"I'd rather not shoot too close to them," Ned answered, manipulating the levers and valves in an effort to obtain more speed. "Perhaps we can run away from both. In that case we won't have to shoot any one."

"I think I'll take a crack at their propeller," announced Dave. "Maybe I can send a bullet through that, and if I can it will stop them."

As he spoke Dave took a quick sight, resting the rifle across the rim of the fuselage. A sharp detonation echoed above the hum of the motors. Dave peered eagerly toward the plane at which he had aimed.

"I got 'em, I got 'em!" he announced, slapping his thigh in glee.

"Who did you get?" asked Ned, without turning his head.

"I am sure I winged their propeller!" declared Dave, gleefully. "I aimed right at the circle in which the blades travel, and I'm sure I saw splinters from the wooden blades. They're slowing up, too!"

"Sure enough!" cried Harry, peering through the gla.s.ses. "You're some shot, Dave. I'll place all my bets on you hereafter!"

"But the other fellow is hot after us!" was Jack's announcement.

"Where are they? And what are they doing?" asked Ned.

"They're coming up fast from the left," said Jack. "I think they're trying to get over us so as to drop a bomb or so."

"I wish we didn't have these two prisoners with us!" Ned said, as he urged the Eagle to her best paces. "It takes a lot of power to keep up at this alt.i.tude when we're carrying so much weight."

"We'll make out all right," responded Jack, encouragingly. "We can take them along with us and when get across the French lines we'll just dump them down as prisoners of war and let them be exchanged."

"That would be a pretty good scheme," commented Harry. "The only thing I can see to interfere with it is that fellow on our left."

"He won't be able to do much when Dave gets in his work with the rifle again," cried Jimmie, admiringly. "Dave's the boy!"

"That was a lucky shot, though," protested Dave. "Don't expect every one to do as much execution as that one did."

"We'll have to take a chance, that's all!" urged Jimmie. "We won't let a little thing like that keep us from trying to make a landing."

"Perhaps not," went on Harry, "but at the same time it is a possibility and must be considered. Besides," he added, "we're not free from that fellow over here on our left yet. He's rising."

"Is he going over us?" asked Ned, anxiously. "I can't get much more speed out of this craft the way we're loaded."

"Yes," replied Harry, training his gla.s.ses aloft. "He is trying to pa.s.s above us. Perhaps he'll drop a bomb on us."

"That's exactly what he's trying to do!" declared Jack. "What can we do to prevent him? Dave, how about another shot?"

"I'll try," answered the boy, "but I'm not sure. There's considerable vibration here, you know, and I haven't a rest."

Presently he saw that unless he fired soon the other would be out of reach, and taking a chance discharged the rifle. As he had antic.i.p.ated, the bullet went wild and resulted in no damage. Before he could reload and again take aim the other had pa.s.sed to a point where the upper planes of the Eagle shut off his view.

"Now they'll be able to bombard us to their own pleasure!" declared Jimmie. "Gee, I wish I could climb up above this top plane and take a little crack at them myself! Can't I get up there?"

"None of that, Jimmie!" ordered Ned. "We have already all the danger we can handle without trying such a stunt as that!"

"All right, then, but it would be well to alter our course a bit."

"Here goes!" announced Ned, throwing his weight against one of the levers controlling the horizontal rudders. "Stand by for a jerk!"

Scarcely had the Eagle swerved sharply from her course before the lads heard a rushing, whistling sound. Far below on the ground a missle fell. A dull boom came up. A cloud of smoke rising from the spot indicated that the missle had been a bomb remarkably well aimed. They realized that only by a narrow margin had it missed them.

"Plenty close enough," gritted Jimmie between his teeth. "Rise, if you can, Ned, and give us a chance at them with our guns."

From his seat Ned glanced quickly downward and observed the cloud of smoke about the spot where the bomb had landed.

"Give them another one, Dave," he cried, righting the Eagle and altering the rudders so as to drive the machine higher.

Without waiting for further instructions, Dave seized his rifle again and began firing as rapidly as he could load.

"We're getting over the French trenches now!" cried Harry in a moment.

"I can see the puffs of smoke from their guns, and the bursting sh.e.l.ls mean that the Germans are getting the range."

"Then we haven't far to go before we are going to be able to land."

"If we can hold this fellow off a while longer we'll be all right."

"Can you see any place, Harry, that looks like a landing place?" asked Ned, anxiously. "We better look for a good spot pretty soon."

Harry turned the gla.s.ses to look forward. He swept the horizon with eagerness. Presently he fixed his gaze upon one spot.

"I see another plane coming out to give battle to us and this chap!"

"Look out!" shrieked Jimmie. "See what Fritz is doing!"

The next instant he had thrown himself forward and over the edge.

CHAPTER XXV

ESCAPE

A gasp rose from the four boys as they saw Fritz hurl himself over the rim of the car. They knew that nothing could be done, yet all threw themselves toward the Uhlan in the vain hope of rescue.

It needed little exercise of the imagination to picture the result of Fritz's rash act. Too well the boys understood what would happen when the soldier fell from such an alt.i.tude.

"Good night!" gasped Jimmie, turning a pale face toward his friends.

"How did he do it?" asked Jack, a tremble in his voice.

"He must have been an acrobat of the first water to manage such a thing!" declared Harry. "I thought he was as secure as anything."

"Too late now to help him, and we've still got the German aeroplane to reckon with," warned Ned. "Keep a sharp lookout for the fellow!"

"What is the stranger doing now?" asked Jack, pointing to the plane that had appeared from the westward.