and swim under water for
ten feet. Put up your hands then, and rise. There will be room."

At once he dived and disappeared, and Henri followed. When they came to
the surface they were in a dark, damp hole, that smelled of slime and
filth. But in a moment Henri felt steps, and then there was a faint
light that illuminated a vault full of water. And, to his wonder, he saw
a boat, covered, except at one end, with a dark cloth.

"In with you!" whispered Frank. "Under the cloth, and lie still!"

Frank followed when Henri had obeyed. And then the boat began to move in
a direction different from that by which they had entered the vault.

"I am pushing it with my hands along the wall," explained Frank, still
in a whisper. "That will bring us to the opening--the smallest possible
that would allow the boat to pass into the stream. Then the current will
carry us down. I have a rudder, that will hold us in the shadow of the
left bank through all the turns. It is a chance--the only one we had. If
all goes well, we shall drift down below the city and be safe!"

Soon they were caught in the current of the Somme. There followed a time
of terrible and desperate trial and terror. At every shout they heard
they thought they had been discovered. Never did they dare to raise
their heads to look out. Their chance was a double one, but of the
faintest, at best. Perhaps they would not be seen at all; perhaps, even
if the boat was seen, no sentry would consider it worth remark.

For hours they drifted, unable to tell how far they had gone. Frank,
guessing their distance by the time it had taken a piece of wood to
float a certain distance during the afternoon, had hoped to be well
beyond the city when daylight came. But he had not been certain.

Gradually a faint light crept through the dark, stifling cloth. The
temptation to raise it and look out was terrible. But they resisted,
speaking only occasionally in whispers. With every minute that passed
their chance for success grew greater. And yet at the last minute they
might be caught.

At last there could be no doubt that the sun was up, and that there was
full daylight. And then, suddenly, there was a sharp tug at the boat.
With a groan Frank started up, and Henri too.

And what they saw was an amazed French peasant, and all around the
smiling country below Amiens, which was far behind!

CHAPTER XXI

VIVE LA FRANCE!

The peasant listened in amazement to the story that they