A strong man from the far side of the barn calling piteously on "_Muetterchen_," made them both think of their own "little mother"; and after Dennis had rubbed for several minutes until the palms of his hands were terribly hot, Bob clutched his shoulder and whispered: "For goodness' sake, old chap, let's chance our arm! I can't stand any more of this!" "Just as you like," assented his brother, strapping the gaiter loosely round the limb again. "If you can't walk you must crawl, and when you can't crawl I'll carry you; but I wish my head wouldn't ache so confoundedly. Do you notice no one's been near this place since they brought you in? That tells me the sanitary squad will be busy to-morrow." He helped Bob up as he spoke, not to his feet, for he could not put the right one to the ground; but by passing an arm round Dennis's neck he managed to hop to the door, which was only a yard away, and there they paused to take their bearings before leaving the shelter of the barn. Every step was as painful to the one as to the other, but the night air was very sweet, and the hope of liberty sweeter. "This door opens to the east," whispered the Captain. "Consequently, our road lies yonder; and, by Jove! it is a road too! What stunning chaps the British gunners are when they're properly supplied with ammunition!" "You're quite sure you're right, old man?" said Dennis. "The shells are bursting yonder like one o'clock." "Exactly!" was Bob's dry rejoinder. "That's the German barrage falling behind our new line. It's about there we shall probably get pipped on the post, brother of mine. That barrage lies between us and safety." Overhead the shells rushed, clanging, booming, whistling, screeching, according to their different species and calibre; and every now and then a star-shell burst in the sky, lighting everything up for a few seconds in an unearthly brilliance. "So long as we're between the two fires," said Bob, as they began their perilous journey, "there is nothing much to fear, it seems to me. The next mile is No Man's Land with a vengeance; after that it will be Dante's Inferno with the lid off." Every time a star-shell burst the fugitives flung themselves on to the ground. After one of those enforced pauses, and before they had covered a quarter of a mile, they rested for quite a considerable time at the edge of an enormous crump-hole, and, Dennis still having his haversack, they divided its contents and ate ravenously.