"I think so. I did not notice any light myself when I approached it. But
I had been in Chastel before, and of course knew of the house and its
location. I went there at once, hoping that it had escaped destruction,
and found my hopes justified. Has Mademoiselle Lannes heard anything
from her brother? I did not see his name on the register?"

"He has not come, but the weather has made it impossible. Aeroplanes
can't dare such snowstorms as this."

"That's true, but he's so wonderfully skillful and bold that he might
get here in some fashion. Now I think we ought to make a good search
among these ruins, Mr. Scott. It's more than likely that the Germans
have passed on, but there's a chance that they will linger. You're
armed, of course?"

"I've an automatic handy."

"So have I. Suppose we take a look in the wood here, and then we can
search among those houses on our right."

The snow and the night, now at hand, biding them, they entered the
little wood with confidence that they would fall into no trap. But it
was empty, and returning to the edge of the town, they scouted
cautiously all the way around it, finding no sign of either a friend or
an enemy.

"We alone hold Chastel," said John, "and I think we'd better go back to
the Hôtel de l'Europe. I've been away a full two hours and Mademoiselle
Lannes may be worried about my long absence, not about me personally,