front of them. If he had been in front, it would be
simply a matter of making his way in all haste to where the American
armies lay. Now he knew that in order to reach his own lines he would
have to cross through the German positions. And without weapons this
could only be a forlorn hope. Even had he been armed it would have
been a desperate chance.

He was pondering this fact with a sinking of the heart, when suddenly
he saw approaching a man in American uniform. What could it mean? The
man was not a prisoner, or he would have been under guard. Yet what
other explanation was there for the appearance of the uniform in the
midst of the Germans, who swarmed all about?

The man came nearer, until he paused beneath the tree. He looked about
as though expecting to see some one. Then he glanced at the watch on
his wrist, and uttered an exclamation of impatience. It was evident
that he had made an appointment, and that the other party to the tryst
was slow in coming.

The day was warm, and the upward climb through the woods had been
arduous. The man took his hat from his head and wiped his forehead
with his handkerchief. As he did so, Tom caught his first glimpse of
the newcomer's face, and his heart gave a leap of surprise as well as
repulsion when he recognized Nick Rabig.

The last news that Tom had had of Rabig was that he had been taken
prisoner in the preceding Fall. He had not known, of course, of Nick's
alleged escape from German captivity, and of his return to the American
lines, but his quick mind readily reached the correct conclusion. He
had always distrusted Rabig and had felt sure that the fellow was at
heart a traitor. He was morally certain that the German corporal, whom
Nick had been assigned to guard, had escaped with Rabig's connivance,
and he remembered what Frank had told him about hearing Rabig's voice
in the woods the night the German spy was shot. But Rabig's cunning,
or perhaps his luck, had prevented his treachery being proved.

Whatever errand had brought Rabig to this spot, Tom felt sure that it
boded no good to the American cause, and even in the precarious
position in which he found himself he rejoiced at the thought that he
might be instrumental in unmasking a traitor.

While these thoughts were passing through his mind, a German officer
approached from another direction. He saw Rabig, and hastened toward
him. He greeted Nick coldly, and with an air that scarcely conceale