"Please, general," pleaded Chester. "This is my discovery; it should be
my capture, too."

The general stood wrapped in thought for some moments.

"So it should," he said at length, "and so it shall be, if you feel equal
to the task."

"I am perfectly strong again," said Chester eagerly.

"So be it, then," replied General Givet. "How many of the conspirators
did you say there are?"

"About twenty-five, I should judge."

"Good! I shall place one hundred men at your disposal, and leave entirely
to you the manner in which you make the capture."

Chester was jubilant. So great was his eagerness to be at his work that
he could hardly wait for his men to be selected. But at last everything
was ready and it was time to start.

A short distance from the rendezvous of the conspirators, Chester divided
his men into four groups of twenty-five each, so that they could approach
from all directions at once.

With his men concealed from view, Chester bethought himself of the best
manner to entice the conspirators out into the open. Finally he hit
upon a plan. Calling three of his men, he walked with them to a spot
directly in front of the conspirators' rendezvous. Here the four
started a heated argument.

Suddenly there was the sound of a door opening, and a moment later the
well-known voice of the chief of the conspirators exclaimed:

"It is the spy! Come, men, we must capture him. Shoot down the soldiers!"

A moment later and the entire number of masked conspirators were in
the street. Then, at a signal from Chester, the Belgian troops sprang
upon them.

There was the sound of a pistol shot, followed by many more, and a bullet
whistled by Chester's ear. Two of the Belgian troopers fell, and several
others groaned. It was plain that the conspirators, trapped as they were,
would not give up without a fight.

"Fire!" cried Chester, and a death-dealing volley was poured into the
little knot of men huddled together in the street, surrounded by
Belgian soldiers.

The fighting became desperate. The conspirators were giving a good
account of themselves, and here and there Belgian soldiers were falling.

Now the conspirators turned and made a dash toward their retreat. But
five Belgian troopers sprang forward and barred the door, firing as they
did so. The ranks of the conspirators were considerably thinner now, and
to continue the fight would mean slaughter. This fact the chief
recognized.

He hurled his revolver at