The law put men in prison--it hanged them sometimes--his Uncle Bob had told him all about it--by the neck with ropes until they were dead! Maybe they wouldn't send him back; maybe they would do with him what they had already done with his Uncle Bob; he wanted the open air, the earth under his feet, and the sky over his head.

The four walls stifled him.

He was not afraid of the night, he could run and hide in it--there were the woods and fields where he would be safe.
He slid from the bed, and for a long moment stood cold and shaking, his every sense on the alert.

With infinite caution he got into his trousers and again paused to listen, since he feared his least movement might betray him.

Reassured, he picked up his battered hat from the floor and inch by inch crept across the squeaking boards to the window.