"Good! Now, give me a rifle, or a revolver, or something. I know we can't get through the Germans without a fight, and I want to do my part."

In vain did Chester protest. Captain Anderson insisted, and at length Chester was forced to comply.

As the five automobiles, containing not more than a hundred British all told, approached the center of the German force, each man determined to get through to the allied lines or to die in the attempt.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

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 b.u.mped 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 ma.s.ses 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 pa.s.sed beyond, and so did not see the gallant fate of their comrades.

Plunging straight into the dense ma.s.ses 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 b.u.t.t 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 hoa.r.s.e 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."