“All right so far, Wing,” said one of them in a low tone, as he laced up his shoe and tied the string in a complicated knot. “If we can carry this thing through, we’re in luck.”
“And if we’re caught, it will be bad for us,” returned Louis gloomily. “After all, though, the chances are with us, for nobody has ever tried anything of the kind before now, and they won’t be on the watch to prevent it.”
“We’re all safe enough till we go in again,” said Max; “as long as we don’t break our necks,” he added provisionally, as he glanced up at the armory which was dimly outlined against the starless sky above.
“Fine night for us,” observed Louis. “But come ahead; we don’t want to waste any time talking.” And he led the way to the buttresses which flanked the corner of a little wing near the front of the building.
“I’ll go up ahead,” said Max; “and then you hand up the colors. Bother the fellow that planned this building!” he added petulantly. “I’ve rubbed all the skin off my knee, trying to get a purchase against this smooth stone. Why couldn’t he have left it rough, I wonder.”
“He would, if he’d had the interest of ninety-two at heart,” returned Louis. “But stop scolding and hurry up there.”
Both the boys were as agile as monkeys, and by bracing themselves against the angle of the buttresses, they had soon climbed up to where they could gain a slippery footing on the steep roof of the wing. Once there, their way was easier, for a row of small bars fastened to the slates, showed where the janitor went up to the ridgepole, in the rare event of trouble with the lines for raising the colors. At the ridgepole the boys came to a halt, and seating themselves astride the sharp comb of the roof, they began to untie the bundle they had so carefully brought with them. The next moment, the roof at their feet was covered with something large and dark, which lay in loose folds along the tiles.
“Ready?” asked Max, after a moment of careful adjustment.
“Ready,” answered Louis from his post farther back on the roof.
“Let her go, then!” And there was a sound of rasping cordage, as the dark mass slowly rose into the air.