“‘Swallow them, sir,’ was the reply.

“’Good!  You will do.  You are a real Frenchman and while you are a mere child, I have full confidence that you will somehow manage to carry out my orders.’

“‘I shall do my best, sir.’

“’That is all that any man can do.  Give careful heed to what I tell you.’  The colonel gave Henri careful instructions, after which he handed the letters to the lad and bade him God-speed.

“Henri set out quietly, slouching along with a carelessness not in keeping with his all-important mission.  He was soon lost sight of in the undergrowth that covered many miles of territory in that section of the country, and that finally merged with a dense forest.  The lad reasoned that the Germans would be found in this forest, as well as in the more open country, but somehow he must manage to get through their lines and reach the French on the other side.  It was not an easy task, as he well knew, yet he was undaunted.

“He was following a course close to the edge of the forest when all at once he saw a Prussian soldier just outside the forest line.  The boy plunged deeper into the woods and was unseen and unheard by the soldier, who evidently was a sentry.

“Later in the day Henri heard voices—­German voices.  By the sound he judged there must be a great many of them.  He imagined he could hear commands.

“‘I must be close to a nest of them,’ he muttered.  ’I must find out about those fellows, for the commanders will wish to know about them.’  Creeping cautiously ahead he came to the edge of a clearing, a vast open space where the timber had, he judged, been cut off some time since, and the brush growth that followed the cutting of the trees had by now been well trampled down by the Germans, who appeared to be making this out-of-the-way place a sort of headquarters for their operations.  He was amazed at what he saw.

“There, before Henri’s eyes, was a small German army, all branches of the service being represented.  His association with the French Army enabled him to observe very closely and understand what he saw.  And in this instance his observation told him that the Prussians were preparing for battle; he knew, too, that the orders he was carrying had to do with the very preparations he was witnessing.  After fully satisfying his curiosity Henri plunged again into the forest, using great caution and watching keenly for stray Prussians.  Finally he reached the brush again, being now free of the forest itself.

“‘Halt!’

“The command brought him up standing.  He rarely had been caught napping, but drew a breath of relief when he saw that the sentry who had halted him was in the uniform of his own army.

“‘France!’ was the boy’s answer to the challenge.  ’I have a letter for your commander.’

“‘Pass!’

“Henri easily found his way to the commander’s headquarters and delivered the letter intended for him.