CHAPTER 6 HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Soon both the Anglins were free of their cells

too. They and Morris laid their dummy heads in bed with blankets wadded up to look
like bodies. Then they crawled through the "door" in the back of their cells and
scouted the corridor and ventilator shaft. They climbed the pipes, which formed a
sort of ladder, as well as some wooden scaffolding that had been installed for
plumbers and electricians to work on. Besides the more than three dozen raincoats
they had obtained by this time, they also had a sizable stash of other helpful
items twine, picks made from spoon handles, a | flashlight, files, and more – that
they stored on top of the cellblock and in the corridor.But there was a problem. In
order to work on their rafts, which were going to be 6 feet wide by 14 feet long,
they would need more space. There was an open area on top of the cellblock that
would be perfect for working. However only ceiling-high metal bars ran along the
side. A guard the gun gallery could easily see anyone who went up there. In order
to remove the roof vent to access the vent shaft-and certainly to work on their
rafts - they would have to be able to use that area. West came up with a plan. West
worked in maintenance and often did jobs such as painting and cleaning different
areas of the prison. He told cell house officer, John "Jerry" Herring, that he had
been painting the area above the cellblock and noticed it was very dirty. Herring
agreed and sent West to clean it up. Once there, West deliberately swept a lot of
dust over the edge. Dust and paint flakes sifted down the front of the cells to the
floor below, causing a great mess. Before long, Lieutenant Maurice Ordway
discovered the mess on the bottom floor and ordered Officer Herring to have it
cleaned up. But there was one problem. West wasn'Tmore debris from falling?
finished cleaning up top. What could be done to prevent West suggested hanging old
blankets from the bars above to prevent the dust from going over the edge. Herring
liked the idea and ordered blankets from the laundry. When barring finished his
shift that day, he was off for two days. Knowing this, West took advantage of the
situation by Lalking with J.W., who worked in the laundry. West to stall sending
the blankets until the next day, all the blankets he could. The next morning, when
Herring was ofi, hampers of blankets arrived in the cell house. West told tha
officer in charge that Herring had ordered them. The officer confirmed it, and
right away West took the blankets to the top of the cellblock and began to hang
them. There were 80 blankets altogether - enough to completely block the view of
the top of the cellblock. Morris and the Anglin brothers were impressed with West's
shrewdness -and a little unsure, Would the guards really let those blankets stay
there? It was an obvioussecurity risk. They decided not to go to work up top uns
they knew it would last. So they waited for Officer Hering to return. When he did,
he looked with surprise at the row of blankets and asked West if he really needed
all of them. West cleverly responded that it was the amount he was given, and he
assumed Herring had requested that many. Shortly after that Lieutenant Ordway saw
the blankets and immediately ordered them to be removed. Herring told West to take
them down. But West had one last idea up his sleeve. West used his unique "people
skills" and questionea why Lieutenant Ordway would have the right to make an order
that went against what Lieutenant Herring hau already okayed. Herring thought about
it and went back to Lieutenant Ordway to discuss the problem. West, Morris, and the
Anglins did not know what they said. Whatever words wen exchanged, the result was
exactly what West had hoped The blankets stayed. That night, just as they did every
night, the men stood at the front of their cells for the 9:30 p.m. head count.
Onceeveryone was counted, Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin pulled out their fake
grilles and got their dummy heads from the utility corridor. Once they set the
dummies in place in their beds, they squeezed through the "doors" and moved the
fake grilles back in place. Anyone walking past their darkened cells would see that
nothing was out of place The two men quickly scaled the pipes to the top level
behind the tent of blankets. They inspected the roof vent and figured out that they
would need to remove the steel bars welded into the frame within the shaft. More
than an hour passed while they were up there, meaning a guard had gone past their
cells on his hourly round. The dummies worked perfectly. Over the next couple of
nights they removed the ventilator grille and fashioned simple clamps to hold it in
place while they were away. They were so careful, they made fake screw heads out of
soap and set them where the real screws had been. They realized that one big raft
would be too clumsy to carry on the night of the escape, so they changed the planto
two smaller boats one for Clarence and J.W. Anglin and one for Frank Morris and
Allen West. Furthermore, the pontoons could be built here on the landing above the
cellblock, but the boats couldn't be fully assembled until they pushed everything
up through the vent shaft. They would have to do the final assembly on the roof.
Each night, when the men finished their work, they hid the raincoats and other
materials up in the vent shaft and replaced the grille. There was no sign
whatsoever they had been up there. Another problem to be solved was the fact that
there were bars inside the roof vent before they reached the rain hood on top. The
bars ran parallel across the circular frame. They were made from hardened steel
that would not bend. Wet stole an electric hair clipper from the barbershop. Morris
then converted the clipper into a drill. He and Clarence rigged an electric circuit
from one of their cells to power But the drill wasn't strong enough to cut through
the steel Next, West stole a vacuum cleaner motor by arranging for a distraction in
the kitchen area. COne inmate hit another over the head. While the guards attended
to the fight, westsmuggled out the vacuum motor and got it to his cell. Clarence
Anglin and Morris converted the motor into a drill, but this one was too noisy. It
sounded like a vacuum cleaner when they turned it on. Finally, Morris hit on an
idea that worked. Inspecting the wheel of bars one night with his homemade
flashlight, he noticed that the outside ring of the wheel was embedded in the
concrete with regular bolts. These bolts were made of soft metal rather than
reinforced steel and would not be hard to cut with a file. Once they cut the bolts,
they could push the entire ring up out of the shaft. After that, it would be simple
to pop the rain hood off the top of the shaft and climb out. By now, time was
getting tight. The blankets would surely be coming down soon. They wanted to make
their move before that happened. And the rumors spreading about their escape were
becoming more and more abundant. Somebody was sure to let the secret out, either by
accident or on purpose, The men had been planning, digging. Duilding rafts, and
assembling materials for months now.According to Clarence Carnes, it was a miracle
they had not yet been discovered. On Monday, June 11, 1962, West came by the
library and said hello to Carnes. Then he passed by again. Carnes later claimed he
knew something was unusual. "What's up?" he asked West the next time he passed.
"Nothing much," West said. But Carnes could see that he was excited about
something. Finally, West could keep the secret no longer. "Oh, yeah," he said. "I
forgot one little item .. . tonigrit we see the moon." Carnes was thrilled. He
wasn't going to see the mool but the thought of his friends breaking through the
vent an getting away gave him a surge of hope. If the men escaped, Carmes would
have played a role in helping to "break the Rock." He felt dizzy with excitement.
The two men wished each other luck, and West walked out of the library. It was the
last time they would ever speak to each other.That night, Carnes lay in his bed and
listened to the familiar sounds of the cellblock. He knew it would be hard for him
to sleep. There was too much to think about.