Very cautiously he ascended the steps. Remembering the exact location of the dining-room, the lad sought out the room above it. There, at one end of the room, he found what appeared to be a little closet. Gently opening the door, he peered in. Nothing but darkness met his eyes. Hal stepped inside, pulling the door to after him, leaving just a little crack that he might not be suffocated. Then he laid his ear to the floor and listened intently. From below came the faint sound of German voices. Hal ran an exploring finger over the floor of the closet. His finger felt a little hole, and changing his position the boy saw a very small opening in the floor. He put his eye to the hole and peered down, and as he made out the figures in the room below he chuckled softly to himself. The first man upon whom he laid his eyes was Count Von Moltke, commander-in-chief of all the German armies, and who, upon one occasion, had saved him from death before a firing squad. "Wonder what he would say if he could see me now?" Hal asked himself. His gaze roved over the room, and there at one end of the table sat an imposing figure in gold-trimmed military uniform, sword between his knees, a fierce military mustache curling upward. There was no mistaking this figure. It was Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany! CHAPTER XXII. THE KAISER. In spite of the fact that Hal had sure sense that Emperor Wilhelm would be in the room below, he felt a peculiar thrill creep over him as he made out the imposing figure of "The War Lord of Europe." He whistled softly to himself. "Great Scott!" he ejaculated, and then looked long and silently. "To think," he said to himself after a long pause, "that he is primarily responsible for this great war, with its toll of thousands of lives and the destruction of property worth millions of dollars." Unconsciously, almost, he drew his revolver, and pointed it straight at the War Lord's breast. "With one little movement of my finger," said the lad softly to himself, "I could snuff out the life of the man who has already sent thousands to their death. One shot, and----" His fingers tightened on the trigger, but for a moment only. Then he lowered his weapon, and a moment later dropped it back in his pocket, while he wiped away little beads of perspiration that had gathered on his brow. "It's no use," he told himself, "I couldn't do it if I wanted to." Wilhelm II, Emperor of the German Empire and War Lord of Europe, will never know how close he was to death at that moment! Now the voices of the officers in the room below became louder, and by straining his ears the lad could make out what they were saying. "If," came a voice from below, and Hal recognized it as that of Count Von Moltke, "if we can draw the British to this point, we can cut them off from their French support and annihilate them. And----"