It was when he went to
fetch the revolver before turning in. I kept him out of his bed
another twenty minutes, and I knew every inch of the business
premises before I shook hands with Ewbank in my room.
"You won't guess what I did with myself for the next hour. I
undressed and went to bed. The incessant strain involved in even
the most deliberate impersonation is the most wearing thing I
know; then how much more so when the impersonation is impromptu!
There's no getting your eye in; the next word may bowl you out;
it's batting in a bad light all through. I haven't told you of
half the tight places I was in during a conversation that ran
into hours and became dangerously intimate towards the end. You
can imagine them for yourself, and then picture me spread out on
my bed, getting my second wind for the big deed of the night.
"Once more I was in luck, for I had not been lying there long
before I heard my dear Ewbank snoring like a harmonium, and the
music never ceased for a moment; it was as loud as ever when I
crept out and closed my door behind me, as regular as ever when I
stopped to listen at his. And I have still to hear the concert
that I shall enjoy much more. The good fellow snored me out of
the bank, and was still snoring when I again stood and listened
under his open window.
"Why did I leave the bank first? To catch and saddle the mare
and tether her in a clump of trees close by: to have the means of
escape nice and handy before I went to work.
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