“I’m sure I don’t know,” answered the young lieutenant.
“I wonder if it’s possible that Gebauer is some sort of a spy and that soldier knows it,” mused Roger.
“Anything is possible, Roger. But that fellow may be nothing more than some business acquaintance. More than likely the Gebauer Jewelry Company had a connection in Germany previous to the war—a great many of those German-American firms had. That fellow may be nothing but a business friend.”
“But why would he make a motion as if to pay him money and motion to him to keep his mouth shut?” questioned Phil.
“Maybe Gebauer doesn’t want folks generally to know he had a German connection,” said Ben.
“Don’t you think this ought to be reported?” questioned Roger.
“I’ll speak to Captain Obray about it,” answered Dave. “And then I am going to see if I can’t get a chance to talk to that German prisoner.”
“Can you talk enough German to do it, Dave?”
“I can get an interpreter.”
Our hero lost no time in mentioning what he had seen to Captain Obray, and that afternoon obtained permission to visit the place where the German prisoners were being kept that night. This was in a barbed-wire compound hastily laid out for that purpose by some of the engineers.