Chester broke into a laugh, and Hal glanced at him in surprise.
"What are you laughing at?" he demanded.
"Why," said Chester, "I am laughing because you can't see through this."
"Is that so?" said Hal, somewhat nettled. "Perhaps you can see through it?"
"Of course," said Chester. "General Gallieni simply sent this squad after us. He didn't explain the situation to the officer."
"By Jove!" said Hal. "Now, why didn't I think of that? It's plain enough, now that you speak of it."
They marched along in silence, and soon were ushered into the presence of General Gallieni. The latter dismissed the other officers with a wave of his hand and turned to the lads.
"Well, I see you escaped," he said, with a semblance of a smile on his grim features.
"Yes, sir; thanks to you, sir," said Hal, also smiling.
"Thank yourselves," said the general. "It took some resourcefulness to think of such a plan. It proves to me that you can use your heads. I am, therefore, more confident that you may be successful in your desperate work."