"I'm too old a bird for that trick," he said, showing that he understood what had been in Hal's mind. "I'm going to report to the proper person."
"Improper person, I guess you mean," Chester growled.
"At any rate, I must report," said their captor. "Now if you'll promise to make no outcry while I'm gone, I will not have the gags replaced in your mouths. Otherwise, I am afraid—"
He closed with a shrug of the shoulders.
"You put one of those things in my mouth again, and I'll make you eat it—some day," said Chester.
"Not for some time to come, I'm afraid," was the little man's rejoinder. "I believe I can guarantee you will be kept out of mischief for the duration of the war."
Hal had been gazing at the little man closely.
"Seems to me," he said at last, "that I have seen you some place before.
There is something familiar about you."
"You've probably seen me," was the reply. "I've been around here for some time."
Chester was now struck with a sudden thought.