He divided the paint, and produced a few squeaks and grating sounds, as he realised that the attempt was madness.
Turning sharply, he looked about the room; then, after glancing ruefully at the bright little weapon, halfway up the blade of a rich deep blue, in which was figured a pattern in gold, he yielded to necessity, and began to chop at the top bar of the grate, so as to nick the edges of his weapon and make it saw-like.
The result was not very satisfactory, but sufficiently so to make him essay the bar of the window once more, producing a grating, ear-assailing sound, as he found that now he did make a little impression,--so little though, that the probability was, if he kept on working well for twenty-four hours, he would not get through.
But at the end of five minutes he stopped, and thrust back the dirk into its sheath.
He fancied he had heard steps outside the room door, and he ran to it and listened, in the faint hope that the boy might have come to open it and set him free.
It was a very faint hope, and one he felt not likely to be realised, and he returned once more to the window, with the intention of resuming his task, when he heard the bushes pressed aside by some one coming, and directly after the bars were seized as before.

Ram sprang up, found a resting-place for his toes, and looked in, grinning at him.
"Hullo!" he cried, in a whisper, as if he did not wish to be heard; "here you are still." "Yes.

Come round and open the door." "What'll yer give me ?" "Anything I can," cried Archy eagerly.
"Well, you give me that little sword o' your'n." "No; I can't part with that." "Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed the boy jeeringly.
"But I'll--yes, I'll give you a guinea, if you will let me out." "Guinea ?" said the boy.

"Think I'd do it for a guinea ?" "Well, then, two.

Be quick, there's a good fellow.