then to spy out the parsonage. Meeting Vladimir proved easier than he
had hoped. He followed the trail of the man on the motorcycle until he
was within sight of the grey stone parsonage, and then had his bearings
exactly. He approached the hollow cautiously, but no one was around.
The ground was fairly soft; there had been rain within the last three or
four days. And so, as he approached the spot of his encounter with the
superstitious soldier, Fred was able to tell that no visitation had been
made to the hollow. He marked the footsteps of the soldier; the man had
evidently run from the place.

Looking around cautiously, he saw that everything was clear, and dropped
down on hands and knees as he reached the gully. Vladimir was waiting,
and in less than a minute explained the secret of the door.

"All right," said Fred. "Now you get back to the house, and either be
near the entrance to the passage yourself, or keep someone stationed
there. I don't know what's going to happen, so I can't tell you, but I
think that maybe I shall get Boris away from the parsonage."

Vladimir's eyes gleamed.

"I am an old man," he said, "and I fear that I am useless. But if I can
help to rescue him--"

"If you can help, I'll let you know," said Fred. "But I don't know yet
even how I shall set about it. And I think it's more important for
someone we can trust absolutely to be in the house. There may be nothing
for you to do there, and yet, if anything does come up, you will be
needed there very quickly. Shall you go back through the tunnel?"