sound of firing, but none of them came very near him, and he ran on
without interruption. In two hours he saw lights before him, and knew that
he was approaching Amsterdam. He turned to the right, and went on until he
came to a wide sheet of water, which must, he knew, be the Texel. Then he
lay down and slept for some hours. At the first gleam of dawn he was on
his feet again, and made his way to a farmhouse which exactly agreed with
the description that had been given him. He knocked at the door, and it
was presently opened by a man in his shirt-sleeves.

"Are you Meinheer Johan Van Duyk?" he asked.

"I am," the man said. "Who are you?"

"I am the bearer of this letter from the captain of the _Artemis_, who had
expected you to communicate with him."

"Come in," the man said. "We are early risers here, and it is advisable
that no one should see you. Yes," he went on when the door was closed, "I
have been trying to communicate, but the cordon of sentries along the
shore has been so close, and the watch so vigilant, that it has been quite
impossible for me to come out. I suppose you are an officer of that ship?"

"Yes."

"Do you speak Dutch?"

"No, I speak French."

The man read the letter.

"That is all right; I can furnish you with all these particulars when you
leave to-night, but of course in that uniform you must lie dark until
then. For some reason or other the French have suspicions of me, and they
have paid me several visits. Were you seen to land last night?"

"I do not know. They fired on the boat, and I expect they have a shrewd
idea that somebody was put on shore."

"In that case," the man said, "it is probable that they will search my
house to-day. By this time they know every little corner of it, so I
cannot see where I am to conceal you."

"I observed a stack behind your house," suggested Will.

"Yes, there is one."

"Well, if you would at once get a ladder, and take off some of the thatch
and make a hole, I could get into it, and you could then replace the
thatch long before the soldiers are likely to come out from Amsterdam."

"Yes, I could do that, and I could hand you in a bottle of schnapps and
some water and bread and meat."

"That will do very well. I suppose you have men?"

"Yes, I have two, and both of them are true Dutchmen, and may be trusted.
I will give you at once the list of the gun-boats and flat-boats I have
made ready to send on the first opportunity. I shall be glad