peasants' garb, or
in the clothes of the stout Belgian dames.

"Well, a lot of them are fugitives, the same as those we've been seeing
on the roads all day long," Rob explained. "Some of them have been
burned out of house and home; but in the main they're people who have
believed all these awful fairy stories about the terrible Germans, and
think that if they stay they'll be eaten up."

"This place must have escaped a visit from the Germans so far," Merritt
suggested, "and they are coming to believe it's a lucky town, which
would account for so many stopping here in their rush to get away."

"That's bad!" muttered Tubby.

"Why is it?" demanded Merritt.

"All the spare beds will be taken, you see," explained the other
dejectedly, "and those who come late, like we are doing, must sit up all
night, or else sleep in the dog kennel or the pigsty or the barn. Well,
I said before and I mean it, if I can have some hay under me to keep my
bones from the floor, I won't complain, or make a single kick. I'm
easily satisfied, you all know."

"That must be the village inn, over yonder, Rob," Merritt remarked,
pointing as he spoke. "Judging from the crowd in front we've got a poor
show to get beds for to-night."

"Everybody stares at us as if they thought we might be some kind of wild
animal," Tubby complained.

"Well, I can see that they've had some sort of circus here lately
because the showbills are still posted on the fences," Merritt observed
with a chuckle, "and can you blame them for thinking that the side shows
have bust up, with the freaks hiking all through the country, unable to
ride on the railroads, which are all taken over by the Government to
haul cannon, horses and soldiers? I'll pass for the Living Skeleton,
while you could stand for the Fat Boy, Tubby!"

Tubby was so used to having his friends joke at him on account of his
chubby build that as a rule he let such reminders pass by without
showing any ill feeling. In this instance he hardly noticed what Merritt
was saying, because so many other events were happening around them.

Being satisfied at last that they were in no apparent danger from
concealed Uhlans, Tubby felt his spirits rise once more.

At the inn Rob entered into a brief conversation with the proprietor. As
this worthy knew very little French, and Rob next to nothing of Flemish,
the "confab," as Tubby called it, had to be conducted mostly through a
series of shrugs and gestures.

"What lu