I had not quill nor crayon nor paper. I had read of men writing with their blood, but this method appeared very unsatisfactory. At length I bethought me of the fire, and taking a piece of charcoal I scrawled the words on the under side of my table. This I did, promising myself to ask for pens and paper at the first opportunity, and barely had I finished my task when the renegade reappeared. "Where’s that paper?" asked he. "I’ll venture that your wits are no sharper than mine." I handed it back to him with the remark that it conveyed nothing, and wished him all the luck he deserved. This double-barrelled compliment he took as favourable to himself, and after a short further conversation he left. That night Joyce quitted Haarlem, and I was not fated to see him again for some time. CHAPTER XVII--Showing that there are Two Means of Leaving a Prison With the lengthening days our hopes of effecting an escape increased. The vigilance of our guards had somewhat relaxed, and we were allowed to remain in one another’s company for a much longer period. Felgate and Greville discussed innumerable plans with me, but in every case a serious obstacle arose that necessitated the abandonment of that particular scheme, till one day the long-hoped-for opportunity arrived. In the middle of the month of June--I had just celebrated my twentieth birthday in a very despondent style--Van der Wycke came to us one morning with a beaming face that showed that something very unusual had occurred to upset the stolidity of this typical Dutchman. "Ah, Mynheer Drake," he said in his very broken English, "I must tell you ze goot news for us, but bad news for you. Our ships have broken all ze Englischman, Chatham is burnt, and ve vill even now take London." And in this style he told us the heartbreaking news of the never-to-be-forgotten disgrace at Chatham, of the burning or sinking of the _Royal Oak_, the _James_, the _London_, and several other smaller vessels. He also said that His Majesty and the Court and Parliament had removed to Bristol, though this latter information afterwards proved to be false. For days we remained too sick at heart to attempt an escape; but early in the month of July we were informed that our prison was to be limewashed, and that for a few days at least we were to be kept in one room at the farther side of the building. I had long before this secured a careful copy of the paper that Increase Joyce had shown me, and this I kept concealed on my person, so that in any case I should still retain what might subsequently prove a valuable piece of information. Our new quarters overlooked the town walls, and, the windows being lower and larger than those of our former prison, we could easily observe what was going on.