"Oh, you!" Jimmy grew indignant. "You know I didn't mean it that way. Just the same, I'd rather he'd be in hospital than under a cloud because some others are there. I'd hate to see a friend of mine in bad for----" "A friend of _ours is_ in bad!" Bob fairly bounced to his feet. "Schnitz is on kitchen detail! Great Jehosephat! And he's a German-American, too!" Into three pairs of eyes leaped a consternation born of this belated reflection. It looked as though Schnitz was in for it. "Tough luck," emphasized Jimmy, equally concerned over Schnitzel's predicament. "Too bad it wasn't Bixton instead." Jimmy cast an unfriendly glance across the squad room to where Bixton, as usual, lounged on his cot. He also had escaped disaster. "Oh, come now." Roger could not refrain from smiling. "You don't mean that, Blazes. It's wrong to wish trouble on any man, no matter what he may be. I don't believe even Schnitzel would wish that on Bixton, and he's had to take a lot from that sneak. Schnitz is too----" "By the way, where is Schnitz?" Jimmy was staring darkly at Schnitzel's empty cot. "Maybe he's in hospital, too. He wasn't at drill, so we don't know----" "Whether he's in hospital or in arrest," finished Bob significantly, "I haven't seen a man on kitchen detail since noon. You can draw your own conclusions. Right after mess to-night I'm going out news-gathering. I'll bet I find out something, too. I know where I can get some information." "Mess!" grimaced Jimmy. "I hate to think of it. I'm not hungry enough to risk getting mine to-night." "We all feel the same," agreed Bob. "They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place, though. I won't be a quitter. I'll take a chance. Probably we'll get something solid to eat to-night that it would be hard to doctor. You can look for some new faces in the mess kitchen. Take my word for it." Bob's prediction was verified almost to the letter. Supper that night consisted of bread, boiled potatoes and beefsteak, served by a new detail of kitchen men. Not one of the old detail was on duty, which went to prove that they were either ill or had been held on suspicion. The three Khaki Boys never forgot that particular meal. Each felt that every mouthful of food he ate might contain a fatal dose of poison. Iggy's absence also greatly added to their depression. All hoped for the best, yet feared the worst. The same heavy oppression clutched their comrades, who alike had bunkies of their own to worry over. Bob returned to barracks with Roger and Jimmy, only to sally forth again on his quest for news. Jimmy was anxious to go with him, but for once Bob did not desire company. "Bobby's got to go it by himself," he objected. "You're a lovely young corporal, Blazes, but you don't fit into my plan. 'He travels fastest who travels alone,' you know. Any other time I'd be delighted, but, to quote our dear, I won't say departed, Iggy, 'no now.'"