"That's what puzzles me lad; but I am hoping to find out before many hours have passed. In the meanwhile, when he comes here it is for us to make him believe we are not only willing, but pleased to remain as he would have us. Do not let it appear that we have any suspicions of him whatsoever, but fall in with all he suggests, for indeed we can do no less while shut up here." "If that rubbish hole leads outside, why may we not escape by means of it?" I asked, and the reply came promptly: "Because we would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It is evidently not Master Lord's intention to deliver us over to the lobster backs yet a while, providing we remain quietly here as he desires; but let us once take to flight, as he would discover within an hour or more after we had gone, and our liberty is not worth a day's purchase. You can see plainly that if he is the traitor we are beginning to believe him, it would be impossible for us to find another hiding-place in this town which the Britishers could not discover." "We are setting it down as a fact that this Job Lord, who has probably made many of our people believe him true to the Cause, is a traitor," Archie said thoughtfully, as if he had been turning the matter over and over in his mind. "It seems to me that we should, until knowing to the contrary, at least put it in our reckoning that the chances are even he may be doing according to his professions. If that be the case, then we are making as much progress toward giving Silas aid as if we were on the outside; perhaps more, because Master Lord can succeed where we would fail." "All of which means what?" I asked impatiently. "That since we are powerless to do otherwise, but must remain here, let us say that perhaps matters are going as they should, which won't prevent keeping our eyes open to take advantage of any turn that may come in our favor." It seemed as if all these words irritated Hiram, for, after having partaken sparingly of the appetizing food, he sprang to his feet with the air of one who has much work to perform. "Give me your pocket-knife, Archie, and do you three lads remain at the table until it is impossible to eat more, for we who serve the Cause do not come upon such food often." Archie did as was desired, and we all watched Hiram curiously as he began cutting cautiously at one of the crevices between the planks above our heads. Not until he had been at work several moments did I come to understand what he would do, and then it flashed upon me that it was his purpose to make an aperture through which we might the better hear what was going on in the room above. It was not reasonable to suppose he could cut away the planks to any extent without danger of his work being seen from above, and in fact, when he stepped aside as if the task had been performed, it appeared to me that he had enlarged the crevice no more than an eighth of an inch, and that for a distance, mayhap, of half a finger's length.