about. It's only the people from the village. Old men, and women, and
children--boys, of course. I'm surprised that they should come for they
know they can't get in."

But even as he spoke, there came a thunderous sound of knocking at the
outer door and the sharp grounding of arms--a noise as ominous as it was
unmistakable.

"There are soldiers, too. They are here much sooner than I thought they
could come!" exclaimed Boris. "Here, into that passage with you! Listen!
Follow the arrows! They will lead you down. Stop at a double arrow. You
will be able to hear. The wall is very thin there, on purpose. You can
hear what is going on in the great hall and still be perfectly safe.
I'll come for you as soon as I can get rid of them."

"All right. But will you be safe yourself? Oughtn't you to come with me,
Boris?"

"Oh, they won't do anything to me! I'm only a boy, you see. They'll
never think that I could be dangerous. In with you, now! We can't keep
the soldiers out. I don't want to give them an excuse for burning the
place down, and they'd do it in a minute if there was any resistance."




CHAPTER VI

THE TUNNEL