he warning-from the
soldiers and police, and again came that explosion.

The bombardment of Paris was being renewed!

CHAPTER IX

VARIOUS THEORIES

Two things were at once apparent to Tom and Jack as they hurried out of
their _pension_. One was that the people of Paris were not seeking
shelter after the warnings as quickly as they had done at first, and the
other was that there was evident curiosity on all sides to see just what
damage would be done, and from which direction it would come. With an
almost reckless disregard for their safety, if not for their lives, the
Parisians fairly flocked out of doors to see the results of the Huns'
bombardment. It was in vain that the police and military urged them to
seek safety in cellars or the places provided.

This time only one shell fell near enough to Tom and Jack to make the
explosion heard, and that was so faint as to indicate that it was some
distance off. What damage had been done could only be guessed at.

"But we'll find out where it is, and go take a look," said Jack.

"Maybe it'll hit right around here if we stay," suggested his chum.

"Well, I'm not taking that chance," Jack went on. "Let's find out where
it landed this time."

This they could do through their acquaintance with the military
authority of the district where they were then staying. A telephonic
report was at once received, giving the quarter where the shell had
landed. It had fallen in one of the public squares, and though a big
hole had been torn in the ground and pavement, and several persons
killed and wounded, no material damage had been done. As for any
military effect of the shell, it was nil.

The firing was done in the early evening hours, and Tom and Jack learned
that, almost to the second, the shots were fifteen minutes apart.

There was one theory that an underground passage had been made in some
manner to within a comparatively few miles of Paris, and from that point
an immense mortar sent up the shells in a long trajectory.

Another theory was that traitors had let the Germans through the French
lines at a certain place, so they could get near enough to Paris to
bombard it.

And of course the gigantic airship theory had its adherents.

But, for a time at least, no one would admit the possibility of a gun
with range sufficient to shoot into Paris from the nearest German lines.
The range, sixty-odd miles, seemed too great for practical belief,
however nicely it migh