they said nothing, and nearly burst in consequence. They went no more
to the meadow after cress, however. Mother Meraut saw to that. If they
had gone there on the morning of the next day but one after their
encounter with the spies, they would have had a still more thrilling
experience, for at midnight Uncle Sam, Jim, and the Captain had quietly
stolen away from camp and hidden themselves in the straw. There they
stayed until in the gray of the early dawn they saw a boat come up the
river, and the slouching figure of the spy stalk across the meadow to
his rendez-vous under the shed. They stayed there until the soldier
appeared, and until they had heard with their own ears the plan for
signaling the German airplane that night, and for giving information
which would en able the aviator to blow up their stores of powder and
ammunition. Then, suddenly and swiftly, at a prearranged signal, the
three men sprang from the straw, and the astonished spies found
themselves surrounded and covered by the muzzles of three guns. They
saw at once that resistance was useless, and sullenly obeyed the
Captain's order to throw up their hands. They were then marched back to
camp, turned over to the proper authorities, and the next morning at
sunrise they met the fate of all spies who are caught.

That was not the end of the affair, however, for, knowing that the
airplane which the spy had referred to as the "Buzzard" was to be
expected that night, and that the German aviator would look for signals
from the straw-stack, plans were made for his reception, and this part
of the drama was witnessed from the village as well as from the camp.
The night was clear, and at about eleven o'clock the whirr of a motor
was heard in the distance. The Doctor, who had returned late from a
visit to a sick patient in an adjoining village, heard it, and at once
gave the alarm. Out of their beds tumbled the sleepy people of
Fontanelle, and, wrapping themselves in blankets or any garment they
could snatch, they ran out of doors and gazed anxiously into the sky.

Pierre and Pierrette, with their parents and grandparents, were among
the first to appear. They saw the black speck sail swiftly from the
east, and hover like a bird of ill omen over the meadows. No alarm
sounded from the camp, but suddenly from the shadows three French
planes shot into the air. Two at once engaged the enemy, while a third
cut off his retreat. The battle was soon over. There were sharp r