"'Young Henri can do it,' suggested another officer. "'A civilian who has been attached to the army unofficially for some few weeks.' Henri had made himself so useful that his presence with the army was not only permitted, but welcomed. While he was but thirteen years of age, he was very strong, alert and active. The colonel told his aide to summon the boy so the commander might look him over. "'Why do you follow the army?' demanded the colonel, after observing the boy critically. "'Our home has been destroyed by the Germans, my father has been taken prisoner by them and my sisters have fled to other provinces,' he answered simply. 'That is why I am trying to serve my country in every way I can.' "The colonel nodded approvingly. "'It is a most important mission and a very dangerous one on which I must send a man. Do you think you can go through with it?' "'Yes, sir.' "'You may fall into the hands of the Prussians. In that event what would you do with the letters I shall entrust to your care?' "'Swallow them, sir,' was the reply. "'Good! You will do. You are a real Frenchman and while you are a mere child, I have full confidence that you will somehow manage to carry out my orders.' "'I shall do my best, sir.' "'That is all that any man can do. Give careful heed to what I tell you.' The colonel gave Henri careful instructions, after which he handed the letters to the lad and bade him God-speed. "Henri set out quietly, slouching along with a carelessness not in keeping with his all-important mission. He was soon lost sight of in the undergrowth that covered many miles of territory in that section of the country, and that finally merged with a dense forest. The lad reasoned that the Germans would be found in this forest, as well as in the more open country, but somehow he must manage to get through their lines and reach the French on the other side. It was not an easy task, as he well knew, yet he was undaunted. "He was following a course close to the edge of the forest when all at once he saw a Prussian soldier just outside the forest line. The boy plunged deeper into the woods and was unseen and unheard by the soldier, who evidently was a sentry. "Later in the day Henri heard voices--German voices. By the sound he judged there must be a great many of them. He imagined he could hear commands. "'I must be close to a nest of them,' he muttered. 'I must find out about those fellows, for the commanders will wish to know about them.' Creeping cautiously ahead he came to the edge of a clearing, a vast open space where the timber had, he judged, been cut off some time since, and the brush growth that followed the cutting of the trees had by now been well trampled down by the Germans, who appeared to be making this out-of-the-way place a sort of headquarters for their operations. He was amazed at what he saw.