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CHAPTER SIX

How Did He Do It?

When dinner was finished The Thinking Machine turned to Dr Ransome.

“Well, do you believe me now” he asked.

“Yes I do,” replied Dr Ransome.

There was a long silence. Like all the other guests, Ransome was waiting for the explanation.

“So, tell us how you did it,” said Fielding, finally.

The Thinking Machine began the story.

“The agreement was to go into a cell in Chisholm Prison with nothing but the necessary clothes and to leave that cell within seven days. I didn’t know Chisholm Prison. When I went into the cell I asked for three things: toothpaste, two ten-dollar bills and one five-dollar bill and to have my shoes blacked. You agreed to these things.

“I knew that there was nothing useful in the cell, so I had to use these three innocent things to help me escape. But anything is dangerous in the hands of a man like me.

“The first night I did two things. I slept and I ran after rats. You gentlemen thought I wanted time to organize an escape with assistance from outside the prison. But this was not true. I knew I could communicate with anyone I wanted to at any time.”

The warden looked at him for a moment. The Thinking Machine continued.

“The guard woke me up at six o’clock the next morning. He brought me my breakfast. He told me lunch was at twelve o’clock and dinner was at six. I knew that between these times I was alone. So after breakfast I examined the outside area from my cell window. I saw that it was impossible to get over the wall. But I knew that on the other side of the wall there was a river and also a playground. The guard confirmed it. So I knew one important thing. A person could come near the prison on that side without attracting the attention of the guards.

“But there was something even more important. I saw a wire which went to the light on the prison roof. It was very near my cell window. I knew then that if it was necessary I could cut off that light.

“Then I thought about escaping through the prison building. I remembered the way to my cell. I knew that was the only way out. There were seven doors between my cell and the outside. It was too difficult.”

The Thinking Machine stopped for a moment. Dr Ransome lit a new cigar. For several minutes there was silence. Then The Thinking Machine continued.

“When I was thinking about these things a rat ran across my foot. It gave me a new idea. I saw there were at least six rats in the cell. But they didn’t come from under the door. I ran after them and they disappeared. But they didn’t go out of the door. So I knew there was another way out.

“I looked for this other way and found it. It was a hole in the floor. It went to an old drainpipe. Obviously the rats came this way. But where did they come from? Drainpipes normally go outside the prison. This one probably went to the river or near it. So the rats came from that direction.

“When the guard came with my lunch he told me two important things. One was that there was a new plumbing system in the prison. The other was that the river was only a hundred metres away. So I knew that the pipe in my cell was part of an old system. And I knew it went to the river. The other end of the pipe was outside the prison walls.

“But before I could start work, I knew I had to distract the warden. I wanted him to think that I was trying to communicate with you, Dr Ransome. So I took two pieces of linen from my shirt and wrote a message on them. Do you have the message, warden?”

“Yes.” The warden looked at the codec message. “But what does it mean” he asked. “Read it from right to left, beginning with the T” said The Thinking Machine. “Don’t consider the division into words.”

The warden read the message.

“T-h-i-s,” he began, “is not the way I intend to escape.” The warden smiled. “But what did you write it with?”

“This,” said The Thinking Machine. He put his foot on the table. On it was the shoe that he wore in prison. But the polish was gone.

“The shoe polish, mixed with some water, was my ink,” said The Thinking Machine, “and the metal end of the shoe lace was a good pen.”

The warden laughed. “Continue,” he said.

“After the message the warden wanted to search my cell. This was good. I wanted him to search my cell very often. I thought, ‘He won’t find anything so he will stop and leave me alone.’

“The warden took my shirt away and gave me a prison shirt.

Without my white shirt I couldn’t write any more messages. But I had another piece of the same shirt in my mouth.”

“Where did it come from?” asked the warden. “I saw that there were only two pieces cut from the shirt. And I had both of them.”

“You forget that shirts like mine have three layers of linen,” The Thinking Machine replied. “I took out the inside one. You didn’t notice it.

“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.

“That night Mr Hatch could not send me anything useful. But he did send me change for ten dollars as a test. The next clay I continued to work on my plan.

“For this it was necessary that the guard outside saw me often at my cell window. To attract his attention I threw messages to him. I stood at my cell window for hours. Sometimes I spoke to him. He told me that there were no electricians inside the prison. If there was a problem with the lights they had to call the light company.

“This was perfect for my escape plan. There was only one more thing to do before I escaped. Once again I spoke to Mr Hatch through the pipe. It was the fourth night of my incarceration. Again Mr Hatch could not understand me. Again I repeated the word ‘acid’ three times. It was this that made the prisoner above me confess to murder. The guard told me the next day. The prisoner heard strange voices through the pipe. He thought it was a ghost.

“With nitric acid it was very easy to cut the bars of the window. But it was a long process. The outside guard saw me standing at my window. He didn’t know what I was doing. As he watched me I cut the bars with a piece of wire covered with acid. On the night of my escape I used the same acid to cut the electric wire that went to the lights. The yard outside my window was completely dark. It was easy to escape.

“I also had a wig from Mr Hatch. It was the same color as my hair. Yellow. I put it in the bed with some other things that Hatch sent me. When the guard passed the door he thought I was sleeping.”

“But how did you get outside the prison gate,” asked the warden.

“It was simple,” The Thinking Machine replied. “As I said I cut the wire to the lights before the guards turned on the current. When they turned on the current, the light on my side of the yard didn’t work. The outside guard went to your office to tell you and I escaped through my cell window. I stayed in the shadows until the four electricians arrived. Mr Hatch was one of them.

“When I saw him he gave me some workman’s clothes to put on. You, Mr Warden, were standing only three metres away. Then Mr Hatch called me - as a workman - and together we went out of the gate to get something from the van. The guard at the gate knew that there were four workers in the yard. He saw that we were workers so he let us go out of the prison. Then we changed clothes and came back in. We went to your office and asked to see you. That’s all.”

“And the letter of invitation” asked Ransome.

“I wrote it in my cell with Mr Hatch’s pen,” said The Thinking Machine. “Then I sent it through the pipe and Mr Hatch posted it.”

There was silence for several minutes. Dr Ransome was the first to speak.

“Incredible” he said. “Absolutely brilliant!”

But Mr Fielding had two more questions.

“And what was the toothpaste for” he asked.

“For brushing my teeth.”

“Why did Mr Hatch come with the electricians?”

“His father is the manager of the company,” said The Thinking Machine.

“But what if there was no Mr Hatch outside to help you?”

“Every prisoner has at least one friend who will help him if he can.”

“What if there was no old drainpipe in your cell,” asked the warden.

“There were another two ways to escape,” said The Thinking Machine.

Ten minutes later the telephone rang. It was for the warden.

“Is the light working now?” asked the warden through the phone. “Good. The wire was cut beside Cell 13? Yes I know. What’s that? There are too many electricians. Two went out of the prison and there are three still inside. But only four men came from the light company.”

The warden turned to the others, confused.

“The guard says that he saw four electricians come into the prison. Two went out again. But there are still three men inside,” he said.

“Don’t you remember? I was the extra man,” said The Thinking Machine.

“Oh,” said the warden. “I see.” He turned back to the phone. “You can let the fifth man go. He’s all right.”