Making into the woods, he skirted the village until in the rear of the locked cabin. The beauty of his scheme was the assurance no harm could come to him if it failed. If it did not work tonight, then tomorrow night. When it did work the warriors and their emperor would be called to the spot by excited cries and the sound of a shot. They would rush up to find the slave dead, stabbed with his own knife, and the prisoner dead outside the open door. The explanation would be simple. The slave foolishly entered the cabin with the food instead of thrusting it through the slot. Sevier, quick to see his chance, had snatched the fellow’s knife and inflicted a mortal wound and then sprang from the cabin to fall before Polcher’s pistols or rifle. Sevier was as hungry for night as was Polcher. The two knives cached under his straw bed would soon permit him to dig out enough iron bars to squeeze his slender body through the opening. He must work softly so as not to alarm the guard outside. But should one of the guards discover him at his task the fellow must be quieted and secured. For such a contingency he thanked McGillivray for the blankets; at the edge of sunset he swiftly used his knife and turned one blanket into narrow strips and braided these into a tough rope. When Polcher came and gave instructions to the guard Sevier hid the blanket-rope under the bed, fearing lest the tavern-keeper should venture to peep inside and discover signs of his handiwork. Early in the day, when Bonnie Kate’s name fell from the rascal’s lips, the borderer would have forgotten his plans to escape and would have been content to flash a blade through the bars and rip open the lying throat. Now he was calmer and would accept nothing but escape. Polcher could pay up later. He stood at the window as if idly looking out on the dusk-littered opening, but in reality cutting deep into the window-sill to get beneath the end of a bar. The one guard was impatient to be relieved and was giving scant heed to the cabin. The knives were strong and keen and the task was far easier than Sevier had anticipated. He soon came to the end of one bar and, testing it gently, knew he could bend it back and upward with one push of his powerful arm. Leaving it, he assailed the next, estimating that he must loosen four. The dogs had not yet been turned out, and, whereas he had originally planned to take his time and escape during the night, he now was determined to make the break while only the slave was on guard. He rejoiced that Polcher’s voice had carried the information to him. A slave would be much easier to deal with than a warrior. He would succumb to fear and refrain from attempting to give any alarm. Whether or not he should escape directly after receiving his supper would depend, however, on whether the dogs were loose or chained in the slave-quarters.