How delightfully cheery did the rapid clatter of the exhausts sound to their ears, after having been deprived of this familiar company for days at a stretch, since abandoning their machines at the home of a woman market gardener, who had later on brought them to the city, concealed under a load of produce.

They kept as close together as safety allowed, with Rod as usual in the lead. Well did the other two know they could always depend on him to steer them aright. Rod carried a little map of the country with him.

Besides, he had studied it so thoroughly that in most cases he could tell the lay of the land without consulting the chart.

"This is the life!" called Hanky Panky, who brought up the rear, squatted in his saddle something after the manner of a huge toad; for Hanky had a peculiar "style" of his own, entirely original, which he claimed to have as many good points as a horse jockey's method of riding on the neck of his mount.

"Pity our two poor chums who had to set out for home so early!" added Josh, who was in a sense fairly hugging himself on account of the wonderful possibilities for excitement looming up above the horizon just then.

"Well, their machines went with them," said Rod over his shoulder, "and they say 'where ignorance is bliss 'tis a folly to be wise.' Right now they may be over in England, pitying us for being left behind in the land of the Great War."

"This is a hunky-dory road, all right!" ventured Hanky Panky shortly afterward. "Why, we seem to be gliding along as smoothly as if on a parlor floor. We could go twice as fast, if we wanted to."

"No need of that," said Rod, hearing the remark, which was, however, intended only for Josh; "we'll pa.s.s through Ostend and Dunkirk, reaching Calais in short order. Then, like as not, we'll have to spend the rest of the day there, and to-night in the bargain."

"Shucks! what's the use of all that, Rod?" demanded Josh, for he was fairly wild to get near the firing line again, and witness more of those wonderful sights that had thrilled him to the bone a short time back.

"We'll have to give an account of ourselves, most likely, and get written permission to go into France," he was told.

"Say, fellows," called out Hanky Panky just then, "there's a car whirling along right now in a cloud of dust, with two men aboard.

Wouldn't it be a joke on us if that was the Jules Baggott the woman spoke of, and that he was chasing after us, bent on making us give up the paper she entrusted to Rod here?"

CHAPTER III.

THE PURSUIT.

Of course when Hanky Panky made this astonishing statement both his chums commenced to send anxious glances back along the road over which they were spinning so grandly.

"What d'ye think of it, Rod?" demanded Josh quickly.

"They act as if they meant to overtake us, all right," the boy in the van declared, without hesitation; "but I couldn't say for certain whether one of them is the scheming Jules or not. You remember I only _thought_ I had a glimpse of him at the time we talked with Jeanne on the Antwerp street."

"Shall we let them come up, and have it out?" questioned Josh belligerently, for Josh was something of a fighter in his way, and always had a "chip on his shoulder."

"We are looking for no sc.r.a.p, if it can be helped," said Rod; "so first of all we can try letting out a little more speed."

"And if they follow suit, then what?" asked Hanky Panky, with a vein of anxiety in his voice; for being in the rear he imagined he would necessarily be the target for any stray leaden missiles that might come that way.

"In the first place we'll feel pretty certain they're meaning to overtake us," Rod called back, as he increased his pace considerably, an easy thing to do, although he knew the danger of going at headlong speed over an unknown road, where at any minute they might rush upon a hay-wagon blocking the whole thoroughfare, and concealed by some bend.

"Well, they've let out another notch, all right!" called Hanky Panky, from his position in the rear.

"And believe me that's some racer of a car they're running!" exploded Josh; "why, it can give us a run for our money, try as we may to get away."

Rod had already discovered this, though saying nothing as yet. He knew that it was not safe to put Hanky Panky to a severe test, for the other was apt to get a little rattled, and while going at a mad pace any sort of accident was likely to be serious.

They continued to speed along at this merry clip for a brief time longer. Then the rear guard reported that the pursuing car seemed to be holding its own.

"Hadn't we ought to go faster, Rod?" he besought the leader; "I know you're only holding in on account of me, but forget that, won't you?"

But Rod knew better than that. He was aware of his chum's failing, and dared not risk too much. There had been times in the past when he allowed the limit of speed to be taken, but always with serious misgivings.

"Leave it to me, Hanky," he called out encouragingly; "I'll fix up a game that will cook their goose for them."

"Sure you will, Rod," replied the other at the top of his voice, for the trio of machines made considerable racket as they pushed along in close formation.

Sometimes the dust raised by their pa.s.sage completely hid the pursuing red car; then a little puff of wind would waft it away, so that the motorcycle boys could easily see the object of their concern.

Past humble homes of the Belgian peasants they rushed. Ducks and chickens and dogs had to get out of the way in great style in order to avoid being run over. This was one of the things Rod had in mind when deciding not to increase their speed any further; a squawking hen has been the cause of a "spill" with many an unlucky motorcyclist; and every one has noticed how persistently "Biddy" will try to cross the road despite the peril, if her home happens to be on the other side.

Rod no longer entertained any doubts concerning the ident.i.ty of those who occupied the red racing car. One of them he felt positive must be Jules Baggott, the unscrupulous cousin of Andre, who would profit if the soldier should never live to sign the papers which were mentioned in the will of the dead uncle.

By this time Rod had his fighting blood up. Opposition always made him the more determined to accomplish his ends, when his heart was back of the undertaking.

His active mind quickly grasped the situation, and a cleverly arranged plan was formed that gave promise of success.

"Josh, can you hear me?" he called out, not daring to look back now because at the time they were negotiating several sharp turns, and his attention was required at the front.

"Easy thing!" sang out the one just behind him.

"How about you, Hanky?" continued the leader.

"I get you O. K., Rod; let her go!" came the reply in a roar.

"If we can only coax them to leave their car for a short time,"

explained Rod, "Josh might disable it in some way, so the pursuit would come to an end!"

"A bully scheme, Rod, and don't you forget that you said Josh was going to be Johnny on the spot!" the party in question bellowed exultantly.

"There's a big house ahead of us," continued Rod, "for I've had several glimpses of the same, and we'll strike it shortly. I don't know why I think we'll find it deserted, but it has that look to me. One end seems to have been burned out. Well, that might be the place we're looking for, to give our pursuers the slip."

"Oh! I see the house right now," barked Josh; "and sure enough it's just as you said, with part of the roof gone."

"It sets near the road, so we can rush around it," called out the leader. "Josh will go on ahead now and hide his machine among the trees near the road. Hanky, you keep with me. Perhaps we'll enter the house, and pa.s.s out the back way, to speed on again. Josh, you hurry back so when the men leave their car to see if you're inside the house you can get busy. Understand?"

Both of the others called out that it was perfectly clear to them. The abandoned mansion was now close at hand. Rod believed they must be drawing near the outskirts of Ostend, the Belgian watering place, which could not lie many miles beyond.

It required a clever mind to arrange all the little details of such a plan of campaign in a hurry. The fact that Rod was able to do so stamped him the right kind of a leader. Still, neither of his companions thought it strange, because they had known him to do numerous similar things in times gone by.

Josh managed to get ahead, and would thus have a brief time to hide his machine alongside the road so as to steal back towards the house before the car arrived, for it was still some little distance away.

When the men in it saw only two boys riding off they would naturally suspect that some accident had happened to the machine of the third fellow, who possibly had taken up temporary quarters in the old house.

This was just what Rod wanted them to think; it would allow Josh the chance he needed to disable the car in some way or other.

Things moved along swiftly. Rod and Hanky Panky dashed up to the front of the house and stopped. Doubtless the oncoming pursuers would miss the clattering of the exhausts, and understand that they had halted for some purpose or other.