Finding it useless to struggle further, Wyat threw himself upon the
bench, and endeavoured to discover some means of deliverance from
his present hazardous position. He glanced round the cell to see
whether there was any other outlet than the doorway, but he could
discern none, except a narrow grated loophole opening upon the
passage, and contrived, doubtless, for the admission of air to the
chamber. No dungeon could be more secure.
Raising the lamp, he examined every crevice, but all seemed solid
stone. The recess in which he had taken shelter proved to be a mere
hollow in the wall. In one corner lay a small straw pallet, which, no
doubt, had formed the couch of Mabel; and this, together with the stone
bench and rude table of the same material, constituted the sole
furniture of the place.
Having taken this careful survey of the cell, Wyat again sat down upon
the bench with the conviction that escape was out of the question; and
he therefore endeavoured to prepare himself for the worst, for it was
more than probable he would be allowed to perish of starvation. To a
fiery nature like his, the dreadful uncertainty in which he was placed
was more difficult of endurance than bodily torture.
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