Chapter Six: Escape in the DarkBy now, it was late afternoon and Bert was in no mood to hang about. He knew that the old lady would be suspecting the worst and he wanted to put as much distance between himself and the house as he possibly could. So, ignoring the physical danger, once he had emerged through the chimney stack, black, dirty, wet with sweat, he took a moment to consider his situation. And from here, the situation appeared bleak.
On either side, the roof, divided into various sections of differing heights and angles, stretched dull grey, the slates shiny as if wet with rainwater. The surrounding gardens, with the tree-line beyond, appeared impossibly small. He was high above the ground, higher than he had thought and, as he took a first step and tottered along the roof apex, h
