some time--at least not until the Kaiser,
who, as you know has been very ill, returns to the front."

"I thought that myself."

"Well, you are right, to a certain extent. What the French don't know is
that the Kaiser will be on the firing line the day after to-morrow."

"What! So soon?"

"Yes."

"He has recovered, then?"

"Practically! Therefore, the grand offensive will be resumed around
Soissons two days later, which will be Saturday. The French--absolutely
unprepared for any such movement--will be caught unawares, and a wedge
will be driven into them."

"And the object of this new offensive?" queried one of the voices.

"The object," was the reply, "will be the same as was the object when we
first moved into France."

"Paris?" asked a voice.

"Paris," was the brief reply.

"Good! And there is no chance of failure, you say?"

"Not unless our plans come to the ears of General Joffre. If he knew of
the plan he might, of course, hurry up reenforcements enough to stop it."

"And if, by any chance, this offensive fails, the other plan will be put
into execution, you say?"

"Yes, it has been arranged, I understand, down to the last detail. The
Paris Apaches, as you know, have neither love of country nor love of
fellow-men. They seek only gold. Well, a man, Pierre Duval, by name,
the King of the Paris Apaches, has been reached by one of our agents.
I am told he has 500 underworld denizens at his command. These, at an
auspicious moment, will seize the president, who will be hustled into
a closed automobile surrounded by the army of Apaches, and the rest
will be easy."

"But Poincare's bodyguard?"

"_Ach_! It will not be strong enough to cope with the Apaches. Besides,
the surprise itself augurs well for the success of the plan."

"Well, I hope neither plan fails."

"You may rest easy on that score. If one fails the other is sure
to succeed."

Hal and Chester, from their concealment, heard the men rise and move off
in the opposite direction.

"Great Scott!" cried Chester. "Do you know what that means?"

"I do," said Hal simply. "It means that, unless General Joffre is warned,
the French army may suffer a crushing blow; also, if President Poincare
is not warned, he may be kidnapped by the enemy!"

"Exactly," said Chester. "But what are we to do?"

"We must make a dash for it," was the quiet response.

Quickly the lads stripped themselves of their woman's garments, and
advanced to the very edge o