"
The general raised a hand and said gruffly:
"Never mind that." The faint shadow of a smile flitted over his stern
countenance. "I suppose," he continued, "that you are wondering why I do
this, after what occurred in the station at Berlin. It is so, is it not?"
"It is very strange," muttered Chester, and Hal nodded his head in
assent.
"Well, I'll tell you," said the general. "You remember when I pushed you
away from the train?" he queried, turning to Hal.
Hal nodded.
"When I turned round after that, feeling greatly pleased with myself, I
noticed, for the first time, the presence of a lady in my compartment.
She looked at me in the greatest contempt. It confused me; and I am not
easily confused.
"Then she told me that she was your mother, and, you may believe, berated
me most wonderfully. She didn't cry, nor go into hysterics, which made a
great impression on me. Most mothers would. I felt decidedly
uncomfortable.
"I realized that I had acted like a boor. We had gone some distance, but
I had the train stopped and backed into the station. You were not there.
I telephoned your ambassador. You had been there and gone. We were unable
to find you.
"I prevailed upon your mother to continue her journey to Brussels. I
issued an order to all my generals to keep a lookout for you and give you
safe-conduct into Belgium. It seems, however, that none of them
recognized you, or that you kept out of sight.
"I promised your mother I would get you out of the country in some way,
and she was greatly relieved.
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