oon.

CHAPTER XXIII

LEFT BEHIND IN THE ENEMY'S COUNTRY

Tom appeared finally to be satisfied, for he turned around to Bessie.

"Now if you're ready we'll lower you safely," he told her.

The girl showed considerable nimbleness in climbing over the
window-sill. Jack insisted in having a hand in dropping her slowly down.
It was not far, and in a few breaths the girl had reached the solid,
ground. She understood what was expected of her, and immediately cast
off the rude rope, so it might be drawn up and made to serve once more.

Mrs. Gleason showed just as much bravery as her daughter, and was also
lowered without trouble.

"You go down next, Tom," whispered Jack. "Then I'll draw it up, and can
join you easily enough without the help of the rope. A white thing like
this dangling here would be sure to attract attention, if any one came
around the corner of the house, and might cost us dearly in the end."

Tom understood. He preferred being the last to stay, but since Jack had
taken that upon himself, and was moreover adept at scaling walls, it was
folly to dispute his right.

So down Tom went. He had hardly landed when the sheet-rope was swiftly
drawn up, and vanished within the room. After that Jack was seen making
his way down over the same route he had taken while ascending.

Soon they were all together again, and their queer exit from the room
seemed not to have been discovered, for which they felt very thankful
indeed.

Tom led the way into the friendly bushes close by. It was his intention
to skirt the carriage-drive, as it might contain elements of danger for
them. Once they had passed out on the main road to Metz, it would not
take them long to reach the field where the big Caudron airplane lay
like an exhausted and enormous bat, awaiting their coming to spring into
activity.

In passing along they were enabled to catch a glimpse of the interior of
the dining-room where Carl Potzfeldt was entertaining his distinguished
visitor to the best of his ability in those times when scarcity ruled.

Tom managed to get a better look at the general. He was more than ever
convinced that the big man with the strong features and all these
decorations on his uniform, was in fact Hindenburg, the head of the
whole German army, whose opinion carried even more weight with the
people just then than that of Kaiser Wilhelm.

It would be something worth while to be able to say they had been within
a dozen feet of