Jack performed this ceremony, and followed the other. He could not help noticing that little streamers of faint light managed to find their way up from below in certain places. This told him there were cracks in the floor of the loft, a fact that did not surprise him in the least. Amos was as good as his boast, it seemed. He had said he would be fast asleep about as soon as his head struck the pillow. It was not long before Jack knew from his even breathing that he had fulfilled his threat. Jack somehow seemed to lose his drowsy feeling after lying down, as often happens to some persons, so that they are inclined to take the first nap sitting in a chair. He found his mind becoming more active than he liked. It seemed as though all kinds of things began to flit through his brain, including the mystery surrounding the old couple downstairs. Becoming annoyed after he had lain there for nearly an hour with closed eyes, and yet no nearer going to sleep than in the beginning, Jack took himself sternly to task, and determined to forget all outside happenings. His resolution was immediately sorely tried, for had any one been gifted with the eyes of a cat, capable of seeing in the dark, he might have discovered Jack actually sitting up as though listening. Had Amos awakened just then he might have asked his chum if he thought he heard the squeak of a foraging rat. But Jack seemed interested enough to quietly crawl out from under the covers and silently make his way along to where the largest crack in the floor was to be found. A short time afterward he was shaking Amos gently, and whispering in his ear. “Wake up, Amos, and don’t give a peep,” was what he said in the lowest tone possible. “There’s something queer going on downstairs. A man has come in; they opened and closed the door as softly as they could. They are talking together after dropping the bar at the door. I’m afraid these people are either not Belgians or else secretly in league with the enemy. I plainly heard a word in German!” CHAPTER XVIII. THROUGH A CRACK IN THE FLOOR. Amos was no longer sleepy; indeed, the boy had never been more wideawake in all the course of his life. What his cousin had just whispered in his ear was enough to thrill him through and through. “Can I see, too?” he asked eagerly, as though it would gratify him very much if able to satisfy his curiosity in this regard. “Yes, but creep along softly, and be careful,” he was instructed by Jack. Accordingly Amos began to move along after Jack, who led him directly to the spot where he had found the widest crack. Presently both boys were flat on their stomachs, and with their eyes glued to the slender aperture. Apparently Amos had no trouble about seeing, for before long he drew back again. The murmur of low voices came up to them from below, and he had found that it was just as Jack said.