Chapter 40 44.Jailbreak successful

As the sun sinks behind the peaks of Tuhava and Puktapur by Lake Dobo.Glenarvan and the others were taken back to prison.They will not leave this prison until dawn rises on the summits of the Vahiti Mountains. They have one more night to prepare for death.Though under the weight of their grief, and though the terror had not subsided, they still ate a meal together. "We don't want to be dejected in the face of death, we want to show those savages how Europeans are not afraid of death." Jazz once said. After dinner, Lady Helene chanted Vespers aloud.All her traveling companions took off their hats and prayed with her.

Who doesn't think of God before death? After the evening class was over, everyone hugged each other. Mary and Lady Helen retreated to a corner of the shed and lay down on a straw mat.It was a sleep that forgets sorrow and prevents pain, and in a moment their eyes were closed, and they both fell asleep in each other's arms.Because of fatigue and insomnia all night, they couldn't go on any longer.At this moment Glenarvan drew his traveling companions aside. say to them: "My dear fellows, our lives and the lives of these two poor women are in the hands of God. If we die tomorrow in God's will, I believe we shall all be worthy of being Christians. Die bravely, suffer God's final judgment. God sees people's hearts. He knows that what we are pursuing is a noble goal. If the result is not success, but death, that is God's arrangement. No matter how harsh his will is, I will Don't complain about him. However, coming to this place to die is not a death, there is torture, and perhaps a great shame, and these two women..."

Jazz's voice has always been firm, but he trembled when he said this.He paused, in order to restrain his emotion.He was silent for a moment: "John, you are in line with Mary to treat her as I treat Lady Helen. What have you decided to do?" "What I promised her, I believe, in God's watchful eye, I can do it." "Yes, John! But what if we have no weapons?" "Here is another weapon," Mengele replied, taking out a short knife. The knife has been wrested from the wild man's hand. Sir, whichever dies last will do what Lady Helene and Mary ask."

After this conversation, there was a deep silence in the shed.At length the major broke the silence by saying: "My friends, wait until the last few minutes to resort to this last resort. I still do not believe that the point of no return has been reached." "I'm not talking about our side," replied Sir. "We're all going to risk our lives, no matter how we die. If we were the only men, I would have shouted: Friends, rush!" Get out! Kill those bastards! But there's both of them! Both of them! . . . " Mengele opened the curtain at this time.Counting the natives guarding the gate of "Walledu", there are 25 in total.There was a great fire burning there, and a pale red light shone on the uneven buildings in the castle.The natives, some lying around the fire, some standing still, their shadows were clearly reflected on the background of the fire curtain.But whether they were lying or standing, they often turned to look at the shed they were guarding.

It is generally said that, between the prisoner and the escaped prisoner, the prisoner has more chances of success.Because one is intentional and the other is unintentional.The watchman may forget that he is a watchman.But the prisoner never forgets that people are watching him.Prisoners are always thinking about escaping, but guards are not always thinking about defense. Because of this, it often happens that prisoners escape from prison, and the escape is wonderful. But, on the occasion we are describing, the watchers were not an indifferent jailer, but some hateful and vindictive natives.If the captives were not tied up, it was because there was no need to tie them up. Twenty-five people looked at the only door in "Waledo". Would they still need to be tied up?

The shed is backed against a rock at the end of the city wall, and there is only a long and narrow dirt road leading to the flat ground in the center of the fort.There are steep cliffs on both sides of the shed, and a deep pit of more than 30 meters below.Therefore, slipping down was impossible.There is no way to dig through the ground in the prison, because the ground is just a big stone shell.The only way out was the dirt road that looked like a drawbridge into the center of the fort, but it was guarded by Maori.Escape was therefore impossible by any means, and Glenarvan tried countless times on the walls of his prison before he could not but admit that there was no way of escape.

However, this anxious night, hour after hour passed.The heavy night shadow enveloped the whole mountain.There was neither moonlight nor starlight, and it was a deep darkness. Several gusts of wind rushed wildly around the fort, blowing the wooden stakes of the shed to humming, and the fires burned by the natives were suddenly blown by the gusts of wind. It became more vigorous, and the red light of the flames shot straight into the prison, flashing a few times.The people inside were illuminated a bit.The poor wretches were lost in their last musings.There was deathly silence in the shed. It must have been about four o'clock in the morning, when a slight noise caught the Major's attention, which seemed to come from behind the stakes of the shed foundation, in the wall on the other side against the rock.At first, the major didn't pay attention to the sound, but then he felt that it was still going on, so he listened carefully.The sound kept going, and he felt strange, so he put his ear to the ground and carefully distinguished it.He felt that someone was picking up the earth and digging a hole outside.

After the major felt sure, he slipped into the ears of Jazz and Mengele.Interrupting their painful contemplation, led them into the depths of the shed. "Listen here," he whispered, making them bow with his hand. Gradually, the sound of scraping soil became clearer.They could hear the creaking sound of small stones being dug by something sharp and falling outward. "It's the beast that moves in its hole," said Mengele. Jazz patted himself on the forehead: "Who's sure!" he said, "what if a man is picking? . . . " "Whether it's a man or a beast, we'll find out in a moment!" replied the major.

Wilson and Aubine also came together, and everyone started to dig the wall together, Menger used his dagger, and the rest used stones pulled from the ground or just fingernails, while Mullah lay flat on the ground. He watched the movement of the natives from the gap in the door curtain. The natives stood motionless around the fire, not having the slightest idea what was happening twenty paces from them. The hard outer layer of the ground was made of tuff, loose and brittle.So although there are no tools, they dig very quickly.After a while, it was obvious to everyone that one or several people were grabbing the waist of the castle and digging a tunnel from the outside of the shed wall.What is the purpose of these tunnel diggers?Did they know there were captives in the tent?Or did they have another purpose, and stumbled across here to do the job that seemed to be done?

Everyone stepped up their efforts. Their hands were all torn and bleeding, but they continued to pick.After digging for half an hour, the hole was 1 meter deep.When they heard the noise outside gradually getting louder, they knew that the distance between the two sides was only a thin layer of soil, and if the thin layer of soil was removed, the inside and outside would be connected. After a few more minutes, the major's hand was suddenly pierced by the point of a knife, and he flinched back, almost screaming, but held back. Mengele stretched out his short knife to block the knife that was drilling outside, and he felt the hand holding the knife as soon as he touched it.

It's a small hand!A woman's or a child's is a European hand! Neither side said a word.Obviously, neither side dared to speak up. "Is that Robert?" said Sir to himself. But, no matter how low he spoke, Mary was awakened by the start, slipped to his side, took the little muddy hand and kissed it. "It's you! It's you!" said Mary firmly. "It's you, my Robert!" "It's me, sister, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here to save everyone! But don't say anything!" "Good boy!" Jazz moaned frequently. "Look at the natives out there," continued Robert. When Mu Ladi heard the child's appearance, he left for a while, and now he hastened back to his monitoring post. "There is nothing outside, only four people are guarding now. The rest are asleep," he said. "Pick it up again!" Wilson responded. After a while the hole grew bigger, and Robert fell from his sister's arms to Lady Helene's.He was also bound with a long rope of formion grass. "My child! my child!" whispered the lady, "the natives haven't killed you yet!" "No, ma'am. I don't know how I did it. I took advantage of the commotion to escape the eyes of the natives. I climbed out of the fence and hid behind the bushes for two days. I ran around at night, I thought. I found you. When all the fallen people were busy with the funeral for the chief, I ran to the foot of the stronghold on the prison side to observe, and found that I could crawl to you. I ran to an empty shed I stole this knife and this rope. I used the grass and branches on the cliff as a soft ladder, and climbed up. I accidentally found a hole in the middle of the high rock on which the shed is leaning. From that hole to This shed is only separated by a few feet of loose soil, and I just scraped through the soil to get in." Many silent kisses as the only answer Robert could get. "Just go!" he said firmly. "Is Paganel down here?" asked the Sir. "Monsieur Paganel?" Robert was surprised to hear this question. "Yes, is he waiting for us down there?" "No, sir. Why, M. Paganel is not here?" "He's not here, Robert," answered Mary. "What? Did you not see him?" asked Sir. "Didn't you two meet during that commotion? Didn't you run away together?" "No, sir," replied Robert, listen He was very surprised to find that his friend Paganel had disappeared. "Let's go without a moment's delay. Wherever Paganel is, he's better off than we are here. Let's go!" said the major. Yes, time is precious.Now it was imperative to escape.This escape, if there is not a section of almost vertical cliff outside the cave, it can be said that there is not much difficulty in escaping. Fortunately, this section of cliff is only about 7 meters high.After going down this section of the cliff, there is a slope that goes all the way to the foot of the mountain, and it is not too steep.From the foot of the mountain, the captives could quickly enter the valley.When they get there, if the Maori find that they have escaped, they must make a big detour to get here, because they don't know that a tunnel has been dug between the prison and the slope outside. The escape begins.In order to ensure a successful escape, everything was prepared first.Everyone first climbed out of the narrow tunnel one by one and went into the cave.Before leaving the shed, Johann Menger removed the excavated soil, then slipped into the entrance of the tunnel, and conveniently covered the entrance with the straw mat in the shed.Therefore, the tunnel is completely hidden. Now it was time to descend from that part of the cliff to that slope, which could not be descended if Robert had not brought a rope. People quickly untied the rope, tied one end of it to the rock, and dragged it outside. The rope was twisted from the tendons of Formion leaves. Mengele tried it first, but he felt that the rope was not very strong.We need to know that this risk cannot be taken casually, because it is very likely that you will die if you fall. "This rope can only hold two people. So we have to do it according to the strength of the rope. Let Sir and Madam go down first. When they reach the slope, they pull the rope and shake it three times, calling us to go on." "I'll go down first. I saw a deep pit at the bottom of the slope. Those who go down first can hide in it and wait for the people behind." Robert responded. "Well, go down, my boy," said the Sir, and shook his hand. Robert disappeared out of the hole.After one minute, the rope shook three times to indicate that he had successfully reached the ground. Immediately, sir and lady ventured out of the cave.The night is still very dark, but the mountain peaks towering to the east have already revealed a little light gray color. The piercing chill of the morning cheered the lady up, and she felt her strength increase, and she began her perilous escape. Jazz grabbed the rope first, and Lady Helen followed, and the two of them slid along the rope until they reached the place where the cliff reached the top of the slope.Then Sir walked in front of his wife, butted against her, and began to walk backwards.He found grass roots and small trees as her foothold.He tried it first, and then put Lady Helene's foot on it.A few birds were awakened and flew up with soft calls, and a small stone was kicked out of its nest and rolled to the foot of the mountain with a clatter. The two of them were terrified. They were halfway up the slope when they heard someone shouting in the cave. "Stop!" Mengele yelled softly. Glenarvan grabbed a clump of square-stem grass with one hand and his wife with the other, and waited there, not daring to breathe. It turned out that Wilson had sounded a siren call.He heard a sound outside the prison, and hurried back to the shed, lifted the curtain, and looked at the Maori.He greeted, so Mengele stopped Glenarvan. Sure enough, one of the guarding natives heard a strange noise, got up, and approached the prison. He stood two steps away from the shed, bowed his head, and listened carefully.He stayed there for a minute--a minute as long as an hour, with his ear turned and his eyes fixed.Then, feeling that he had heard wrongly, he shook his head, went back to his companions, took a bundle of dry wood, and threw it on the half-extinguished fire, and the flames blazed up again.His face was bright red by the fire, and he no longer showed any uneasy expression.He looked at the first gleam of morning light on the horizon, and then lay down by the fire to warm his frozen hands and feet. "There's nothing out there," Wilson said. Mengele gave the signal again, telling Sir to continue down. Sir took advantage of the trend and slid down the slope. After a while, Mrs. Helen and he stopped on the path where Robert was waiting for them. Three more shakes of the rope, and it was Mengele who led Mary down the dangerous path.His venture succeeded.He reached the deep pit that Robert said, and joined the Jazz and his wife. Five minutes later, all the traveling companions successfully escaped from the prison and left the earth pit where they were temporarily hiding.Avoiding the inhabited shores, they followed many narrow paths into the deepest valleys. They walked quickly, trying not to be seen.They didn't speak, and walked among the many small bushes, just like ghosts.Where are they going? Don't know, just run around, but they are free. When it was almost 5 o'clock, the sky began to turn pale.The high places of the cloud pile gradually showed a light blue.Hazy peaks began to emerge from the morning mist.The sun will soon go up the mountain, and this morning light is no longer a signal of execution, but on the contrary, it will reveal the prisoner's escape. Therefore, before the inevitable pursuit, the fugitives must escape from the circle of the natives, and run far away, so that they cannot easily find their traces.But they couldn't go fast because the paths were very steep.Lady Helen was supported by Glenarvan as she climbed the slope, and Mary by Mengele.Filled with the joy of success, Robert ran ahead, joyously and triumphantly, while the two sailors followed. In half an hour, the sun will rise from the clouds and mist in the sky. The fleeing people ran around for another half an hour.Paganel was no longer here to guide them. This Paganel, everyone was worried about him. His disappearance cast a shadow over the joy of everyone's success.However, everyone ran as far east as possible, and walked towards the glorious morning light.After a while they reached a height of 150 meters above the surface of Lake Dobo.The morning chill was even colder at this height, harshly piercing their skin.The vague shadows of many mountains and hills were stacked in front of them.But Glenarvan was going into the mountain at this time, fearing not to go deep: he wanted to get into the maze of thousands of mountains first, and then slowly try to get out.At last the sun came out, and faced the fugitives with its first rays. Suddenly, a terrible roar, a mixture of hundreds of shouts, broke out in the air.It came out of the fort, but where is the fort now?Glenarvan couldn't tell for a while.Moreover, a dense fog spread under his feet like a curtain, preventing him from seeing clearly the valleys below. But there can be no doubt that their escape was discovered by the natives.Can they escape the pursuit of the natives?Have they been seen by the natives?Will the traces they leave along the way point to their whereabouts? At this moment, the fog below had risen and surrounded them in a wet cloud, and they could see the crazy crowd 100 meters below their feet. They saw others, and others naturally saw them.Another roar erupted, with the sound of dogs barking in it.All the fallen people came out. They wanted to climb up the cliff of the prison first, but they couldn't climb up, so they turned their heads and flocked to the outside of the fence, chasing after the prisoners who escaped revenge.