“I tell you,” Tom blurted out, in rising tones, “the life of every man here is in danger. This place is likely to be blown off the map any minute. The whole place is mined. I’ve just seen the bombs—scores of them—in a big underground chamber directly under the town. I’ve got to speak to someone in authority.” “What’s that you say,” demanded a staff major, suddenly appearing on the scene. He had heard the last few words, and as he peered into the face of Sergeant Walton, who immediately came to a salute, he seemed instantly to sense the seriousness of the situation. Briefly as possible Tom repeated his startling information. The major rattled off some orders to the sentry and a sergeant who had appeared, then left suddenly, telling Tom to wait right there. In an incredibly short time the brigadier general, followed by most of his staff, emerged hurriedly from a dug-out. “You are certain of this?” the general demanded sternly. “Absolutely positive,” Tom answered. “I fell into the mouth of the cave myself, in helping to capture the German who had just come out of it, and when I found that it was a long tunnel, leading directly northward toward this spot, I led the way through it. We came upon a large underground chamber practically filled with big bombs, all connected with a cable. I should measure the distance we travelled as bringing that chamber almost beneath where we are standing now.” Had Tom himself thrown a bomb into the midst of the gathered staff members it hardly could have caused greater consternation. The general waited for no more. He barked a dozen orders to as many different officers in rapid-fire succession. “Come with me,” he instructed Tom and those officers who had not yet been charged with special duties. He led the way quickly to a dug-out further down the line. Before they reached it bugles were sounding, men were tumbling out of their blankets, rubbing their eyes and looking about sleepily. Staff officers were shouting the orders for immediate movement. Officers and men who heard, looked around hurriedly for signs of the enemy. In the dug-out the general ordered one of the several men sitting at telephone instruments to connect him immediately with the commanding officer of the nearest unit of Engineers. To this officer he indicated as definitely as he could the position of the mouth of the tunnel, and ordered him to be there as quickly as possible. “To dig out mines,” he summed up. “They’re already connected up, I believe.” And seeing the first of the thousands of men under him already on the move for designated points beyond the danger zone, he took a part of his staff with him, and with Tom in the lead, set out at a vigorous double-quick for the point where George Harper still was guarding the man whose movements indirectly led to discovery of the mines.