"Who are you, then?" demanded Hal.

The stranger drew himself up to his full height--and he was still almost
as broad as he was long, folded his arms and said proudly:

"I am Anthony Stubbs, sir, war correspondent of the _New York Gazette_,
sir; and I am here in search of news."

"News, eh?" said Hal. "It is my belief that you are in search of
information to turn over to the Germans."

"You are mistaken, sir," replied Anthony, somewhat uncomfortably, the
lads could see. "I assure you on the honor of a Stubbs that I am what I
represent myself to he."

Hal could keep a straight face no longer. So comical was the little man
in his ruffled dignity that the boy was forced to laugh.

"All right, Mr. Stubbs," he said at last, "I believe you; but tell me,
what were you running from when you bumped into us?"

"I wasn't running, sir," was the reply. "I heard a large force of the
enemy in a field just out of the woods, and I was merely hurrying to a
place where I could get a look at them."

"Well, you were hurrying at a pretty good gait," said Hal. "But tell me,
is the enemy in force?"

"I didn't see any of them," said Stubbs, "but by the sounds of their
horses' hoofs, I should say they were in force, sir."