The Problem of Cell 13 by Jacques Futrelle. Part 9
Watch on KineScope.
“Now that the warden was busy, I started to work on my real escape plan. I knew that the pipe from my cell went to the playground outside the prison. It is a place where boys play baseball. I knew many of the boys there. I knew that the rats came into my cell from out there. Perhaps it was possible for me to communicate with someone outside. I could use the rats.
“The first thing I needed was a long thread. So I used the thread from my socks.” He pulled up his trouser-legs. The strong thread at the top of his long socks was not there.
“Then on one half of my last piece of linen I wrote a message for Hutchinson Hatch. He is a friend and often helps me. I knew he would help me this time. It was a great story for his newspaper. I tied a ten-dollar bill to the letter to attract attention. People always find money. I wrote on the linen: ‘If you find this message give it to Hutchinson Hatch. He will give you another ten dollars for the information.’ Then I wrote instructions for Hatch.
“I had to get this note outside the prison. There were two ways but the best way was the rats. I took one of them. I tied the linen and the money to one of its legs and tied my thread to another. Then I put it in the pipe.
“From the moment the rat disappeared into that dirty pipe I was nervous. The thread could break. Anything could happen. I waited. I was holding the thread and I saw that it became gradually shorter. Finally there was only about one metre of thread in my hand. I knew that the rat was outside the prison. But would Hatch receive the message?
“I had to wait. I decided to try some other man oeuvres. This was to confuse the warden more. I tried to bribe the guard. I tried to cut through the bars on my cell window. The warden became very angry. He took the bars in his hands to see if they were solid. They were – then.
“That night I didn’t sleep. The thread was tied to my hand. I waited for the signal from outside. I thought. ‘If Hatch has received the message, and if he finds the drainpipe, he will pull the thread.’ At half-past three in the morning I felt something pull the thread.”
The Thinking Machine turned to Hutchinson Hatch.
“Now you can explain what you did,” he said.
“A small boy brought the linen message to me. I gave the boy another ten dollars. I got some string and then some wire. I went with the boy to the playground. I looked for the end of the drainpipe for an hour. Then finally I found it. It was about thirty centimeters in diameter. I took the end of the thread and pulled it three times. The Professor pulled twice to reply. Quickly I tied my string to the Professor’s thread. Then I tied the wire to the string. Professor Van Dusen began to pull it all into his cell. The wire was the most important because it could not break. The thread was too weak. It could break easily. With the wire I could transport things to the cell.”
“Yes,” continued The Thinking Machine. “I was very happy when the wire arrived in the cell. Then we tried another experiment. I spoke to Mr Hatch through the pipe. He heard me but it was not easy for him to understand me. I wanted some nitric- acid and I had to repeat the word ‘acid’ several times. Then I heard a scream from the cell above me.
“With the wire it was easy to transport things to my cell. And it was also easy to hide them. I could put them into the pipe. You, Mr Warden, found the pipe but you could not find the wire. Your hands are too big. My fingers are longer and thinner so it was easy for me. In addition I put a dead rat in the pipe. You pulled it out.”
“I remember,” said the warden.
“The rat was there to stop you investigating the pipe,” said The Thinking Machine.