"Yes, worse luck!" rejoined his brother. "We'll have to find somewhere to hide. That's the worst of these short nights. I wanted to cover a good thirty miles before daybreak, but it's doubtful whether we've done twenty. The question is, where can we hide?"
"Those trees," suggested Malcolm, pointing to a cluster of heavily-foliaged oaks.
"Not much. The Boches will make a mark on every tree within fifty miles of Düren. They'll take it for granted that every man of us will make for a tree-top. Long grass--bonsor if we can avoid treading it too much. Farm buildings--very doubtful. We'll carry on for another ten minutes, and keep one eye skinned for a suitable show."
Before they had covered another hundred yards the two men found that further progress was impeded by a broad canal. To the right the waterway was clear and uninterrupted, as far as the now-thickening mist permitted. To the left was a string of barges; beyond, looming faintly through the air, the outlines of a house and the uprights of a swing bridge.
"Lock-keeper's cottage," declared Peter. "There's a light burning. Friend Hans is evidently entertaining the bargees and ignores Kaiser Bill's lighting restrictions. We'll scout round and then take the liberty of crossing the lock bridge."
"One moment," remonstrated his brother. "Cover's what we are looking for. We aren't out to run up against a Boche lock-keeper. Can't we hide in one of these boats?"
Peter glanced doubtfully at the idle barges. There were four in a string, their bows pointing westwards. When the journey was resumed the coaly flotilla would be proceeding nearer the German-Dutch frontier--perhaps to Holland itself, as almost every ton of coal imported into that country, since the tightening of the blockade, came from the Westphalian pits and was exchanged for badly-wanted foodstuffs.
"Sit tight a minute," he said. "I'll have a look round."
Cautiously the elder Carr stepped from the bank upon the deck of the foremost barge. Even then his boots grated loudly upon the thick deposit of coal dust upon the grimy planks.
For some seconds he stood still, his ears strained to detect the first sounds of a disturbed sleeper. Reassured, Peter crept aft, where a slightly raised deck formed the roof of a small cuddy or cabin. The sliding hatch was closed, and secured on the outside by a padlock.