A quarter of an hour later Phil saw the horsemen collect together, and, having saddled their ponies, they rode away from the farm, evidently to the no small satisfaction of the farmer. In half an hour two of them returned, and having unsaddled they turned their horses into a shed, and, carrying their saddles, banged at the farmhouse door again. "What now?" surlily asked the owner, appearing. "Only a lodging for the two of us," one, a big burly fellow, the same that had attempted to open the carriage door, answered with an oath. "Come, master farmer, we want no trouble; accommodation for two, good feeding, and plenty of that vodka we have already tasted, are what we desire. We have been ordered here to keep a look-out for the runaways." With a growl of displeasure the man bade them enter, and nothing more of them was seen till the evening, when they appeared, evidently in an intoxicated condition. That night Phil was lowered from the trap-door by Tony, and when he returned he brought a loaf of bread and a joint of meat, which he had abstracted through an open window of the farmhouse, and in addition, a pocketful of apples from a tiny orchard growing near. The following day passed uneventfully. The two Cossacks made a thorough search of the surroundings, and once more returned to their beloved vodka. That night again Phil went out in search of provender, but, in endeavouring to reach a plate of provisions which stood upon a shelf within the window, he upset a dish which clattered to the ground and smashed into a thousand pieces. Instantly a window was thrown open and a head put out. Phil crept into the shadow and crouched low. "Who is there?" a drunken voice called. "Comrade, there are thieves about. Rouse yourself." The window closed with a bang, and, darting across to the outhouse, Phil rapidly clambered up through the trap-door, and he and Tony having gained their hiding-place, once more waited anxiously for what was to follow. But the Cossacks evidently preferred the comfort of a warm room to searching for a thief who was, for all they knew, far away already. So, grumbling that they would see to it on the morrow, they turned in again, and soon all was quiet. "We shall have to clear away from here, Tony," said Phil as they waited. "The disappearance of food is certain to lead to suspicion, and we shall be caught. To-morrow night we will make a bolt for it."