But of what avail, after all, was one pistol against a band of reckless and wily Cossacks, if such were under those nine-foot lances?
Billy and Henri were unarmed.
The peasant was up with a jump when Schneider proclaimed his discovery of impending peril.
"Hide! Hide!"
With the words of alarm he tugged at an iron ring in the center of the heavily-planked floor.
It was considerable of a lift, this weighty trap-door, but the old man developed a surprising degree of activity and strength, and quickly presented the way to a cellar by means of a ladder, the length of which indicated considerable depth.
"Not for me," strenuously objected Schneider; "they will never catch us like rats in a trap."
"Quick! Quick!" pleaded the peasant.
Billy, at the window, excitedly announced:
"They're the real thing; I can tell by their caps and caftans. The Cossacks are here!"