musement. As for getting any nearer to the capture of Paris this way,
he might as well throw beans at the pyramids. It's probably done for the
moral, or immoral, effect."

And this seemed to be the view taken of it by the Paris and London
papers. The method of bombardment, however, remained a mystery, and a
baffling one. This was a point the military authorities wished to clear
up. To that end it was much to be desired that fragments of the shell
should be found. And to find them, if possible, a careful search was
made, not only in the ruins of the Rue Lafayette, but at the other two
places where the explosions had occurred.

In no place, however, was a large enough fragment found to justify any
conclusive theories, and the Parisians were forced to wait for another
bombardment--rather a grim and tense waiting it was, too.

But the careful search of the Rue Lafayette ruins proved one thing. The
body of Tom's father was not among them, though this did not make it
certain that he was alive. He may have been totally destroyed, and this
thought kept Tom from being able to free his mind of anxiety. He dared
not cable any news home, and all he could do was to keep on hoping.
These were anxious days for him and Jack.

Their leave of absence had been for a week only, but under the
circumstances, and as it was exceptionally quiet on their sector, they
were allowed to remain longer. Tom wanted to make a more thorough search
for his father, and the police and military authorities helped him. But
Mr. Raymond seemed to have completely disappeared. There was no trace of
him since the agent for the Rue Lafayette buildings had seen him leave
his room just prior to the falling of the shell.

Jack inquired about the man he suspected of being a German spy. The
secret service men had him under observation, they reported, but, as
yet, he had not given them any cause to arrest him. They were waiting
and watching.

Meanwhile active preparations were under way, not only to discover the
source of the bombardment of Paris, but to counteract it. Extra
anti-aircraft guns, of powerful calibre, were erected in many places
about the city, and more airmen were summoned to the defense.

As yet there had been no resumption of the bombardment, and there were
hopes that the German machine, whatever it was, had burst or been put
out of commission. But on the second day of the second week of the boys'
stay in Paris, once more there was the alarm and t