"I did suspect that he wants to marry Frieda." "Ah! Motive enough! ... Waiter!" The others watched the man. His manner was a strange compound of two servilities--the waiter’s and the German private’s. "Monsieur?" "Bring coffee." The waiter departed. "I must certainly have him arrested," said Granger. "So you see, my dear fellow, that if I manage to lay Hellwig by the heels I shall perhaps be able to make you some return for what I owe you." "But that won’t release Max Finkelstein." "I confess I was at that moment thinking of the daughter," said Granger with a whimsical look at Kenneth. Pariset glanced at his friend and smiled. "The idea of her marrying that cur!" said Kenneth. "It won’t bear thinking of, will it?" said Granger. "That fellow is rather long with the coffee." They waited, discussing the probable course of the war. After a while Granger summoned the head waiter. "Our waiter has been over long fetching our coffee," he said. "Will you stir him up?" In a minute or two the head waiter returned, carrying the coffee himself. "Pardon, messieurs," he said. "Gustave was suddenly taken sick, and is not able to serve at present." "I have lost this trick," said Granger ruefully, when they were again alone. "While I had my eye on the German, he evidently had his eye on me. And for once the German was the quicker to act. Well, we all have our ups and downs--I might have said our exits and our entrances: exit spy, enter staff-officer, who is looking for you, Monsieur Pariset, if I am not mistaken." A Belgian captain was threading his way across the room, looking quickly from table to table, here and there acknowledging or returning a greeting, but briefly, in the manner of one preoccupied. His glance suddenly falling on Pariset, he smiled, and came directly towards him. "I heard that you were here," he said. "Have you finished?" "Yes." "Then give me a minute privately." His eyes rested for a moment on Kenneth and Granger, whom he did not know. "Certainly," said Pariset. "Let me introduce my friends." The introduction made, the officer’s manner changed. "Let us all go into the smoking-room together," he said. "The matter I’ve to speak about need be no secret among us four." "You’ll excuse me," said Granger, whose tact never failed. "I have one or two things to attend to; I hope I may have the pleasure some other time." He left the others, and they made their way to the smoking-room. CHAPTER XI--THE CENTRE ARCH "You know the railway bridge over the Ourthe, at Sy, just south of Hamoir?" the captain began, lighting a cigarette. "Yes," said Pariset. "A section of our sappers were told off to blow it up this morning. Their work was only half done when they were surprised and cut up by a patrol of Uhlans. The Germans very quickly repaired the damage, and are now using the line to bring up troops and material against the Boncelles and Embourg forts." "Well?" said Pariset, as the officer paused.