"Hand it out!" demanded Beany anxiously.
"Why, I was going to give the General a great line of talk, and I didn't have a chance to do a thing but salute. He was talking to a French officer and the minute he went out, the General just said, 'All right to-day, young man?' I said, 'Yes, sir,' and he said, 'No time to talk! Report in the courtyard to-morrow morning five-thirty, field equipment, for special duty with my staff.'
"I saluted again and turned to come out, and the General said, 'Potter, this is in the way of a reward for that little affair in the dungeons,' and I said, 'Thank you, sir, but the pleasure was all ours, sir,' and he said, 'No, not quite all; because some of the papers you unearthed WILL HELP TO TURN THE TIDE.' How's that, old Beans, will help to turn the tide. Gosh! you did it with your little penknife, didn't you?"
"Well, never mind that," said Beany, wriggling. "Don't you know anything about this trip to-morrow?"
"Nary word," said Porky, "but why should we worry? Main fact is clear, we are going to be among those present."
The boys spent a restless day getting their traveling equipment in order and taking it apart again to put it together in some way they fancied would make an eighth of an inch difference in some of its dimensions. They strutted a little perhaps. It was truly a wonderful thing to go with General Pershing on a trip of that sort. They marveled at their good luck.
That good luck had hinged entirely on their ability to keep their own counsel. That desire some have to tell all they know, a lot that they guess, and a few things that they fear, did not exist in the Potter twins. They could keep a secret without being told to, and that's some test. Whatever they overheard was safe. When they saw things that were not intended for their eyes, they ignored them, or made an effort to forget all about them. This high sense of what was honorable and right was noticed immediately by the General as well as by others whom they met daily.
So they spent the long day patting each other on the back, and wondering at their great good fortune.
They kept closely to the rooms frequented by the officers. As Porky pointed out to his brother, there was one old lady at least who was not wasting any love on them, and they didn't want to give her a chance to turn a key on them and spoil all their fun. They had at least gained a little caution, but how very little the trip was going to show.
It was barely five next morning when Porky and Beany, like two shadows, slipped from their quarters and went silently down to the courtyard. Several automobiles stood ready, heavily guarded, and a couple of mechanics were busily tightening nuts and testing various parts of the machinery. No one spoke. The boys crossed the open space, and in accordance with an agreement made previously, sat down back to back on a ledge of the broken fountain. They were taking no risks of surprise or attack from the rear. Silently the minutes passed. The steady tramp of the sentries and the grating of metal on metal as the mechanics worked quietly on the cars made so little sound that distant noises were loud and acute.