the shadow of the bridge."

"What's the game, Max? Why cross at all? Why not cut straight away into
the open country?"

"Wrong direction. The innkeeper was so careful that we should get away
from the district on which the Uhlans were closing in that he told me
exactly where it was. And that's where we are going, of course. We can't
let these Germans make a grand sweep of English and French fugitive
soldiers without at least giving them warning, can we, old man?"

"You beggar!" cried Dale, with a note of admiration in his voice. "No,
of course not. Won't it be jolly if we find some English soldiers, and
manage to pilot them away to a safe place?"

"Not bad. Now here we are; climb over this wall, and lower yourself into
the bed of the river. Then creep along in the shadow of the wall until
you reach the shadow of the bridge. Then we can cross, and shall stand a
good chance of getting away. Most of the Germans are quartered on this
side of the town."

Max and Dale were by this time experts in eluding observation, and had
no great difficulty in getting out of the town without raising an alarm.
Once well away, they strode at a good pace straight across country
towards the wooded region south-west of the town, where the fugitives
were popularly supposed to be. They knew that by their action they would
be placing themselves inside the zone about to be swept by converging
bodies of Uhlans, and that all persons found there, who could not give a
good account of themselves, would almost certainly be shot or speared
out of hand. But they took no heed of that, for the thought that some
members of the gallant little English army which had, they knew, from
the gossip of the countryside, fought so splendidly against overwhelming
odds might be caught unsuspecting, and probably killed, made them ready
to face even greater risks than that. Besides, they had, in their many
successful encounters with the Germans in Liege, gained a self-reliance
and confidence in themselves that made them look upon the affair as one
by no means certain to go against them.

An hour or two after daybreak Max and Dale had reached the woods in
which the fugitives were said to be, and were slowly traversing them,
keeping a sharp look-out on all sides. The trouble, they now realized,
was how to get in touch with them. It was highly probable that they
would keep out of sight, and avoid contact with everybody they were not
forced to have dealings with in the