From those he clambered with some difficulty on to the roof of the house.

It was of old rotten thatch with a ridge of white plaster, and it crumbled away under his feet at every step.

He trod as heavily as he could.

So much the better if he fell.
He knelt down when he got to the far gable, and began to fasten his riem to the crumbling bricks.

Below was the little window of the loft.