Page:Augusta Seaman--Jacqueline of the carrier pigeons.djvu/183

Rh out of the northwest, the waters rose rapidly, and the vessels were again afloat. Fortunately too, from some fugitives from one of the villages, who had come aboard, Boisot  learned of another course he could pursue, a  little roundabout indeed, but having the advantage of avoiding the terrible, guarded  bridge. He lost no time in availing himself of this, and the amazed Spaniards at the village of Nord Aa suddenly beheld this fear-inspiring flotilla bearing down upon them  from an entirely unexpected direction. They fled precipitately, not even stopping to gather up their possessions, to the strongly  fortified village of Zoeterwoude, only a mile  and three-quarters from the city.

A little beyond Nord Aa, Boisot encountered the last dyke, the “Kirk-way.” This he promptly levelled, but the wind had  again changed, the water fell to the depth of  only nine inches, and the fleet lay once more  helpless in its shallows. Day by day passed and nothing occurred to alter the monotony