"The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe?

I just re-read this story for the third time, and im still a bit confused. When does he get strapped down? As I read, i see that he is looking up at the ceiling, and notices the pendulum for the first time. In the next paragraph, it says that after chasing the rats away, he looks again at the ceiling, and sees it closer. When exactly does he get strapped down? (I know that it ends with the pendulum cutting through the straps, and getting away [sort of]).