The Problem of Cell 13 by Jacques Futrelle. Part 10
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“That night Mr Hatch could not send me anything useful. But he did send me change for ten dollars as a test. The next day I continued to work on my plan.
“For this it was necessary that the guard outside saw me often at my cell window. To attract his attention I threw messages to him. I stood at my cell window for hours. Sometimes I spoke to him. He told me that there were no electricians inside the prison. If there was a problem with the lights they had to call the light company.
“This was perfect for my escape plan. There was only one more thing to do before I escaped. Once again I spoke to Mr Hatch through the pipe. It was the fourth night of my incarceration. Again Mr Hatch could not understand me. Again I repeated the word ‘acid’ three times. It was this that made the prisoner above me confess to murder. The guard told me the next day. The prisoner heard strange voices through the pipe. He thought it was a ghost.
“With nitric acid it was very easy to cut the bars of the window. But it was a long process. The outside guard saw me standing at my window. He didn’t know what I was doing. As he watched me I cut the bars with a piece of wire covered with acid. On the night of my escape I used the same acid to cut the electric wire that went to the lights. The yard outside my window was completely dark. It was easy to escape.
“I also had a wig from Mr Hatch. It was the same color as my hair. Yellow. I put it in the bed with some other things that Hatch sent me. When the guard passed the door he thought I was sleeping.”
“But how did you get outside the prison gate,” asked the warden.
“It was simple,” The Thinking Machine replied. “As I said. I cut the wire to the lights before the guards turned on the current. When they turned on the current, the light on my side of the yard didn’t work. The outside guard went to your office to tell you and I escaped through my cell window. I stayed in the shadows until the four electricians arrived. Mr Hatch was one of them.
“When I saw him he gave me some workman’s clothes to put on. You, Mr Warden, were standing only three metres away. Then Mr Hatch called me – as a workman – and together we went out of the gate to get something from the van. The guard at the gate knew that there were four workers in the yard. He saw that we were workers so he let us go out of the prison. Then we changed clothes and came back in. We went to your office and asked to see you. That’s all.”
“And the letter of invitation?” asked Ransome.
“I wrote it in my cell with Mr Hatch’s pen,” said The Thinking Machine. “Then I sent it through the pipe and Mr Hatch posted it.”
There was silence for several minutes. Dr Ransome was the first to speak.
“Incredible!” he said. “Absolutely brilliant!”
But Mr Fielding had two more questions.
“And what was the toothpaste for?” he asked.
“For brushing my teeth.”
“Why did Mr Hatch come with the electricians?”
“His father is the manager of the company,” said The Thinking Machine.
“But what if there was no Mr Hatch outside to help you?”
“Every prisoner has at least one friend who will help him if he can.”
“What if there was no old drainpipe in your cell,” asked the warden.
“There were another two ways to escape,” said The Thinking Machine.
Ten minutes later the telephone rang. It was for the warden.
“Is the light working now?” asked the warden through the phone. “Good. The wire was cut beside Cell 13? Yes I know. What’s that? There are too many electricians. Two went out of the prison and there are three still inside. But only four men came from the light company.”
The warden turned to the others, confused.
“The guard says that he saw four electricians come into the prison. Two went out again. But there are still three men inside,” he said.
“Don’t you remember? I was the extra man,” said The Thinking Machine.
“Oh,” said the warden. “I see.” He turned back to the phone. “You can let the fifth man go. He’s all right.”
– THE END –
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