PURCHASING NECESSARY TOOLS 321 



and I decided that the best plan would be to blow up 

 the gate-posts. My friend who had gone thus far with 

 me was several years older than I, and refused to take 

 part in such an adventure, but I enlisted his younger 

 brother as a confederate. This individual is now a 

 parson, so I will call him "Jack," so as to do him no 

 harm. 



The first thing "Jack" and I did was to go to York 

 to purchase any necessary tools and materials at shops 

 where we were not known. The principal requirement 

 was a large auger, and this we easily procured ; a rope 

 was likewise necessary, for it was decided that the only 

 safe way to go to business was by descending out of a 

 bedroom window when everyone was in bed and the 

 house locked up. This also was forthcoming, the vendor 

 of the article assuring us that it was a portion of the 

 very same rope that was then used for York Minster 

 bells a good omen, as we thought. 



So then we returned home ready, as it seemed to us, 

 to do the job at once, but very ignorant of blasting 

 operations, as will be seen. 



My older friend regarded the business with a good 

 deal of alarm, and indeed I and "Jack" were not 

 without some doubts as to the rope performance. It 

 was easy enough, of course, but to go out by a rope in 

 the night is a cheerless experiment. 



We had made touch-paper of the old-fashioned sort, 

 and had a couple of flasks of ordinary gunpowder, and 

 some paper for wadding. The auger had been carefully 

 secreted in an outhouse below. 



For disguise we donned somewhat outrageous cos- 

 tumes. I was clad in white breeches, white stockings, 

 and white canvas boating shoes, with a white towel 



