Mate escaping with pegs (4)
I believe the answer is:
tees
'pegs' is the definition.
(tee is a kind of peg)
'mate escaping with' is the wordplay.
'with' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'TEES' can be found hidden inside 'mate escaping'.
(Other definitions for tees that I've seen before include "Current" , "River of north-east England" , "Golf pegs" , "River on which Middlesbrough stands" , "River in NE England" .)