t the wounded Belgian soldiers had to tell about us. Oh! it's a
shame how all my great thoughts come afterward. What's the use of
locking the stable door when the horse has been stolen?"

"Well, cheer up," said Rob, who, of course, had overheard what was being
said; "it may not be a case of starving."

"See here, you don't happen to have a lot of stuff hidden away on your
person, do you, Rob?" gasped Tubby hopefully; and, as the other shook
his head, he continued in a mournful tone, "I thought that would be too
good to be true. But please tell us what you mean by saying it mightn't
be so very serious. Mebbe you know of a henroost nearby, where we might
find a tough old Dominick fowl that had been overlooked by the raider
squads from the camp?"

"If I did I'd tell you, Tubby; but wait a bit, while we watch the camp.
If nothing happens inside of two hours, I've got a sort of scheme to
propose to you both, and I hope it'll meet with your approbation."

"Two hours! Two long, weary hours! Gee!" And, as Tubby said this, he
proceeded to take in some of the slack of his waistband, possibly
meaning to show Rob how terribly he had fallen away of late.

They could see that myriads of men were moving about on the level
stretch of country where the invaders were encamped. Fires were going,
and doubtless those excellent camp ovens, of which so much had been
written, were being used to bake fresh bread for the day. Those Germans
omitted nothing that would provide for the comfort of the enlisted men.

"It looks as though they meant to stay there all day," remarked Rob,
when they had been observing these things for at least a full hour.

"Oh! Rob!" protested Tubby helplessly, as though the information gave
him a severe pain.

"Well, they believe in drilling right up to the minute they go into
battle," was what Merritt remarked; "for there you can see a whole
regiment of them marching in review past the commander, with others
following behind."

"It's a wonderful sight," admitted Rob. "I never saw soldiers keep step,
and seem to be such parts of a machine like that. You'd think they were
moved by some network of wires, like a big automatic engine."

"Oh! look what funny steps that first line is practicing!" cried Tubby.
"Why, they must be only boys, and just playing soldiers. See how they
lift their feet, and go along like a high-stepper of a horse. Ain't that
the limit, now?"

"I tell you what that must be," said Rob, quickl