Boris understood all this, undoubtedly, quite as well as Fred or the
German captain, but he was beside himself. He felt that Fred had run
into this terrible danger because of him, in order to try to rescue him
from an imprisonment that, though annoying, was by no means a serious
matter.

"Take me instead of him!" he cried, forgetting that with every word he
was really making Fred's case worse. "I--"

"I'll be all right," said Fred, with a cheerfulness he certainly did
not feel. "All I want is a fair trial. If I get that, I'll be all
right."

Unwillingly enough, Boris let himself be led away. Something in Fred's
look, or in his voice, had warned him not to say anything more. So Fred
saw him go, and was taken himself to the guard room, of which he was the
only occupant save for the impassive Pomeranian sentry. Fred guessed,
somehow, that German soldiers in war time did not often do things that
caused them to be put under arrest. In the little he had seen of them he
had come to understand what it was that made a German army so
formidable.

He expected to be brought before the court early in the morning but, in
fact, he was called out in less than an hour, and taken into the
dining-room of the parsonage. Here, at the head of the table, sat an
officer in a colonel's uniform; Colonel Goldapp, unquestionably,
presiding over the court, which included four officers beside himself.
Fred knew enough of the military law to understand what was going on.
He saw a young lieutenant sitting with some papers before him. Another
came and drew him aside.

"I am to defend you," this officer said, pleasantly. "That is, of
course, I am to see that you get fair treatment. You are accused of
being a spy. The charge, as I understand it, is that you are a Russian,
but have disguised yourself as a German. If this is true, the best
advice I can give you is to plead guilty and throw yourself on the mercy
of the court. Your age will be taken into consideration."

"I am not a Russian," said Fred, quickly. "I am an American. I demand an
opportunity to see the American ambassador, or at least the nearest
American consul."

"Is that all?"

"That is all I can say. It is true that I am an American, and I believe
it is my right, as a foreigner, to ask to see the representative of my
country, since America and Germany are not at war, but are friendly one
to the other."

"That would be true if you were charged with an offence in a civil
court. B