glass under him--a grip that did not cut.

"Now let me figure this out," he mused.

It was obvious that he could not hold the piece of glass in his fingers and
saw away at the ropes around his wrists. He could not bend his fingers back
far enough.

"If I could only get the glass between my feet, I might be able to bend
them back far enough, by lying on my face, so I could saw on the ropes that
way," he reflected. He tried, but soon had to give it up. He also
endeavored to do this by lying on his side, but it was of no use. Then, in
a flash, it came to him.

"I'll bury the glass in the ground, to hold it," he told himself. "By
leaving a sharp, jagged edge sticking out I ought to be able to saw through
the ropes on my wrists, by rubbing the cords up and down against the glass.
I'll do it!"

It was hard work, but by lying on his side Jack managed, after a fashion.
He had to work without seeing what he was doing. Even daylight would not
have helped him, for he could not see behind his back.

By using the glass as a sort of shovel, Jack managed to dig a hole in the
earth. He then put the long piece of glass in this, upright, and packed
dirt around it. His fingers came in contact with a small stone, and he used
this to tamp the soil and gravel around the glass knife, to hold it more
firmly upright. He cut himself several times while doing this, but he kept
on.