General Gallieni looked at them long and carefully.  Then he once more turned his eyes upon the contents of General Joffre’s message.

“General Joffre,” he said quietly, “speaks highly of you both.  He says that you are to be trusted implicitly and he appears to have great confidence in your resourcefulness.  Upon his recommendation I should say that, if you are willing to undertake the work, you would come as near bringing it to a successful termination as any men we might find.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Hal quietly.  “We are both willing and eager to make the attempt.”

“Then,” said the general, “we shall consider the matter settled.”

“But,” protested the Prime Minister, “it seems to me that they are much too young to be allowed to assume such a risk.”

“From General Joffre’s letter,” remarked the military governor of Paris dryly, “I should say that they have already assumed risks every whit as great.”  He turned again to Hal and Chester.  “Do you know anything of the Apaches of Paris?” he asked.

“Only what we have read,” replied Chester.  “I should say that they are of the lowest possible order of criminals.”

“You are entirely right,” replied General Gallieni.  “The Apaches of Paris have not acquired an undeserved reputation.  There is no crime on the calendar they would not commit for a few cents.  From petty thievery to murder they have advanced by degrees, until to-day the life of a person who ventures among them is not worth a cent, should they believe he had a franc in his pocket.

“The Apaches infest the poorer sections of the city, notably the banks of the Seine and portions of the Quartier Latin.  They seldom venture from their own haunts, and, like cats, do most of their prowling and evil deeds during the darkest hours of the night.  Nowhere in the world is there a more villainous band of cutthroats.  You would think that, in times like these they would rally to the support of their country, but they have not.  And now comes this plot to turn their President over to the enemy.”

The lads had listened with great interest to this account of the men, in whose midst they had volunteered to risk their lives.  They realized the danger that confronted them in such a venture, but neither was minded to give it up because of this.

“Well, we shall have to be careful, sir,” said Hal.  “We will dress poorly and will show no money.  If you will put us on the right road I am sure that we shall learn something of value in the course of a day or two.”

“It is still not too late to draw out,” said the general, eying them closely.

“Well, we won’t draw out,” said Hal quietly.

“I should say not,” agreed Chester.

“Report to me to-night at my quarters in the Hotel de Ville, say at 9 o’clock, and I will give you your directions and what other information I can that will be of service to you.  In the meantime, I would advise that you seek rest, for you are likely to need it.”