"'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.