For that night at least the escape must be definitely abandoned.
Not until the early hours of the morning did Peter Blood succeed in making a temporary escape from Government House on the ground that he required certain medicaments which he must, himself, procure from the apothecary.
On that pretext, he made an excursion into the awakening town, and went straight to Nuttall, whom he found in a state of livid panic.

The unfortunate debtor, who had sat up waiting through the night, conceived that all was discovered and that his own ruin would be involved.

Peter Blood quieted his fears.
"It will be for to-night instead," he said, with more assurance than he felt, "if I have to bleed the Governor to death.

Be ready as last night." "But if there are questions meanwhile ?" bleated Nuttall.

He was a thin, pale, small-featured, man with weak eyes that now blinked desperately.
"Answer as best you can.