ATTACKED BY THE ENEMY.
"What shall we do with him?" questioned Chester. "We can't go away and
leave him here like this."
"No," Hal agreed. "I know we should, for our own safety may depend
upon it, but just the same it goes against the grain."
"If we had something to dig with," said Chester.
"But we haven't," Hal interrupted.
But the two lads were saved the trouble of finding a grave for the
traitor, for suddenly through the woods came the sound of tramping
feet.
For a moment the two lads listened intently. Then Chester grabbed Hal
by the arm.
"Come," he said in a hoarse whisper, "we must find a place of safety."
Hal drew back.
"Wait until I see if Dersi happened to have another gun," he said.
He ran his hand over the dead man and at length rose up with a second
revolver and a belt well filled with cartridges. One of the weapons he
passed to Chester.
"We'll probably need these," he said grimly. "Now, let's see if we
can't find a place to hide."
Cautiously the two lads made their way through the woods. They could
hear the sound of their pursuers, but they had little fear of being
detected in the still uncertain light, as long as they kept the same
distance between themselves and the Germans.
But suddenly a gleam of light showed in the forest. A German soldier
had flashed a pocket searchlight, and the glare of it fell squarely
upon the crouching lads, before they could step behind a tree or any
other place of refuge.
"Run!" cried Hal, suiting the action to the word.
Chester needed no urging, and also took to his heels. But their
presence had been discovered, as was proved by the sharp crack of a
rifle. Neither boy was touched, although the bullet passed
uncomfortably close to Chester's head.
Stumbling along as fast as the semi-darkness would permit, the boys
made a brave effort to escape. But they were not to get off in such
easy fashion. For again the searchlight lighted up the woods and
exposed them to their pursuers. Both lads threw themselves to the
ground, and thus avoided the volley of shots that were fired at them.
As Chester dropped, he heard a startled exclamation from his chum,
and, glancing quickly about, he could see no sign of him. The lad was
non-plussed, but, before he could so much as move, he heard Hal's
voice, apparently below him:
"Quick, Chester! Down here, but be careful how you come."
Cautiously Chester moved in the direction of his friend's voice. But
he was not cautious enough, and a moment later, grasping out wildly
for some means to stay his rapid descent, he was sliding down what
seemed to be a steep embankment.
He brought up abruptly at the bottom, and felt Hal's hand upon his
arm.
"Great Scott!" he ejaculated. "Where are we? Down in the bottomless
pit?"
Hal clapped his hand over Chester's mouth, for his keen ears had
detected the sounds of footsteps above.
"Quiet!" he whispered.
Chester needed no second warning. He did not move a muscle. From above
came the sound of a voice:
"I wonder where they went?"
"I don't know," answered another voice, "but we had best be careful.
They are probably armed."
Now, Hal, moving his position slightly, felt a space behind him, and
crawled slowly backward, where the darkness seemed greater, pulling
Chester along after him. They continued this crawling for some
minutes. Finally, raising his head, Hal dropped quickly again with a
muttered exclamation.
In arising his head had come in contact with something above him.
Raising an exploring hand, he investigated. He touched a rock above.
Then he reached out on each side. As he had surmised, only a few feet
each way were solid walls.
"A cave," he muttered.
"What?" asked Chester.
"We are cooped up in a cave. If the Germans are wise enough, after
they learn where we are, they will just sit down on the outside and
starve us out. But, if they try to come in--well, I don't think they
will get very far, as long as our cartridges hold out. You wait here
until I see how far back this thing goes."
Chester obeyed, and Hal continued his exploration. For two or three
minutes he crawled along, and then, turning a slight bend, gave a
sudden exclamation. He had come upon a possible means of exit, for,
apparently, the cave had two openings.
Quickly Hal poked his head out and looked around. He could see no one.
Slowly he crawled back to where he had left Chester, and informed him
of what he had learned.
"Then the best thing we can do is to get out of here quick," was
Chester's decision. "Let's go."
Slowly Hal led the way along the low passageway, and, reaching the
opening again, poked his head out. This time he was doomed to a
disappointment. Hardly had his head emerged from the hole in the
ground when he drew it in quickly again.
"What's the matter now?" demanded Chester.
"Matter is," said Hal quietly, "that there are six Germans standing
about five yards from the entrance."
"What!" cried Chester, in consternation.
"Exactly," said Hal; "if you don't believe it have a look for
yourself."
"Oh, I don't want to look," said Chester, bitterly disappointed. "I
can take your word for it. What are we going to do now?"
"Well," said Hal, "it looks to me like a good time to get out the
other end."
"Yes, but there are likely to be a few of them hanging about there,
also," said Chester.
"That's so, too," agreed Hal. "Well, I'll tell you what: You sneak
back there and investigate, and I'll stay here and guard this end, in
case one of them tries to get in."
Slowly Chester crawled away. Reaching the opposite end of the cave, he
cautiously poked his head out and looked around. In the dim light he
could see no one. But he was afraid to call out to Hal--his voice
might be overheard--so he took his tedious way back to where he had
left his friend.
"All O. K.," he whispered.
"Good," said Hal. "Let's get out of here, then."
They crawled back along the dark passageway as rapidly as the darkness
and the condition of the ground would permit, but before leaving their
place of refuge, Chester thought it advisable to peep out once more.
And it was well that he did so. For, standing almost at the entrance
of the cave three figures loomed up against the sky. Quickly Chester
drew back in again.
"Three of 'em out there," he informed Hal briefly. "What are we going
to do now?"
"You've got me," replied Hal. "Can't you pick 'em off with your gun?"
"Oh, I can pick a couple of 'em off, all right. But what then? We
would probably have a whole brigade upon us in two shakes of a lamb's
tail."
"I guess you are right," Hal agreed. "But we have got to do
something."
"So we have," replied Chester; "but the question is, what?"
Hal was silent for several minutes, thinking. Finally he said:
"Well, I guess the best thing to do is to wait and see what happens.
Perhaps they may leave before broad daylight and not discover this
cave. In that case we shall be safe enough. Now you stay here and
guard this end, and don't move unless I call. I'll do the same at the
other end."
"All right," said Chester. "We'll keep our posts till daylight,
whether they go away or not. Then, if we have not been discovered, we
can at least see what we are doing."
Hal moved slowly along the passageway once more, being very careful
not to make any noise. He crawled on hands and knees, his head thrust
out before him.
Suddenly, as he moved slowly along, his head came in contact with
another moving object with an audible crack.
He had bumped into a second crawling figure.