They hurried around, keeping the retreating man under observation. The latter reached the cashier’s desk and stood there a brief time paying his account. Then he made for the exit. Tom threw down more than enough change to pay for their meal, after which, with Jack at his heels, he kept after the object of their pursuit.
Just as the door was reached, held open by an employee of the restaurant, the two young fellows passed one on either side of the man who kept his face so well hidden. First Tom jostled his elbow, causing the subject to glance hastily that way, to receive a muttered apology. Then Jack did just the same on the other side.
The man hurried outside where he immediately lost himself in the crowd; but he acted as though considerably annoyed by the encounter.
Tom and his chum made no attempt at following him. They had attained their object, which satisfied them both.
“It was the slippery scamp, all right!” chuckled Jack.
“Yes, no other than Adolph Tuessig,” added the second young aviator. “I saw his face plainly, and although he’s changed his looks more or less, so as to appear like a Swiss citizen perhaps, I easily recognized him. And if anything else were needed to settle the matter, he had a decided limp as he hurried off.”
“Which I suppose you lay to the teeth of that splendid bulldog of yours, eh, Tom?” laughingly added the other.
As both of the air service boys were exceedingly tired, and there did not seem to be much worth looking at going on in London, once night had settled down over the great English metropolis, they returned to their hotel. Here they sat around for a while and then sought their room, bent on securing a good night’s rest, the first they had had an opportunity to enjoy since entering the danger zone.
Once again it chanced that they counted without their host. They forgot they were under a London roof, instead of in peaceful Bridgeton, more than three thousand miles away across the broad Atlantic. They also neglected to take into consideration the important fact that London was not so far distant from German shores, from which flocks of great airships were accustomed to setting sail at certain periods, for a raid over England.
It was just at midnight when both boys were aroused by a tremendous clatter outside. They heard the discharge of guns, and loud shouts, and bouncing out of bed rushed to the window to see what was happening, while the noise increased with each passing second!