The prisoner recognized by the lad's tone that he was in earnest, and he would have pa.s.sed right on, but an officer with the approaching troop walked directly up to him and saluted.

At the same moment he felt the pressure of Chester's automatic, which the lad gripped inside his pocket, against his back.

CHAPTER X.

ON THE AISNE.

The prisoner was in a quandary. To raise a cry of warning, he felt sure, would mean his instant death; and yet, should he remain silent if he was asked any questions concerning his companions he might also get into trouble.

"Good evening, Captain," said the officer who had accosted him. "Are you going far?"

The pressure of the revolver against the German's back increased, and he replied:

"I am accompanying my friends to the bank of the Aisne. They wish to have a look at the enemy on the opposite sh.o.r.e."

"You might invite them to go with us when we cross the next time," was the laughing rejoinder. "When we cross again we shall stay."

The prisoner also forced a laugh.

"I am likely to go across sooner than I expect," he said.

"What do you mean?" demanded the other. "Are you going on a scout?"

"Well, you might call it that. Anyway, I am going across."

Both lads were forced to smile to themselves at this. In their minds there was no doubt that the prisoner was going across the Aisne at once.

"Well, I wish you luck," said the second German officer, as he continued on his way.

"Thanks," replied the prisoner briefly.

The lads, with the man still between them, started on again.

After some walking they made out in the distance a stream of water.

It was the Aisne, and the lads, realizing that upon the opposite side lay safety, increased their pace.

Some distance back, on both sides of the stream, the opposing armies were drawn up in force. Occasional raids had been made by first one side and then the other, but there had been no real change in the situation for days. Now the French, by a bold a.s.sault or a night attack, would gain a foothold upon the German side, only to be driven back again; and now the Germans would gain a foothold on the French ground by a bold attack, but would also be forced to retire. This give-and-take game had continued for weeks.

Feeling secure in the company of their prisoner the lads did not hesitate, but marched straight through the German line to the very edge of the river. The German officer spoke to several others, as they made their way along, but Chester kept his revolver pressed against him, and he did not once offer to raise an alarm.

The three descended the sharp incline to the water's edge. There they were fortunate enough to find a small motor boat, apparently having suffered much usage by the Germans in their travels forward and backward across the river. Into this they forced their prisoner to climb, and then quickly jumped in after him.

"Head down the river, Chester," ordered Hal. "If we put off straight for the opposite sh.o.r.e they are likely to suspect something and open fire on us."

Chester, at the wheel, guided the boat down the stream, keeping close to the German sh.o.r.e.

But this plan also was fraught with danger, for a French sentry on the opposite side, espying the boat, opened upon it with his rifle.

The first shot attracted others to the scene, and several more rifles were brought into action. The Germans, seeing the boat with a German officer and apparently two friends in it, immediately opened upon the French. The latter turned from the boat and opened upon these new foes.

"Great Scott!" exclaimed Hal. "This is more than I bargained for. We'll have to get out of here, or we shall wind up at the bottom of the river."

Seeing that the French and Germans were too busy with each other to pay much attention to the little boat, Chester steered quickly to the center of the river. There, as the bullets sped overhead, he felt safer.

Turning to view the scene, Hal for a moment relaxed his vigilance over the prisoner, and in that moment the latter sprang upon him. He launched himself in a desperate spring, and Hal, taken unprepared, was borne back to the bottom of the boat, almost being hurled overboard.

Chester immediately released his hold upon the wheel and sprang to Hal's a.s.sistance.

The boat, now with no guiding hand upon the wheel, staggered crazily about, heading first in one direction and then in the other, as the struggling figures gave it impetus, first toward one sh.o.r.e and then toward the other.

As the boat heeled over, Chester hurled himself upon the German, who had succeeded in clutching Hal by the throat and was slowly strangling him.

He seized the German by both shoulders, and, putting his knee in his back, pulled with all his strength.

The pain was unbearable, and the man was forced to loosen his grip on Hal's throat. But so fierce had been the pressure of his fingers, that for a moment Hal was unable to go to Chester's a.s.sistance, and lay panting and gasping for air.

The German, who was much larger and more powerfully built than Chester, turned upon his second opponent. By a quick shift of position, he grasped the lad's throat with his left hand and with his right aimed a hard blow at his face. This the lad struck up with his left arm, and before the German could repeat the blow, let drive with his right.

There was a loud smack, as his right first crashed into his opponent's face, and a stream of blood poured from the German's nose. Hal now had regained his wind, and jumped to aid his chum.

All this time the battle between the two skirmish lines of the armies continued. Both sides had perceived the struggle in the boat, but both were fearful to fire for fear of wounding friend as well as foe--for the very fact of the struggle proved that there were men of both armies in the boat. Gradually the fire of both sides slackened, as the troops peered intently toward the fighting figures in midstream.

The lads' prisoner, raising his left arm to ward off a blow delivered by Chester, accidentally caught the lad under the chin with his fist. The blow was a hard one, and, before the lad could recover his balance, the prisoner had delivered another resounding smack, which caused Chester to stagger back.

At that moment Hal leaped upon the German from behind. His right fist struck the man a stunning blow on the back of the neck. The German wheeled and clinched with his opponent, and for a moment they stood, arms locked about each other, swaying upright in the boat.

Then Hal, putting forth every ounce of his strength, succeeded in breaking his opponent's hold, and gave him a violent push. The German staggered and tottered; but, in the very act of falling overboard, his outstretched hand grasped Hal by the collar and both tumbled into the river together.

Chester scrambled to his feet as the two pitched into the river. As they went over the side, violently tipping the boat, it suddenly turned turtle. Chester went flying through the air and disappeared beneath the water with a loud splash.

Still locked in each other's embrace Hal and his opponent rose to the surface. Both had one arm free and struck out blindly at the other's face. Hal landed two short-arm blows, and the German sent one home.

Neither had an advantage, however, and they sank again.

At almost the same instant Chester's head appeared above the water. He cast a quick look around, but could see no sign of the other two occupants of the boat. Treading water, he remained close to the spot where the water bubbled up. Two or three seconds later the heads of the struggling pair again appeared above the water.

Chester acted promptly. Swimming rapidly up to them, he raised his right arm and sent his fist crashing full into the German's face. The latter's already white countenance turned whiter, and gradually his hold on Hal relaxed. With a quick movement Hal freed himself, and the German sank from sight.

Without waiting to see whether he would come up again both lads struck out for the opposite sh.o.r.e.

But they were too late.

When the little motorboat had capsized, four French soldiers had run down to the bank and thrown themselves into the stream. Almost at the same time a squad of perhaps a dozen Germans had performed the same maneuver.

Now, from both sides of the river, men were closing in upon the almost exhausted lads.

But the Germans were the best swimmers and overtook them first. One grasped Hal by the arm and another seized Chester. In vain did the lads try to shake off these opponents, striking out blindly at them, and calling to the French to hurry to their a.s.sistance.