UNDER ARREST
It was morning. Hal and Chester, refreshed by a good night's rest, had
just completed their toilets and were about to repair to the quarters of
General Petain, there to report for the day's duty and also to inform the
French commander of what they had learned the night before. But, as it
transpired, their good intentions were to go for naught and they were to
be ushered into the presence of General Petain in a manner that neither
would have believed possible.
Came the sound of many footsteps approaching without. They stopped before
the boys' tent. A French officer thrust his head in the entrance.
"Lieutenant Crawford! Lieutenant Paine!" he said sharply.
"Sir!" exclaimed both lads in a single breath.
They stepped from the tent.
"You are under arrest!" were the French officer's next words.
Hal and Chester stepped back in complete bewilderment.
"Wha--what's that, sir?" asked Hal, believing that he could not have
heard aright.
"You are under arrest," was the sharp reply. "I am ordered to conduct you
before General Petain at once."
Both lads had recovered themselves by this time; they stepped forward
coolly enough, in spite of the fact that their hearts were fluttering
strangely.
"The general might have spared himself the trouble of sending for us,"
said Hal, quietly. "Even now we were about to report to him."
The French officer said nothing. He motioned to the file of soldiers whom
he commanded and Hal and Chester stepped in between the men.
"One moment," said the French soldier.
He approached the lads.
"I must ask for your swords and revolvers," he said.
Without a word the lads surrendered their weapons.
"Good!" said the French officer. Then to his men: "Forward, march!"
And in this manner Hal and Chester came before the French commander at
Verdun. The latter was busy with a pile of papers when they entered his
quarters and did not look up immediately. For perhaps fifteen minutes the
lads stood there, firmly erect, their eyes upon the general.
Suddenly General Petain wheeled about.
"Leave these men with me," he instructed the French officer who
had escorted the lads to his tent; "but attend me outside within
call, Captain."
The French officer saluted and withdrew.
General Petain gazed frowningly at Hal and Chester for perhaps a full
minute. The lads returned his look without flinching, though there was
nothing that might be construed as defiance in their manner; rather,
nothing but respectful attention.
"So!" said General Petain at last. "So! I find you two lads, whom I have
trusted, among a band of conspirators, eh?"
"Among them, sir," said Hal, quietly, "but not of them."
"What's that?" demanded the general. "You admit you were with them and
then claim innocence? Impossible!"
"I beg your pardon, sir," said Hal, "but it is not impossible. It is
the truth."
"But I have it on high authority," returned the general, "that you have
been the possessors of the emblem of the conspirators for some days now."
"That is true enough, sir," Hal agreed; "but we came into the possession
of those black peas accidentally and with no thought of their
significance."
The general sniffed contemptuously.
"My information regarding you boys comes from a source that I am afraid I
must believe," he said.
"Will you tell us the source, sir?" asked Hal.
General Petain shook his head.
"It would do no good," he returned. "It would not alter the facts in the
case. Now, I know you boys have been of great value to the cause of the
Allies. My informant is authority for that statement also. You have
accomplished much and France and the other allied countries must thank
you. But it appears now that you have been led from the proper way of
thinking; and my informant in your case says, and rightly, that from
young men who have done much to advance the cause of the Allies, there is
much to be feared when they embark upon some other venture.
"You are both resourceful; I know that. That is the reason that I have
had you placed under arrest--that you may not turn your energies against
us. I shall have you sent to Paris, thence to London, and I hope that
before long you will be back in your own country, the United States."
"Pardon me, sir," said Hal, respectfully, "but I do not need to ask you
again to name the man who has caused us to be in this predicament. His
name is Stubbs."
"Well, I see no need to deny it," said General Petain.
"General," said Chester, now stepping forward, "I would be glad if you
would give me an opportunity to explain this matter."
"It shall not be said that I denied any man a hearing," was the general's
reply. "Proceed."
As briefly as possible Chester recounted the manner in which they had
come into possession of the two peas; of why they decided to keep them;
of their capture the night before by Anthony Stubbs and of their escape;
and last, of their attendance at the meeting of the conspirators, where,
for the first time, they learned the true significance of the little
black peas.
As Chester proceeded with his story the general listened attentively.
When Chester spoke of being captured by Stubbs, the general smiled
quietly, and Hal, noting the smile, guessed rightly that General Petain
had had a hand in the capture himself--or rather, that he at least had
sanctioned it; and when Chester spoke of the meeting of the conspirators
and mentioned the name of General Pombrey, General Petain frowned.
"So," he said when Chester had concluded, "General Pombrey is mixed up in
this thing, eh?"
"He seems to be the leader of the movement, sir," replied Chester. "I
should say that he is without doubt the directing hand."
"And what do you hope to gain by telling me all this?" asked General
Petain, eyeing the lad shrewdly.
"I hope to see the conspiracy crushed, sir, before it gains further
momentum," was Chester's reply.
General Petain eyed the lad peculiarly.
"Can it be that I have been misinformed?" he muttered to himself.
Hal's keen ears caught the words.
"I can assure you that you have been misinformed, sir," he replied
firmly.
For several moments more the general eyed the lads sternly and they
returned his gaze without flinching. Suddenly the general clapped his
hands together. The French officer who had arrested the two lads entered
he tent and saluted.
"Captain," said General Petain. "my compliments to Mr. Anthony Stubbs and
say that I desire his presence here at once."
The French officer saluted and took his departure.
The hearts of the two lads beat high now. Apparently General Petain had
been convinced of the truth of their stories. They believed that when
Stubbs confronted them he would weaken.
"I don't know what to think about this matter," said General Petain as
they waited for Stubbs' arrival. "I am loath to believe you would be
mixed up in anything of this nature."
"How did Mr. Stubbs happen to mention us as being implicated in this
conspiracy, sir?" asked Chester.
"He said he wanted to see you get home safely and not be mixed up in
anything that might mean a firing squad," said General Petain, calmly. "I
promised him your safe return to America for his news of the conspiracy."
"I see," said Chester.
At this moment Stubbs was announced. General Petain looked at him
sharply.
"These officers," he said, indicating Hal and Chester with a wave of his
hand, "deny the charges you have made against them, sir."
"Surely, you didn't expect them to admit it, sir?" questioned
Stubbs, shifting from one foot to another, as Hal and Chester bent
their gaze on him.
"Well, no, I didn't," was General Petain's reply, "but they tell such a
straightforward story that I am of the opinion you must be mistaken as to
their part in this conspiracy."
"But the peas," said Stubbs. "They had them."
"Well, somebody might have slipped one into your pocket, as far as that
goes," said General Petain; "and then you might be standing here under
suspicion."
"Tha--that's so, too," Stubbs stammered. "I hadn't thought of that."
"Well, you should have thought of it," exclaimed General Petain.
"It's no small thing to cast suspicion upon a man and then be able to
prove nothing."
"But the peas--"
"Never mind about the peas," stormed the general. "By any chance, when
you had these officers in your tent last night, did they admit connection
with the plot?"
"No, sir; they professed ignorance. But they had the peas--"
"_Mon Dieu_! Can't you think of anything but peas? What kind of a war
correspondent are you, anyhow?"
Stubbs was offended. He drew himself up and would have made reply, but
General Petain silenced him with a gesture.
"I don't question your loyalty," he said, "and I know that you acted with
the good of these lads at heart. But I am convinced you have been
mistaken. I am going to release these boys. Lieutenant Paine! Lieutenant
Crawford! you are--"
"Sir!" exclaimed Stubbs at this juncture.
The general eyed him closely.
"Well?" he demanded.
"Please, General, do not let them go until I have a few moments' start. I
don't know what they will do to me." Stubbs looked nervous.
"Very well," said General Petain with a smile. "Then hurry and take your
departure, Mr. Stubbs."
Stubbs needed no urging and he disappeared from the general's tent with
agility; and Hal called after him:
"Better hunt a hole, Mr. Stubbs; we'll be on your trail in a few
minutes!"