Jack had prudently taken his seat far enough from the prisoner so that the latter could not, after freeing himself, spring upon him and seize his shotgun, and Tom and I, in anticipation of such an effort, lay down with pistols ready to defeat the move should it be attempted. We had chained the dog far enough away to be out of reach of the jayhawker, for fear that he might catch the fugitive and thus spoil our scheme.
Tucker remained in his fixed position on the wagon wheel an exasperatingly long time before he began to make any move toward freeing himself, and he remained so still that I began to think that he had fallen asleep in spite of his uncomfortable position.
After manifestly keeping awake for a reasonable time so as to give his actions a semblance of reality, Jack began to nod in his chair, and finally let his head drop against the back of his seat, very naturally, but in a position that would enable him, through nearly closed eyes, to watch every move of the prisoner; and then the Irishman began to snore. Tom and I responded by doing our share of hard breathing, and now the captive began to show some signs of life.
In the dim light I could see him--silhouetted against the white wagon cover--leaning over to his left and working his right arm as if slipping the hand out of the loop that held it to the wheel. When that hand was free he resumed his original position, kept perfectly still for a moment, and, when apparently assured that we were all still asleep, he dropped his free right hand slowly to his waist and carried the hand to his mouth, evidently having drawn his pocket-knife and opened a blade with his teeth. Instead of untying the bonds on his other hand and ankles he had concluded that the quickest and quietest way was to cut them.
After replacing his right hand in its former position on the wheel, watching Jack closely for a moment, and listening intently to our steady, hard breathing, he quietly reached over with the knife in his free hand and cut the string that held his left wrist to the wheel; then replacing both hands on the wheel again for a moment as if tied, he looked earnestly at Jack and then turned an ear toward our tent door.
Assured by our snoring that we were all asleep, he reached down and cut the cords that held his ankles, after which he gave another earnest look at Jack, took a step out from the wheel, and no doubt intended to steal quietly out to his horse and mount him; but as soon as he started from the wagon the dog gave an angry growl and sprang the length of his chain toward the escaping jayhawker.