y're awful!" he agreed. Then, to his friend, the major: "Do you see
him? Where is he?"

And from the darkness behind them a voice answered:

"Right here I am, gentlemen! At your service, now and always!"

As one man, the trio whirled. A burly figure loomed in the gloom.

It was the red-headed man!

"Did you buy a pair of binoculars--" the major began.

The other waved him down.

"Sure, I bought 'em. And tonight I used 'em to snag onto the most
important military secret I've seen in a month of Sundays. Believe me,
mister, I'll make my fortune from this job!"

"Then you admit you're a spy?" the officer rasped, starting to move
forward. "You admit you're the dirty dog who murdered our sentry--"

"Sure, sure, I admit it." The burly one seemed unperturbed.

"Why, you--"

"Hold it!" There was a sharp note of command in the red-headed man's
voice this time. "Don't come no closer, buddy. Not if you want to keep
your health!" He held out one ham-like hand. It gripped a heavy,
bottle-shaped package.

"I got a little private lab in my suitcase," the spy explained. "When I
saw how simple that formula was, I just brewed me up a batch of your new
powder. Now I got it right here"--he waved the package--"complete with
detonator. If you guys try to jump me, all I do is let go and the whole
works goes off." He chuckled unpleasantly. "I guess you know what
happens when two pounds of that stuff lets go."

The three friends shrank back. Henry's teeth already were chattering
like the gourds in a rumba band.

"I guess you've got us," Major Coggleston said tautly. "However, you
can't go far. My men are surrounding this camp right now."

The red-headed man sneered.

"Why don't you tell me something new?" he commented caustically. "Why'd
you think I grabbed you?"

"What?"

"You didn't think you guys surprised me, did you?" The burly one
laughed. "Hell, I saw you the second you came in.

"The way I'd planned it, I was going to hide out in the camp, here,
until the stink blew over. Then I figured on pulling a fast sneak out of
the country.

"But someone caught wise. I guess it was you"--he nodded at the quaking
Henry--"so I had to revise things a little. I knew you'd have support
coming up--Army Intelligence officers don't walk into trouble without
backing except in the movies."

* * * * *

"So what do you plan to do with us?" demanded the major. "You can see
you haven't a chance to get a