il they reached the entrance to the building. There they
deposited him just inside the door, in such a position that the first
man entering would be sure to stumble over him.

Outside several engines were now in full swing pumping water into the
first floor, which was burning furiously from end to end. The fire had
spread to the upper floors, and the ground floor had begun to catch in
several places. The whole workshop, indeed, seemed doomed to complete
destruction, for the fire had obtained such firm hold that the engines
seemed to make little impression upon it. From the shouts of the Germans
it was clear that they were greatly enraged, and it was perfectly
certain that the shrift of the authors of the fire, if they were caught,
would be an exceedingly short one.

"Halt here for a moment, Dale, while I tell you what I propose. It is a
desperate venture, but if you are still going to be obstinate it is all
I can think of, and we might just as well try it as throw our lives
away."

"I'm absolutely obdurate, Max. I'm not going to be saved at your
expense, so go ahead with your venture."

"Well--it's this. I am going to sally out, wearing the fireman's uniform
and carrying you in my arms. You are to feign unconsciousness. The idea
is that you have been badly hurt, and I am carrying you out of reach of
the fire. I have some hope that in my fireman's garb and with my
blackened face they will let me pass."

"All right--it sounds good enough, Max. At any rate, we shall keep
together--whether we sink or swim."

"Come along, then," replied Max briskly, stooping down and lifting Dale
in his arms. "Let your head fall back and look as lifeless as you can.
It's now or never--absolutely."

The cordon of soldiers with fixed bayonets, outside, suddenly saw the
fireman--apparently the man who had entered the building a few minutes
before--reappear, bearing in his arms the limp figure of a man rescued
from the flames. The fireman strode straight out towards them, and as he
reached them the men opened to right and left and let him pass through.
A non-commissioned officer followed him.

"What have you there, fireman?" he asked, as he endeavoured to catch a
glimpse of the blackened face that hung so limply down. "Is the man
dead?"

"No--he still lives," replied Max, moving on without checking his pace.
Other people were coming up, and his one thought was to get beyond the
circle of light cast by the great fire before taking acti