ndeed, they looked like the English and American
scouts in many respects.

"One moment," said Marron, checked by a sudden thought. "You speak
French well?" He asked the question of Frank, who smiled.

"Yes, sir," he said, in French. "My mother was French, you see."

"That is very good," said the scoutmaster. "Never fear, I shall be able
to keep you busy as long as I am here. Soon, I hope, they will let me
go to the front, where I should be right now."

"I thought you would have gone, sir," said Henri.

"They wanted me to stay with my boys at the first," said Marron, with a
shrug of his shoulders. "But they can do their work alone now, and there
is no fear that they will not do it well."

Then Frank and Henri went off, on their way to Henri's house.

"So we have come to Amiens after all and we are to join the Boy Scouts,
just as we planned that day when I said there would be no war this
year!"

"Yes--but it's different, isn't it, Henri?"

"Yes, and we can be of some real use now."

"I am glad that we are here, aren't you? When we get our uniforms and go
to work, I shall feel that we are really being used in the war. I--I'm
an American, of course, but I've hated the idea that I was so close to
this war and wasn't having anything to do with it."

"And I--I have been wishing, Frank, that they might have waited until I
was old enough to fight for France!"

CHAPTER V

THE FIRST DUTY

Morning brought awakening to the two friends with the sounding of
reveille from bugles, seemingly just outside their window. Together they
sprang from bed, raced to the window, wide open as it had been all
night, and looked out. Not far away, in a small park, one of those for
which the city of Amiens is famous, they saw an array of white tents
that they had not seen the night before when they had gone to bed.
Already the camp was stirring; even as they watched the soldiers were
all about. And early as it was, they saw a scout ride up on a bicycle,
speak to the sentry who challenged him, and wait. In a moment an officer
came out, the scout saluted, and his salute was returned as stiffly and
gravely as it had been given. Then the scout handed the officer a
letter, saluted again and, receiving permission, turned away and vaulted
on his wheel.

Henri was vastly excited.

"Come on!" he cried eagerly. "Let's get dressed, Frank. I see that we
should be out already."

"Yes. It's time we were getting busy if the others are at