Ere he could regain his feet and his dignity, "The Rat" had dashed madly out of the room, through the corridor and made good his escape.
"Walked right in and turned around——" quoted Jimmie, with a grin at the officer's evident discomfiture.
"He didn't leave his card, either," smiled Harry. "Wonder where he's going in such a hurry," he added. "He is surely up to something!"
"Probably he will head for Berlin now that he sees there is no market where he can dispose of his goods in this town," ventured Jack.
Thrown into surprised confusion by the unusual and undignified interruption of their deliberations, the gentlemen who had received the boys were apparently unable to give coherent thought to the matter in hand. They were recalled to a consideration of the case by Ned.
"Cannot we put out a dragnet and have this fellow arrested?" he inquired presently. "If you can detain him on some charge, we will at once cable for the necessary papers to secure his exchange to our country. He is far too dangerous a man to allow at large."
"Thank you for the suggestion," exclaimed one of the gentlemen. "It is a good one and we will act upon it at once."
"Rest assured," spoke up another, "the police will at once take the man into custody and the matter will be arranged as you wish."
Considering the matter closed and with repeated assurances of friendship for the boys and the country they represented, the gentlemen wished them a hearty good-night after telephoning instructions to the police department regarding the arrest of "The Rat."
Francois volunteered to accompany the boys to a suitable hotel, where accommodations could be secured, and in his company they left the War Office. Owing to the scarcity of cabs and other street conveyances due to the presence at the front of all available men, the boys were compelled to walk to their proposed lodging some distance away.