bout it if the
escape of two boys could produce such a disorganization.

And then there was a sudden diversion. The noise seemed to die away. It
did not cease for there was still a good deal of talking, but there was
no more shouting, until there was a sudden whirring sound.

"An aeroplane!" whispered Boris. "I've seen them for the last few days,
flying in all directions. They use them for scouting."

"I knew I ought to recognize that sound!" said Fred.

It seemed fairly safe for them to speak to one another now. For some
reason it was quite evident they had been forgotten.

There was an interval of almost complete silence; then came a sudden
explosion of orders. Half a dozen motorcycles sprang into crackling
life; there was the unmistakable din of a powerful aeroplane engine,
which, with no muffler, is noisy enough to wake the dead. Then came the
whirring of its propeller. They were sure that if they only dared to
raise their heads, they would see the machine rising near by.

But there was more to follow that was just as inexplicable. The
motorcycles chugged away; then three automobiles started. Their engines
roared for a moment before they subsided to the ordered, steady hum of a
smooth running motor. On the first car that got away there was a horn
that made Boris start convulsively as he heard its bugle note, and grasp
Fred's shoulder.

"That horn belongs only to a car used by a full general!" he said. "It
must be von Hindenburg going, Fred! That flying machine brought
important news!"

That had been evident to Fred almost from the first. He wondered
mightily what was going to happen next. It seemed incredible that the
Germans, knowing that he and Boris must soon be found, and that only
patience was necessary if they were to be caught, would so quickly give
up looking for them. And yet--Boris was right, of course. A general
would not depart with such abundant evidence of haste and sudden
decision unless some grave news had come through the air.

One question was soon settled. Scarcely had General von Hindenburg's car
started, with the musical call of its horn clearing the way for it, when
the search for the two scouts was renewed with as much vigor as had been
shown before the coming of the aeroplane. And this time it was speedily
successful. There was less din and confusion. Fred saw at once that some
officer with a cool and level head had taken charge. The searchers now
did the simple, obvious thing. They