“That must have done some damage, I reckon!” gasped Amos as he
struggled once more to his feet, ready to push steadily on again.
They had heard a series of shouts, some of them indicating pain, and
others an acute degree of terror. Evidently the Turkish gunners were
being demoralized by this firing. The bursting shells were working sad
havoc in their midst.
But Turks have ever been known to show bravery under fire, and Jack was
not so very much surprised when there came a bellow from the rear that
made the earth quiver. The big gun hidden in the brush and rocky spurs
had been fired, perhaps almost at random, to prove to the enemy that
although betrayed by that searchlight from above the gunners were ready
to die at their posts.
The two boys and Arturus were all hurrying along by that time,
eager to put as much space between themselves and the danger zone as
possible. More terrible shells were bound to fall in that limited area,
and since the Turks would be utterly unable to move their big gun it
stood a good show of being finally smashed.
So accurately did the gunners on the warship manage to drop their
missiles that there seemed no further danger of one falling close
enough to the boys to injure them. On this account then they no longer
threw themselves down when that flash over the water announced the
speeding of another projectile.
Amos, being now filled with a natural curiosity to observe the effect
of the bursting shells, actually turned his head to look back when
the next shot came. He would never forget the dreadful sight when the
great shell exploded. The whole vicinity seemed to be illuminated by
the glare, and Amos believed he could see unfortunate men being hurled
right and left, as well as logs and stones.
“Oh! that was the time they hit it!” he exclaimed, when the fearful
thunder of the explosion had died away.
“Do you mean they smashed the big gun?” asked Jack, who apparently had
not been looking at the time.
“Yes, I’m sure of it,” the other went on to assert; “for I saw the
shell burst, it seemed to me, right against the cannon. You’ll hear no
more from that piece, I give you my affidavy, Jack. It was beautifully
done, and I take off my hat to the bullies out there in the gloom who
could find their mark so quickly.”
“But the searchlight keeps on playing down on the spot,” suggested Jack.
“They’re trying to make sure of the result,” Amos declared. “You’ll
soon see I was right about it, when they send a signal out to the
battleship that there’s no need to waste any more ammunition.”
Somehow they were so fascinated by the idea that all of them stood
there, and continued to watch. The air pilot even swooped down lower as
though bent upon making absolutely sure before sending word to the war
vessel waiting to hear from him before continuing the bombardment.
“There, what did I tell you?” exclaimed Amos, with a ring of triumph in
his voice.
The aviator above had suddenly switched off his light, and dense
darkness fell upon the scene. No further crash from off over the water
came to the ears of the listening boys. The only sounds they heard
consisted of cries from wounded men, and a faint faraway whir that must
be the aeroplane winging its way back to its former post.
“It’s all over!” said Jack, almost solemnly; “another gun knocked
out of business, and from what they say, the Turks can’t afford to
lose many more these days, when it’s so hard to get them through from
Austria and Germany.”
“We must go on,” said Arturus just then, “for we may be overtaken by
some of the Turks fleeing from the place.”
“But did you notice, Jack, that the aeroplane seemed to fly away _up_
the coast and not out to sea?” ventured Amos.
“Well, now, I hadn’t thought anything about that until you spoke; but
now you have mentioned it, Amos, I believe that’s a fact.”
“Of course we couldn’t see anything,” continued the other, “but I took
great pains to follow the sound, and it kept right along ahead of us.”
“From that you figure something out, of course?” asked the other. “I
can give a pretty good guess what it is.”
“That aviator must have been the same man who hung over the trenches
today, and dropped so many bombs,” Amos ventured. “We know he came from
the upper camp; and I feel dead sure he was my brother Frank. If that’s
so, then here he’s gone and distinguished himself again.”
“It certainly looks as if Frank might be in the front rank of the
Allied pilots if it turns out as we believe,” Jack permitted himself to
say; “but now we’d better quiet down again, Amos. Arturus doesn’t like
to have us chattering away like this, even if it is in whispers.”
“Because we are not yet out of the bushes,” added the Greek guide
suggestively, by which they understood him to mean that with half the
distance still to be covered there always existed a possibility that
other enemies might be encountered.
Jack, as he walked along in the wake of Arturus, was thinking very
naturally of what wonderful things this war had already brought forth,
what with its Zeppelins, the submarine raiders which Germany was
letting loose to prey upon the fleets and commerce of her enemies; the
marvelous big guns which were able to smash the most formidable steel
defences known to modern military science; and the amazing trenches
made of concrete which existed for hundreds of miles along the fighting
line in Northern France and Belgium.
He wondered what would be the next marvel brought out by one side or
the other. At that time the asphyxiating gases of the Germans, and
the dreadful liquid fire had not been used; but Jack could easily
anticipate something along these lines.
As for the aeroplane, it had proved its wonderful strategic value a
thousand times over. Its uses were manifold, from scouting to dropping
bombs in daylight raids over enemy country and barracks. Jack had
already seen enough of these things to convince him that the country
which had an abundant supply of both submarines and giant aeroplanes
could carry things their own way in the future.
“Listen!” said Arturus all of a sudden.
“We are being pursued!” whispered Amos, as he plainly heard voices
from the rear, accompanied by other sounds that might spring from men
stumbling while hurrying madly along the rough trail.
The Greek drew his charges aside, and crouching amidst the bushes, they
waited to ascertain what it could all mean. Closer came the sounds.
They could now make out that the men rushing headlong toward them were
Turks. Jack wondered if they could really be hunting the three who
had passed around the hidden battery just before it was bombarded so
successfully from out at sea.
Moving figures now caught their attention, three of them, and all
stumbling along in the most reckless fashion. From their excited manner
Jack immediately made up his mind they must be remnants of the force
of gunners who had had charge of the battery. Wounded by some of the
flying missiles when the shells burst around them, they had fled in a
panic, that kept them pushing on even after the danger seemed past.
They shuffled by the spot where the boys were concealed, and went on
up the shore. Jack’s first thought was that this was a peculiar thing
for them to do, since they must certainly know that the camp of the New
Zealand troops lay not so very far away in that direction.
“What do you make out of it, Arturus?” he asked, softly.
“They belonged to the battery, and have been badly frightened,” the
guide replied. “I have not before seen Turks show such alarm. It must
be what you call the panic has gripped hold of them.”
“Yes, I can understand all that,” continued Jack, “but why should they
keep on up the shore? A safe retreat for them would be to take to the
hills.”
“That is something we do not know,” answered the guide, seriously, “but
it may be we will soon find out. It was no accident, that is sure; and
I believe there may be other Turkish forces between us and the camp.”
“Whew! again?” muttered Amos, thinking of that terrible climb they had
been forced to take in order to pass around the concealed battery.
The sound of the fleeing Turks had now subsided. Either they had passed
beyond hearing or else managed in some way to curb their panicky
condition. At the very least it meant they would have these three
enemies to contend against, and must therefore be constantly on their
guard.
If anything, the ground grew rougher than before. Amos believed so
since he tripped more frequently, though that may have come from his
weariness. It had been an exhausting day for the boys, what with
their work as Red Cross stretcher-bearers, and a lot of other duties
performed by them. Any boy might well have confessed that he was
almost worn out from fatigue; and it was the wild hope of meeting his
missing brother Frank that kept Amos up, more than his will power.
They had not been moving along for more than ten minutes in this slow
and cautious fashion when again Arturus, the Greek, came to a stand.
Instinctively both of the boys immediately strained their hearing to
ascertain what sounds may have reached the ears of the guide. And what
they managed to catch gave them to understand that a large body of the
enemy must be straddling the trail ahead, for some purpose or other.