Then it was, with the lieutenant temporarily disabled as a result of his experience, that the three boys from Brighton, who seemed somehow to have been selected by Fate as the despoilers of all the spy's plans, put their heads together to devise a scheme of capture.
"We've got more than one good reason for wanting to get this fellow," Slim reminded the others with considerable warmth, during the course of their deliberations. "First and foremost, of course, is our plain duty to our country, to which he is an enemy and a traitor.
"But, in addition to that, there is that knockout that he handed to Joe, and the midnight scare he gave Jerry and me, and finally his effort to kill Lieutenant Mackinson by slow suffocation, not to mention the nerve of the fellow in coming back the way he has."
"Yes," added Jerry, "we owe him a lot, and it is up to us to figure out how we can square the debt."
"Well," said Joe, "I think I've got a plan that will work; but we've got to remember that we are dealing with a very shrewd man."
"Well, what's your suggestion?" Slim demanded.
"That we divide our forces," answered Joe solemnly, "lie in wait and try to ambush the foe."
"Right!" cried Jerry. "Joe, you'll be a general before this war's over."
"Along what lines do we disperse our forces, General?" asked Slim.
"Along what lines would His Royal Stoutness suggest?" demanded Jerry.