The general and colonel both smiled their congratulations to Tom and Harper at the accuracy of their report. At the same time spades worked with feverish haste, the man who fell into the tunnel was extricated undamaged, and the hole was rapidly widened to let two or three in at one time. Then another halt was ordered. The colonel spoke. “A short distance to the north of us is an underground chamber supposedly filled with highly explosive mines. They are wired and, it is believed, are directly connected up with the German lines. Apparently the enemy has been waiting for the concentration of a large number of troops here before touching off the mines. He may decide to do so at any moment. I want volunteers to go into that chamber and sever the cable connection.” Instantly every man present stepped forward. The colonel’s face glowed with pride, and the general nodded approvingly. This was the spirit which made America invincible! One looking at the general’s fine countenance saw there satisfaction, absolute assurance. A nation could not fail with men like these! And they but typified the entire United States army. The colonel rapidly picked half a dozen of the men he thought best fitted for the hazardous task at hand, and under the guidance of a clean-cut captain they dropped into the tunnel and disappeared from sight. Agonized moments dragged by, and scarcely a word was spoken. The colonel had suggested that all hands move further away from the danger zone, but as he and the general gave no evidence of doing so themselves, none of those present, no matter how they felt about it, showed the hardihood to seem to want to escape, when a little group of their pals probably at that very moment were struggling with the heavy cable which at any time might be charged with the death-dealing current. Every man present held his breath when the captain suddenly dashed into sight, quickly lifted himself to the ground, and, grabbing a spade from one and a pair of rubber gloves from another, started back over the line which the tunnel followed to the bomb chamber. “Connection’s cut, but I want to see something,” he told them. As he began digging they gathered in a wide circle about him. Presently he struck a hard metallic substance. With a wave of his hand he requested them to get to a greater distance. A few more cautious jabs with the spade and he stooped over, gripping something with both hands and tugging upward with all his strength. The blood rushed to his face and the veins on his neck and forehead stood out, but after a little the thing he was pulling began to give way. It was the severed cable. With a final jerk he pulled the loose end through the ground, and all hands could see where the cut had been made. At last the terrible menace was over. The captain looked triumphantly at his superiors. He laid the cable on the ground. “Don’t go near it,” he cautioned, “because—”