ch like to make the attempt. It would be an adventure after my
own heart."

"If you are willing to try," returned the other, "I would go into it
with you. What a grand thing it would be!"

"If only we could open the gates to admit our troops!" said Max. "It
seems impossible at first glance, but we might do our best. Even if we
did not succeed it would not very much matter. I've a good mind to ask
permission to make the attempt."

That evening he announced that he had been fortunate enough to obtain
his commanding officer's consent to investigate the walls and river bank
with a view to entering the city.

"You can never succeed," said that gruff and grim old officer when he
had heard everything, "and your life will in all probability pay the
forfeit. But you have earned the right to make the attempt, my lad, and
if you are willing to be such a fool as to run the risk, Heaven forbid
that I should attempt to prevent you. Try your luck, and let me know, if
you are not killed, how you succeed."

Permission having been thus grudgingly obtained, Max and Bertram
repaired to their quarters to work out their plans and to make the
preparations for the adventures of the evening. Undeterred by any
thought of the risk they would run, they worked away as happily as
schoolboys. A little before midnight they left the camp and made their
way cautiously across the open country toward the somewhat sluggish
river that made the circuit of the city walls. Fortunately for them the
night was dark, and a thick drizzle was falling, blotting out the
landscape effectually, and making it extremely difficult to see more
than a few yards ahead. Though they knew that for this reason the guards
would in all probability be more on the alert than usual, they had the
consolation of knowing that the chances were that, hidden by the mist,
their presence would be less likely to be discovered than on other
occasions. For some time past a certain portion of the wall had
exercised a great fascination for Max. The particular section in
question was not a great distance removed from the main gate, and, for
more reasons than one, it seemed to him that if an attack was to be made
at all this was the place at which it should be attempted. It was
towards this point, accordingly, that they directed their steps,
proceeding with the greatest caution, until at length they reached the
river's bank.

"It strikes me we're likely to have a cold swim," Max whispered to