tead of the remnants of a finished meal,
papers arranged in neat piles met his eye. The place looked more like
an office than a mess. Suddenly he stiffened into attention; steps
were coming down the entrance to the dug-out. A man came in, and with
a gasp the Kid recognised a German soldier. He strove to shout--to
warn his brother officers who he knew were peacefully sleeping in
valises on the floor; but no sound came. His tongue stuck to the roof
of his mouth; he could only watch, rigid and motionless.

The German moved to the hanging lamp, and turned it up till a bright
light flooded the dug-out.

"Now," the Kid's brain was racing, "he must see them. My God! they
must have got back during the night."

But no. The German servant moved towards the cupboard which contained
the food, brushing so close to the bed that the Kid could have touched
him with ease as he passed. Very cautiously he raised his head as he
saw the man, his back turned, fumbling on the shelves, and looked round
the room. Then with the icy hand of terror clutching at his heart he
lay back again. The room was empty; his brother officers had
gone--murdered probably--and with him it could only be a question of
moments before he too was discovered.

For an instant he had a wild idea of hurling himself upon the German:
of taking him unawares--of trying to escape. Then the soldier turned:
the opportunity had passed, and once again the silent spectator on the
bed lay rigid. The servant, stolid and unemotional, moved heavily
about the dug-out, laying the table for a meal. Once it seemed to the
Kid that he looked straight at him; he could have sworn that he must
have been seen; and yet--apparently not. The man gave no sign, and it
occurred to the Kid that perhaps he was lying in the shadow.
Stealthily he wormed himself even nearer the wall: impelled by the
instinct of self-preservation that would put off to the last possible
moment the inevitable discovery. And hardly had he edged himself in
against the wall, when with a sinking heart he heard voices outside:
voices which spoke in German. With only the servant to tackle, somehow
he had not felt so hopeless; now he knew the end had come.

Two officers entered, wiping the perspiration from their foreheads.
One from his badges of rank he recognised as a Colonel--the other was a
Lieutenant; and the discussion was--as far as their difference of rank
allowed--obviously of an acrimonious nature. T