The general walked to the door of the tent with the two boys and waved a hand to them as they turned away.
"Well," said Hal, as they walked along, "we apparently have accomplished something worth while."
"To hear the general talk you would think we had," agreed Chester, "and still we didn't do so much, after all."
"That's what I think."
"By the way," said Chester, "I'm going to hunt up Stubbs' old quarters.
Perhaps he hasn't moved his things yet. I'll lend a hand."
"All right," said Hal. "I'll go along without you. I'll probably be taking a nap when you reach our quarters. Don't awaken me. I'm tired."
The lads parted and Hal continued on his way to his quarters.
Stubbs had not yet arrived. Hal sat down on the edge of his cot to remove his shoes. As he did so he thought he heard a sound from behind him. He whirled suddenly and there, a few feet away, his revolver trained right upon Hal's heart, stood Matin, the French soldier who already had tried once to kill him.
"A visitor, I see," said Hal, quietly. "You will pardon me a moment while
I remove my shoes. That is what I started to do and when I start a thing
I always like to finish it."
"Take them off if you want to," returned Matin, grinning evilly. "You won't need to put them on again."