Monty heaved an internal sigh of relief at getting this part of the escape plan started without any noise. Working more quickly now, he used that slat as a lever, bracing it against the grill frame with an end tucked under the next slat. He pulled gently with one hand and applied pressure with the lever using the other hand, and so was able to pry all the remaining slats completely off. Several times, a nail squeaked alarmingly as it was pulled from the old wooden frame, each time causing Monty's heart to stop for a moment, but the noise was much louder to his ears than in actuality. The final step was to carefully push out on the edges of the wire screen until it, too, was clear of the frame and had dropped to the ground below. Monty was now squatting in front of an opening large enough for him to squeeze through and carry out the rest of his plan.
Carefully reversing his position, Monty settled himself with his feet extending out the opening. It wasn't large enough for him to back out while kneeling, so he had to lie face-first across several joists and then slowly inch his way backwards until he had his waist at the edge of the opening, and his feet and legs finally hung down along the end wall of the house. He was about 12 feet above the ground, but when he had backed all the way out and hung by his hands, he wouldn't have far to drop.
He had just started to wiggle his stomach over the edge, when he heard something which put chills up his spine and the raw taste of fear in this mouth. Panicked, he abandoned all effort to be quiet, and desperately wriggled his body backward out the opening, ignoring the splinters and scrapes he was receiving from the rough joists.
He couldn't make out the words, but he had heard Ranny yell something, and then after a pause, he heard Laura's voice reply.