Bullets wouldn't have a chance against that
stuff. And the man who drives it is protected, too. That bullet-proof
shield makes him as safe as if he were at home. And the blooming thing
is good for sixty miles an hour over a half-way decent road--though it
can be slowed down to just about two miles an hour, and still be ready
for a quick jump."

"They're being used in both armies, aren't they?"

"Yes. There are about a dozen of them altogether. They're evenly
divided, and both armies are under orders to try them out pretty
thoroughly. If they make good, there will be a lot of them put in use by
the regular army. They're making their own tests, but tests under actual
service conditions count for more than any number of trials when all the
conditions are made to order for the people who are trying to put the
cars over."

It was Tomlinson's busy day, and he didn't have time to dally long in
talk. So he went off, and Durland sent Tom Binns, who was acting as his
orderly for the day, to bring Jack Danby to him.

Durland carried in his pockets a number of large scale maps of the
sections all around the State line, in both of the States. The scale was
two inches to the mile, so it took a considerable number of the maps to
show at all adequately the theatre of the imaginary war. But so full of
detail, thanks to the large scale, were the maps, that they showed every
house in the territory they covered, and every grade. He spread three of
these maps out, side by side, as he waited for Jack, and traced a course
over them with a pencil.

Jack appeared in due time, and saluted--not with the Scout salute of
thumb and little finger bent, with the three other fingers held straight
up, but with the military salute.

"Danby," said Durland, "I'm going to entrust you with a piece of work
that is so important that the whole result of the maneuvers may depend
upon it. Do you think you can run that car?"

Jack, who had a positive genius for mechanical matters of all sorts,
looked the strange looking car over carefully before he answered.

"It looks straight enough, sir," he said. "Self starter, I guess. And
you ought to be able to go anywhere you like with those wheels. What is
it that I am to do, sir?"

"I can explain better with these maps," said Durland. "Come close here,
and I will show you what I mean."

Jack bent over the maps with the Scout-Master, and Durland began tracing
a line with a sharp pencil.

"Here we are, in Bre