knew of our plans. They
bade us God-speed and then we, too, faded into the recesses of the
wood.

We had no sooner set foot in it than I noticed a curious change come
over my companion. He said that it was a bad time, a bad place, found
fault with everything and said that we should not go that day.
However, we continued, half-heartedly on his part, to shove our way on
into the wood. Occasionally he glanced fearfully over his shoulder and
voiced querulous protests. I did not answer him. A little further on
and he stopped. A dog was barking.

"There's too many dogs about, Edwards. And just look at all those
houses." He pointed to where a village showed through the trees.

"Sure thing, there'll be houses thick like that all the way. It's our
job to keep clear of them."

"Yes, but look at the people. There's bound to be lots of them where
there's so many houses."

"Of course there are," I replied: "Germany's full of houses and
people. That's no news. Come on."

"Oh! They'll see us sure, Edwards--and telegraph ahead all over the
country. We haven't got any more show than a rabbit."

With that I lost patience and gave him a piece of my mind. We stood
there, arguing it back and forth.

It was no use: He fell prey to his own fears; saw certain capture and
a dreadful punishment. He conjured up all the dangers that an active
imagination could envisage: Every bush was a German and every sound
the occasion of a fresh alarm. He was like to ruin my own nerves with
his petty panics.

It was in vain that I pleaded with him: He could not face the dangers
that he saw ahead. The laager seemed to him, by comparison, a haven
of refuge. When all else failed, I appealed to his pride. He had none.
I warned him that we should meet with nothing but scorn from our
comrades, excepting laughter, which was worse. I begged and pleaded
with him to go on with me. No use. All his courage was foam and had
settled back into dregs.

And so we returned. I was heart-broken. But there was no use in my
going on alone. To travel by night we must sleep in the day time and
that required that some one should always be on watch to avoid the
chance travellers of the day--which was obviously impossible for any
one who travelled alone.

We had been gone only an hour and a half and the guard was just
beginning to look around for us. Otherwise we had not been missed nor
seen, for the wood was a large one and we had not yet gotten out of
its confines. Th