Page:Augusta Seaman--Jacqueline of the carrier pigeons.djvu/141

Rh usual sleeping camp lay all about him. The usual challenge from drowsy sentinels arrested his progress, but thanks to the magic  countersign, “Don Carlos,” which he had  learned from the gatekeeper, he was no where [sic] detained. He accomplished the passage of the camp with absolutely no molestation or exciting incident, thinking that the feat was becoming very, very easy.

On the road to Delft he looked along the canal to see if he might spy Joris Fruytiers  and his bulky craft. But the canal was deserted, and he was obliged to make up his mind that his own two feet must carry him  most of the way. As he trudged along, he could not but notice the exceeding muddiness of the road, and the farther he proceeded, the worse did it become, till at length  he found himself plowing through a veritable  bog.

“This is singular!” was his first thought, and then, “Why, no it isn’t either! This is the result of the broken down dykes. How