"Be quiet!" Tom whispered. "Someone's coming."
"Probably some of our own men," said Wilson.
They stood silently as two men passed them on the road. It was impossible to see them in the darkness, but they caught a broken sentence, "…find a barn … too much mud…."
"That's about the best thing that we can do," said Shadrack, after the men had gone by. "Find a barn some place, and stay there for the night."
"I'd like to push on," replied Tom. "What do you think, Wilson?"
"Let's try to reach the railroad."
"All right."
Shadrack grunted his assent, and they trudged along the road, looking for an opening to the left. Presently a flash of lightning showed them a field. They climbed the fence and started across. Their feet sank in mud that seemed bottomless, and water oozed in over their shoe-tops.
"Can you make it?" asked Wilson.
"Yeh—go on," answered Tom, panting.