So I was told yesterday."
"Well, I'll escape if I can."
"Do as you please."
They scaled the wall; Vidal remained astride of it, leaning forward
and watching for signs of any one. Manuel and El Bizco, making their
way astraddle along the wall, approached the house and, entrusting
their feet to the roof of a shed, jumped down to a terrace with a
bower slightly higher than the orchard.
The rear door and the balconies of the ground floor led to this
gallery; but both the door and the balconies were so well fastened
that it was impossible to open them.
"Can't you make it?" whispered Vidal from his perch.
"No."
"Here, take my knife." And Vidal threw it dawn to the gallery.
Manuel tried to pry the balconies open with the knife but met with no
success; El Bizco attempted to force the door with his shoulder and it
yielded enough to leave a chink, whereupon Manuel introduced the blade
of the knife and worked the catch of the lock back until he could open
the door. El Bizco and Manuel then went in.
The lower floor of the house consisted of a vestibule, which formed
the bottom of a staircase leading to a corridor, and two rooms whose
balconies overlooked the orchard.
The first thing that came to Manuel's head was to open the lock of the
door that led to the road.
"Now," said El Bizco to him, after admiring this prudent precaution,
"let's see what there is in the place.
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