"Lie quiet till I tell you, Hans."
The nearest fence was six feet from the palisade. Finding one of the posts, Yorke cut the lowest wire close to it. Then he cut it again some four feet away from the post, and carefully dragged the severed portions further along. He had thought that this would be the best plan, as, if he tried to coil the wire up, it might spring back again and strike one of the tins on the line above. These tins were for the most part hung half-way between posts, as the vibration there would be greatest.
When he had this done, he whispered to Hans: "There is room enough to crawl under the wire now, but you must lie perfectly flat, or you will be caught by the barbs. Push your hat through in front of you first. If you should catch, don't try to move; you would set the tins ringing. I will come and free you. But if you are careful, you ought to have no trouble. I can get through easily enough."
The next line was five yards outside the inner one, and as soon as Hans was through the first fence, Yorke proceeded to cut the lower wire as before.
"Lie where you are till I have cleared the way through the outside fence," he whispered to Hans. "Dark as it is, they might see us if there were two of us together."
While the work was going on, the sentries had passed frequently. They followed each other, however, at somewhat long intervals. As they sauntered along slowly, smoking their pipes, and occasionally humming a hymn tune, they kept some fifteen or twenty yards outside the boundary fence, so as to be sure that in the dark they should not run against it, and not only tear their clothes, but by shaking the tins give a false alarm. To facilitate this, lanterns had been placed at this distance away from each corner, so that as soon as they passed one they could see the gleam of another and walk straight for it. Yorke waited till two of the guard were about equally distant from where he was lying before cutting the last wire, and was very careful in using a steady pressure on the pliers, so as to prevent their closing in with a click. This time, instead of risking the second cut, he crawled along some little distance with the end, then he gave a low hiss, and Hans was soon beside him.
"Now, Hans, we will go together. They certainly cannot see us here, so we will crawl under this last wire, and then lie still till the next guard passes. Wait till he has gone twenty yards, then stand up and make a dash. Run as lightly as you can; but even if he hears us, we shall be out of sight before he can unsling his rifle and fire."
Crawling under the wire, they remained as flat as possible on the ground until the next sentry passed. They could scarcely make out the outline of his figure. They waited till he had quite disappeared, then Yorke pressed his follower's hand. They rose to their feet and quietly made off. Their footsteps were almost inaudible, even to themselves, on the sandy soil. As soon as they were past the line the sentries were following they quickened their steps, and after going fifty yards broke into a run. They were free now. There had been no challenge by the guards on either side of them, no pause in the slow dull tread of their heavy boots. They had run a hundred yards when Yorke said: "Now, which way, Hans? Have you got a rifle for me?"
"Yes, master, I got two from a lot that were standing against the wall of a drinking-shop while their owners were inside."
"What did you get two for, Hans? You brought your own out with you, didn't you?"