"Some day we'll save the aged English from destruction."
"Meanwhile we'll wait."
They extinguished the fire, carefully put away all the dishes they had used, restored everything to its pristine neatness, and then the three yawned prodigiously.
"Bedrooms next," said Carstairs.
"Do you propose that we spend the night here," said Wharton.
"That's my idea. We're worn out. We've got to sleep, somewhere. No use breaking ourselves down, and we've found the château here waiting for us."
"What about the Germans?"
"We'll have to take our chances. War is nothing but a chain of chances, so far as your life is concerned."
The other two wanted to be persuaded, and they yielded readily, but John insisted upon one precaution.
"Old houses like this are likely to have isolated chambers," he said. "Some of them I suppose have their secret rooms, and if we can find such a place, lock the door on ourselves, and go to sleep in it we're not likely to wake up prisoners of the Germans."