"Well, look at the two stars opposite the handle. A line run out from those two stars always points to the North Polar star," replied Ralph.
"I remember now," answered Alfred; "there it is, that bright star. Well, I shall try it the next time we are forced to go around a building."
For the benefit of the reader, a sketch is given of the dipper, and the relative position of Polaris, the great North Star. The dotted line A, which runs through the two stars Dubhe and Merak, also passes through Polaris.
Progress was slow owing to these detours, and when the first stream was reached the boys were glad to bathe their faces, then they sat down to rest. Where the stream was crossed appeared to be a secluded spot, and the silence was such that it was almost oppressive to them.
Suddenly a great bell rang out in the distance, and the boys counted the strokes. It was twelve o'clock, and they heard the bell of a great château, eight miles west of Liège.
This startled them more than the reverberations of the great guns.
"We can now keep track of the time exactly," said Alfred.
"Unless we hear too many other noises," answered Ralph.
