"Then I'll do better," said Stubbs. "Listen." He proceeded in a low tone. "I've been here for two days. I heard rumors some time ago that Austria and Germany were at the breaking point. Bulgaria, out of the war, as she has been for several weeks, it became apparent that Germany's other two allies would soon leave her in the lurch. Now Turkey doesn't matter so much, although with the Ottomans out of the war the strain on the allies will be lessened considerably. But with Austria—the kaiser's most important and powerful ally, ready to quit—the moment seems auspicious. Now, I wanted to be on the ground floor when the news broke. That's why I took a chance and sneaked through the German lines; that's why I'm here.
"That's why we're here, too," said Hal quietly.
"Now, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester, "you inferred that you had already learned something. What is it, if I may ask?"
"I didn't exactly say that," protested Stubbs. "However, I have found what in the newspaper business is called a 'leak' and I have hopes it will produce some news before many hours have passed."
"And what is this leak, Mr. Stubbs?"
"Why," said Mr. Stubbs, "its none other than our friend the night clerk whom you so unceremoniously ordered from the room a few minutes ago. He thinks I'm a pretty regular fellow. The reason is plain enough. I've been supplying him with tobacco for the last two days."
Both lads smiled.
"It's no wonder then," said Chester. "Tobacco is one of the luxuries in Germany to-day. But who are you supposed to be, Mr. Stubbs?"
"Me?" said Stubbs, "why I'm nothing more than a German-American who was caught in Germany by the war, who is in sympathy with the German cause and not at all anxious to get back to the States. In fact, the clerk is positive I'd be wearing a German uniform if I were not above military age."
"But you're not above the German military age, Mr. Stubbs," Hal protested.