tsy and then turned
to ask their business at Ostend.

"He says we must go before the military governor," said Carg,
translating. "There, if our papers are regular, permits will be issued
for us to proceed to Charleroi."

They left the sailor in charge of the launch, which was well provisioned
and contained a convertible bunk, and followed the officer into the
town. Ostend is a large city, fortified, and was formerly one of the
most important ports on the North Sea, as well as a summer resort of
prominence. The city now being occupied by the Germans, our friends
found few citizens on the streets of Ostend and these hurried nervously
on their way. The streets swarmed with German soldiery.

Arriving at headquarters they found that the commandant was too busy to
attend to the Red Cross Americans. He ordered them taken before Colonel
Grau for examination.

"But why examine us at all?" protested Mr. Merrick. "Doesn't our sacred
mission protect us from such annoying details?"

The young officer regretted that it did not. They would find Colonel
Grau in one of the upper rooms. It would be a formal examination, of
course, and brief. But busy spies had even assumed the insignia of the
Red Cross to mask their nefarious work and an examination was therefore
necessary as a protective measure. So they ascended a broad staircase
and proceeded along a corridor to the colonel's office.

Grau was at the head of the detective service at Ostend and invested
with the task of ferreting out the numerous spies in the service of the
Allies and dealing with them in a summary manner. He was a very stout
man, and not very tall. His eyes were light blue and his grizzled
mustache was a poor imitation of that affected by the Kaiser. When Grau
looked up, on their entrance, Patsy decided that their appearance had
startled him, but presently she realized that the odd expression was
permanent.

In a chair beside the colonel's desk sat, or rather lounged, another
officer, encased in a uniform so brilliant that it arrested the eye
before one could discover its contents. These were a wizened,
weather-beaten man of advanced age, yet rugged as hickory. His eyes had
a periodical squint; his brows wore a persistent frown. There was a
broad scar on his left cheek and another across his forehead. A warrior
who had seen service, probably, but whose surly physiognomy was somewhat
disconcerting.

The two officers had been in earnest conversation, but when