he house stood but five feet back from the wall. He waited until Paolo
joined him, then he drew on the thin rope and, to his satisfaction, he
felt it yield.

"Stand aside," he said, "it is heavy enough to give one a nasty thump."

Paolo withdrew a few paces, then Hector gave another pull. The rope gave
way at once. He flattened himself against the house, and the hook fell
with a dull thud a foot or two away.

"Coil up the rope, Paolo, and then feel along the wall to the right;
don't go too far. I will go to the left, there may be some steps up to
the rampart."

This proved to be the case, and together they made their way up quietly,
but even had they had their shoes on, the snow was already sufficiently
deep to deaden their footsteps. On reaching the top they stood silent
for a minute or two. Presently they heard the sound of heavy stamping of
feet. They turned at once to descend, if necessary, the steps they
had mounted, then Hector put his hand upon the other's shoulder and
whispered, "It is the sentry trying to warm his feet; no doubt he is
standing up somewhere to shelter himself from the snow; let us go on at
once."

They crossed the rampart, fastened the hook on the top of the wall, and
descended, and were again successful in bringing the rope down after
them.

"Go carefully, Paolo; no doubt there is a moat somewhere here." There
was, however, no necessity for caution, for the white surface of the
snow was soon broken by a black line.

"It will be awfully cold," Paolo said, with teeth that chattered at the
prospect.

"Of course you can swim, Paolo?"

"Not very well, master."

"Then I will go first. You fasten the rope under your arms, and I will
haul you across. Be sure you do not make a noise in getting into the
water. But first of all take off your doublet, I will carry it and mine
across on my head. It cannot be many yards across. The wind will soon
dry the rest of our things, and once our work is done we can warm
ourselves by running. I would say strip altogether, but we may have to
do another swim; for, as we agreed, there is no chance of our being able
to return by the way we came."

Fastening the two doublets on his head, Hector lowered himself into the
water, which was three feet below the level on which they stood. He
had fastened the rope across his shoulder. As he expected, he found the
water out of his depth, and at once struck out to the opposite side. It
was about forty feet across. He