The evidence brought forth at the trial that day was conclusive. The men refused to make any statements concerning their co-operation in the work of espionage, but when the second peddler's pack was eventually discovered, it was learned that each carried a suit, the counterpart of the other. It was obvious that the arrest of one would enable him to prove an alibi, just as he was prepared to do when the first one was apprehended by the boys, and he would have been successful, too, were it not for the fact that the boys observed the man in the act of taking notes, or jotting down items so systematically, and on several occasions items were put down where no sales were effected. No time was lost in carrying out the orders of the court and the spies were executed without delay. The boys remained in the camp for two weeks, and it was getting to be irksome. There seemed to be no occasion for hurry. Soldiers were arriving from England in every branch of the service, and the camp was enlarged by taking in a vast plain directly to the west and adjoining the main camp. "I wonder if the colonel will forget what he said about giving us whatever we want," said Ralph, one morning. "We might as well find out," replied Alfred. Once in the colonel's presence they were quick to bring up the subject. "You may remember," said Ralph, "that you once told us that we could have anything we wanted." "I remember it well," he said. "Now, what is it?" he asked. "Why, we want to join an artillery company," said Alfred. "And is that all?" he inquired with an amused air. "Yes; we thought you might help us out; of course, we know we are minors, and Americans, and all that, but we can help out, just the same," said Ralph. "Yes; that is, indeed, commendable. Your cases are so different from the ordinary ones that it may make the job of getting you in much easier; at any rate, I hope so," he remarked. "Thank you," said Alfred. "Now, mind you, I may not be able to succeed, for the War Department is very particular, and we are working under a pretty rigid set of rules, but you have been in the service and are entitled to consideration; and, by the way, won't you tell me how you succeeded in getting in heretofore. Did you have any influence to push you along?" asked the colonel. "Oh, yes; we had considerable influence," said Alfred with a smile. "Yes, that's what I wanted to find out," replied the colonel. "How did you work it?" "Well," replied Ralph, "we simply walked in and went to work; that's the influence we had; they couldn't help but take us." The colonel leaned back in his chair and roared with laughter, in which the boys joined. "Maybe it wasn't just as bad as that," rejoined Alfred, after the laughter subsided, "but down at Bar-le-Duc the chances of getting in with the flyers were pretty slim, so we just went into the hangars and asked them what there was to do, and we didn't wait for them to tell us, we simply went to work."