t the wife of a
hurt Belgian seems absurd. If they are really Red Cross workers, they
are not attending to their proper business."

When the captain interpreted this speech Patsy said angrily:

"The general is an old fool."

"An idiot, I'll call him," added Uncle John. "I wish I could tell him
so."

"You _have_ told him," said the general in good English, squinting now
more rapidly than ever, "and your manner of speech proves you to be
impostors. I have never known a respectable Red Cross nurse, of any
country, who called a distinguished officer a fool--and to his face."

"I didn't know you understood English," she said.

"That is no excuse!"

"But I _did_ know," she added, "that I had judged you correctly. No one
with a spark of intelligence could doubt the evidence of these papers."

"The papers are all right. Where did you get them?"

"From the proper authorities."

He turned to speak rapidly in German to Colonel Grau, who had been
uneasy during the conversation in English, because he failed to
understand it. His expression of piquant surprise was intensified as he
now turned to the Americans.

"You may as well confess your imposture," said he. "It will make your
punishment lighter. However, if on further examination you prove to be
spies, your fate is beyond my power to mitigate."

"See here," said Uncle John, when this was translated to him, "if you
dare to interfere with us, or cause us annoyance, I shall insist on your
being courtmartialed. You are responsible to your superiors, I suppose,
and they dare not tolerate an insult to the Red Cross, nor to an
American citizen. You may have the sense to consider that if these
papers and letters are genuine, as I declare they are, I have friends
powerful enough to bring this matter before the Kaiser himself, in which
case someone will suffer a penalty, even if he is a general or a
colonel."

As he spoke he glared defiantly at the older officer, who calmly
proceeded to translate the speech to the colonel. Carg reported that it
was translated verbatim. Then the general sat back and squinted at his
companion, who seemed fairly bewildered by the threat. Patsy caught the
young officer smothering a smile, but neither of them interrupted the
silence that followed.

Once again the colonel picked up the papers and gave them a rigid
examination, especially that of the German ambassador, which was written
in his own language. "I cannot understand," he muttered, "h