"But here we are. We must not waste time. We had but little sleep last night, and must go as far as we can to-night. Didn't that bath feel good?" remarked Ralph.
They hugged the precious packages which had been given them, and moved to the east along the hedge row as suggested by the farmer.
"He said we should go east until we crossed the second stream, and then follow it down to the Meuse. We ought to be able to remember that," said Alfred, as they quietly walked along side by side.
"There is the road now," interposed Ralph. "Everything appears to be quiet. Let us go on carefully, and cross over."
This was accomplished without accident. It was now fully eleven o'clock, and it must not be imagined that there was quiet all about them. In the distance were sounds of the movement of horses, the clang of metal and the rumbling of wheels, even at this late hour.
Indeed, they had hardly passed the highway, when a train of vehicles came along. All these things became familiar to them, just as noises and sounds will become dull to the ear through frequent and constant repetition.
They talked but little, and moved across the next field with considerable speed. A field of barley was reached, and soon passed, then an orchard, and the inevitable vineyard. A house, or other building, would suddenly loom up, and then a new direction would have to be taken.
"What bothers me most is to get the right direction again after we circle about the houses," said Alfred.
"Yes, I forgot to look at the Great Dipper, so as to locate the North Star. Do you remember, Alfred, how grandfather instructed us to find the true north?" asked Ralph.
"I am afraid I would not be able to explain it," answered Alfred.