Meanwhile, Hal and Uncle John made all haste toward the headquarters of the Italian general staff, which at the moment were in Venice.  It took Hal some moments to convince several subordinate officers that it was essential he see the commander himself, but after some explanations the lad, accompanied by Uncle John, was ushered into the presence of the general.

Hal laid bare the details of the plot in a few words, and the Italian commander eyed him incredulously.

“How am I to know you are telling the truth?” he demanded.

“For one reason, because I don’t lie,” replied Hal.  “Besides, if you doubt me, sir, it would be well to be on the safe side, anyhow.  It can do no harm to take the necessary precautions.”

“What you say is true,” replied the general.

“A wire to General Ferrari might tell you we are to be relied upon,” continued Hal.  “We were so fortunate as to be of some slight service to him recently.”

The Italian commander glanced at his watch.

“It is best to be on the safe side,” he said.  “I shall take the necessary precautions, meanwhile wiring to General Ferrari, as you suggest.  In the meantime, I fear I shall have to detain you, at least, until I receive a reply to my wire.”

“But, sir,” Hal protested, “I would like to go back and find my friend.”

“I cannot permit that,” was the reply.  “How do I know that you are not spies yourselves and have concocted this story for some reason of your own—­a reason that precautions I might take against the plot you have outlined might throw my troops into more serious difficulties?  No, I shall keep you under guard.  That is final.”

Hal realized the futility of further protest and subsided.  Not so Uncle John.

“This is an outrage, sir,” he exploded.  “I repeat, this is an outrage.  Here we are, three of us, who have gone out of our way, to do the Italian army a service, and the best we get is trouble, fights and insults.  I—­”

The Italian commander raised a hand.

“I trust that you are telling the truth,” he said turning to Hal, and ignoring Uncle John.  “But I must make sure.  You say you are a soldier.  You can appreciate my position.”

Hal nodded affirmatively.  But Uncle John refused to be appeased.

“I think you are a lot of savages,” he declared.  “I wish the Austrians would blow up your whole army and drop bombs on every spot in the country.  I’d help ’em do it if I had a good chance.  I wouldn’t turn my hand over to help you again.”

The commander began to grow angry, and Hal realized it.

“That’s enough, Uncle John,” he remonstrated.  “You’ll get us in worse trouble than ever if you are not careful.”

“Worse?” exclaimed Uncle John.  “What can be worse than being in the same room with a bunch like this?  I—­”

Again the Italian commander raised a hand.

“Enough!” he said sharply.  “I am convinced you have come here for no good.  I shall send the wire I promised, but I am confident of the reply I shall receive.  Orderly!”