Page 97 - A Hero of Liége

"The objection to that is that you would be in almost as great danger from
our own guns as from the German," said the captain. "The forts would

certainly fire on you. But stay: if you decide on that, I will 'phone the
southern forts to pass a Taube showing the Russian flag. That would protect

you until you are clear of our lines."

"Very well," said Pariset. "We will start early in the morning. Do you mind

getting us a Russian flag while I talk over things with my friend?"

"Not at all. I will bring it to you here."

He left them.

"It is frightfully risky," said Pariset, "but we must make the attempt. We

must wear German uniforms. Your friend Granger's will come in handy."

"You have practised bomb-dropping, of course," said Kenneth.

"Yes, but, as I said, it's a most uncertain thing. Besides the difficulty of

hitting the vulnerable spot, the bombs sometimes do little damage. We
might drop a dozen, and yet fail to destroy the bridge. It's essentially a job
to be done on terra firma."

"It's not likely we should be able to land. Even if there is at the moment no

considerable force in the neighbourhood the bridge is sure to be guarded."

"That's certain. Still, it's just as well to be provided for the off chance, so I'll

take, along with the ordinary bombs, a small case of gelignite and a little
electric battery-- a pick-axe, too: that may be useful."

"How far is it?"

"About twenty miles. The bridge is at a narrow gorge by the village of
Simon's Inn. There's a tunnel beyond, and the banks of the river are steep.

The railway crosses the river several times, but I'm pretty sure of the
particular bridge they have tried to destroy."