So he had an idea, put his fat finger inside, groped in for a while, and found a dead mouse. His hope vanished like a soap bubble. He climbed into bed and pulled the iron grille on the window. They're all sturdy, and the grilles are just as strong.

Eventually, Zoseburg began searching Richard's body. He checked his shoes first, but he didn't hide anything. Then the belt, or nothing. Then there was the trouser pocket, and he pulled out some bills in one pocket and looked at it carefully.

"Ahh 5 pieces of one dollar? He exclaimed.

"Not bad." Richard shrugged.

"But you used to have only two $10 bills and a $5 bill, how did you get those change?"

"That's my business." Richard yawned.

"Did the guards change it for you? You're telling the truth. ”

Richard glanced at him with some annoyance, but did not speak.

The warden glared at Richard sternly, knowing that this man was hiding something from him. If he were a real prisoner, he would have forced him to tell the truth, and the strange torture instruments would have helped him, but he had to let Richard do it.

Zoseburg left the cell in disbelief. He glanced at the clock, and it was 10 minutes and 4 o'clock. As soon as he went to bed, he received a phone call telling him that Director Sainz and Colonel Spoogh were coming to the prison the night after tomorrow. If Richard hadn't escaped, they would have come to meet him. Tell him to admit his failure and end the exam.

On this day, Richard threw out the window 3 letters, all written on linen, about tomorrow night's date.

On the afternoon of the seventh day, the warden passed by the door of cell 109 and looked inside. Richard was resting on an iron bed. He glanced at the room, and nothing changed. Zoseburg swears that between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., no one will be able to leave here.

For the first time, Zoseburg saw a beam of searchlight coming in through the window** and shining on Richard's handsome face, and for the first time felt how emaciated his prisoner looked.

After 6 p.m. on the seventh day, the warden asked the guards, "Is cell 109 all right?" ”

"All is fine, sir." The warden replied, "It's just that this guy doesn't eat much." ”

At this time, a guard walked into the office and reported: "The searchlight on this side of the yard is off. ”

"Damn, what's going on?" While cursing, Zoseburg called the power supply bureau: "I am Qingcheng Prison, please send a few people here to repair the searchlight immediately." ”

Just after 7 o'clock, Director Sainz and Colonel Spoo came to visit the Warden of Zoseberg. Relieved, Zoseburg was about to show them the linen letter when the gate guard approached with a courier letter in his hand. Director Sainz happened to see the address on the letter. After the guard went out, he looked at the letter carefully.

"Yes, indeed."

"What is it?" Colonel Spoo asked.

Director Sainz handed him the letter. Colonel Spoo looked at it carefully and said, "It must be a fortuitous coincidence. ”

It was almost 8 o'clock when Zoseburg returned. The electrician has arrived and is overhauling. Zoseburg pressed the intercom and contacted the gate guard.

"How many electricians come in?"

"There were four people in total, three in overalls, and one was the manager."

"Well, make sure that only four of us go out," he said, turning to Director Sainz and Colonel Spoo, "we need to be on our guard!" After the warden finished speaking, he casually picked up the courier letter and opened it.

"As I read this letter, I want to tell you that the ......" The Warden of Zoseburg glanced at the contents of the letter, his mouth wide open, completely stunned!

"What the hell is going on?" Director Sainz asked.

"This is actually a courier letter from cell 109." The warden of Zoseburg exclaimed, "It's a dinner invitation!" ”

"What?" Director Sainz and Colonel Spoo stood up at the same time, startled.

Zoseburg sat blankly for a few seconds, and suddenly called out to the guard outside the door: "You, run to cell 109 and see if the prisoner is still inside." ”

The guards were ordered to leave, and Director Sainz and Colonel Spoo were checking the letters.

"It's his handwriting, there's no doubt about it." Director Sainz said: "I've seen the resume he wrote. ”

At this time, the phone rang, and it was the gate guard calling.

The warden picked up the phone and said, "What, two reporters came?" Well, let them in. He suddenly turned to Director Sainz and Colonel Spo, "No way, Richard can't get out." He must still be in his cell. ”

The guard came back and said to the warden of the Zoseburg prison, "The prisoner is still in his cell, sir, and I see that he is still lying." ”

"Well, I told you," said Zoseburg, relieved, "but how did he send the letter?" ”

Then there was a knock on the door, "It's a reporter," and Zoseburg said, "Let them in." He gave an order to the guards and said to Chief Sainz, "Don't mention it to their faces, they'll pester us and ask us endlessly." ”

The door opened, and two people walked in. "Good evening, gentlemen." One of them said. His name is Kreus, and he is a reporter for the "Great Western Continental Daily". The warden of Zoseburg had known him before.

"Hey," said another, a little angrily, "I'm here." ”

This man was none other than Richard, a prisoner, who squinted and looked at the Warden of Zoseberg and the others with a challenging look. Zoseburg was dumbfounded and speechless. Director Sainz and Colonel Spo were also taken aback.

"How did you get out?" The warden of Zoseburg asked, puzzled.

"Just go to the cell and see." Richard said.

In the cell, there are no anomalous changes on the surface. Richard was lying on the bed, it was his yellow hair! Everyone looked at Richard standing beside him, and they couldn't understand this strange thing.

"Look here." Richard said as he kicked the grille under the door, three of which were deformed, and the other was kicked off and rolled into the hallway.

"Look here again." He stood on the bed and pointed to the window grille. Now with a wave of his hand, all the window grilles fell.

"What's on the bed?" The warden of Zoseburg asked.

"Wigs." Richard said as he uncovered the quilt, under which lay a large bundle of thick rope, more than 30 meters long, a dagger, 3 files, 10 meters of wire, a steel pliers, a small mace with a handle, and a large-caliber short-barreled pistol.

"How did you get these things?" The warden of Zoseburg asked.

"Don't think you can shut up someone who can use their minds." Richard sneered vigorously.

The dinner was held in a private room in the hotel next to the prison. The atmosphere was somewhat eerie and dreary. Among the guests were Director Sainz, Colonel Spo, the warden and reporters.

Richard asked Director Sainz, "Now do you believe what I said?" ”

"I believe it."

"Do you admit that this exam is fair?"

"Absolutely impartial."

"If you could tell us how you got out of jail, we'd appreciate it." Director Sainz spoke.

"yes, tell us." Zoseberg and Spoo had begging in their eyes.

"Okay." Richard looked at his audience, and then began to speak in logical order:

"According to the agreement, I was put in a cell with no permission to take anything with me except clothes, and I was allowed to leave the cell and the prison within a week. I went to the cell and asked for tooth powder, two $10 bills and a $5 bill, and shoe polish, even if those requests were denied, it didn't matter. So when I'm locked inside, there's obviously nothing I can do unless I can put something that looks useless to use.

"My first night I didn't do anything but sleep and catch mice. You think I don't have enough time to contact the outside world and help me get out of prison, but that's not the case. I know I can contact whomever I want. So, after breakfast, I immediately looked out of the cell window to see what was going on outside. After seeing it for the first time, I knew that even if I escaped through the window, it would be impossible to climb the wall to get out. My aim was not only to get out of my cell, but also to get out of prison.

"From observation, I know that there is a river nearby on the other side of the prison, and there is also a football field there. These speculations were confirmed by a caretaker. I learned an important thing at the time, that anyone could approach the prison walls without being noticed or chased away. However, what caught my attention the most outside was the wires of the searchlights, which were not far from my window, about three or four feet. I know it's useful for me and I can cut the wires of the searchlight once I need to.

"I imagined all sorts of ways to escape from prison, and kept comparing which ones were simpler, safer, and more certain. There are 7 doors separating me from the outside world, and in order to get through the 7 doors, I have to make a tool to pry the door, but I don't have wire or any utensils, so I have to give up. Even if I could, I wouldn't be able to get through the hard granite walls of the prison. ”

Richard paused for a moment, and after a few minutes of silence, he continued:

"Just as I was thinking about these things, a mouse scurried past my instep. This opened the door to the 'Ali Baba' in my head. There were at least a dozen rats in this cell, and I could see their bright eyes. But they didn't go out through the door, and it was obvious that there must be a passage.

"I searched and found a scrapped sewer pipe, half of which had been plugged with dust and mud. The rats must have come in from there. Sewer pipes usually lead to the outside of the prison, and may also lead to the river, or to dry land near the river. The guards told me two important things, one was that the prison had reinstalled a set of flush toilets seven years ago, and the other was that the river was only about 100 meters away. So, I knew that the sewer pipe might be part of the original set, and I knew that one side of the pipe was higher than the other end of the pipe. The guards were relieved to see that I was busy catching mice.