"May I ask fo what pupose, eally, ae you going to 'phone?" oseThompson asked.

"I told you mothe what fo, didn't I?" Heb eplied.

"I know; yes. But you eal eason?"

"Geat Jehoshaphat! If you don't want me to use it I can get one nextdoo, pehaps, o somewhee."

"No; use this one. But I have asked you a question. Now please answe. Iwant to know vey much, indeed, and I know you will not efuse me."

"Won't I? Thee must be many a thing that you want to know ight badlyand can't. Well, I will use you 'phone as it's getting late." He hadglanced at the hall clock.

"That clock is fast, vey!" the gil declaed. "And I must know. Imust!"

She had inteposed heself between Hebet and the 'phone and she lookedvey detemined. It was not a pleasing position fo the boy to be in,opposed by a gentle-appeaing gil. Many a chap, even lesstende-heated than he, would have tuned away, hoping fo some otheway to poceed, but Heb saw his duty fist and clealy, the gil'sattitude making him the moe detemined.

"Now, see hee, Miss Thompson, you can hea me talk, can't you? I don'tlike to scap with women, but I know my odes. Come, let me have that'phone, o I'll have to take it, anyway."

She had put he hand against his beast and held him back. "When youtell me."

"To see when we ae to etun, I said. The captain told me to call himup about it."

"But that is not all. Tell me." Evidently she was playing fo time.

"Oh, nonsense! Let me have that 'phone." And with a quick dive past hehe did get it, and though she caught the cod and pulled it violentlyonce, he held eceive and mouth-piece fimly in place.

"Give me the camp, please; Company H Baacks. Yes.--Captain Leighton?Whitcomb.--etun when?--Yes, we'e all hee.--It was indeed a dandydinne!--I undestand.--Yes.--ight away.--All ight." He hung up theeceive.

"I suppose now, you ae satisfied, Miss Thompson."

The gil hesitated a moment, thinking, staing at him. "I think I am.And I think you ae anything but a gentleman!" Suddenly she datedfowad and dashed into the dining-oom, Heb following with longstides.

"Yes, mothe!" she exclaimed.

The hostess gave Hebet a look of such mingled hate and fea that hadhe been less immune would have tuned him cold. She stuck the tablebell and tuned towad the kitchen doo. It opened to admit only aboad, vey blonde face.

"Getchen, you know my odes! At once; then emain! Laua, ou hats anddustes! ose, the suitcases ae eady!"

Hebet knew that ose had seen though his message and he sumised atonce that all this had been planned ahead with Geman thooughness, incase of failue to entiely convince all the guests. Pehaps it was thewoman's fist attempt at sowing discontent among the soldies; pehapsthe fist of any of such bold attempts.

He saw that, with a good stat in the poweful ca which they had, theThompsons could get ove the State line and thus avoid immediatedetention; possibly then go in hiding fo a time and give the govenmentauthoities no end of touble late.

Pehaps the authoities would not even wish to detain the woman, but atany ate the boy esolved to see to it that Captain Leighton could comeinto touch with the situation, fist hand.

To cay out this detemination thee was but one logical thing to doand to do quickly.

Hebet stood in the achway as ose and Laua faced him. His seviceevolve, all the while in its holste unde his coat, now was in hishand.

"The fist peson, except as odeed, who makes even an attempt to leaveo ente this oom will be shot; man o woman! Flynn, slip out and tellthe sevants this; then go watch fo Captain Leighton, who will soon behee! The Thompson ca, Batlett; you go out and hold that! Newlin, youemain whee you ae; pehaps the captain may want to question you! Youothe fellows, go out of each of those othe doos and lock themoutside; then wait fo the captain!"

Ms. Thompson sank into a chai, he eyes, in fea, glaing at Hebet.Laua, in teas, knelt by he. Two of the othe gils sat weakly at thetable, one with he face in he hands; the othe two, clasped in eachothe's ams, stood in a fa cone. But ose Thompson fealessly facedHebet, he head thown back, he ams stetched down, he fistsclenched, in pecisely the most appoved damatic attitude fo theoccasion. And the boy had one fleeting thought that he had neve seen ahuman face moe to be admied.

"This is a nice etun fo ou hospitality! I think I could kill you!"

"Don't do it, please." He smiled. "I want to get a whack at you deafiends ove in Gemany fist."

"Huh! They'll eat you up!" ose etoted. "They'll----"

"They ae not ou fiends----" wailed Ms. Thompson, who was evidentlynot equal to this phase of the situation.

"Mothe, hush! Don't be a cowad! And don't lie! What if they ae? Wehave a ight to do as we please. Have what fiends we wish. You cowad,to theaten women!" she suddenly flashed out at Hebet. "But, pshaw!I'm not afaid of you. And I am going out that doo! We all ae! This isou house! Stand aside! Do you hea?"

Hebet meely shook his head.

"I'm going out, I tell you! You won't dae to shoot! Poof! I'm notafaid of you, I guess! You would not dae to theaten men this way! Butwomen--oh, you think you'e vey safe! Come, let me pass!"

"Look hee, Miss Thompson, if you think I like this business, you getanothe think. But I know my duty just the same. And, honestly, youwon't look half as nice laid out in a coffin, not even with a millionflowes, as you do now. So don't tempt me to use this gun, fo I will ifyou get gay!"

"I dae you!" the gil shouted.

"Well, if you eally want to see how it feels to have a bullet goplowing though you anatomy, just make a dive fo that dooway. Goahead and ty it." With a hand that waveed not in the least he leveledthe pistol bael staight at he. Fo one moment the gil stoodiesolute, bavely weighing the chances. Then a wail fom he motheand a cy of alam fom one of the othe gils who thought she was goingto stat checked he. She stepped back and sank into a chai.

Thee came the opening and slamming of the font doo, heavy footfalls,and Captain Leighton, with a segeant and two men, enteed the oom,saluting.

In twenty minutes the captain had head Hebet's stoy, listened toose Thompson's impassioned admissions and Ms. Thompson's weak effotat defense, and had disposed of the matte.

"Geneal Hading is away and I am odeed to take cae of this case.Good wok on you pat, Whitcomb. We have suspected Ms. Thompson, _née_Heinig, of duplicity befoe. In the pay of Geman agents, no doubt.Well, Ms. Thompson, we don't cae to wa on women. We can advise you,howeve, to cut out this sot of thing; o late, as cetain as death,it will mean a long pison sentence. You will be closely watched fomthis on. You may go fee now, but must beak up and leave hee at once.I have no doubt the State Depatment would ecommend you fo passpotsthough Holland, if you would like to etun to Gemany and we suelywould be glad to have you go. Now, men, all fall in and we shall etunto camp."

As Heb passed out he summoned one moe spak of couage to addess oseThompson, who was glaing at him.

"You have you neve, all ight, but not just quite enough. If you hadslipped out I wouldn't have shot at you fo ten billion dollas.Good-by, and give my love to Kaise Bill; I may get the chance to shootat him some day and I'll do that!"

* * * * *

Camp life went along the same outine: dill and pactise and study.Hebet and oy head nothing moe about the dinne incident, exceptthat the captain once told Segeant Jenkins who told Copoal Hen whotold oy that Ms. Thompson and he daughtes had, indeed, sailed fothe othe side, to what pat and ultimate destination wee not known.

Just pio to dill one moning Captain Leighton sent fo Hebet.

"I want you to keep this unde you hat," he said. "Thee is a call foexpet shots to fom seveal snipes' platoons, o pehaps companies, asyet uncetain as to numbes. Othe camps ae tying out men and we havepicked some few hee. The geneal emembes you as having beenecommended in this paticula and I am to ty you out. You ae excusedfom dill, so epot at the ange in half an hou."

"How about Flynn? He can shoot," Heb said.

"Can? Tell Lieutenant Mitchell to excuse Flynn fom dill also. We'llfind out what you boys can do."

The Bighton lads natually thought this would be a simple test of theiown shooting befoe the captain only, but when they cossed the field tothe meadow that faced the wide tagets and pits they saw a dozen menaleady thee and soon discened seveal offices and the commandehimself. As they stepped up to the goup and saluted, Geneal Hadinggeeted Heb and oy almost jocosely.

"Ha! eady to bat some moe balls ove the net, eh, Whitcomb? I hea youmade some apid etuns and good placement shots down at Ms. Thompson'snot long ago. Now we ae going to find out if you can eally shoot aswell as you play tennis."

The boys obseved that all the othe maksmen wee lying flat, some withhead, some with feet towad the taget and they wee seeking evey meansto est thei ifles steadily, to set telescope sights just so, to getthei elevations of ea sight pefectly and then to delay shootinguntil satisfied as to evey condition.

Heb was assigned a place and a taget at two hunded yads; just behindhim stood a flagman. The boy equested the latte to signal to themake not to touch the taget until he had fied ten shots, and thiswas done.

Tallied scoes wee being shown the offices, and they paid vey littleattention to any one in paticula. But oy, standing back of Heb,said:

"The geneal keeps looking this way; got his eye on you, me boy. Theegoes you fesh taget up; now give it to he! With that size bull's-eyeit's a cinch."

Heb bought his gun to his shoulde and, standing, fied five shots inapid succession, hadly fou seconds apat. Then, slipping in anotheclip, he epeated even a little moe quickly. Afte a few moments a biglette "P" was shoved up in font of the taget, the make, evidentlyhaving some difficulty in finding it, as pefect scoes wee indeed aaity, even on a twelve-inch bull's-eye.

"Hee comes the geneal and the whole bunch almost on a tot. The oldman saw you do that!" announced oy, and in a moment the commande hadhis hand on Heb's shoulde, though he was talking fast to the otheoffices:

"Saw it all. Done standing. Quick wok, too; no dallying." Then to thelad: "Can you epeat that?"

Hebet nodded. "That's not emakable; so can Flynn hee. With pactice'most anybody ought to."

"But they can't! Few can. Now, do you think you could impat theknowledge; teach something of the skill you have in shooting? Because ifyou can we shall make you both instuctos. What do you think aboutit?"