"Yes, that's the beggar for us, Phil," he whispered. "If we crawl over there we ought to be able to slip by him unawares. To-night will be fairly light--just sufficient for us to spot him at twenty yards,--and once we know where he is, it won't be much of a job to slip between him and the next." At dusk a meal was served, and having eaten their portion, Phil and Tony threw themselves down upon a blanket, and spread the second over them, for the nights were already chilly, and they had discovered that with only one blanket apiece greater warmth and comfort could be obtained in this way. "It won't do to fall asleep now," whispered Phil. "We have had a tiring uphill march, and are both in need of a snooze and inclined to take it. Let us talk about something interesting, so as to keep awake." Tony yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes. "I was precious near off then," he answered. "Tell yer what, Phil, teach me a few words of this Russian lingo. That'll wake me up." Accordingly Phil commenced with the simpler words, and when Tony had heard and repeated as many as he was likely to remember, they commenced to chat about their life in the menagerie, taking care only to whisper, and keeping a vigilant watch upon the sentries close at hand. "We must clear out of this about an hour before midnight," whispered Phil. "The sentries are changed at twelve o'clock, and the Cossack outposts too. If we wait till then they are all sure to be wide-awake in expectation of relief, and after midnight there will be little chance of slipping past the fresh ones. As it is, I see it will be a far more difficult job than we had imagined." "That's so," grunted Tony, staring at the nearest sentry. "In course if we could get alongside that feller we could double him up like a rag before he'd got time to shout, and I doubt that the ones on either side can see him. But I fear it would be a failure. We'd never be able to get close enough to smash him before he pulled his trigger." "I have it, Tony," whispered Phil after a few minutes' silence, during which he cudgelled his brains for a means of escape. "We should never get away together, for where one might slip through two would be certain to be discovered. Fortunately many of our comrades are still moving about or sitting up talking, so that my little scheme has a chance of working. Tony, we must have a row and separate." "Have a row, Phil? That we don't, while I can help it!" exclaimed Tony hotly.