Without him nothing could be done; but, impatient at the delay, the
party made their way with difficulty up the steep cliff, and at length
reached the foot of the castle wall. Here they found on duty one of the
sentinels whom they had bribed; but he warned them to make haste, saying
that he was to be relieved at twelve o'clock, and after that hour he
could give them no aid.
The affair was growing critical. The midnight hour was fast approaching,
and Forbes was still absent. Drummond, the leader, had the sentinel to
draw up the ladder they had with them and fasten it to the battlements,
to see if it were long enough for their purpose. He did so; but it
proved to be more than a fathom short.
[Illustration: EDINBURGH CASTLE.]
And now happened an event fatal to their enterprise. The information
sent the deputy-governor, and his direction that the patrols should be
alert, had the effect of having them make the rounds earlier than usual.
They came at half-past eleven instead of at twelve. The sentinel,
hearing their approaching steps, had but one thing to do for his own
safety. He cried out to the party below, with an oath,--
"Here come the rounds I have been telling you of this half-hour; you
have ruined both yourselves and me; I can serve you no longer.
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