Every day Amiens expected the incursion of the Germans, but day followed day and still the enemy did not come. Frank and Henri stayed in the Martin house alone. The servants had gone; Madame Martin had respected their fears of the Prussians, and had made other arrangements for them. So the two scouts camped out there, and Henri invited many of the other scouts to share their quarters in relays. The house was open, too, to any refugees who cared to use it, but by this time the country to the north that was in danger of German raids had been swept clear, and Amiens was no longer a gathering place. It was in itself too much exposed. The smoke of burning villages rose now to the south, toward Paris. The retreat was still on, it seemed. And while they waited patiently, since there was nothing else to do, for the coming of the Germans, there was much work for the Boy Scouts to do. It was routine work now, very different from the exciting labors that had fallen to the share of Frank and Henri on the day of their trip to Le Cateau. When Henri became restless and impatient, as he sometimes did, Frank soothed him. "We are still serving France," he said. "There are no more soldiers in Amiens. There are a few police, and those are old men, since the young gendarmes have gone to join their regiments. But Monsieur le Maire knows that he can call upon us." The military authorities, before completing the evacuation of Amiens, had given strict orders that if the Germans came there was to be no resistance. And in order to enforce this rule, the mayor detailed the few remaining police and the Boy Scouts to make a house-to-house canvas, warning the citizens, and collecting all firearms that might be found. The scouts worked in pairs on this duty, and Frank and Henri always went together. "In Belgium," one of them always explained, in making the demand that the arms be given up, "Louvain and other towns were destroyed, so that not one stone remained upon another. And always the Germans made the excuse that shots had been fired on their men from the houses. Here in Amiens we must save our cathedral and the other famous buildings. When the Germans come it will not be for long; soon they will be in retreat before the armies of France and England." Many gave up their guns reluctantly. But nearly all did give them up, and whenever the scouts had reason to think that any were being concealed, they made a special report on the house, and policemen returned to make a search. And this wise planning had much to do with saving the town. The Germans came at last. At first a single squadron of Uhlans, in command of a young lieutenant, rode in. Frank and Henri saw them passing their house and they mounted bicycles at once, and followed them. "They've nerve," admitted Henri, reluctantly. "See with what arrogance they sit their horses! They might be riding into a German city instead of one in which everyone who sees them hates them!" "Yes, they've nerve," agreed Frank.