"He is probably pretty near the whole party," said Lieutenant Anderson dryly. "Kaiser Wilhelm is no coward, and if his staff is there, this close to the British lines, the Kaiser is probably there also."

"Then it's a wonder the woman didn't say something about the Kaiser being near."

"She probably didn't know him," said the lieutenant.

Hal sat wrapped in thought for a long time.

"Do you know what I am going to do?" he said at length, dismounting.

"No. What?" demanded Chester and Lieutenant Anderson in a single voice.

"I'm going to sneak back to the farmhouse, and see if by some hook or crook I can hear what is going on. We shall probably not have another chance of overhearing the German plans."

"Great Scott!" said Lieutenant Anderson, "that certainly is a bold plan. You don't mean it?"

"I certainly do," was the reply.

"Then I shall go, too," said Chester.

"And me," declared Lieutenant Anderson.

"No you won't," said Hal, positively. "The rest of you will stay here.

If I should get into any trouble, I shall fire my revolver, and then the rest of you can come up. The six of us will be a match for them, the Kaiser included."

Suddenly Chester was struck with a great inspiration.

"Why can't we get the rest of our men, and capture the whole crowd?"

he demanded in great excitement.

"I had thought of that," replied Hal, "but something tells me it can't be done--a hunch, if you like. I have a feeling that if we attempt such a thing our whole expedition will go wrong. I can't explain just what I mean, but I feel it."

"And I too," declared Lieutenant Anderson. "I don't know why, but I know it's true."

"Bosh!" said Chester, but the words of his two friends evidently had created some impression, for his e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n was only half-hearted.

"Well, if you must go by yourself, all right," said Lieutenant Anderson. "But my advice is that the sooner you get there the better."

Hal nodded, and, a moment later, going some distance to one side, where he knew he could not be seen from the dining-room window, he walked slowly toward the house.

He made no attempt at concealment as he walked along, for he knew that such an action, should he be seen, would be suspicious and would probably mean an unsuccessful termination of his plan. He had little fear of detection, clothed as he was in a German uniform.

Now the lad reached the house, and sought a means of entrance. He did not wish to go in the front door, for fear that someone might see him, so, keeping close to the wall, he walked around the house.

His effort was rewarded. For at the extreme rear was a low window, apparently halfway between the first and second floors.

"Evidently, at a turn in the steps," Hal told himself.

Quickly he grasped the edge of the sill, and exerting great strength slowly and cautiously drew himself up. The window was open, and the lad put one leg over the sill. A second later he sat in the opening, and then disappeared inside the house.

Very cautiously he ascended the steps. Remembering the exact location of the dining-room, the lad sought out the room above it. There, at one end of the room, he found what appeared to be a little closet.

Gently opening the door, he peered in. Nothing but darkness met his eyes. Hal stepped inside, pulling the door to after him, leaving just a little crack that he might not be suffocated.

Then he laid his ear to the floor and listened intently. From below came the faint sound of German voices.

Hal ran an exploring finger over the floor of the closet. His finger felt a little hole, and changing his position the boy saw a very small opening in the floor. He put his eye to the hole and peered down, and as he made out the figures in the room below he chuckled softly to himself.

The first man upon whom he laid his eyes was Count Von Moltke, commander-in-chief of all the German armies, and who, upon one occasion, had saved him from death before a firing squad.

"Wonder what he would say if he could see me now?" Hal asked himself.

His gaze roved over the room, and there at one end of the table sat an imposing figure in gold-trimmed military uniform, sword between his knees, a fierce military mustache curling upward.

There was no mistaking this figure. It was Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany!

CHAPTER XXII.

THE KAISER.

In spite of the fact that Hal had sure sense that Emperor Wilhelm would be in the room below, he felt a peculiar thrill creep over him as he made out the imposing figure of "The War Lord of Europe." He whistled softly to himself.

"Great Scott!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, and then looked long and silently.

"To think," he said to himself after a long pause, "that he is primarily responsible for this great war, with its toll of thousands of lives and the destruction of property worth millions of dollars."

Unconsciously, almost, he drew his revolver, and pointed it straight at the War Lord's breast.

"With one little movement of my finger," said the lad softly to himself, "I could snuff out the life of the man who has already sent thousands to their death. One shot, and----"

His fingers tightened on the trigger, but for a moment only. Then he lowered his weapon, and a moment later dropped it back in his pocket, while he wiped away little beads of perspiration that had gathered on his brow.

"It's no use," he told himself, "I couldn't do it if I wanted to."

Wilhelm II, Emperor of the German Empire and War Lord of Europe, will never know how close he was to death at that moment!

Now the voices of the officers in the room below became louder, and by straining his ears the lad could make out what they were saying.

"If," came a voice from below, and Hal recognized it as that of Count Von Moltke, "if we can draw the British to this point, we can cut them off from their French support and annihilate them. And----"

"And," came the voice of the Kaiser himself, "we can, then, by a quick turning move, take the French by surprise and our victory will be complete."

"Exactly, sire," came Count Von Moltke's voice again.

"But, sire," said a third voice, "what have we to warrant that the English will accept our bait?"