"Ah!" said Gascon, with a broad grin, "they have struck the caisson and exploded the ammunition."

Without waiting for more information, the party rapidly ran along the hedge to the north, but before they had crossed half-way to the hedge which formed the enclosure for the field along the roadway, a troop of horsemen appeared in the66 road to their left, and rode furiously toward the hill.

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The atmosphere was a dusky gray but unlike a haze it was much more dense and heavy. The heavy shells from the fort came at regular intervals. The moment the horsemen passed, Gascon held up his hand as a signal to go forward, and they soon reached the road. He was the first through the brush, and crawling out across the road, gave a peculiar whistle to indicate safety, and the boys followed, crouching as low as possible, Ralph following Alfred, after an interval, as they had been instructed. Their companion was the last to cross.

When Alfred reached the other side, he saw Gascon fully a hundred feet away. The battery on the hill had ceased, but the one beyond was still keeping up its regular shots.

"I believe we are forward of the most advanced batteries," said Gascon, "and if such should turn out to be the case we will have little trouble in reaching our lines."

The misty condition of the atmosphere was most fortunate for the boys and their companions, but it also frequently brought them close up to the patrols, which were constantly in their path. Thus by careful manœuvring they found themselves approaching an elevation which Gascon estimated to be ten miles west of Liège.

The ascent was slow, as they crept most of the way, to avoid any sentries who might be in that locality. Up to this time they had found the inevitable67 Uhlans in their way wherever they went.

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Gascon, who was in the lead, held up a warning hand as they reached the summit, where, spread before them, was a great panorama. To the east, and less than a mile away, was a much higher hill, that dominated the position in which they found themselves, and there they discovered a battery, also in action.

Directly before them was the winding Meuse. A little to the right, and probably a mile and a quarter away, was a little town, and to the left, four miles distant, was Huy, a town of about 4,000 inhabitants, also on the 

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