Page 73 - A Hero of Liége

Following the miller, the two young fellows stepped into the stream, and
waded across knee deep till they stood below the wheel. It was an

undershot wheel. The chains confining it were deeply rusted. Some of the
floats had fallen away; others were broken; all were more or less decayed.

"I've done my part," the miller whispered. "You must squeeze through into
the wheel and slide along the axle. Where it is let into the brickwork you'll

find a hole big enough to crawl through. Climb up, and you'll find
yourselves in a little room that used to be the tool-shop. Take care you don't

stumble over the tools on the floor. At the further side there's a door into
the storeroom. I can do no more. Que le bon Dieu vous protege!"

He shook hands with them in turn, recrossed the stream, and disappeared
among the wheat stalks.

With some difficulty Pariset squeezed his body between two of the floats,
hoisted himself up, and stood in the interior of the wheel. The rotten

woodwork creaked, and the wheel itself groaned slightly as it moved an
inch or two; but the movement was checked by the rusty chains. Kenneth

followed more easily. They swung themselves on to the axle, jerked their
way along it, came to the hole of which the miller had spoken, and
clambering up through it, stood on the floor of the toolroom. Hands and

clothes were coated with red rust.

The room was lit by a small window overlooking the stream. To their
surprise, it was not empty except for a few rusty implements, as they had
expected from the miller's description. A new deal bench stood against the

wall, flanked by a turning lathe, and an elaborate engineering equipment.

"Electrical!" Pariset whispered.

Treading very carefully, they gently opened the door, took a look round,

and passed into the capacious storeroom. Here they found the plant of a
wireless telegraphy installation. The antennae passed through holes in the

ceiling, emerging, as they guessed, under cover of the parapet, on the flat
roof of the mill.