The boy had fortunately
been able to get rid of his fetters altogether, and he slipped out
also without being noticed; not being encumbered with much clothing,
and quite free in his limbs, he soon reached the gate, passed out
with the followers of some chief, and was already far away and in
safety before his disappearance was noticed.
Lij Barie failed in his attempt. What with the chain fastened on
one leg, the woman's dress, and the gombo, he could not advance
quickly. He was, however, already half way between the prison and
the gate, somewhere not far from our inclosure, when a young man,
perceiving a good-looking girl coming in his direction, advanced
to speak to her; but as he came closer, his eyes fell upon the
bandage, and to his astonishment he saw a piece of chain peeping
through the interstices of the cloth. He guessed at once that this
was a prisoner endeavouring to escape, and followed the individual
until he met some soldiers; he told them his suspicions, and
they fell upon Lij Barie and made him a prisoner. A crowd soon
collected around the unfortunate young man, and the alarm being
given that a prisoner had been seized as he was endeavouring to
escape, several of the guards rushed to the spot, and at once
recognizing their old inmate, claimed him as their property. In
an instant all his clothes were torn off his back, and the cowardly
ruffians struck him with the butt-ends of their lances, and with
the back of their swords, until his whole body was a mass of wounds
and sores, and he lay senseless, nearly dead, on the ground.
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