"Steady on, man!" cautioned his companion. "Mind you don't bore a hole through the boat as well. See, here is a crowbar, or something like it. We'll prise the door open." They seized the bar and forced the pointed end between the door and the jamb. "Now!" exclaimed Kenneth. At that very moment, before the lads could exert any pressure upon the crowbar, a blinding flash came from overhead, immediately followed by a terrific detonation. Splinters, broken glass, tiles, clods of earth and leaves flew in all directions, while a pungent cloud of smoke enveloped everything. For nearly ten seconds the two chums held on to the crowbar, then Kenneth spoke. "I'm hit, confound it!" he exclaimed. "It's not much, though." He relaxed his grasp of the iron bar as he spoke, and reeled slightly. Rollo held out his hand to steady him, and perceived for the first time that it was wet with blood and practically devoid of the sense of feeling. "What! You hit too?" asked Kenneth, pulling himself together on seeing the dark stain on his companion's wrist. "Yes; a shrapnel ball clean through my right wrist," announced Rollo, "It doesn't hurt much." "And I've a bullet through the palm of my left hand," added Kenneth, displaying a small punctured wound about two inches from the base of the little finger. "It might have been worse. We'll tie our handkerchiefs over the wounds; that will do all right for the time. Now for the door. The sooner we open it the better. Buck up, man; the girls must be terribly anxious." Thus exhorted, although feeling giddy from the effects of the shock, Rollo grasped the crowbar with his unwounded hand. Kenneth bore against the lever with all his might, and with a crash the door flew open. The motor-boat was on a cradle, just clear of the water. It was now half-tide and on the ebb. A hasty examination failed to reveal signs of structural damage to the little craft, although the scuttle-glasses of the cabin were all either cracked or completely demolished. The craft was fully equipped, but the provisions had vanished. Doubtless they had been removed by the Civil Guards at or after the arrest of the spy. "Let's launch her, then we can see if she leaks," exclaimed Kenneth. He was feverishly working against time. His energy seemed inexhaustible. "There's the windlass; let her go gently." Down glided the boat into the sullen waters of the canal. Kenneth leapt on board and secured her along-side, then lifted the floor-boards over the well. "She's making a few drops," he announced. "I think it's only because she has been hauled up in the dry for some time. By the time we get the girls down she'll take up." Rollo offered no remark. In his mind there were doubts as to whether Thelma Everest and Yvonne Résimont were still in the hospital; if they were, would they abandon their duties? But he followed his chum, nursing his wounded hand, wincing at every step he took as the pain shot through the nerves of his arm.