lry marched in, only half an
hour before the boys' arrival. They were all quartered upon the
inhabitants, and there appeared to be no sign of their early
departure.

For some time the boys walked about, without obtaining any
information; although they entered a dozen cabarets, and drank
considerable quantities of beer. At last, before one of the
principal cafes, they saw ten or twelve German officers sitting,
talking. None of the inhabitants were sitting at the cafe; and the
boys dared not go in to ask for anything, there, as it would not
have been in accordance with their appearance.

"How are we to get within hearing, Percy?"

"Look here, Ralph; I will limp along, as if I had something in my
shoe which hurts me. Then I will sit down on a doorstep, close to
them, and take off my boot. You can sit down, too, and take some of
the bread and cheese which we put in our pockets, because we could
not eat it at the last place we went in. I will keep my boot off,
to ease my foot; and we can eat our bread and cheese, as slowly as
we like."

"That will do capitally, Percy."

In another couple of minutes the two lads were sitting, as agreed,
upon the step of a door close to the cafe. They could not hear all
that was said; but could catch the sense, as the German
officers--as is their custom--spoke in a very loud voice. They
belonged to the infantry; and were, it appeared, in ignorance of
the reason of their sudden move to Saverne.

Presently a captain of the cavalry came along the street.

"Ah, Von Rausen," a major in the infantry exclaimed, "are you here?
I have not seen you since the day you marched from Coblentz."

"No, indeed, major," the other said, saluting--as a Prussian
officer always does, to his superior in rank--the other infantry
officers all rising, and saluting in turn. "We have just come in
from Hagenau."

"Are you in a hurry?" asked the major. "If not, sit down and let us
talk."

The cavalry officer accepted the invitation and, for a few minutes,
their talk ran upon mutual friends. Then the major said:

"By the way, do you know what we are here for? We were bustled off
at a moment's notice; no one knows why, except of course the
colonel, and he has not thought necessary to tell us and,
naturally, we have not asked him."

"Do you not know?" Captain Von Rausen said. "It is no secret--at
least, no secret from us, but a secret from the people here. I will
speak in French; no doubt there are plenty of