“It is impossible,” declared the lieutenant.  “Right now you would not be allowed to go.  And, in the second place, I took the trouble to inquire, when I first reached Liege, whether your mother was in Brussels.  Your ambassador, Mr. Brand Whitlock, informed me that she had left the country.”

“What?  Gone and left us behind?”

“Yes; but not because she wanted to.  It was either a case of leave Brussels then, or run a chance of being held there indefinitely.”

“Then what are we going to do?  There is no use going to Brussels.”

Chester clapped his hands.

“I have it!” he exclaimed.

Hal looked at him in surprise.

“What?” he demanded.

“Why, what we are going to do.”

“Well, what is it?”

“Fight!”

“Fight?  What do you mean?”

“Join the army!”

Captain Derevaux leaped to his feet.

“I will not hear of it!” he exclaimed.

But the idea caught Hal’s fancy.

“Good boy, Chester!” he exclaimed.  “That’s just what we will do!”

“It is impossible,” exclaimed the young captain.  “In the first place, it would not be possible, at your age, to enlist.  But I will tell you what I will do for you.”

“What is it?” asked the two lads eagerly.

“In times such as these,” explained the captain, “young fellows like you may be useful in many ways without running the risk of going into battle—­scouting expeditions and the like.  I will speak to the general about you and see what I can do.  Understand, I wouldn’t do this did I not know that if I didn’t you would get mixed up in trouble in some other way, and in a way that would be much more dangerous.”

“We are willing to take our chances,” replied Hal.

“Of course we are,” agreed Chester.

“Oh, I know that,” replied the captain, “and what I am proposing is not without danger.  But what I have in mind calls for quick wits rather than for strong arms, although I know you have both.  I will go now and speak to the general.”

“All right,” replied Hal.  “In the meantime, Chester and I will go out and look around the town.”

Everywhere, as the boys strolled about the streets, preparations to withstand a siege were being made; but everything was being done quietly and without confusion.  The great steel forts, some of them practically isolated, were subjects of great interest to the lads.

“I’ll bet the Germans have a hard time capturing this place,” remarked Hal, as they examined one of the forts.

“Yes,” agreed Chester, “as the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac, in Hampton Roads, in our own civil war was the first battle between iron ships, so will an attack on these forts be the first in which such impregnable defenses will be tried out.  I was reading about them long before war was declared.”

“And I believe the Germans are making a sad mistake when they say the Belgians can’t fight,” said Hal.