114 SPORTING AND 



which he had brought me : at first it crossed 

 my mind that the ddl or the water was 

 poisoned, but then I thought they would 

 never deprive themselves of the grand 

 exhibition which was to take place in the 

 morning. I examined the walls carefully 

 to see if there was any chance of forcing my 

 way out of this prison as I had done in 

 the previous case ; but this building was 

 all stone, so that was impossible. I then sat 

 down to eat my last meal, as, at the time, 

 I fancied it would be. I had hardly com- 

 menced when I came across a bit of paper 

 folded up, or, rather, twisted into a roll ; 

 on untwisting it I saw scrawled in 

 English: " Be ready. Midnight." It 

 immediately occurred to me that the friend 

 who had recognised my companion on the 

 previous day, was the sender of this note, 

 and my heart leaped with joy at the pros- 



