human
That was quick work,
gpt
Yes. I'm glad we got there, said Dick.
human
Old Dutchy's all right--he doesn't seem like a German. But I think it would be a good thing if they did catch a few of the others and scrag them!
gpt
No, it wouldn't, said Harry soberly.
human
Don't get to feeling that way, Dick. Suppose you were living in Berlin. You wouldn't want a lot of German roughs to come and destroy your house or your shop and handle you that way, would you?
gpt
It's not the same thing, said Dick, stubbornly.
human
They're foreigners.
gpt
But you'd be a foreigner if you were over there!
human
I suppose I would, said Dick.
gpt
I never thought of that! Just the same, I bet Mr. Grenfel was right. London's full of spies. Isn't that an awful idea, Harry? You can't tell who's a spy and who isn't!
human
No, but you can be pretty sure that the man you suspect isn't, suggested Harry, sagely.
gpt
A real spy wouldn't let you find it out very easily. I can see one thing and that is a whole lot of perfectly harmless people are going to be arrested as spies before this war is very old, if it does come! We don't want to be mixed up in that, Dick--we scouts. If we think a man's doing anything suspicious, we'll have to be very sure before we denounce him, or else we won't be any use.
human
It's better for a few people to be arrested by mistake than to let a spy keep on spying, isn't it?
gpt
I suppose so, but we don't want to be like the shepherd's boy who used to try to frighten people by calling 'Wolf! Wolf!' when there wasn't any wolf. You know what happened to him. When a wolf really did come no one believed him. We want to look before we leap.
human
I suppose you're right, Harry. Oh, I do hope we can really be of some use! If I can't go to the war, I'd like to think I'd had something to do--that I'd helped when my country needed me!
gpt
If you feel like that you'll be able to help, all right, said Harry.
human
I feel that way, too--not that I want to fight. I wouldn't want to do that for any country but my own. But I would like to be able to know that I'd had something to do with all that's going to be done.
gpt
I think it's fine for you to be like that, said Dick.
human
I think there isn't so much difference between us, after all, even if you are American and I'm English. Well, here we are again! I'll see you in the morning, I suppose?
gpt
Right oh! I'll come around for you early. Good-night!
human
Good-night!