and Oscar in the middle held aloft the banner. The
staff was quickly planted as previously arranged; the beautiful banner
floated proudly over the land. Oscar took his stand by it, and the
others formed a circle, lying on the grass about him. With a loud
ringing voice he began:--

"Friends and brothers!"

"What does this mean? What is this all about?" suddenly thundered a
voice behind him.

The boys sprang to their feet. Oscar looked round. Two bearded men in
uniform stood close behind him and looked at him with threatening
glances. In a flash Oscar turned about, made one great leap down the
hill-side and away across the field like a madman. Behind him came the
Finks, scarcely touching the ground. Down the other side ran the
Lucerner fast on the heels of the Schwyzer, who tripped, and both went
headlong into a ditch. Feklitus was the only one who kept his ground. He
knew who he was; Fortunatus, the only son of Mr. Bickel. No one would
dare to meddle with him. He knew, too, that he was by no means nimble,
and the sudden appearance of the men in uniform had given him a strange
feeling of heaviness in his legs. He had no mind to stay alone, however,
and so he seized the shoemaker's boy by the collar, and held him as in a
vise.

One of the men now came up to them and said roughly,--

"Come along to the watch-house and explain what you have been about, and
what it all means."

The Uri boy hid himself as well as he could. Feklitus, half-frightened,
half-angry, answered,--

"We have done nothing. We are not to blame. It's all Oscar's doing."

"We don't know anything about that," said the man. "You come along with
us. Our motto is, 'Taken together, hung together.'" Then he turned to
his comrade, and they began to whisper.

Feklitus was as pale as a ghost.

"Did you hear that? They are going to hang us," he said, grasping his
companion still more tightly.

"Let us run away," gasped the boy, hardly able to speak for choking.

Feklitus looked at the men; they were in earnest conversation with the
miller. He sprang from the ground; fear gave him unwonted agility. Down
the hill he raced, his hair fairly standing on end with fright, and the
Uri boy after him. Neither looked back to see whether they were pursued,
but they thought they heard footsteps behind them. On they ran--on, on;
at last they separated; one this way, the other that; and then both
disappeared. They had not been followed.

Oscar reached Rosemount al