"Ah, this is indeed fortunate," he said, turning to Maurice; "your bravery has obtained you a rich reward. She is truly a noble girl. Now repeat carefully what she told you, in order that I may know how to form my plans."
"And you really think escape will be possible?" asked Maurice, eagerly, and in a whisper he related in detail all that had passed, explaining the location of the cave, and by what signs it could be discovered.
Platoff listened intently, keeping meanwhile a watchful eye upon the sleeping convicts.
"Did I not read Melikoff's character rightly?" he said, when Maurice ended. "And so he proposes shooting you or sending you to Yakutsk. For my part I should prefer the shooting."
"Where is Yakutsk?" asked Maurice.
"It is a province a thousand miles to the north of Kara," replied Platoff, grimly, "inhabited by a barbarous, half-civilised race who dress in skins and live six and seven in one small hut. The exile who goes there is domiciled with one of these families, and suffers a fate worse than death. And yet," added Platoff, with bitter indignation, "I have know Russian women of refinement and education to suffer this most degrading of punishments. But keep up your courage, my boy; you shall not go to Yakutsk if I can prevent it. I must say that circumstances are strongly in our favour. In fact we could hope of nothing better, for if once we get away from this prison the cave will afford us a secure hiding-place until, as the girl says, the pursuit has spread far from here. Then for the valley of the Anner, and Vladivostok, and I for one shall never be retaken alive."
A fearful expression that the boys had never seen there before appeared on Platoff's face.
"But now," he continued, more calmly, "we must consider the most dangerous and important step. We are not yet out of the prison, and whether we shall ever get out depends on our own coolness and daring. Without this paper it would be hopeless, but here you see is a description of the prison, which makes our task much easier.
"This is what the girls says:
"'The prison lies in a large courtyard, enclosed by a stockade on three sides. This courtyard is broad and constantly guarded by armed soldiers. But the western end of the prison is built close to the stockade, and the narrow avenue between is visited only at intervals by a single sentry. With the bottle of chloroform, stupefy the inmates of your cell. With the tools loosen a board in the floor, and crawl under the prison, which is built on piles. Gain the western end, scale the stockade, and go straight to the Kara river. Destroy this writing.'"
"That last injunction is important," said Maurice; "how shall we do it?"
For answer Platoff placed the scrap of paper in his mouth, and after chewing it for a moment, swallowed it with a slight grimace.
"That disposes of that question," he said, "and now we must find a hiding-place for our treasures."
This was by no means an easy matter, but after much consideration, the knife and the wedge were driven into the underside of the platform far back from the edge, and the bottle was placed in a crack in the wall, and covered with a piece of dry plastering taken from another locality. Just at this point the candle exhausted its last drop of tallow, and went out, and at the same time the tramp of the guard was heard in the corridor.
"No more talking now," whispered Platoff, "or we shall he inspected. To-morrow night we will make the attempt. Keep up your courage and spirits."
Morning came, a cold, dreary day, with the snow still falling at intervals, and the convicts started as usual for the mines. The boys found it a difficult matter to conceal their feelings under the watchful eyes of the overseers, but they managed to pass through the ordeal remarkably well, and nothing occurred to arouse the suspicions of their companions or of the guards. They assumed a dull, listless expression at work, and devoured their lunch with an apparent greed which they were far from feeling.
As for Platoff, he kept purposely away from them all day, and joined the other gang on the return march at night. The evening verification was another dreaded ordeal, but passed without incident, and five minutes later, Maurice and his six companions were eating supper in their cell. The chosen time was at hand.
The dishes were taken away by one of the guards, and the door was bolted on the outside. Platoff waited until all were stretched on the platform, and then he blew out the candle, leaving the room in apparent darkness. It was not entirely so, however, for a dim glare shone through the window from the fires in the courtyard which the guards had built to warm themselves, and when their eyes became accustomed to it the boys could see plainly every object in the room.
They remained quietly on their backs until it became evident that their fellow-prisoners were asleep. Platoff gave the signal for action by rising cautiously and moving on tiptoe to the end of the platform. Satisfied with the inspection, he came back and whispered to the boys, "Lie very still, and don't make a sound."
Then crossing the room, he took the bottle from its hiding-place in the wall, and approached the sleeping men. Maurice saw him tear a strip of cloth from his coat, and apply it to the bottle two or three times, and immediately a peculiar odour was perceptible in the room.
Platoff rapidly and cleverly applied the chloroform to three of the sleeping men, and then turned to the fourth, a tall, repulsive ruffian by the name of Jocka, who was lying on his side with his arms over his face.
The saturated rag was within three inches of his nose, when he suddenly rose to an upright position, and facing Platoff, said, in a loud whisper. "Not so fast, my friend. I thought something was up, and I have kept an eye on your movements. If you are going to leave, I intend to go with you. Oh, don't get angry; you can't help yourself, you see. Be reasonable, or I shall call in the guard. How would you like that?"
The boys, trembling with fear at this unexpected interruption, waited Platoff's answer. They were little prepared for what followed. For a brief moment Platoff faced the ruffian, who was smiling with the insolence of power, and then, with a fierce leap, he clutched him by the neck with one hand, and with the other forced the wet rag against his nose.
For a few seconds the fellow struggled furiously with arms and legs; then, suddenly relaxing in Platoff's grasp, he dropped limply on the platform, just as Maurice and Phil hurried to the spot to render assistance.
"It's all right," said Platoff, in a voice that showed how deeply he was moved; "the scoundrel can't do us any harm now. It would have ruined our plans to have had to take him along. I hope the noise of the scuffle was not heard in the corridor."
"Listen; what's that?"
"It must be the guard," whispered Maurice. "We are lost."
"Yes, you are right," said Platoff. "The footsteps are coming this way. It is too late for concealment; he will smell the chloroform. Get behind the door there—quick! Such a chance of escape is worth great odds, and I'm going to take them."
He had no time to say more. As Maurice and Phil darted to one side the door creaked and opened. A bar of light shone in from a lamp in the corridor, and was followed by a sturdy Cossack, whe entered in a stealthy manner. His suspicions were well founded as he must have realised a moment later, for Platoff's muscular arm fastened on his throat, and he was pressed bodily to the floor, unable to utter a sound.
"The chloroform—quick!" whispered Platoff.
Maurice seized the rag from the platforms and at his bidding he held it to the soldier's face.
"There, that will do," said Platoff, and he laid his burden quietly down.
He turned to Maurice, his face white and ghastly in the lamp-light. "If they discover us now, we shall be shot," he gasped. "Tear off your clothes—quick. Don't lose a second. There is but one chance left to us. We must try it."
"What do you mean?" demanded Maurice, in bewilderment.
"This," whispered Platoff, fiercely pointing to the unconscious soldier—"that man is about your size and weight. His uniform will fit you nicely. The captain of the guard will pass through yonder corridor in a few minutes. You must be there to receive him with this Cossack uniform and gun. Do you understand now?"
* * *
CHAPTER XVI
Maurice attempted to speak, but the words stuck in his throat. He was positively stunned by the daring off [sic] Platoff's plan. And yet what if it were possible to carry the ruse through? It's supreme audacity was really in its favour.
"Did you hear me?" hissed Platoff, grasping him roughly by the shoulders. "Nerve yourself, or all is lost. Our only salvation is with you."
These words roused Maurice from his stupor. He alone could retrieve the disaster that confronted them.
"Yes," he whispered, "I understand. I will do what you say." With a firm hand he tore off his prison garb—the ugly grey shirt and trousers. Platoff had already stripped the Cossack of his uniform, and with feverish haste he assisted Maurice to pull on the dark-green blouse and trousers, high boots, and the low cap.
Overjoyed at his marvellous good fortune, and hardly able to believe it true, Maurice waited until the sentry in the next corridor had passed through his interview, and then hurried to the cell-door. He drew the bolt noiselessly, and gave a slight rap on the panel. A moment later it opened from within, and Platoff's head appeared at the crack. He shook with excitement when Maurice related what had happened.
"We are saved," he exclaimed, "my noble lad. You have effected our salvation. I shall never forget it. The officer of the guard will not make another round for an hour and a half or two hours. In that interval we should reach the cave, unless some unforeseen complication occurs. But come in and close the door; all is in readiness for the start."
Maurice entered, to receive a warm welcome from Phil, while Platoff, after waiting a moment in the doorway to assure himself that the coast was clear, joined his companions.
"I was only waiting for your signal," he said. "I have just renewed the chloroform on those fellows, and on the Cossack, too," and he pointed to the soldier's motionless figure stretched on the platform.
"I put your garments on him," he added. "When he wakes up he'll know how it feels to wear convict clothes."
"And shall I keep the uniform on?" demanded Maurice, with surprise.
"Yes," said Platoff; "it may be of some aid to you. Who knows? And now we must be off. Look! This is what I have done while you were on guard duty in the corridor."
He pointed to a hole in the floor close to the platform, from which two planks had been ripped up.
"Now," he continued, "I will go first, and you must follow at once."
He glanced again through the cell to assure himself that no caution had been overlooked, and then, dropping to the floor, he slipped through the hole and disappeared. Phil went after him, and Maurice brought up the rear.
"Just a moment now," said Platoff, and drawing his head and shoulders back into the cell, he lifted the two planks into position and let them drop behind him into their places. "Not that it matters much," he observed, "for they will soon discover how we escaped, but it may give us more time."
The situation in which the boys now found themselves was anything but agreeable. The space between the ground and the flooring was not more than three feet deep, and, from the unpleasant odour that saluted their nostrils, it appeared to have been used as a receptacle for all sorts of refuse, no doubt dropped through holes in the floor.
"This is the critical time," said Platoff. "Don't make any noise, but stick close to me. The first thing is to gain the west flank of the prison."
Crawling on hands and knees, the boys followed their guide through the intense darkness. A faint glimmer of light was presently seen, and a moment later Platoff halted.
"Where are we?" asked Maurice.
"Wait a little," was the reply, "until I can pick a crack through these logs."
He worked industriously with his knife, making the dried mortar fly at every stroke, and then applied his eye to the orifice thus produced.
"Ah," he muttered, "this is the front of the prison. It is snowing fast outside, and the guards are standing round the fires. Everything is in our favour if only we are permitted to have time enough."
"I supposed this space opened on the courtyard," said Maurice. "Instead of that, it seems to be hemmed in with logs."
"Don't let that annoy you," replied Platoff. "The building is old and we shall have no trouble to break through. I can loosen any one of the logs in five minutes. It is an easy matter now to get our bearings."
They started off again, guided by the wall of logs, and in a short time the angle was reached and turned. Platoff led on for a dozen yards or more before he came to a stop. This is the place," he said. "Don't be impatient, but sit quietly down."
He drew his knife and commenced work on the logs. As soon as a crack had been excavated large enough to see through he stopped.
"This is the critical time," he observed, after taking a peep. "The stockade is only six feet distant, and at a certain interval no doubt a sentry passes through this narrow avenue. Nothing can safely be done until he has gone his round of inspection. He may be delayed half an hour, and perhaps not five minutes."
Platoff became silent, keeping his eyes glued to the crack, and the boys waited in an anxious state of suspense thatt was almost unendurable. They knew that in less than two hours at the very furthest their escape must be discovered, and, unless they were clear of the prison at that time, recapture was certain, and death by a rifle volley. The least noise overhead came to their ears with alarming distinctness, and with every passing footstep or clank of arms they imagined that all was discovered. A sharp "Hist!" from Platoff turned their thoughts in another direction.
"The sentry is coming," he whispered; "don't utter a sound."
A faint tramp was audible from without, and then a shadow passed slowly by the chink in the logs. For nearly five minutes Platoff neither moved nor spoke. Then he attacked the log before him with tremendous energy, and the mortar flew in all directions, covering the boys with a coating of powdered lime.
