d with her, and neither cared to contemplate such a
thing. As soon, therefore, as they had been provided with workmen's
clothes, they took a room in a poor quarter of the town well away from
the Durend works and made active preparations for their campaign.
Although Max had not dared to go to his home to fetch any of his
belongings, he had managed to get a few of the more necessary things by
sending one of Madame Dubec's daughters with a note to one of the
domestics whom he knew he could trust.

To Max, the great campaign he had in mind against Schenk and the Germans
was momentarily eclipsed by the urgent need for doing something to
relieve the distress of his mother and sister. He tried at first to
think of friends, who, knowing the value of their property, might be
disposed to advance a sufficient sum of money upon its security. It was
in the midst of these reflections, and the angry thoughts of Schenk that
naturally coloured them, that a wild and desperate idea occurred to him.
He dismissed it at first as an absurdity, but the thought kept coming
back again, until, weary of resisting it, he allowed his mind to dwell
upon it at will. It was while heedlessly immersed in these rambling
thoughts that a sudden recollection came which considerably altered the
aspect of affairs. From a wild and desperate dream it changed into a
project, difficult and perilous indeed, but one by no means hopeless of
achievement. In the end it took such firm hold upon him that he thought
it out seriously and at last unfolded it to Dale.

That worthy welcomed it with such unbounded admiration and delight that
the question as to whether it should or should not be attempted was
settled out of hand, and the preparations for carrying it into effect
promptly begun.

The project was, briefly, to go and take by a _coup de main_ the moneys
belonging to his mother that Schenk had wrongfully and treacherously
refused to hand over. It seemed a most risky venture, but Max had a
recollection that his father long ago had entrusted to his mother the
duplicate key of his safe in case anything should at any time happen to
him. It had never been used, and his mother, likely enough, had almost
forgotten she possessed it. Nevertheless, Max believed it was still in
her possession, and he resolved to settle the point by sending a
messenger to fetch it. More important still, he believed that Schenk was
quite unaware of its existence. If the key could be secured it