“No,” replied the giant, “are you going to tell me at last?”
“I had about decided to,” said Hal slowly; “but after this, never!”
CHAPTER XIII.
INTO THE CARPATHIANS.
“So,” said the Grand Duke Nicholas, “you find that there are adventures to be found in the eastern as well as the western theater of war, eh?”
“Yes, Your Excellency,” replied Hal.
“And tell me,” continued the Grand Duke, “what do you think of the Cossacks as fighters?”
“From what we have seen,” replied Chester, “I should say that there are none better.”
“Good!” was the emphatic rejoinder. “There are none better!” and he regarded the lads silently for some moments.
Hal, Chester, Alexis, Stephan and Marquis, after the battle on the Vistula, had returned to Lodz without difficulty. The commander of the Russian river steamer had made it as easy for them as possible. In Lodz they learned that their regiment had been ordered to the front, and had been on their way to join it, when the Grand Duke, inspecting his troops, had come upon them. He immediately had the two lads taken to his quarters, for he was greatly interested in them. Alexis, Stephan and Marquis waited without.