A DASH FOR LIBERTY.
Swiftly the high-powered armored motor-cars rushed on, drawing closer
and closer to the solid ranks of the enemy. Not expecting trouble from
within their own lines, the Germans were not on the lookout for this
spectacular dash, and so were caught unprepared.
Hal gave the prearranged signal. The other cars increased their speed
and drew up to him, two on either side. At a second signal they
increased their speed to the utmost, and dashed forward.
The Germans lay sprawled about, the close formation having been more
or less broken following the morning fight. The five speeding monsters
were upon them almost before they realized it. As the cars approached
the first irregular line of troopers, the British in the machines
opened fire. In spite of their terrific speed, their aim was good.
Germans tumbled right and left, or fell back as they attempted to
rise.
Then the machines plowed in among them, hurling them helter-skelter on
all sides, the occupants continuing their destructive fire.
But now the Germans opened fire, and, in spite of the fact that the
speed of the flying automobiles made accurate shooting impossible, the
British did not escape scot-free. Three men in one of the machines to
the left of the one driven by Hal dropped their rifles and sank to the
bottom of the car. In one on the opposite side a soldier threw up his
hands and tumbled from the car.
Hal, protected as he was on either side, had not been touched, nor had
Chester, who stood erect the while, firing rapidly with his automatic.
Suddenly the car nearest the lads on the left swerved, and almost
bumped into them; in fact, would have done so, but for Hal's
promptness in turning slightly to the right. The driver of the car
had been struck by a German bullet and killed.
The driverless machine, swerving suddenly to the left, leaped forward
ahead of the others, turned suddenly to the right again, and plunged
straight toward the dense masses of Germans, the British inside still
shooting as calmly as though they stood on firm ground, although it
was plainly evident to them that the wild car was carrying them to
certain death.
All this the boys could see at a glance, but they quickly passed
beyond, and so did not see the gallant fate of their comrades.
Plunging straight into the dense masses of Germans, the gallant
machine leaped upon them like a thing of life, hurling them off on
all sides, and running amuck over their prostrate forms. Then, with
another sudden turn to the left, it sped directly toward a group of
officers, who stood nearby directing the firing. So sudden was this
unexpected turn that the officers were run down before they could move
from their tracks.
Then the machine darted straight at a German field battery.
It was a fatal move, for a German gunner sprang forward--there was a
fearful roar--a loud explosion, a cloud of smoke, and, when the smoke
had cleared away, there was no automobile to be seen--nothing but
wreckage and a few maimed bodies scattered about.
But Hal and his companions were having troubles of their own. Even at
the moment that the first car disappeared in smoke, the driver of a
second sprang to his feet, waved his arms about, as he wildly gasped
for air, and tumbled overboard. The machine, now wild, turned and
crashed into its nearest neighbor.
There was a terrific crash, and both cars turned turtle. Came a cry
of triumph from the Germans, but Hal and the driver of the other
remaining car paid no heed; rather, if possible, their cars leaped
ahead faster than before.
But the herculean task the lads had set out to accomplish was too
much. In spite of the fact that the Germans had been taken by
surprise, their numbers were so great that the success of such a
dash was impossible.
Straight ahead the boys made out a regiment, drawn up with leveled
rifles. In one last desperate attempt to break through, Hal and the
driver of the other car dashed into them.
A blow from the butt of a German rifle knocked the driver of the
second car from his seat as he swept past, and the machine, turning
round and round, like a huge top, suddenly turned over, pinioning
its occupants beneath it.
A second later and Hal felt a sharp sting in his left hand. In spite
of the desperate attempt he made to keep the machine steady, it rocked
from side to side at the sudden loosening of his hand.
Fearing that all would be killed if he did not stop the machine, the
lad threw off the clutch and applied the brakes. Then, in the center
of a large force of Germans, who came rushing in upon them, the lad
stood up in the machine, and, raising his uninjured hand, shouted:
"We surrender!"
A German officer called a hoarse command, and the long line of
threatening rifles was lowered.
"Come out of there," called the officer, "and be quick about it."
Hal did as commanded, and a moment later Chester also was on the
ground. Turning back to the machine, they tenderly lifted Captain
Anderson out and laid him on the ground. He had fainted during the
wild ride.
Hal turned to the German officer.
"Will you please see that my friend," indicating the captain,
"receives medical attention at once?"
"It shall be done immediately," returned the German officer gravely,
and motioned to two of his men to carry the unconscious captain to a
nearby hospital tent. Then he turned to Hal and Chester.
"Do you know that you have created terrible havoc in our ranks?" he
demanded.
Hal smiled grimly.
"That is what we intended to do," he made reply. "However, we wouldn't
have done so had you permitted us to return to our lines in peace."
The German officer also smiled faintly.
"You are bold lads," he said quietly. "Come, I will take you to
General Von Kluck."
The lads followed the officer, and presently came before the German
commander, the man whose great military genius some days later saved
his wing of the army from probable annihilation.
Standing beside the German commander was another officer, somewhat
younger, recognizing whom, Hal's heart leaped into his throat. This
second officer was none other than the man who, some days before, had
placed in Hal's hands dispatches for General Von Kluck--papers that,
through Hal's bravery, had been turned over to General French, and
had thus foiled the coup planned by the Kaiser himself.
The German recognized Hal almost immediately, in spite of his British
uniform. He stepped forward, and, with a sneering smile, said:
"How do you do, Captain Dersam?"
General Von Kluck, who had been looking silently at the two lads,
turned to the officer.
"You know these prisoners?" he questioned.
"Well, I know one of them," was the reply. "That is, I thought I did
once. It seems that I was mistaken."
"Explain yourself."
"This," said the German, pointing to Hal, "is the young man to whom I
told you I delivered the dispatches intended for you. He represented
himself to me as Captain Dersam, of your staff. Later we found Captain
Dersam gagged and bound on the banks of the Marne. Therefore, this
officer must be a traitor."
General Von Kluck rose to his feet excitedly.
"So," he exclaimed, "you are the man whom we have to thank for the
defeat of our plan, eh?" He turned to the officer. "And you say he
was in German uniform?"
"Yes, sir."
The general turned to Hal.
"Do you know what that means?" he asked.
Hal nodded his head.
"It means," continued the general, "that you are a spy. You shall pay
the penalty."
"But," Hal protested, "I was not captured within your lines in German
uniform nor in disguise. You cannot treat me as a spy."
"I can't, eh?" cried General Von Kluck angrily. "Well, you shall see."
"The boy is right," came a stern voice from behind him, and, turning,
Hal started back in amazement.
"The Emperor!" he cried.
And from other throats in the group came the time-worn salutation:
"_Hoch der Kaiser!_"