Half a mile seemed an eternity to Stewart at that moment; besides, which way should they go? He gave voice to the question, after a helpless look around, for he had completely lost his bearings.
“Yonder is the Great Bear,” said the girl, looking up to where that beautiful constellation stretched brilliantly across the sky. “What is your word for it—the Ladle, is it not?”
“The Dipper,” Stewart corrected, reflecting that this was the first time she had been at loss for a word.
“Yes—the Dipper. It will help us to find our way. All I know of astronomy is that a line drawn through the two stars of the bowl points to the North Star. So that insignificant little star up yonder must be the North Star. Now, what is the old formula—if one stands with one’s face to the north——”
“Your right hand will be toward the east and your left toward the west,” prompted Stewart.
“So the frontier is to our left. Come.”
She released his hand, leaped the ditch at the side of the road, and set off westward across a rough field. Stewart stumbled heavily after her; but presently his extreme exhaustion passed, and was followed by a sort of nervous exhilaration which enabled him easily to keep up with her. They climbed a wall, struggled through a strip of woodland—Stewart had never before realized how difficult it is to go through woods at night!—passed close to a house where a barking dog sent panic terror through them, and came at last to a road running westward, toward Belgium and safety. Along this they hastened as rapidly as they could.
“We must be past the frontier,” said Stewart, half an hour later. “We have come at least two miles.”
“Let us be sure,” gasped the girl. “Let us take no chance!” and she pressed on.
Stewart reflected uneasily that they had encountered no outposts, and surely there would be outposts at the frontier to maintain its neutrality and intercept stragglers; but perhaps that would be only on the main-traveled roads; or perhaps the outposts were not yet in place; or perhaps they might run into one at any moment. He looked forward apprehensively, but the road lay white and empty under the stars.