under the ramshackle
trellis until her slender figure was lost in the darkness.

"It'll make me fight harder, anyway," he said to himself; "it'll help me
to get to France 'cause--'cause I _got_ to, and if you _got_ to do a
thing--you can...."

CHAPTER V

THE VOICE FROM THE DISTANCE

"My idea," said Archer, when Tom returned, "is to break that stick about
in half and prop the doorr just wide enough open so's we can crawl in.
Then we can spread the vines all overr the top just like it was beforre
and overr the opening, too. What d'ye say?"

"That's all right," said Tom, "and we can leave it a little open
tonight. In the morning we'll drop it and be on the safe side."

"Maybe we'd betterr drop it tonight and be on the safe side," said
Archer. "S'pose we should fall asleep."

"We'll take turns sleeping," said Tom decisively. "We can't afford to
take any chances."

"You can bet I'm going to get a sooveneerr of this place, anyway," said
Archer, tugging at a rusty nail.

"Never you mind about souvenirs," Tom said; "let's get this door
camouflaged."

"I could swap that nail for a jack-knife back home," said Archer
regretfully. "A nail right fresh from Alsace!"

But he gave it up and together they pulled the tangled vine this way and
that, until the door and the opening beneath were well covered. Then
they crawled in and while Archer reached up and held the door, Tom broke
the stick so that the opening was reduced to the inch or two necessary
for ventilation. Reaching out, they pulled the vine over this crack
until they felt certain that no vestige of door or opening could be seen
from without, and this done they sat down upon the straw, their backs
against the walls of the vat, enjoying the first real comfort and
freedom from anxiety which they had known since their escape from the
prison camp.

"I guess we're safe herre forr tonight, anyway," said Archer, "but
believe _me_, I think we've got some job on our hands getting out of
this country. It's going to be no churrch sociable----"

"We got this far," said Tom, "and by tomorrow night we ought to have a
good plan doped out. We got nothing to do all day tomorrow but think
about it."

"Gee, I feel sorry for these people," said Archer; "they'rre surre up
against it. Makes me feel as if I'd like to have one good whack at
Kaiser Bill----"

"Well, don't talk so loud and we'll get a whack at him, all right."

"I'd like to get his old double-jointed mous