"Lucky thing they are in the front room," thought Roy, as he worked on,
"otherwise, they might hear this."
At last the file had cut far enough into the hasp for Roy's strong fingers
to be able to bend the metal apart. With a beating heart, he replaced the
little tool in its case and pulled the ring of the padlock out of the
hasp. Then he gave an upward shove, but very gently. For all he knew, the
door he was pushing upward might open in another room. But when it gaped,
an inch only, Roy saw the faint radiance of a clouded moon. A gust of
fresh, clean air blew in his face, as if welcoming him from his noisome
depths. An instant later, with throbbing pulses and flushed cheeks, Roy
stood out in the open. Above him light clouds raced across the moon,
alternately obscuring and revealing the luminary of the night.
But Roy didn't linger. He crept across the field, keeping close to a
tall, dark hedge-row till he reached the automobile. As he had guessed,
neither of his captors knew how to run it, and it stood just where he had
left it.
"Glory be!" thought the boy, climbing in, "I'm all right, now. I don't
know where this road goes to, and it's too narrow to turn round, but I'll
keep straight on and I'm bound to land somewhere."
He turned on the gasoline and set the spark. But the engine didn't move.
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