"The captain is out on duty and cannot be here for a half hour, so he informs me over the wire," said the orderly.
"Then suppose I go out and tell Joe to watch that end of the field, and from there I will go to the entrance. Probably they,——"
"Wait one moment," said the colonel, interrupting, as he turned to the orderly. "'Phone to the corporal of the gate squad and ask whether a peddler has passed out within the past half hour; if not, tell him to arrest a peddler if he attempts to go out."
"I will go over to the warehouse," said Alfred. "I have an idea he is sneaking around in that part of the grounds."
"Good idea," said the colonel. "Hand this to the officer in charge," he said, as he sat down and wrote a few lines on a pad, and handed it to Alfred.
The latter lost no time in presenting himself to the officer in charge.
"Is this Lieutenant Brand?" asked Alfred, as he addressed a trim-looking officer.
"Yes; at your service," was the reply. He looked at the note.
"What is this?" he continued.