Irving looked in astonishment at the commanding officer of the regiment, being scarcely able to believe his ears. Surely the proposition was nonsensical. And, yet, this was no occasion for nonsense. But the boy's wondering conjectures were interrupted by the officer, who was adding to his last announcement.
"After the art work on your arm is finished," he said, "I'm going to send you into Germany to find out some things we want to know."
"Yes?" Irving responded, with a rising inflection that carried with it a suggestion of an interrogation.
"Yes," the officer continued; "I want you to take the place of the spy whose tattooed arm had to be amputated."
CHAPTER XVII
PARACHUTE PRACTICE
Private Ellis looked hard into vacancy and thought just as hard for half a minute; then he said:
"I get you, I think, Col. Evans, all except one point; and that, I suppose, would come to me all right if I knew the contents of that tattooed message."
"No, you wouldn't," the colonel returned quickly. "It wouldn't do you a bit of good."
"I'd know whether it's important," Irving insisted.