son for selecting it. His
design had been to find a spot where the line at night-time would have
dark patches of shadow cast upon it here and there.

Dale and Corporal Shaw now returned to the spot where the band had been
left in hiding, while Max set out for Aix-la-Chapelle alone. He still
wore the workman's clothes in which he had masqueraded for so long, and,
with his excellent knowledge of the German tongue, he had little to fear
so long as he took care not to blunder into a military patrol. Without
misadventure he reached Aix, and purchased a dozen spanners similar to
those used by plate-layers, except that the handles were short and
lacked the great leverage necessary for their work. This difficulty
would, however, be easily got over by cutting stout rods from the woods
and lashing them to the short spanners. The tools thus obtained would,
he knew, be fully suited to the end in view.

The reconnoitring of the railway had disclosed the fact that the guards
were stationed only about eighty yards apart. Also that they were
changed every four hours, at four o'clock, eight o'clock, midnight, and
noon.

An hour before midnight Max led the band towards the line at the point
fixed upon. He had already, at some pains, explained exactly what he
desired each man to do, and from their intelligent eagerness felt pretty
well assured that they would not fail from want of zeal or knowledge of
the part they had to play. To the Frenchmen he, of course, explained
matters in their own tongue, and found them equally as ready as their
Island brethren.

The moon, what there was of it, was fairly low in the heavens, and the
long shadows Max counted upon so largely in his plans were much in
evidence. Silence was another factor of importance, and the feet of all
the men were swathed in long strips of cloth--their puttees in the case
of the British soldiers, and strips from their clothing in the case of
the Frenchmen.

The band was divided into three groups, and the orders were that on
arriving at the edge of the cutting all were to remain motionless in
hiding until the guards were changed at midnight. Then three men from
each band were to creep up close to one of the three sentries marked
down for attack, and wait for an opportunity to seize and kill or
capture him without raising an alarm.

The latter point Max insisted upon as of the utmost importance. The
groups of three might spend two hours, even three hours, he told them,
so