“No; what was it?”

“He told them that they were but two hours’ ride, by automobile, from their goal; by which he meant the French capital.”

“Great Scott!  I didn’t realize they were so close.”

“It is pretty close; but still, when you stop to think, not so close after all; for the road to Paris, for the Kaiser’s troops, at least, is strewn with insurmountable obstacles, and death and danger lurk on every hand.”

“True,” said Chester.  “Besides which, the Kaiser is considerably farther from his goal than he was some months ago.”

“Yes,” agreed Hal, “he has been forced a long way down the field, as we would say on the gridiron.”

Besides the document which they were to carry to the French Prime Minister, General Joffre also had given the lads an order for one of the large army automobiles, that they might make the trip with all possible haste.

Hal accosted the proper officer, and soon the lads had the huge car at their disposal.  The officer also offered to furnish them with a chauffeur, but Hal declined this offer, electing to drive the machine himself.  Chester climbed into the tonneau and Hal took his place at the wheel.  Both waved a good-by to the officer, and, under Hal’s guiding hand, the large automobile started off slowly.

Gradually Hal increased the speed, till at length they were flying along the road at the rate of forty miles an hour.  There were no speed restrictions in the war zone, and as the car dashed over the ground Hal kept a keen eye out for machines approaching from the other direction.

Chester leaned over the front seat and clutched Hal by the shoulder.

“At this rate,” he shouted, “it won’t take us long to get to Paris.”

“About two hours,” Hal shouted back, without taking his eyes from the road ahead.

Through the towns of Villers and Cotterets the automobile flashed, although Hal reducing his speed a trifle when the little cities came in sight.  On the road beyond, however, he proceeded to let the car out again, and so they dashed into Nanteul.

Here, because of somewhat more congested traffic, Hal was forced to reduce his speed considerably, and they went slowly through the streets of the towns.  Before setting out on their trip, Hal had spent half an hour over the maps of the road, that there might be no danger of their getting lost, and the lay of the country was firmly impressed upon his mind.

As they wended their way slowly through the streets of Nanteul, there came suddenly the sound of an explosion beneath them.  Hal brought the car to an abrupt stop and leaped lightly to the ground.  Chester did likewise.

“Tire blown out,” said Hal briefly, after a quick glance at the rear left-hand wheel.

He walked to the rear of the car, where a spare tire should have been ready for just such an emergency.  There was none there.

The lad stepped back with an exclamation of dismay.