“We’re on some good old fighting ground,” remarked Henri, who was well versed in history relating to the country around Chateau Trouville. “The Roman legions held forth here centuries ago.” [87]
“They would not have ‘held forth’ any great while under that German fire the other day.”
Billy was not far wrong on that proposition.
The boys were doing this talking while Reddy was lighting the lanterns. These lanterns were bull’s-eyes, and could be turned dark in an instant.
There was no shelling of this spot that night, for there was not enough of the fort left to make a target, and the trenches were attracting all the fire.
The boys could proceed with their work with some degree of safety.
Reddy painfully located the rocky point by falling over a big stone in the dark, the boys having decided to go it blind until they actually had to use the lights.
“You haven’t broken a leg, have you, Reddy?” Henri anxiously inquired.
“No, I guess not,” was Reddy’s reply, “but I think I’ve kicked a toe loose, anyhow.”
The boys switched the masks off their lanterns and three slender bars of light danced among the stones.
“Don’t see any cross.”
“Be patient, Billy,” urged Henri, “we haven’t been here five minutes yet.”
For the next hour the boys circled around the place without finding a trace of the markings described in the map.
[88]
Billy and Henri sat down to rest, but Reddy, who seemed never to tire, continued to explore on his own account. He walked over to the ruins of the fort, and began to measure, by taking long steps, on a line some distance from the point where the boys had been searching for the cross.
Suddenly Reddy stopped. Billy and Henri could see that the ball of light in his lantern had quit moving.
“Wonder if he has found anything?” Henri jumped at the prospect.
“Nothing like going to see,” and Billy with the words was off like a shot.
Sure enough, Reddy had struck a warm trail. All of the cross was not under his feet, but there was sufficient outline to show sections of the original design. Some of the stones had shifted away, but there, beyond doubt, was that for which the boys were looking.
The lantern rays were all directed to the foot of the outline, that is, the en............