This was a simple task, and several hours later, horseback, the lads
made their way toward where British troops, supported by French, were
close to, the border of The Netherlands.

They showed their passports, prepared by Hal, to the British military
authorities, and were permitted to pass.

Holland, although not a participant in the great war, nevertheless,
soon after the outbreak of hostilities, had felt herself called upon to
mobilize her military forces that she might protect her borders should
one of the belligerents attempt to overrun her, as the Germans had
overrun Belgium at the outbreak of the war. Therefore, when the three
travelers reached the border, they were held up by the military.

Hal presented his fake American passport, and Chester and McKenzie did
likewise. The officer who had accosted them turned them over to his
superior.

"Your intentions," said the officer, "I hope are such as not to break
Holland's neutrality?"

"We're perfectly peaceable, sir," returned Hal with a smile.

"Very well. This is a neutral country, and you are, of course, free to
travel about it at your leisure so long as you conduct yourselves
properly. Of course, were you American soldiers it would be necessary
for me to place you under arrest, and YOU would be interned until the
end of the war."