TO THE RESCUE.
"It looks rather awesome, doesn't it?" said Chester.
"It certainly does," was Hal's reply.
The object of the boys' conversation was a long armored train, which
stood on a siding. It was late in the afternoon, and the two lads,
after having taken a long rest, and being relieved from active duty by
the express command of General French, had strolled up to the
temporary siding, where the huge engine now stood puffing and
snorting.
It was the first time either of the two boys had ever seen this
rapidly moving vehicle of warfare. The open flat cars were protected
by thick sheets of steel, behind which were mounted many small guns
and rapid-firers.
These armored trains already had given good accounts of themselves in
other parts of the long line of battle, particularly in Belgium, in
the earlier days of the struggle, and were things of terror to the
German troops.
The train beside which the two lads now stood was ready for instant
action. The gunners were at their posts, ready to go forward at a
moment's notice. The engineer and firemen stood beside the huge
engine.
In the distance the sound of firing could be heard, and occasionally a
shell burst close to where the boys were standing. But they had been
through their baptism of fire, and paid little heed to these
messengers of death.
"They say that these trains have proven immense factors in sudden
raids on the enemy," said Chester.
"Yes," agreed Hal, "and it is easy to see that among light armed
troops they could do great execution. It would even take very heavy
artillery fire to make an impression on those steel sides.
Besides----"
He broke off with a sudden exclamation.
"Look out," he cried, and leaped back, pulling Chester forcibly along.
A second later and there was a terrific explosion. A German shell had
burst within a few feet of where the two lads had been standing.
A crowd of troopers, who had been idling about a few yards from the
train, disappeared with the deafening report, and when the smoke had
cleared away they were nowhere to be seen. They had been blown to
atoms.
The boys rushed forward, but, even as they did so, they halted at the
sound of a sudden cry, and, turning their faces up the track, they
beheld a mounted officer galloping swiftly toward them. An officer
dropped off one of the cars of the train, which, fortunately, had not
been touched by the explosion, and hurried to meet the newcomer.
"Who is in charge of this train?" demanded the horseman, throwing
himself from his mount without waiting for the animal to come to a
stop.
"I am," was the officer's brief response.
"You are ordered to proceed forward at once under full speed," was the
command. "The Tenth Royal Dragoons are hemmed in by at least 10,000
Germans two miles ahead, and unless you arrive in time they will all
be slaughtered."
The officer in command of the train looked hurriedly about.
"Hicks!" he called loudly. "Hicks!"
There was no reply, and the officer shouted again. Then Hal stepped
forward.
"If Hicks was your engineer," he said, "there is no use calling him.
He is dead."
"Dead?" exclaimed the officer.
"Yes; that shell struck right beside him. The fireman also was
killed."
"Great Scott!" exclaimed the officer. "Then what am I to do? Hicks was
the only engineer with us right now. The others have gone to their
quarters, and by the time I could get them here it would be too late."
"Well," said Hal quietly, "if you want a volunteer, I am willing to
tackle it for you."
"You?"
"Yes; I have made some slight study of a locomotive, and, while I have
never run one any great distance, I have ridden many miles in the cab
of an engine in lumber camps in the United States."
"And I can fire the engine," Chester broke in.
"Well," said the officer, "something has to be done at once; and, if
you are willing to take a chance, so am I. Get aboard."
He turned and rushed hurriedly back to his car, while Hal and Chester
leaped aboard the locomotive. In response to a signal, Hal released
the brakes, gently opened the throttle, and the great engine began to
forge slowly ahead.
Gradually the lad opened the throttle wider, and the huge locomotive
commenced to gain momentum, until at last it was rushing along like
some mad thing. Chester, in the meantime, was busy with a shovel.
A moment, it seemed to the two lads, and the sound of firing rose
above the roar of the locomotive, and the spat spat of bullets against
the armored sides could be heard. But Hal did not falter. Rather, the
engine seemed to leap ahead with even greater speed.
From the rear came the signal to slow down, and, under Hal's firm
hand, the terrific speed of the train was checked. Then also from the
rear there came the sound of firing. The rapid-firers on the train had
been unloosed, and their leaden messengers were spelling death in the
ranks of the Germans, of whom the train was now in the middle.
Chester poked his head out the window of the cab, only to withdraw it
quickly, as a bullet struck a quarter of an inch from his ear. But in
that one brief glance he had taken in the situation.
A short distance ahead he could make out a small knot of British,
almost surrounded by Germans. The British had taken their stand
directly on the railroad track, the most strategic point for miles. A
clump of small trees screened them from the enemy on one side, but
from the other three directions the Germans were pouring in their
deadly fire.
The British troops stood gallantly to their work, and returned volley
for volley. They fought on doggedly. Suddenly the armored train shot
up the line which the British were holding, and Hal brought it to an
abrupt stop.
Right and left the train poured in broadsides of machine-gun fire,
mowing down the Germans at every yard. The Germans fell in heaps, and,
as if by a miracle, both sides of the track were suddenly lined with
high piles of the dead.
The little troop of British received this unexpected aid with a great
cheer, broke from cover and dashed in pursuit of the great mass of
Germans, who now were fleeing on all sides.
But the success of the British was destined to be short-lived. Hal and
Chester, in the cab of the locomotive, had just raised a loud cheer
when there was a terrific explosion, followed by a thundering crash,
and both lads were hurled violently to the floor of the cab.
Chester, with blood flowing from a gash in his forehead, was the first
to pick himself up. In falling his head had come in contact with a
sharp projection of some kind. He was terribly dizzy, but his head was
still clear.
He stooped over Hal, and at that moment the latter raised himself on
his elbow and then got to his feet unsteadily.
"Great Scott! What was that?" he gasped.
Chester did not reply. Instead he swung out from the cab and glanced
back over the train--or rather where the train had been. And what a
sight met his gaze!
The train of armored cars was gone. Alongside the track lay pieces of
wreckage, and many bodies and pieces of what had once been machine
guns.
Hal peered over Chester's shoulder.
"Another shell," he said slowly. "But how does it happen we were not
killed also?"
"I don't know," said Chester, "but I judge the shell must have struck
in the middle of the train. Look, there is nothing left but the
engine."
It was true. In some unaccountable manner the engine had escaped scot
free. At that moment Hal, who had glanced out from the other side of
the cab, made a startling discovery.
"Wow!" he shouted. "Here come the Germans again--thousands of 'em. We
are goners, now, sure."
But, before Chester could reply, Hal jumped forward. With one hand he
released the brakes and threw the throttle wide--and the huge
locomotive leaped suddenly forward.
"It's our only chance," Hal shouted to Chester. "The track behind is
covered with wreckage, and it is impossible to go that way."
That the Germans understood their ruse was soon apparent. There was a
shout from the oncoming horde, and the sharp crack of rifles and
bullets began to spatter against the side of the engine.
"Well, we'll give 'em a chase, anyhow," said Hal grimly.
He opened the throttle even wider.