a stutter in his
voice and without a chatter about his teeth. "Henri, my boy, you're a
nobleman, or ought to be one; and if you aren't, all I can say is, that
the French Government don't know what they're doing. And because why?
Well, now, I'll just tell you," he proceeded, his mouth half full of
sausage, a huge piece in one hand, and a slice of bread in the other,
while between his feet, as he stood on the floor, there rested a bottle
of beer already opened. "Because why, my boy? Well, here's the
reason: our friend Henri contrived, in the first place, to attract our
attention to a spot in Ruhleben where escape seemed possible--I'm not
going to say that he was the chief cause of our undertaking the
venture, but he was one of us--accompanied us to the outside of the
entanglements, and led us away from the camp. It was his and Jules's
idea to escape those dogs by swimming and floating all this distance
down the river, and, though we ain't altogether clear of 'em yet, we're
on the high road to be so. But--and here I'll take a denial from no
one"--and at that moment he looked across at Jules, as if to challenge
him to controvert the statement--"but our friend Henri is the man
mainly responsible for bringing us to the farm, for procuring, first of
all, food and drink, and then providing warm quarters. If I was the
French Government, he'd have every honour possible. As it is,
why--well--" said Stuart, hesitating, and taking another bite of
sausage, "why, now--I'll drink his health, and that's the best I can do
at the moment."

He lifted the bottle, and, tossing his head back, let the frothy fluid,
so beloved of the Germans, trickle into his mouth and down his throat,
and, gasping at last, replaced it on the floor beside him. Yes, it was
a meal which delighted the hearts of all three of them, a meal to be
looked back upon, one which, if they escaped safely from the country
and lived to tell the tale, would be spoken of in glowing terms as a
reminiscence to be thankful for, and an item amongst hundreds during
their adventure to be emphasized, to be picked out as momentous, and to
be expatiated on in the warmest language.

"And now, what do we do?" asked Stuart, when the meal was finished and
each had enjoyed a cigarette--for the cautious Stuart had brought some
with him. "One's natural inclination is to stretch out on these boards
and sleep in the warmth of the fire; but that, just as naturally,
raises the question