Read "Cities in the Air" by Edmond Hamilton online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
1. A Single Chance
Intently for a moment we listened without moving; but there came no sound of alarm from without, nothing but the occasional voices of the guards. And now we grasped another of the metal bunk-supports, and wrenched its metal strip loose from the wall with another tremendous effort. We had in our hands two metal strips, each of some three feet in length. These we now bent swiftly into two L's or right angles of equal sides, using all our combined strength on each to bend the strong metal. Then, swiftly loosening the long, strong leather belts that criss-crossed over our black air-jackets, we formed of them swiftly two leather ropes ten feet in length. Each of these we attached to one of our metal L's, making each fast to one of the jagged, broken ends of one of the bent strips. Then, panting from our swift efforts, we stood erect, and moved toward our little window.