why do either?" parried Arthur then.

"Because the lives of our soldiers must be guarded against the skulking
murderers who hide behind a window and shoot when there is no chance
for our men to reply. Our men take their lives in their hands when
they go to war, and if they die on the field of battle, they die
willingly because they know that it is for the Fatherland. So we must
preserve them for that glorious death."

Arthur was silent. He was not convinced, but he felt that it would do
no good to argue, and Paul, moreover, had managed to look at him, so
that he understood that his chum and leader wanted him to be quiet.

When they came near to Hannay Major Kellner mounted his horse again,
since he had to maintain his dignity when he was entering a captured
place, however small it might be. He spurred his horse on and took his
place at the head of the battalion.

"Now we're in a nice fix, aren't we?" said Arthur, disgustedly. "We're
further from our own army than ever! Likely to stay, too!"

"I hope that we shall be able to get away from here soon, Arthur. I
don't believe they'll hold us very long. And we're really in luck, I
suppose. If there are German troops all around, others would have held
us up, if we hadn't come on this detachment, and we've had proof for
ourselves that all the officers wouldn't treat us as well as Major
Kellner. Suppose it was that young lieutenant of Uhlans who had caught
us?"

Arthur made a grimace.

"Ugh!" he said. "Yes, that's true! Or a detachment that had that man
Ridder along! You're right, Paul. We might be a great deal worse off
than we are! But I'll tell you one thing. When we come back into
Hannay with the Germans, there will be a lot of people there who are
sure that we have been in league with them from the beginning."

"I hope not," said Paul, looking troubled. "But I'm afraid you're
right. They can't understand, of course. I don't blame them for
feeling as they do. But it's rather hard, when I was only trying to do
what would be best for them. And I believe we did save them from
having a very bad time there. You see, these people have a couple of
guns along. They're not very big, and they wouldn't make very much
impression on a fortified place, but if they were turned on a
defenseless village like Hannay, they would destroy it in a very few
minutes."

In Hannay, as the battalion marched in, past the remains of the
barricade, at which most of the