"Exactly," declared the colonel. "It stands to reason that if Austria has made peace overtures, the German general staff will know of it. Also, for that matter, will practically every man in the German army. It would appear that if we could place a man behind the enemy’s lines, he could, with caution and discretion, learn the truth of the matter. I have called you here to offer you this opportunity." "And we accept it, of course, sir," declared Hal. "Of course," Chester repeated after his chum. "Good!" exclaimed Colonel O’Neil. "I knew I could depend on you. General Rowan asked me to put the mission in the most capable hands I could find, and being familiar with your records, I know that my selection could not be better." "Thank you, sir," said Hal and Chester in a single voice. "Now," went on the colonel, "I don’t want to hamper you with a lot of foolish and needless instructions, but I do want to impress upon you that the sooner the matter is cleared up the better. You will both be granted indefinite leave of absence, but I would ask that you return at the earliest possible moment." "We shall, sir," said Chester quietly. "Very well, then," replied Colonel O’Neil; "that is all." The lads saluted and left the colonel’s quarters. "Well," said Hal, as they made their way back to their own quarters, "this is an expedition after my own heart." "Right," Chester agreed. "I suppose that it’s necessary to keep some of us sitting quietly around here, but at the same time I would rather it were someone besides me." "Same here. But I’ll bet some of the rest of the fellows would be tickled to death with our luck." "Naturally; why shouldn’t they be? Now the question before the house is the best method of crossing safely into the German lines." "And of getting safely out again," said Hal dryly. "That goes without saying. But we’ve got to get there first. The return trip will be considered later." "There are ways enough of getting there," said Hal. "Automobile, airplane, afoot or a-horseback. Take your choice." "Airship for me," said Chester; "its quicker and promises a greater degree of success." "I’ll make that unanimous," said Hal. "Airship is my vote, too." "Guess we’d better wait until along toward midnight, though," Chester suggested. "Why?" "Well, chiefly because there is less likelihood of our being discovered at that hour. Guards will be posted, of course, but we’ve eluded them before and we can do it again. Also, arriving within the enemy’s lines after midnight, will give us the chance of mingling with the German troops without so great a risk of discovery." "Any way suits me," said Hal. "First thing to do, now that we have decided upon our means of locomotion, is to find a plane." "I’ll commandeer one from Captain Nicholas," said Chester. "All right. Tell him to have it ready at midnight sharp." "Right," said Chester and hastened away.