"Halt! Who goes there?" demanded the sentry in German.
"Rounds," was the reply.
"Advance, rounds; all's well!" exclaimed the soldier, recovering his rifle.
An officer and a file of men, one of whom held a lantern, came tramping through the long, damp grass. The Sub seemed to feel the glare of the light. Instinctively he buried his face in his arms and hid his bare hands under his coat. For the gleam to fall upon any light-coloured object was to arouse suspicion.
"Anything to report?" demanded the officer.
"No, sir. Once I fancied I saw one of the bloodhounds."
"Then don't fancy. I may as well tell you that the dogs are safely chained up. It would go ill with some of you men if they were at large on a night like this. Besides, the hounds are too valuable to risk being shot by an imaginative sentry. Now, remember, challenge once only and then fire, should any suspicious person approach your post. It means promotion to the man who succeeds in shooting or capturing those troublesome spies."
[Illustration: "'IT'S THE ROUNDS, BY JOVE!' WHISPERED THE SUB">[