"Are you sure about that?"
Irving looked curiously at the putter of this question, considered a moment or two, and then replied:
"No, I'm not; but I don't know of anything more."
"Suppose some more of that kind of work should be found, would you like to do it?"
"Surely."
"Irrespective of the size of the task or the danger?"
"I don't know how I could find anything much more dangerous than that skirmish in No Man's Land," Irving replied slowly. "The other part of your question I don't wish to answer rashly. Tell me the task, and I'll tell you if it's too big for me."
"That's the very answer I wanted you to make," said the colonel, almost eagerly. "Now, suppose we should ask you to go over into Germany on an important spy mission, how would that strike you?"
This was something Irving was not looking for, and he was so astonished that he did not answer for several moments. Then he said:
"It would strike me all right."