"I thought you were Germans!" he exclaimed. "Great Caesar's ghost! I didn't think I could run another step, but I did; and here I was running from you fellows. What do you mean by chasing an American citizen down the road?"
He paused and glared at Hal wrathfully. The latter could control his merriment no longer, and burst into a hearty laugh. The others did likewise.
The little man drew himself up indignantly.
"I say!" he exclaimed, "what are you fellows laughing at me for?"
Hal ceased laughing, and his face took on a stern expression.
"Who are you?" he asked briefly. "A spy, eh?"
"A spy! Me a spy?" exclaimed the man. "Great Caesar's ghost, no;
I'm no spy."
"Who are you, then?" demanded Hal.
The stranger drew himself up to his full height—and he was still almost as broad as he was long, folded his arms and said proudly:
"I am Anthony Stubbs, sir, war correspondent of the New York Gazette, sir; and I am here in search of news."