it until his visitor was about to leave.

"Why, that's hard to say, Tommy," Mr. Conne answered kindly but
cautiously; then after a moment's silence he added, "I'll strain a point
and tell you something because--well, because you're entitled to know.
But you must keep it very quiet. They hope to learn much more from him
than he has told, but they found in his luggage a lot of plans and
specifications of the 'Liberty Motor.'"

"I'm glad," said Tom simply.

"Of course, we suspected from the letters sent to Schmitt that somebody
had such plans, but we had no clue as to who it was. You grabbed more
than the dish when you put your hand through that transom, Tommy. You
got hold of the plans of the 'Liberty Motor' too."

"I didn't take your advice," said Tom ruefully; "I got a good lesson."

"That's all right, my boy. You've got a brain in your head and you did a
good job. It'll all go to your credit, and the other part won't be
remembered. So _you_ try not to think of it."

"They won't kill him, will they?"

"They won't do anything just at present, my boy. Now put your mind on
your work and don't think of anything else----"

"Have I got my job yet?"

"Why, certainly," Mr. Conne laughed; "I'll see you again, Tommy.
Good-by."

* * * * *

And Tom tried this time to follow his advice. He was soon released and
the officer, whom he had so feared, was good enough to say, "You did
well and you've had a pretty tough experience." The captain spoke kindly
to him, too, and all the ship's people seemed to understand. The few
soldiers who had not yet been sent forward to billets near the front,
did not jolly him or even refer to his detective propensities. They did
not even mimic him when he said "kind of," as they had done before.

He had little to do during the ship's brief stay in port and Mr. Conne,
who was there on some mysterious business, showed him about the quaint
old French town and treated him more familiarly than he had ever done
before. For Tom Slade had received his first wound in the great war and
though it was long in healing, it yielded to kindness and sympathy, and
these everyone showed him.

And so there came a day when he and Mr. Conne stood upon the platform
amid a throng of French people and watched the last contingent of the
boys as they called back cheerily from the queer-looking freight cars
which were to bear them up through the French country to that mysterio