I could hear the imprisoned officers shouting for help from the top windows.

Their reserve men must have been far away, by this time, in pursuit of the gig; and there was not much chance of their getting useful help from any stray countryman who might be passing along the road, except in the way of sending a message to Barkingham.

Anyhow we were sure of a half hour to escape in, at the very least.
"Now then," said Young File, rejoining me; "let's be off by the back way through the plantations.

How came you to lay your lucky hands on Screw ?" he continued, when we had passed through the iron door, and had closed it after us.
"Tell me first how the doctor managed to make a hole in the floor just in the nick of time." "What! did you see the trap sprung ?" "I saw everything." "The devil you did! Had you any notion that signals were going on, all the while you were on the watch?
We have a regular set of them in case of accidents.

It's a rule that father, and me, and the doctor are never to be in the workroom together--so as to keep one of us always at liberty to act on the signals .-- Where are you going to ?" "Only to get the gardener's ladder to help us over the wall.