The stone floor of the cell was so damp and the walls for some
feet high were so slimy and foul that it was evident they were
beneath the level of the water. A single slanting hole high up
near the ceiling was the only aperture for light or air. Through
it I saw one bright star shining down upon me, and the sight
filled me with comfort and with hope. I have never been a man of
religion, though I have always had a respect for those who were,
but I remember that night that the star shining down the shaft
seemed to be an all-seeing eye which was upon me, and I felt as a
young and frightened recruit might feel in battle when he saw the
calm gaze of his colonel turned upon him.

Three of the sides of my prison were formed of stone, but the
fourth was of wood, and I could see that it had only recently
been erected. Evidently a partition had been thrown up to divide
a single large cell into two smaller ones. There was no hope for
me in the old walls, in the tiny window, or in the massive door.
It was only in this one direction of the wooden screen that there
was any possibility of exploring. My reason told me that if I
should pierce it--which did not seem very difficult--it would
only be to find myself in another cell as strong as that in which
I then was. Yet I had always rather be doing something than
doing nothing, so I bent all my attention and all my energies
upon the wooden wall. Two planks were badly joined, and so loose
that I was certain I could easily detach them. I searched about
for some tool, and I found one in the leg of a small bed which
stood in the corner. I forced the end of this into the chink of
the planks, and I was about to twist them outward when the sound
of rapid footsteps caused me to pause and to listen.