Among these there was an air of gloom and depression.  The state of panic in which the troops of Prince Thomas, who had marched out confident that they were about to annihilate the French, had returned, and the knowledge that the Marquis of Leganez had also failed, had created a feeling of the deepest disquiet among that portion of the population who had taken a leading part in throwing off the authority of the duchess and in acknowledging that of Prince Thomas.  They had regarded her cause as lost, but the vigorous steps that France was taking to assist her had caused uneasiness; and if, while as yet a comparatively small force had arrived, these had shown so bold a front, had captured Chieri in the face of a powerful army, had revictualled Casale, had defeated Prince Thomas and forced their way past the array of Leganez, it might well be that in the spring, when reinforcements reached them, they might even defeat the Spaniards and lay siege to Turin itself.  The boys remained where they were until it began to grow dusk, when, after buying at three shops a saw, a crowbar, and an auger, they went and sat down on a doorway in a quiet street until eight o’clock.  Then they took their way to the Strada Vecchia.  It was entirely deserted.  Lights showed in one or two of the windows, but, except that they could hear the tread of the nearest sentry, all was silent.  Taking off their wooden shoes they moved cautiously along, keeping close to the houses.  The fourth they came to had an unusually deep doorway, and they decided at once that this would suit their purpose.  First they tried with the crowbar, but the lock held firmly.

“We will try another way, Paolo.  If the door yields, it will go with a crash, and the sentry might come down to see what had caused the noise.  We had better take out this lower panel; we shall want four holes bored touching each other to make one large enough for the saw to enter.”

The wood was of oak, and it took Paolo fully five minutes to make the holes.

“Now give me the auger,” Hector said when it was found that the hole was large enough for the saw to pass through.

“I will begin at the bottom of the panel while you saw away at the top.”

Paolo had done his share by the time the holes along the bottom were ready for the saw.

“Now you take the auger again,” Hector said.  “We have not done half our work yet.  The holes must be made on each side.  There is no turning the saw.”

It took them an hour and a half of hard work before the last cut was completed and the panel fell forward.

“You go in first, Paolo.  I will follow you, and will wedge the panel into its place again with some of the chips that the auger has cut out.  No one has passed since we began, and if anyone did come along before morning he would not be likely to notice that the panel was gone.  Still it is as well to avoid all risk.”