How long the lads had slept, they did not know, but they were awakened by the sound of voices directly below them.
"No, I have seen nothing of them," came the voice of the woman who had given them refuge.
"But we have searched every place else," came another voice, speaking in French, but with a heavy German accent. "They must be here. We found the bicycles a short distance from this house, and have scoured the woods. They must be here."
"I say they are not," came the woman's voice, raised in anger.
"Well, I must search the house, at any rate," said the German, "and, if I find that you have been aiding the enemies of Germany, it will go hard with you. Stand aside, please."
"I tell you there is no one here," cried the woman.
"Stand aside!" came the German's voice again, and there was the sound of a struggle, followed by the voice of the German: "Search the house, men."
Then came the sounds of heavy feet tramping through the house. Hal and Chester were both wide awake now and lay silent, listening. For an hour the heavy footsteps continued to ring through the house, and there was the sound of slamming doors and moving furniture.
And finally came the voice of the woman again: "I told you there was no one here."
But apparently the German officer in command was not yet satisfied.
"Have you searched the attic?" he demanded of his men; "and the cellar?"
"There is no one in the cellar," came a voice in reply, "and there is no attic."
"I'll have a look for myself," came the reply, and heavy footsteps ascended the stairs into the room directly beneath Hal and Chester. There came to the lads' ears the sounds of heavy blows against the floor on which they lay. Evidently the German officer was making sure that there was not an opening in the ceiling of the room below. But after a while he desisted. The boys heard him descend the stairs, and a few moments later the sound of his voice:
Both lads drew a breath of relief. A moment more and a slamming door gave evidence that the Germans had departed.
"I was afraid he would locate the trap-door," said Hal to Chester, after they had gone.
"Same here," replied Chester. "But I wasn't going to let them take me without a fight. Only one man could get up here at a time, and we could certainly dispose of him."