"Do you notice that all the troops are going northwest and west?" asked Ralph. "They must go that way to reach Brussels, and as Brussels is now in the hands of the Germans," he added, "we should by all means go to the north or east and reach Antwerp."
Without molestation they passed through the streets and moving north through the Rue de Catharine crossed the great boulevard and out through Porte de Anvers without being seen.
At twelve that night the road was still filled with troops, wagons and paraphernalia of war. Watching an opportunity, Ralph sought information from a peasant. The latter said:
"The Belgians are not far away, and there has been a battle hereabouts. If you want to reach the troops do not follow the road, but go to your left, directly west. In that way you will get in touch with them."
"What does the great movement of troops toward Antwerp mean?" asked Ralph.
"Why, the Germans have determined to capture Antwerp, and they are moving up the big guns to batter down the forts," he was informed.
About five miles north of Malines they reached the river Nethe. Acting on the suggestion of the peasant, they left the road at this point and determined to follow that stream as far as Boom, from which point they would have a safer route to Antwerp.
After going less than a mile they saw a road which had the inevitable cavalry patrols. They were now undecided what to do, but determined on one thing—to get to the Belgian lines and to risk all rather than be recaptured.
So they remained close to the hedge and moved up carefully to get a more favorable view. They were soon convinced that the patrols were Germans and this made it imperative for them to avoid the highway.
Awaiting the first opportunity they crawled through the hedge and found themselves in the roadway, but before there was an opportunity to cross they were spied by the advance sentries and the first cry they heard was: "Wer geht da?"