"If we could get out of here, it would not be a difficult task to reach the ground," Phil said, in a certain tone of hopefulness. "I'd guarantee to bring up on the ground all right, wall or no wall, if it wasn't for the bars." Then, with one accord, we laid hold of the iron rods, wrenching at them with all our strength, but not moving them by so much as a single hair's breadth, so far as I could see. That Benson yet remained in the hall outside, and could hear all that was said or done, we knew when he cried mockingly:-- "Keep on pulling at the bars so long as such work pleases you; they have held stronger men than you ever will be, and I'm not afraid of your giving me the slip in that way!" Thus we knew that the wretch had made a business of trapping strangers to sell them to whalers, and this but served to make our case appear more hopeless; for if he had had experience in such scoundrelly work, it was probable he would be on his guard against anything we might try to do. By this time I was weary, mentally and bodily, and, not minded to give the villain any more pleasure,--for I doubted not but that he enjoyed hearing his prisoners beat vainly against the bars of their cage,--I whispered to Phil:-- "Don't speak nor move. We'll remain silent until he grows tired of listening and goes away." My comrade nodded to show that he agreed, and, seating ourselves on the floor where we could look out of the window, even though there was nothing save the small patch of grass to be seen, we held our peace until the shadows of evening began to lengthen. Now was come the time when our shipmates would be returning to the _Essex_ after a day's pleasuring, and as I fancied them standing on the shore, discussing the cause of our absence, it was impossible to restrain my tears. Not until the night had fully come did we hear anything from the hallway, and then the faint sound of stealthy footsteps told that the villanous Benson, wearied with his fruitless vigil, was descending the stairs. We listened in vain for some noise betokening that the building had other occupants than our enemy and ourselves; not a sound broke the silence, and it seemed only reasonable that the scoundrel put the dwelling to no other purpose than that of a prison. It would be useless for me to make any attempt at setting down here all Phil and I said during the hours of the night, for much of our conversation was wild in the extreme, and we repeated the same words again and again, as would any lads in such a situation as we had so suddenly been plunged. About midnight we fell asleep, still sitting on the floor, for there was no furniture whatsoever in the room; and the day was just breaking when a noise in the yard outside awakened us. Looking out from between the bars we saw Benson, who was placing a ladder against the building, directly under our window.