Apparently desirous of leading the conversation away from himself, Cousin Emile began asking the Khaki Boys numerous interested questions concerning their training in America. Though his eyes frequently rested on Jimmy, to whom he had taken a decided fancy, he slighted no one of them.

Bob's humorous manner and breezy speech evidently amused him considerably. Quick to note this, Bob laid himself out to be entertaining, and succeeded to the extent of making the great man laugh in a delightfully boyish fashion that put his somewhat awed group of soldier admirers quite at their ease. Voissard was, after all, "just a good fellow."

The reappearance of the waiter with the dinner, ordered by the Twinkle Twins and Cousin Emile, reminded the five Brothers that considerable time had passed since they had finished their own meal.

"It's after eight," Jimmy Blaise announced regretfully, after a glance at his wrist watch. "We'll have to be moving along. If we were back in the U. S. now, we'd hang on till the last drop of the hat and then hot-foot it. But not in gay Paree, with the gay knocked out of it by the Boche scrap. If we get back to the station O. K., and on the right train, we'll think ourselves some smart little Sammies."

"Oh, that's too bad!" exclaimed Jack ruefully. "Why beat it so soon? You don't have to be back in camp before midnight, do you?"

"We're free till then, but we'd rather not risk starting any later," Roger answered. "We don't know Paris as well as you do."

"It's a blooming shame," deplored Jerry. "We wanted to take you around with us for a while after dinner."

"Maybe we'll have a chance to come up to Paris again," was Bob's hopeful reply.

The Khaki Boys had now risen most reluctantly, and were about to say good-bye.

"We'll try to run down to your camp to see you," promised Jack. "We'll send you a line beforehand."

The twins and their distinguished cousin were now on their feet.

"Make it soon, then," stipulated Jimmy:. "We think we're going to start for the front before long. 509th Infantry's ours, you know. You won't have much trouble finding us."

"If it happens that we don't see you again there, we'll hope to meet you somewhere back of the firing line," declared Schnitzel earnestly. "I've surely enjoyed meeting the Twinkle Twins.

"And you, sir." He turned to Voissard. "It has been a great honor to me to shake your hand."

"Merci. I have also much enjoyed this hour with my American Allies," responded Voissard graciously.

He offered his hand to Schnitzel, then in turn to each of the other four Brothers, all of whom expressed their warm pleasure of the meeting.

Jimmy came last. As the two men clasped hands their eyes again met and again exchanged that silent message of friendliness. A general hand-shaking with the Twinkle Twins followed, then the Khaki Boys said a last good-bye and left the restaurant.

"Shall we walk or hail a taxi?" asked Bob, as they stepped out into the street. "The full moon is on the job to-night. We can see our way along even though this burg is shy on street lights."

Since the beginning of the war Paris had shown few street lights after nightfall. Due to the fiendish Boche practice of making nocturnal air raids for the purpose of dropping bombs, principally upon defenseless women and innocent little children, every possible precaution had been taken to guard this city against the inhuman cruelty of an ignoble foe.

"We'd better ride," decided prudent Roger. "It will be quicker and we'll run no chance of losing our way. Here comes a taxi now. Hail it, Blazes. You know how to parlez-vous."

Immediately complying, Jimmy signaled the driver of the machine. A moment's shrewd bargaining with the latter regarding the fare to the station, and Jimmy motioned his bunkies to step into the motor car.

None of the five observed, as they entered the vehicle, that a man had emerged from the shadows of a neighboring building and signaled another taxicab just driving up to the curb. In consequence, they were not aware that the second taxicab was sedulously keeping on the trail of their own.

CHAPTER IV

AN UNSEEN FOE

It was not a long journey to the station for which the Khaki Boys were bound. During the ride they had plenty to say in regard to the interesting trio they had left behind them. What had been rather a dull afternoon had suddenly turned into a red-letter evening. Not only were they jubilant at having again encountered the Twinkle Twins. They had also met one of the great heroes of France, and they could not readily get over it.

Arrived at the station, they were obliged to spend half an hour there before getting a train back to camp. Still absorbed in enthusiastic talk concerning their absent friends, they were not impatient over this little wait.

With the train on time, the five Brothers calculated reaching camp in good season. Once there a few moments' brisk walking would see them safely back in quarters.

All now being non-commissioned officers they had found it comparatively easy to make arrangements to be together. They were now well aware, however, that when they reached a village back of the firing line this state of affairs could not continue. Each would probably be quartered in a separate residence with a number of privates in his charge.

"We've barrels of time," announced Bob, as the train stopped in front of the camp station. "Where's our jailer? It's time he came and let us out of the jug."

By "jug" Bob humorously referred to the compartment which the guard had locked at the beginning of the journey. As it happened, the guard was at that moment engaged in unlocking another compartment from which issued a solitary man, heavily bearded, his hat pulled over his eyes.

Almost coincidental with Bob's inquiry the "jailer" appeared and opened the door for his temporary prisoners. The Khaki Boys skipped nimbly out of the compartment and started off at a leisurely pace across the station platform.

"A fine evening for a hike," pronounced Roger presently, drawing in a long breath of the crisp night air. "Just enough cold to make a fellow feel brisk and snappy."

"Don't you get 'snappy' with me," warned Bob jokingly. "I'm in a real good humor and I'd hate to have to snap back."

Now well away from the station, the hikers were tramping along five abreast in the middle of a street of a little French village, which they had to traverse in order to reach their camp.

"It's almost as light as day," Jimmy squinted up at the round moon. "This would be a fine night for a Boche air raid on Paris."

"Too light," disagreed Schnitzel. "A Zep would be spotted in a hurry and the Archies would get busy and smash it."

By "Archies" Schnitzel referred to the anti-aircraft guns, a part of the defenses of Paris against air raids.

"Did you hear what Voissard was telling me about the megaphones posted outside the city?" asked Roger.

Ignace, Schnitzel and Bob answered in the affirmative.

"I only caught part of it. I was talking to Jack," replied Jimmy. "What was it he said?"

"Well, they call these megaphones 'the ears of Paris.' They are recording reversed machines with microphone attachments. They're set up in clusters of four at different points just outside the city. Through them the sound of an airship's engine and propellers can be heard five miles away. There's a look-out for every bunch of 'em. The minute they begin to hum he sends warning. Then, bing! The searchlights blaze up in the sky and a