sion that Jack and Dick had reached--that it had been cut on purpose.
He could not stay to see if it would be reopened soon. A stroke of luck
came his way, however. In this place Boy Scouts were guarding the gas works
and an electric light and power plant, and he found one squad just coming
off duty. He explained something of his errand to the patrol leader, and
got the assurance that the telephone people should be made to repair the
break in the wire.

"We'll see to it that they find out what is the trouble, Fleming," said the
patrol leader, whose name was Burridge. "By the way, I know a scout in your
troop--Graves. He was on a scout with us a few weeks ago, when he was
visiting down here. Seemed to be no end of a good fellow."

Harry was surprised for he had heard nothing of this before. But then that
was not strange. He and Graves were not on terms of intimacy, by any means.
He decided quickly not to say anything against Graves. It could do no good
and it might do harm.

"Right," he said. "I know him--yes. I'll be going, then. You'll give my
message to Mercer or Young if there's any way of getting the line clear?"

"Yes, if I sit up until my next turn of duty," said Burridge, with a smile.
"Good luck, Fleming."

Then Harry was off again. Dawn was very near now. The east, behind him, was
already lighted up with streaks of glowing crimson. Dark clouds were massed
there, and there was a feeling in the air that carried a foreboding of
rain, strengthening the threat of the red sky. Harry was not sorry for
that. There would be work at Bray Park that might well fare better were it
done under leaden skies.

As he rode he puzzled long and hard over what he had learned. It seemed to
him that these German spies were taking desperate chances for what promised
to be, at best, a small reward. What information concerning the British
plans could they get that would be worth all they were risking? The
wireless at Bray Park; the central station near Willesden, whence the
reports were heliographed--it was an amazingly complete chain. And Harry
knew enough of modern warfare to feel that the information could be
important only to an enemy within striking distance.

That was the point. It might be interesting to the German staff to know the
locations of British troops in England, and, more especially, their
destinations if they were going abroad as part of an expeditionary force to
France or Belgium. But the information would not be