A SKIRMISH.
Surprised at the sudden fusillade, Hal and Chester drew taut the reins
with their left hands, pulling their horses back on their haunches, while
with their right hands they drew their revolvers. Behind them the troop
came to an abrupt stop.
From the protection of the sand dunes then came a second volley, more
deadly than the first, and four more British cavalrymen hit the ground.
Hal and Chester were inactive no longer.
"Forward!" cried Hal, and, setting spurs to his horse, he dashed forward,
closely followed by Chester and his men.
As the British charged, the small body of Germans--only slightly larger
than the British force--broke from their places of concealment and fled.
The British rode rapidly after them with loud cries.
Before the enemy could scatter sufficiently to make good their escape,
the British horsemen were upon them. Some turned to fight, and were shot
down with revolver bullets, while others, who ran, were cut down by the
heavy cavalry swords of the English.
To the right a score of Germans, in a body, turned to fight it out.
Toward these dashed Hal and Chester, followed by twenty men. Hal, as he
rode, emptied his automatic at this little body of the enemy and
Chester did likewise. Then, their weapons empty, they were upon them
with drawn swords.
A German revolver bullet struck Hal's horse and the animal fell; but by a
quick leap Hal avoided being pinned under it, and hurled himself upon the
enemy afoot. Quickly Chester checked his horse and springing to the
ground dashed to his chum's side. The men behind them also dismounted and
prepared to give battle afoot.
The two lads hurled themselves at the enemy without stopping to think.
Hal's sword struck up the weapon of a German officer, and before the
latter could recover his poise, the lad had run him through. Chester
disposed of a second officer equally as rapidly.
From pursuit of the others, the rest of the troop had now returned and
completely surrounded the little band of Germans. Hal lowered his sword,
and, stepping back a pace, called upon the enemy to surrender.
"Never!" came the reply, followed by the German battle-cry: "_Deutschland
über alles_!"
A revolver bullet tore a ragged hole through Hal's cap, and a second one
passed just under his left arm.
But now the revolvers of the Germans were all empty, and the fighting
continued with swords alone.
Into the very midst of the German squad the two lads hurled themselves.
Cutting, slashing, parrying and thrusting, the Germans fought on
doggedly. Now a man fell, then another, and still another, but still they
would not yield until at last there were left but three. From these, at
Hal's command, the British drew back to give them one more chance for
life; but they would not take it, and the British closed in again.
"Well," said Chester, a few moments later, "it's all over."
"But they fought well and bravely," said Hal, returning his sword to
its scabbard.
He looked around and took an account of his losses. Twelve British
soldiers lay dead upon the ground, and a score of others were nursing
their wounds--some serious, some only scratches. But there was no time to
dress these wounds now. There was other work to do.
"Mount!" cried Hal.
The troop obeyed, and Hal sprang into the saddle of a riderless horse.
His sword flashed forth once more.
"Forward!" he cried.
The little troop set off at a gallop.
To the north could be caught occasional glimpses of the North Sea, as the
sand dunes now and then permitted an unobstructed view. The party was at
the extreme north of the long battle line that stretched away to the
south, clear through Belgium and France.
For perhaps half an hour the troop rode rapidly on, but finally Hal
called a halt. He listened attentively. There was no sound to break
the stillness, other than the faint boom of heavy guns in the
distance, telling that the long-range artillery duel, farther south,
was still in progress.
But, as Hal was about to give the word for a further advance, from almost
directly ahead, though still some distance away, came the sound of a
single pistol shot. Just one shot; that was all. In vain did the lads
strain their ears to catch a possible reply to the shot. None came.
Hal ordered his men to advance at a slow trot, and the troop moved
forward once more.
Now they came to a woods. They advanced rapidly and the woods became less
dense, and the darkness caused by the heavy overhanging trees gave way to
more light. Hal again called a halt, and himself rode forward to
investigate. Twenty yards ahead he came to a clearing in the woods,
stretching out for a possible quarter of a mile.
In the very center of this clearing the lad made out a strange sight. His
eyes fell upon a detachment of German troops--about fifty all
told--dancing about what Hal finally made out to be a barn.
As Hal looked a sheet of flame sprang up. It was plain to the lad in an
instant that the enemy had set the wooden structure afire.
"But why?" he muttered to himself.
The answer was not long coming.
From the barn, through a crack between the boards, issued a cloud of
smoke, and even above the yells of the dancing Germans Hal made out the
report of a revolver. One of the Germans stopped his antics and toppled
to the ground to rise no more.
"Great Scott!" cried Hal aloud. "They are burning him up!"
Jerking his horse about, he dashed back to his men and again placed
himself at their head. Chester ranged himself alongside.
In a few brief words Hal explained what he had seen, and then cried
to his men:
"Forward! Charge!"
At a gallop the British covered the distance to the clearing, and then
dashed toward the enemy as fast as their horses could go. As the sound of
galloping hoofs was borne to the ears of the enemy, they stopped their
dancing about the barn and fell into line to beat back the British.
The first line threw themselves to the ground. The second line fell to
their knees, their rifles pointing over their prostrate comrades, while
above them protruded the weapons of the third line, standing erect.
At a shouted word of command from Hal the British cavalry scattered, and
bore down on the enemy from three directions. Here and there a rider
dropped to the ground as a German bullet found its mark; but in spite of
these losses and the withering German fire, the rest dashed on.
Right up to the muzzles of the German rifles the British charged, and
leaning over their horses did terrible havoc among the enemy with
downward sweeps of their heavy swords. They rode their horses right in
among them, the hoofs of the chargers trampling the foe to death. Some
sprang to their feet and darted toward the rear, only to encounter the
British troopers who had ridden around behind them.
The engagement was short and decisive. Soon the majority of the Germans
lay dead upon the ground, and at a cry of "Surrender!" from Chester, the
rest now threw down their arms.
But the British had not escaped without great loss. Exposed to the fire
of the enemy as they had charged upon the solid triple line of rifles,
many had fallen. Less than half the original troop now remained, and of
these at least half were wounded, though none seriously.
During the fight the flames that had enveloped the barn had gained great
headway and were now raging fiercely. Hal looked quickly about for some
sign of the man whom he knew had been within. He believed that the man
must have come forth, when he was aware that assistance was at hand, for
he realized that to remain in the burning structure would have probably
meant death.
But in the troop he saw no sign of a stranger; nor had Chester nor any of
the men seen anyone leave the barn.
"Great Scott! He'll burn to death in there!" Hal cried.
"Well, why didn't the big chump come out?" said Chester.
"Maybe he was hit by a bullet and killed," said Hal.
"Yes; or perhaps he is wounded, and unable to drag himself out,"
said Chester.
"By Jove!" said Hal. "I never thought of that!"
Quickly he unstrapped his sword belt and drew off his coat.
"What are you going to do?" cried Chester in alarm.
"I'm going in after him," replied Hal grimly.
"But you'll be killed!" expostulated Chester. "You couldn't live in that
seething mass of flame!"
"Nevertheless, I am going to try and bring him out," said Hal quietly.
He drew his handkerchief from his pocket, and quickly wetting it from his
canteen, tied it over his mouth and nose. Then, brushing aside the
protests of Chester and the men, he plunged through the door of the
burning building.
Inside he could dimly make out his surroundings. Quickly he scanned the
floor for a sight of the occupant, but saw no sign of him. Then, at one
side of the barn he made out a ladder, leading to a loft. He ran to it
quickly, and as quickly mounted it to the floor above. Once more he
turned his eyes upon the floor and peered about.
The heat was intense, and the lad now got his breath with difficulty, so
dense was the smoke. He likewise realized that the floor, already
blazing, must give way in a few moments, in which event he would be
buried in the fiery ruins.
Glancing quickly about he saw there was no window nor opening from which
he could jump. He must go out by the way he had come in.
Suddenly his eye lighted upon an object on the floor at the far end of
the barn. Quickly he ran toward it and stooped over. The object was a
figure of a man, lying upon his face, apparently unconscious. The lad
wasted no time in thought. Exerting his utmost strength, he succeeded in
hoisting the limp body across his shoulder.
Carrying his human burden he staggered to the ladder and began his
descent. It was slow work, for the lad was near exhaustion. He realized
that a slip would probably mean death, and in spite of the fact that he
realized the necessity for haste, descended slowly.
At last his feet touched the bottom, and turning toward the open door he
staggered on.
As he reached the open door the barn behind him collapsed with a terrible
crash; but before he lapsed into unconsciousness he saw the face of the
man he carried.
"Anderson!" he cried, and tumbled over in a dead faint.