he's got out somehow! But how?I----"
"S--sh! It's not. It's a Turk, awfully like him," Geoff whispered back,putting his lips close to Philip's ear. "Not a word more or he may hearus."
True enough, the figure dallying in the centre of the hall was indeedalmost a facsimile of that of the ponderous von Hildemaller. Of moderateheight and thickset, his feet encased in Turkish slippers, the man'sgeneral appearance was alarmingly like that of the German, while, dimlyto be seen through the dusk now settling deeper about the hall, were theends of a pair of moustaches quite as fierce and flowing as thoseproudly flaunted by the German. Only the head was different, for it wasbald, and perched on the back of it was a fez. Evidently, too, if thisnew-comer had had his suspicions roused, if he had actually heard soundsas he descended the stairs, he had now brushed the matter aside and wasprepared to treat it as a delusion, as something easily explainable; forhe moved on again, crossing the stone-flagged hall with heavy steps, andpassing out into the dusk beyond, in the direction from which Geoff andPhilip were escaping. It was then that Geoff mopped his forehead withwhat was left of a somewhat dilapidated and dirty handkerchief, whilePhilip allowed a breath of astonishment to escape his lips in a subduedwhistle.
"Jingo!" he exclaimed; "that's a near one!"
"The Governor!" Geoff said. "The Governor, I'm sure. Ponderous andfilled with dignity, a regular second von Hildemaller. But come along,we've no time to wait. Let's move on up the stairs and see what sort ofa place the fellow came from."
Still in their stockinged feet, with their boots tucked in between theirbelts and their bodies, the two crossed the hall and ran lightly up astone staircase. Turning abruptly as the stairs twisted upward, theypresently reached a doorway where their further progress was barred by adoor, framed in iron like that which had shut the opening from theircell, every feature of which they had studied so completely.
"Bah!" exclaimed Philip in disgust. "Trapped inside the place."
"Don't let's shout till we're hurt," said Geoff resolutely. "Perhaps itisn't locked; we'll try it; here's the latch. Hallo! It opens!"
"And we go through, as a matter of course. Wonder what the Governor'dsay if he knew that his two prisoners were about to investigate hisquarters?"
More stairs faced them, but a short flight, the top of which theyreached in a few moments, to find themselves in a wider corridor fromwhich three or four doors gave access to rooms, the first of which wasspacious and airy, and lit by windows which looked down into a centralcourtyard. The second was airy, like the first--even larger--with divansspread here and there, and a carpeted floor, while its windows, likethose of the other room, had a similar outlook. A hasty inspection ofthe third showed it to be a sleeping apartment, while the fourthprovided, without doubt, the quarters for the Governor's servant.
"And the windows? Let's take a squint out of them," said Geoff as hecrossed the room rapidly towards them. "Beast of a drop, eh?"
"But possible if one had a rope," said Philip, pushing his head out ofthe open window and imbibing the first breath of fresh air for someweeks past. "Bedding's what we want, and food. There was some in thatbig room with the divans."
For a while they stood peering out of the window and measuring thedistance between it and the ground below--a drop of quite fifty feet,but a drop the bottom of which provided open country, a drop which, ifit could be accomplished, would give them liberty and would set themoutside the prison.
"Stop a minute!" said Geoff suddenly, as a thought struck him. "Theredoesn't seem to be another entrance to these quarters, and, seeing thatwe are in occupation for the moment, and can't afford to be disturbed,why, we'll lock the Governor out. Let's get back to the door at once andsee if it's possible."
The very suggestion set the amiable Philip grinning; the cheek of suchan action delighted him intensely, and was just the sort of thing thatjovial subaltern could appreciate fully. He was out in the corridor in amoment, and, running along it in his stockinged feet, soon reached thedoor beyond. Then Geoff heard him shoot a couple of bolts, and watchedas he came smiling back towards him.
"Case reversed," grinned Philip, as if he were making an officialreport. "Prisoners, a little while before, locked into a cell, are nowprisoners no longer, but have locked their jailers out. And next, sir?What about that food?"
It was Geoff's turn to smile, for he too had caught sight of a dish offruit in the Governor's sitting-room, of some Turkish sweet-cakes, andof a carafe, probably containing water. Better still, the aroma ofcoffee tickled his nostrils as he entered the room occupied by theGovernor's servants, at the door of which he was now standing. A swiftglance showed him a Turkish brazier, a kettle of Turkish design aboveit, from the opening of which steam issued. He dived into the room againand sniffed at that steam, sniffed and smacked his lips withappreciation.
"Coffee, my boy! All ready!" he said. "But don't let's do things in toogreat a hurry; let's look round first for something with which to make arope. We shall be sorry, of course, to inconvenience the Governor, or todamage his property, but the cushions over those divans, if cut intostrips and twisted, would do the trick splendidly; while, if they ain'tstrong enough, there are carpets and rugs which must be sacrificed forthe purpose."
"And cushions enough to drop from the window and break a fall in case wehave to jump for it," laughed Philip. "Let's bring the grub along here,and the cushions and what not, then we shall be ready in case the alarmis raised; for, once there is a hue and cry, sentries, no doubt, will beposted outside the building, and long before that we ought to be awayfrom it."
It was tantalizing to have to leave that steaming odoriferous coffee,but undoubtedly the question of safety came first, now that liberty laywithin their grasp. The two resolutely put all other thoughts aside, andrapidly made their preparations to accomplish their object.Magnificently embroidered cushions decked the divans in the Governor'ssitting-room. There were rugs, too, which were perhaps of pricelessvalue--Turkish rugs which, it may be, had been manufactured yearsbefore, and would have commanded in London or any European city afabulous sum, far beyond the somewhat shallow depths of a subaltern'spocket.
"Sorry! Frightfully!" Philip grinned, as he deliberately slit one of thecushion-covers--a cushion, by the way, not of ordinary dimensions, butsome seven feet in length and as many broad; a regular mattress, indeed,upon which, no doubt, the bulky Governor was wont to recline during hismoments of leisure. It may have been the act of a vandal to destroy sucha handsome covering, and at any other time, no doubt, Philip would havehesitated, for he was not such a scamp that he would deliberatelydestroy goods of such value and elegance.
"But it's our liberty or the Governor's goods," he grinned a littlesheepishly at Geoff, as he dug the blade of his knife in again and sentthe stuff ripping.
Nor was his comrade behindhand in the work, and already had strippedanother of the enormous cushions. Perhaps it took them ten minutes,perhaps even longer, to construct from the strips of strong material atwisted rope made up of a number of lengths firmly knotted together,knots which they tested by a
form of tug-of-war, dragging at oppositeends of their rope to be sure that it would provide a safe means ofdescent to the bottom of their prison. Then, lashing one end fast tothe stone window-post, and coiling the other end in preparation, theywent once more to the Governor's room, and staggered back again carryinga number of those huge cushions.
"And now for coffee and something to eat!" said Geoff. "What we can'tfinish now of the fruit and cakes we'll carry with us. Better still, aswe're not particularly hungry at the moment, supposing we drink thecoffee, which will take only a few moments, and finish the other when wehave secured our liberty."
They had poured out two steaming cups of coffee, and were sniffing thecontents with delight, when a sudden shout, a clamour in some portion ofthe prison, caused them to arrest the progress of the cups to their lipsand listen. There were more shouts, a howl from some distant quarter,and then a loud hammering. As if determined not to be upset by any sortof commotion, and not to be robbed of a golden opportunity--for suchcoffee as this now underneath their noses had not been tasted by our twoheroes during the long weeks of their captivity--Geoff resolutely raisedhis cup to his lips and drained the contents, smacking his lipsafterwards in a manner not perhaps too polite, but very indicative ofhis feelings. Philip followed suit, and, gripping the kettle,replenished both cups, as if determined that he too would not behurried. Then, setting the empty cups down beside the stove, they leftthe room, and, darting along the passage, peered out of the windowswhich gave access to the courtyard.
There were men down below--Turkish soldiers--some fully dressed and somein their shirt-sleeves. They were running hither and thither as thoughconfused, and as though ignorant of the cause of the alarm which hadjust been given. Then, as Geoff and Philip looked, a door to their rightat the foot of the courtyard was suddenly torn open, and a figure rolledrather than ran out, a man who tripped on the lowest step and fell facedownward, only to bound to his feet again and rush off till he was inamongst the soldiers. Undoubtedly there was something behind him whichwas accelerating his progress, and which had made his entrance into thecourtyard anything but dignified, abrupt, in fact, startlingly suddenand unexpected. It was something which appeared within a moment, someonewho dashed after the unfortunate jailer, a fat man, wearing a fez at theback of his head--undoubtedly the Turkish governor--followed by anotherof similar proportions, broad and stout and beefy, with closely croppedhead, a man who shouted and hurled threats through the doorway.
"Von Hildemaller!" gasped Geoff. "Someone's discovered him, someone'sset him free! Perhaps it was the jailer."
"Or perhaps the Governor," Philip added. "He must have known that vonHildemaller was coming to see us; he must have given him permission.That's it, and when he came down the steps to the hall he was on the wayto see what had happened. Lor'! what a shock he must have had when hediscovered our German friend tied up like a bundle, and the twoprisoners usually in that cell disappeared, gone entirely."
For a few moments the two watched the Governor and the German as theyraged amongst the soldiers in the courtyard. Catching the unfortunatejailer, they beat him with their fists unmercifully, and no doubt, hadone of them possessed a weapon, or had they thought to borrow a riflefrom one of the soldiers, they would have shot him. Instead, they ventedtheir fury on the man by beating him, and when he fell to the ground, soas to escape their blows, they kicked him in the most furious manner. Asone can imagine, too, their anger, the shouts to which they gave vent,the sudden apparition of the jailer and his two tormentors, did not tendto lessen the agitation and perplexity of the Turkish soldiers. Evennow, nothing had been said by which they could gather precisely what hadhappened, for there had been no mention of the two British prisoners, oftheir escape, and of the curious position in which von Hildemaller hadbeen discovered. Breathless, and not a little fearful, they watched thescene going on in their midst, waiting for some word which would clearup the situation; and suddenly it came, when von Hildemaller and theGovernor were breathless after their exertions, were satisfied with theblows and kicks they had rained on the jailer. It was the Governor, infact, who suddenly recollected that his first business should have beento seek for the prisoners, for the jailer was always there, and could bepunished on some future occasion. He suddenly swung round upon thestartled soldiers and bawled orders at them.
"The prisoners," he bellowed, "the two British prisoners; they haveescaped, I tell you! You numskulls, why have you not guessed it? Ah, butperhaps you are in collusion with this wretched jailer! Search theprison! Search every part of it! Be off with you! Give me a rifle, sothat I may go to my quarters and there watch for these young ruffians.Come, von Hildemaller," he said, gripping the sleeve of the perspiringGerman, "to my quarters. From there every part of this courtyard and ofthe ground outside is visible. If we clamber to the roof there is nonewho may leave the place without our seeing him. Snatch a rifle from oneof these fools and come with me. Then, should the prisoners elect toleave whilst we are watching, you will be able to put in a shot whichwill punish them for what has happened."
"Time to be going," Geoff told Phil, and his chum agreed with anemphatic nod which showed his willingness.
"Then out with the rope. It's lighter here than it seemed to be in thecourtyard; but no matter, we've got to make the best of it, and, I cantell you, it will want quite a lot to stop us."
"It will!" the enthusiastic Phil admitted, with one of his happy,encouraging smiles. "You may take it from me, my boy, it ain't going tobe von Hildemaller--or whatever's his name--or any Turk that's going tolag me this time if I can help it. There goes the rope and anothercushion. Jingo! They've landed splendidly, and I believe if this oldrope lets us down, and breaks of a sudden, we should land quitecomfortably at the bottom. Who goes first--you?"
"Either. I don't mind. Out you go--you're nearest."
Phil made no bones about the matter, and wasted no time and no breath inattempting to argue the question. He was on the window-sill in amoment, and, swinging himself out, gripped the rope, and with splendidyouthful assurance at once trusted his life to it. Geoff watched himslithering down, stopping every few feet as his hands and feet came intocontact with the knots they had made, till at last he was at the bottom.
Meanwhile the shouts and noise about the prison had increased inproportion if anything, while sounds, echoed by the stone, vault-likewalls of the place and the large corridors, came even to the Governor'squarters. Steps could be heard on the stairs which led to the door--nowfirmly bolted--and the panting of at least two individuals. Then blowswere rained upon it, and voices shouted to those within to open. TheTurkish governor--for undoubtedly it was he, with von Hildemaller at hiselbow--jerked angry threats through the keyhole, and bellowed loudorders to his servants to admit him. And had Geoff been able to watchthe scene he would have observed the worthy von Hildemaller leaningagainst the stone door-post, his face a purplish colour, his noseshining, his eyes, still prominent, flashing angrily and indicating thetemper and hatred which consumed him, while his wide lips were setapart, the moustache--that moustache so disagreeably stained with thesmoke of cigarettes--was distinctly bristling, and the teeth were set ina snarl which, had the Turkish governor had time to take note of it,would perhaps have scared him considerably. For the rest, the German wasout of breath, utterly unnerved by what had happened, positively shakingin every limb, perspiring more heavily than he had ever done before, andspasmodically dabbing at his face with his red handkerchief.
"Open, fools, dolts, wretches!" shouted the Governor, and then turneddespairingly to the German.
"What--what next?" demanded von Hildemaller fiercely, panting half-waythrough the sentence.
"There's something wrong. I cannot make these dolts of servants of minehear me. The place is locked, and yet I left the door unlatched when Icame down to visit you but a few moments ago. The thing isinexplicable."
If the Turkish governor found the matter hard of understanding anddifficult to explain, the wily, cunning von Hildemaller rapidly saw toth
e bottom of it. A man such as he, gifted with a scheming brain, wasjust the one to realize that prisoners interned in such a place andescaped from their cell were yet not at large nor at liberty. This wasjust the reckless sort of thing that those British subalterns would do.It was like their effrontery to usurp the place of the Governor himselfand secrete themselves in his quarters.
"Bah!" he yelped in the face of the Turk. "Then your servants are notthe only dolts and fools that I know of. Can you not see that the doorhas been locked from within--or rather bolted? You are shut out of yourown quarters, and by whom? By whom, tell me? By none other than thosetwo whom we are seeking. Break the door open! Beat it in! Call for mento bring hammers!"
It was indeed time for Geoff to be moving, for if the Governor and hiscompanion were making a considerable din outside that door, shouts werecoming from other parts of the prison. Those of the soldiers who had notentirely lost their heads, or who had not absolutely been bereft oftheir better senses by the violence of the Governor and the German,were now making a complete search of the place, while some of them wereat that moment dragging the outside door of the prison open. Geoffclambered through the window, gripped the knotted rope, and began toslide rapidly downwards. Yet he was not to reach the ground without afurther, if only a small, adventure; for that improvised rope, strainedas it had been by supporting Philip's weight, succumbed to that of ourhero. It parted at one of the knots a foot above his head and somethirty from the ground, and a moment later Geoff found himself plungingon to one of those cushions which they had so thoughtfully dropped toprovide against such an occasion. There Philip gripped him and steadiedhim, helping him to his feet.
"What now?" he asked.
"Round to the back of the prison. I heard some of the beggars pullingthe front door open. Thank goodness, it's getting darker every second,and if we can only hide for some five or ten minutes we shall be safefor to-night at least. Lor'! Look at the fruit I had in mypocket--smashed to a pulp."
Philip shook him, and then the two turned away from the scene of theirescape and ran softly along beside the wall of the prison. Gaining thefarther end, they turned a corner, and then, at a suggestion from Geoff,Philip ran on to the opposite corner. Thus they were able to watch twosides of the prison, and could warn one another if an enemy wereapproaching. Fortune favoured them, favoured those two young fellows whohad so cleverly achieved their escape, and the darkness, settling downover the country, safely hid them from view, while the noise of thesearchers within and without the prison subsided.
"And now?" asked Philip, when it was quite certain that they were notlikely to be apprehended.
"Oh----! 'Now,' well, that wants some deciding."
Geoff scratched his dishevelled head of hair and pondered, for indeedthe matter was one which would have taxed the wisdom of an olderman--even the cunning of von Hildemaller. For they were out in the open,free of their cell it was true, but yet in an enemy country, surroundedby Turks, without a friend to appeal to. Yet what they had done so fargave them encouragement for the future.
"We'll have to be like that Mr. Micawber of Dickens," said Phil, as theycrouched beside the wall, "we'll just have to wait for something to turnup, and you bet your boots something's bound to."
On the Road to Bagdad: A Story of Townshend's Gallant Advance on the Tigris Page 16