e going, for in a little while men will be sent all round, and may
cut us off. Come along."

"Which way? Where? You'll lead, eh?" asked Stuart.

"Certainly! This way--any way--straight in front of us--follow our
noses," whispered Henri. "Certainly! Catch hold of my coat; Jules,
take hold of Stuart, and let's push on."

One doesn't live in a camp like Ruhleben, or, indeed, in any other
camp, without taking stock of one's immediate surroundings, without
spending whole hours in contemplating the scenery outside, in watching
things usually of little or no interest, and in finding relaxation in
beholding perhaps some figure in the distance, and wondering for
minutes together who it might be, where he or she had come from, and
whither the same individual was going. Thus it happened that without
any special effort Henri had noticed that a road passed near the camp
at the very corner where they had made their escape, and ran right
across the open into the distance. Where precisely it went, why
individuals made their way along it, and what was the destination of
those who traversed the route he was unable even to guess, and
questions to the sentry had received the usual gruff, if not emphatic,
refusals to answer.

"Bang straight on! We get on to the road in a little while," Henri
told his friends, speaking over his shoulder; "we should, of course,
keep to the open fields and make our way right across country, but it
would be precious difficult during the darkness, and we should get
along very much faster if we follow the road."

"Half a mo'--just wait a second," said Stuart, now that they had gained
the road. "Of course I am quite ready to trust myself to you, Henri,
for you and Jules are sensible sort of chaps, and we know each other
now thoroughly; besides, you've backed me up splendidly in this little
business. But put yourselves in the position of the Camp Commandant
and of his men. A bolt-hole has been discovered in the corner of the
camp, and there's a road near; now put two and two together, and it
isn't very difficult--even a German can do that," he added satirically,
contemptuously, if you like, for, as we have said before, the lusty
Stuart had but the lowest opinion of most Teutons. "What follows?
Just this: prisoners escaping find a road, and, knowing themselves to
be pursued, follow it. First moral, keep off the road; second moral,
find another; better still--make our escape in the very opposite
d