e pause had been a long one, he turned to the receiver
again.

"Hallo! Hallo! Are you there, Pater?" he queried, and the reply that
reached his ear was a startling one.

"Yes, I'm here, and who do you think is here too? The cat with nine
lives has turned up again, and, by Jupiter! Bob, he's brought another
cat with him. Dennis is with me without a scratch, and he's captured
Ottilie von Dussel, red-haired and red-handed!"

"Oh, good egg!" shouted Major Dashwood, commanding the 2/12th Battalion
of the Royal Reedshire Regiment. "Where did he find her? How did he do
it?"

"Gently, my dear Robert," said the Brigadier; "he will be with you in a
couple of hours, and then he'll tell you the whole thing."

CHAPTER XXX

Under the Enemy Wall

With the coming of dusk came Dennis Dashwood back to the old battalion,
just at roll-call. The last quarter of a mile he performed at the
double, and burst into the fire-trench like a bolt from the blue.

When his brother officers shook hands with him--for all were delighted
at his return--an irresistible murmur of welcome rippled along A
Company, and as Hawke's name was called at the moment, that worthy
replied with a ringing yell.

"Report yourself at office to-morrow," said the lieutenant in charge of
No. 2 Platoon, and Harry Hawke so far forgot himself as to answer,
"Right-o, Governor!" at the same time lifting his trench helmet on to
the point of his bayonet and waving it frantically.

An enemy sniper promptly sent it spinning on to the top of the parados.

"You shall do four days' field punishment, Hawke!" said the outraged
officer.

"Forty days if you like, sir--I don't care what becomes of me. 'Ere's
Mr. Dashwood back agin--that's good enough!"

No. 2 Platoon, carried away by the infectious enthusiasm, joined in the
shout.

"Another word," cried the lieutenant, "and No. 2 Platoon shall go back
into the reserve!" And amid the dead silence that followed that awful
threat, Dennis reached them, lifting a warning finger.

"Steady, men," he said. "Thank you for the welcome, but it's not done in
the best platoons, you know. How are you, Littlewood?"

"Top-hole, old chap! Where have you been, you beggar? You've managed to
completely demoralise the company."

"You shall have a narrative of my expedition all highly coloured, by and
by," laughed Dennis. "I've had no end of a time, and I've brought back
the news that we've got the Prussians in front of us by way of a