aking the money away from him. But
I've seen plenty of American gold in France, and plenty of English
gold, too. Anywhere in the world gold is gold, and having American
gold isn't proof, during this war, that the possessor got it from
an American. I'll wager that there is plenty of American gold
locked up even in Germany. But the Germans will never find Papa's
gold. Papa Prim will hide it until the day comes when, like the
good Frenchman that he is, he can turn that gold into a French
war bond."

Nearing the former school-house that had been pointed out to them,
the two chums took their bearings afresh. Crossing the road one
at a time, with utmost stealth, they reached the other side without
having been challenged.

A little further on they espied a German sentry, pacing post.
Waiting until the fellow had gone to the furthest limit of his
post, the chums, flat on their stomachs, crawled forward until,
on looking backward, they judged it safe to rise and move on crouchingly.
Then they came in sight of the aviation station.

"Better crawl all the way now," Dick whispered. "We have reached
the point where any attempt at speed will be sure to place a few
bullets in our bodies."

Tom nodded, without speaking. It was trampled, withered grass
through which they now crawled. It offered fair concealment, but
there was danger of making a noise that might betray them to a
keen-eared sentry.

At last, near the first hangar, they reached a spot where two
trees stood close together. Crawling to this shelter, they still
remained lying down, though the tree trunks gave them greater
safety against being seen.

In front of the hangars paced a sentry; at the rear another soldier
walked post. At some distance from this latter sentry stood four
tents, in which, Papa Prim had declared, slept the reliefs of
the guard.

"I see how we could get the sentry at the rear," Dick whispered,
after a few minutes' silent survey. "But it's at the front that
we want to get in, and I don't see any way of creeping up on the
front sentry without the rear sentry seeing us and firing. That
would give the alarm."

"Then we've got to 'get' the rear sentry first?" Tom asked, his
lips at his chum's ear.

"That's it."

"Nasty business, and double chance of losing the game."

"It's the only way, Tom, unless your head is working better than
mine."

For some minutes Tom Reade studied.

"I guess it will have to be the rear sentry first