Two or three minutes later, he again
thought he heard the sound. He peered out of the window anxiously, but
the night was dark, and he could see nothing. Listening intently, it
seemed to him, several times, that he heard the same faint sound.
Presently something whizzed by him, and looking round, to his delight
he saw a small arrow, with a piece of very thin string attached. The
arrow was made of very light wood. Round the iron point was a thick
wrapping of cotton, which would entirely deaden its sound, as it
struck a wall. It was soaked in water, and Charlie had no doubt that
the sound he heard was caused by its fall into the moat, after
ineffectual trials to shoot through the window.
Round the centre of the arrow a piece of greased silk was wrapped.
Charlie took this off, and found beneath it a piece of paper, on which
was written in Hindostanee:
"If you have a bar loosed, pull the string and haul up a rope. If not,
throw the arrow down. I will come again, tomorrow night."
Tim had by this time joined Charlie, and they speedily began to pull
in the string. Presently a thicker string came up into their hands.
They continued to pull, and soon the end of a stout rope, in which
knots were tied every two feet, came up to them.
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