"There is, so far as I am aware, no one in the house, sir, beyond these
gentlemen and my domestics."

"It is a lie!" the officer exclaimed, furiously. "A man was seen to enter
this house, an hour and a half ago, and no one has left since."

"A young man! Oh, I suppose you mean the young fellow who brought me a
message from my cousin, at Waterford, and who called to ask if I had yet
found him any employment. Oh yes, he has been here, but left some time
ago, unless he is chatting with the maids in the kitchen."

The officer directed a rigorous search to be made of the house. The
soldiers soon reported that every nook and corner had been examined, but
that no one was to be found. At this moment, a shot was fired in the
street, and a sergeant ran in.

"Captain Peters bid me say, sir, that they have just caught sight of a
man on the roof of a house, some distance along the street."

"Take the prisoners to the castle, under a strong guard, sergeant. You
will be answerable for their safety," the officer exclaimed, as he ran
downstairs.

Directly the trap closed behind him, Walter--sure that some minutes would
pass before the method of his escape was known--tore the blankets he had
brought with him into wide strips, tied the ends together, and twisted
them up into the form of a rope; then, coiling this over his arm, he made
his way along the roofs. The street below was now a mass of people. The
report that a Popish plot had been discovered, and that a number of
important arrests had been made, spread quickly, as the soldiers were