in the
yard there was that rope that hung from the tree near the well!

So he nerved himself and his reward came at last. He could feel the
tension of the rope yielding as one strand after another was torn by
the tiny teeth of his unknowing rescuers.

Finally they ceased and sat up on their haunches washing their faces,
and the need for inaction had passed. With a mighty effort Tom
strained at the rope and it snapped.

He could have shouted with exultation. He waved his arms in the air
and the frightened rats vanished. He rubbed his hands and arms until
the circulation came back. It was an easy matter then to untie the
rope that bound his feet.

The noise on the floor beneath had ceased, He stole to the window and
looked out. No one was stirring in the space around the house. He
shuddered as he saw the dangling rope on the tree near the well.

There was the sound of a stealthy step below. Tom drew his head from
the window. Standing in the shadow of the frame he could see a young
girl emerge and run swiftly away.

Where were the others? Consulting perhaps as to how they could get the
most enjoyment from the spectacle of his hanging.

There was only one way of exit that promised safety. He must escape by
the window.

He measured with his eye the distance from the ground. It seemed to be
about eighteen feet. He himself was six feet high. That would leave a
clear drop of twelve feet. He could probably make it without injury.
At any rate he had no choice.

He let himself down gently with his hands and dropped. The shock
brought him to his knees, but he arose unhurt.

The next moment he was racing for the woods with the speed of the wind.

CHAPTER XVI

CLOSING THE GAP

A sheet of flames leaped from the American rifles. A blasting torrent
of death poured from the machine guns. The heavy field artillery, that
had the range to a dot, tore gaping holes in the serried German ranks.
Great lanes opened up in the advancing hosts. The target was broad and
there was no need to take aim, for every bullet was bound to find a
mark.

The enemy ranks faltered before that terrific fire and fell back,
leaving hundreds of dead and wounded on the open space in front of the
lines, while hundreds more were strewn along the barbed wire
entanglements.

But the German commanders were prodigal of the lives of their men, and
after a brief time for re-forming, the divisions came on again, only to
be hurled