For what the general had written was a safe-conduct for both lads to the Belgian lines; and the signature at the bottom was that of General Count Von Moltke, commander-in-chief of all the German armies!

Hal stepped forward.

"General," he stammered, "we--I--we don't know how to thank you."

The general raised a hand and said gruffly:

"Never mind that." The faint shadow of a smile flitted over his stern countenance. "I suppose," he continued, "that you are wondering why I do this, after what occurred in the station at Berlin. It is so, is it not?"

"It is very strange," muttered Chester, and Hal nodded his head in a.s.sent.

"Well, I'll tell you," said the general. "You remember when I pushed you away from the train?" he queried, turning to Hal.

Hal nodded.

"When I turned round after that, feeling greatly pleased with myself, I noticed, for the first time, the presence of a lady in my compartment.

She looked at me in the greatest contempt. It confused me; and I am not easily confused.

"Then she told me that she was your mother, and, you may believe, berated me most wonderfully. She didn't cry, nor go into hysterics, which made a great impression on me. Most mothers would. I felt decidedly uncomfortable.

"I realized that I had acted like a boor. We had gone some distance, but I had the train stopped and backed into the station. You were not there.

I telephoned your amba.s.sador. You had been there and gone. We were unable to find you.

"I prevailed upon your mother to continue her journey to Brussels. I issued an order to all my generals to keep a lookout for you and give you safe-conduct into Belgium. It seems, however, that none of them recognized you, or that you kept out of sight.

"I promised your mother I would get you out of the country in some way, and she was greatly relieved. She knew I would do it. That's all there is to the story. Now, I don't know what you lads were doing when you were captured, and I don't want to know. If you are mixed up in this war in any way, I don't want to know anything about it; but, if you are, take my advice and go home to America. As I say, I don't want to know what you have been doing since you left Berlin. It might force me to change my att.i.tude. I promised your mother I would get you out of Germany, and I shall do it."

Hal and Chester were greatly surprised by this recital, and both boys thanked the general as well as they could.

The general stepped to the entrance of his hut, and raised his hand. An officer entered and came to a salute.

"I have given these two lads safe-conduct into the Belgian lines," said the general. "See that they get there in safety."

"Yes, general," said the officer.

The general turned to the two boys.

"You would better go now," he said.

He extended his hand, and both boys grasped it heartily.

"Good luck to you," he called, as they followed the officer from the hut; "my regards to your mother."

And that was the last the boys saw of the commander-in-chief of all the armed hosts of Germany.

Straight through the great German camp the officer led the boys swiftly.

At the farthest outposts he halted, and signaled another officer.

"Lieutenant," he commanded, "take a flag of truce and escort these boys to the Belgian lines. They have been given safe-conduct by General Von Moltke."

The officer saluted, and the boys followed him. Under a flag of truce they traversed the distance between the Belgian lines.

Out of danger at last, the two lads hastened to the quarters of the commanding general, and reported. The general was genuinely glad to see them.

"I had about given you up for lost," he said. "But you have arrived in the nick of time. A concerted German advance is expected momentarily, and without the reply you have brought we would have been at a great disadvantage."

Their mission successfully completed, the lads now hunted up Captain Derevaux. They found the young captain in his quarters. He jumped up as the two boys entered, ran hurriedly forward and greeted them effusively.

"Believe me, I am glad to see you again," he exclaimed. "I had made certain I would never see you alive."

"Oh, we are hard to get rid of," replied Hal, with a smile. "I guess we'll continue to stick around for some time yet."

"Well, you don't know how glad I am to see you back safely," continued the Frenchman. "But come in and tell me all about your journey."

For a long time the three talked; and then Hal bethought himself to ask concerning the situation in Liege.

"We are expecting an attack in force at almost any minute," explained the young captain; "and we are prepared to give a good account of ourselves.

In spite of the fact that we are sure to be greatly outnumbered, there is no doubt that we can hold the forts. Of the city itself, I am not so certain, although these Belgians will fight to the last.

"Everything that can be done to strengthen our position has already been done, and all we can do now is to wait for the attack that must come soon. Already the German forces have delayed longer than had been antic.i.p.ated, but every hour of delay makes our position that much stronger.

"British troops have been landed in France, and French and English both are hurrying to the support of the Belgians. It is impossible for them to arrive in time to take part in the coming fight, but it is the plan of the Belgians to delay the German advance as long as possible. Believe me, the Germans will find the Belgian defense such a stumbling-block as they have not counted upon."

"There is no question that they will fight to the last?" asked Hal.

"Not the slightest," was the reply, "Their resentment of the violation of Belgian neutrality knows no bounds. They will fight to the last drop of blood in them."

"Then I suppose the battle of Liege will be one of the bloodiest in history," declared Chester.

"Undoubtedly," replied the captain; "and, if I mistake not, it is only a matter of hours until it begins. The troops are sleeping on their arms, and at the first word of a German advance the entire Belgian army will be hurled into the battle."

"Do you really believe the Belgians will be able to check the German advance?"

"I do. These great steel forts are practically impregnable. They can successfully withstand the fire of the big German guns for weeks; and for the Germans to try and take them by storm will mean annihilation. But a successful charge would put the city proper into their hands."

"But in that event is there any likelihood of the forts surrendering?"

"I think not. In fact, I am positive of it. But come, boys, we have talked enough, and it is getting late. I guess we would better turn in.

There is no telling when we may get to sleep again."

Accordingly, almost fully dressed, the three threw themselves down, and soon were fast asleep.

To Hal and Chester it seemed they had hardly closed their eyes when they were rudely awakened. It was the sound of a cannon that had aroused them, but for the moment they could not tell what it was.

The boys sat up and rubbed their eyes sleepily. Outside it was light. The gray dawn crept through the entrance, dispelling the shadows of the darkened hut.

"What was it?" cried Chester.

And, even as he spoke, it came again, the heavy boom of a single huge cannon, followed almost immediately by the crash of thousands upon thousands of rifles. The machine and rapid-fire guns broke loose with their leaden messengers of death, and a bugle sounded: