"A minute will be too late!" cried Stubbs.

"Be still, Stubbs!" said Chester, quietly. "Give Hal a chance. There is still time to run if it's necessary."

And at that moment Hal sprang to his feet.

"Fixed!" he cried joyfully. "Climb in here, quickly!"

The others needed no urging and soon all were in their places. It was now that Hal thanked his stars that the plane was one of the few that could rise from the ground.

Slowly the large army plane gathered headway as he moved along the ground. Hal increased the speed slowly in spite of the close proximity, for he realized that too great haste might spell disaster, and he wished to test the engine carefully before soaring into the air.

"Up, Hal!" cried Stubbs. "Here they come!"

Hal paid no heed to this frantic exclamation. Instead, for a moment, he reduced the speed of the craft as something seemed not to be working exactly right. Calmly he bent over the engine and tinkered with it a moment later. Then he sat straight and exclaimed:

"All right now!"

Stubbs gave a great sigh of relief.

Hal increased the speed of the machine until it fairly flew over the ground. And then his hand touched the elevating lever.

Immediately the plane soared in the air like a big bird.

And from the ground came exclamations of surprise; for it was not until that moment that the Germans who had been advancing toward the friends had discovered their presence; although they had been espied by Chester and Stubbs some moments before.

A volley of rifle bullets was fired at the rapidly rising machine.

One flew by Stubbs' ear and he dropped to the bottom of the car with a howl of fright.

A moment later, however, the machine was beyond reach of the rifles of the German troops, and Hal laid the craft out on a straightaway course, heading directly west.

"Nothing can stop us now but enemy aeroplanes," he said quietly.

He increased his speed. The big army plane flew toward the distant French lines with a speed greater than that of the fastest express train.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE END OF MATIN

"You have done well, sirs. President Poincare shall hear of this."

The speaker was General Petain. Before him stood Hal, Chester and Anthony Stubbs. Hal, acting as spokesman, had just concluded an account of their adventures within the enemy lines, a venture from which they had returned successfully and safely only an hour before.

For, after the aeroplane had descended above the French lines and headed for the French positions, the journey had been without important event.

True, there had been a brush with one enemy aircraft; but this had been worsted. A second, which had given chase, was distanced with ease and the three friends had returned to the French lines unscathed.

"So!" said General Petain, "you blew up the enemy's ammunition depot, eh?

The explosion was felt even here. We knew the foe had suffered some hard blow, but I had no idea that it had been delivered by your hand."

Both lads flushed at the praise of General Petain. Stubbs was pleased.

"Now tell me what else you did, if anything," said the general. "Did you get the information after which you went?"

"We did, sir," returned Hal.

He pa.s.sed to the general the doc.u.ments he had taken from the young German aide. General Petain scanned them carefully.

"These will be invaluable to me," he said quietly.

Then Chester told the French commander of the conversation he had overheard in the quarters of the German Crown Prince.

"Now that I have escaped," the lad concluded, "it may be possible, of course, that the German plans will be altered."

"You have done well," said the general again, "and as I have said, your work shall be brought to the personal attention of the President." He turned to Stubbs. "You, sir," he said, "are not a soldier, yet I have to thank you for your part in this mission."

Stubbs blushed like a school boy.

"I didn't do anything deserving of credit, sir," he said. "My young friends here were the directing heads and performed all the dangerous work."

"Nevertheless," returned the general, "you are deserving of praise and if there is anything I can do for you, you have but to ask it."

Stubbs hesitated. There was something he wanted very much but he did not know whether to make the request or not. General Petain saw the little man's indecision, and said with a smile:

"You have something on your mind, sir. Come, out with it. Be sure it will be granted if it lies in my power."

Still Stubbs hesitated. Chester stepped forward, smiling.

"I believe I can tell you what it is, sir," he said.

"Speak," said the general.

"Why, sir," said Chester, "Mr. Stubbs would have your permission to send an account of the great explosion to his newspaper uncensored. He would have the people of the United States know, through his paper, of the severe blow the enemy has suffered."

"H-m-m-m," muttered the general. "The United States will hear of the disaster, of course. Mr. Stubbs, with the other correspondents, will be allowed to file his despatches after the official report has been made."

"But that's the point, sir," said Stubbs, stepping forward. "I would like to have my paper get the news first."

"Oho! I see," exclaimed General Petain. "You want for your paper what you Americans' call a--a--a--"

"Scoop."

Chester supplied the word.

"Exactly," said Stubbs.