Of these bold bids for freedom none stood any very real chance of success, and towards the end they became somewhat discredited, as they involved certain inconveniences on those who had resigned themselves to their fate. There would be additional roll-calls, and precautions. Whole rooms were searched and ransacked, a most disagreeable proceeding. And on one occasion the attempt was made from the theatre, which led to the closing of that hall of pleasure during an entire morning while the complete staging apparatus was overhauled, and examined. This caused genuine annoyance, especially as the ravages of the soldiery delayed for three days a performance that had been the centre of much curiosity and conjecture. And this annoyance became almost indignation, when it transpired that this herald of defiance had provisioned himself for his long journey with nothing more substantial than a tin of skipper sardines, two oxo cubes, and a tin of mustard. The general opinion was that if a man was “such a damned fool as to carry that sort of stuff about with him, he had no right to try to escape, upsetting arrangements and all.” And on this type of sally the theatre incident rang down the curtain. But under this category it is impossible to number the attempts of Colonel Wright. His methods were very different; they were not showy; he did not talk about what he was going to do. And as a result he very nearly succeeded. The chief ingenuity of the Scarlet Pimpernel lay, as far as I can remember, in his grasp of the fact that it is the obvious that evades suspicion. Sentries are on the lookout for an escape by night, but by day they are off their guard. And working on this plan, both Colonel Wright’s attempts were made by daylight. Indeed they were both so simple that in cold blood they looked quite ridiculous. The first attempt failed completely, and but for his later achievement, one might have been tempted to wonder how the gallant colonel could have expected any different result. Alone of the Pitt Escape League he literally did not progress a yard; not one foot did he advance. In broad daylight he was arrested where he stood, or rather, where he sat, for it was in that position that he was discovered.