CHAPTER XXI.

ACROSS THE MARNE.

For two hours the great motor truck continued its journey southward at top speed. Then Hal called a halt.

Quickly the men clambered out, and with Hal in the lead marched in the direction of the river.

The place where Hal had ordered the men from the car could not have been better selected, for, on the opposite side of the river, though Hal did not know it then, there was a considerable open space between the German forces.

The troopers followed the lad to the bank of the river, and then, as there was not a shot from the opposite side, all walked boldly along the shore. At length they came upon a number of small boats, evidently having been placed in readiness by some of the British forces.

"We'll appropriate these," said Hal. "Luckily they were here or we should have been forced to swim across."

The men piled into the boats, and pushed off. They reached the opposite side without discovery, and hastily clambering up the bank were soon hidden from sight in a clump of trees. Here Hal called another halt, until he was able to decide upon his next move.

The boats had been pulled into the trees, to be used for their return trip. The driver of the auto truck was ordered to remain where the party had left him. All in readiness for a hasty retreat, Hal now bethought himself of a way to successfully accomplish their mission.

After a consultation the party moved forward, keeping as much as possible in the shelter of the trees. As they approached the edge of the little woods they came suddenly upon three German horsemen.

The latter had not seen them, so quietly had they crept along. Hal, Chester and Lieutenant Anderson were upon them before they knew it, their men right behind them. Seeing that they were far outnumbered, the Germans did not put up a fight.

The hands of all three immediately went into the air, and one of them called out in German:

"We surrender."

"Dismount!" ordered Hal, and the Germans obeyed.

"This is what I call luck," said Hal to his friends.

"What do you mean?" demanded Lieutenant Anderson.

"Why," said Hal, "here we have three horses and three German uniforms. If that isn't luck, I don't know what is."

Quickly the three Germans were stripped of their uniforms, bound and gagged.

When Hal, Chester and Lieutenant Anderson had donned the German uniforms, Hal called three of the British troopers to him.

"You men," he said, "will leave all your weapons here, except your revolvers, which you will hide in your clothes. Then you will accompany us, afoot, apparently as prisoners."

He called a fourth trooper to him.

"Your name?" he demanded.

"Bristow, sir."

"Then, Bristow, we appoint you to take command while we are gone. The rest of you will remain here until we return, or until you find it necessary to retreat across the river."

"Very good, sir," said Bristow, and fell back and informed his companions of the situation.

"Do you realize," asked Lieutenant Anderson of Hal, "that if we are captured in these German uniforms it will mean a spy's death for all of us?"

"Perfectly," said Hal, "but we shall have to take that chance. I believe that having three English soldiers with us, apparently prisoners, will be a means of avoiding detection."

"All right," said Chester, "only we shall have to be careful."

Quickly the three mounted, and marching the soldiers on ahead of them started north, bearing off slightly to the east. For an hour they continued their journey, passing now and then a body of German troops. But they were not molested, not even challenged.

At length they came upon a farmhouse, setting well back from the road.

"Perhaps we can learn something here," said Chester.

Hal called a halt, and all approached the house. The door was opened by a young woman, who started back in dismay at sight of them.

"Have no fear," said Hal, who acted as spokesman of the party. "We are simply tired out and hungry. We thought perhaps you could furnish us with a bite to eat, and also our prisoners here."

Without a word the woman opened wide the door, and motioned for them to enter. The six followed her into the dining-room, where soon a hearty repast was spread on the table.

"We have been on a mission south," Hal said to the woman. "Can you tell me just how far the German staff is from here?"

"It can't be very far," the woman replied, "for some of the officers often come here to eat. They say that they like my cooking better than the regular army fare. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of them were to come along soon."

"Good," said Hal, aloud, but nevertheless he was seriously alarmed. He did not wish to come into such close proximity with the German staff officers.

Hastily the six bolted their food, and even as they were disappearing around the outbuildings, Chester, glancing back, saw six men, in gold-trimmed uniforms, entering the house they had just quitted.

"Great Scott," he said, "we got out of there just in time. Look."

The rest looked back and saw the cause of his excitement. In the shelter of a clump of trees Hal called a halt.

"There must be something up," he declared, "or the German staff would not be this far south. I don't suppose General French has been informed of this. In some way we must find out what is going on."

"And I wouldn't be surprised," said Chester, "if they were using that farmhouse for a certain purpose."

"By Jove! I never thought of that," said Hal. "I believe you have hit it. That is where they are making their plans. I wonder"--and he grew greatly excited. "I wonder if by any chance the Kaiser could be in that party."

"He is probably pretty near the whole party," said Lieutenant Anderson dryly. "Kaiser Wilhelm is no coward, and if his staff is there, this close to the British lines, the Kaiser is probably there also."

"Then it's a wonder the woman didn't say something about the Kaiser being near."

"She probably didn't know him," said the lieutenant.

Hal sat wrapped in thought for a long time.

"Do you know what I am going to do?" he said at length, dismounting.

"No. What?" demanded Chester and Lieutenant Anderson in a single voice.

"I'm going to sneak back to the farmhouse, and see if by some hook or crook I can hear what is going on. We shall probably not have another chance of overhearing the German plans."

"Great Scott!" said Lieutenant Anderson, "that certainly is a bold plan. You don't mean it?"

"I certainly do," was the reply.

"Then I shall go, too," said Chester.

"And me," declared Lieutenant Anderson.

"No you won't," said Hal, positively. "The rest of you will stay here. If I should get into any trouble, I shall fire my revolver, and then the rest of you can come up. The six of us will be a match for them, the Kaiser included."

Suddenly Chester was struck with a great inspiration.

"Why can't we get the rest of our men, and capture the whole crowd?" he demanded in great excitement.

"I had thought of that," replied Hal, "but something tells me it can't be done--a hunch, if you like. I have a feeling that if we attempt such a thing our whole expedition will go wrong. I can't explain just what I mean, but I feel it."

"And I too," declared Lieutenant Anderson. "I don't know why, but I know it's true."

"Bosh!" said Chester, but the words of his two friends evidently had created some impression, for his ejaculation was only half-hearted.

"Well, if you must go by yourself, all right," said Lieutenant Anderson. "But my advice is that the sooner you get there the better."

Hal nodded, and, a moment later, going some distance to one side, where he knew he could not be seen from the dining-room window, he walked slowly toward the house.

He made no attempt at concealment as he walked along, for he knew that such an action, should he be seen, would be suspicious and would probably mean an unsuccessful termination of his plan. He had little fear of detection, clothed as he was in a German uniform.

Now the lad reached the house, and sought a means of entrance. He did not wish to go in the front door, for fear that someone might see him, so, keeping close to the wall, he walked around the house.

His effort was rewarded. For at the extreme rear was a low window, apparently halfway between the first and second floors.

"Evidently, at a turn in the steps," Hal told himself.

Quickly he grasped the edge of the sill, and exerting great strength slowly and cautiously drew himself up. The window was open, and the lad put one leg over the sill. A second later he sat in the opening, and then disappeared inside the house.

Very cautiously he ascended the steps. Remembering the exact location of the dining-room, the lad sought out the room above it. There, at one end of the room, he found what appeared to be a little closet.

Gently opening the door, he peered in. Nothing but darkness met his eyes. Hal stepped inside, pulling the door to after him, leaving just a little crack that he might not be suffocated.

Then he laid his ear to the floor and listened intently. From below came the faint sound of German voices.

Hal ran an exploring finger over the floor of the closet. His finger felt a little hole, and changing his position the boy saw a very small opening in the floor. He put his eye to the hole and peered down, and as he made out the figures in the room below he chuckled softly to himself.

The first man upon whom he laid his eyes was Count Von Moltke, commander-in-chief of all the German armies, and who, upon one occasion, had saved him from death before a firing squad.

"Wonder what he would say if he could see me now?" Hal asked himself.

His gaze roved over the room, and there at one end of the table sat an imposing figure in gold-trimmed military uniform, sword between his knees, a fierce military mustache curling upward.

There was no mistaking this figure. It was Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany!