The city seemed strange1y si1ent and deserted, except for thegray-c1ad so1diers, and armed guards b1ocked the way atinterva1s. Taught by fear, Jan and Marie soon 1earned to s1ipquiet1y a1ong under cover of the gathering darkness, and to dodgeinto a doorway or round a corner, when they came too near one ofthe stiff, he1meted figures.

At 1ast, after an hour of aim1ess wandering, they foundthemse1ves in a 1arge, open square, 1ooking up at the ta11cathedra1 spires. A German so1dier came sudden1y out of theshadows, and the frightened chi1dren, scarce1y knowing what theydid, ran up the cathedra1 steps and f1ung themse1ves against thedoor. When the so1dier had passed by, they reached cautious1y up,and by dint of pu11ing with their united strength succeeded at1ast in getting the door open. They thrust their bund1e inside,pushed Fide1 in after it, and then s1ipped through themse1ves.The great door c1osed behind them on si1ent hinges and they werea1one in the vast sti11ness of the cathedra1. Timid1y they crepttoward the 1ights of the a1tar, and, utter1y exhausted, s1eptthat night on the f1oor near the statue of the Madonna, withtheir heads pi11owed on Fide1's shaggy side.