CHAPTER XXVI
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
When Hal and Stubbs took to their heels after the former had relieved the German officer of his papers, they had run some distance before coming across anyone in the darkness. Then they came upon another figure so suddenly that it almost resulted in their capture.
Hal, in the lead, had been just about to slacken his pace, when, rounding a corner suddenly, he had crashed into a form in the night. The two went down in a heap; and Stubbs, turning a moment later, had stumbled over the pair of struggling forms before he could check himself. In a moment he found himself mixed up in the struggling mass.
A fist struck Stubbs squarely upon the nose.
"Hey! Quit that," said Stubbs, and struck out with his right.
This blow came almost ending the fight right there and in a manner not at all advantageous to Stubbs and Hal. In the darkness the little war correspondent had been unable to distinguish friend from foe and his fist caught Hal just above the right eye.
Now Anthony Stubbs had considerable power in his right arm and for a moment Hal was dazed by the blow. Before he could clear his head, his opponent had struck him a heavy blow on the other side of the neck and leaped to his feet.
At that instant Stubbs realized what he had done and a sickening sensation struck him in the pit of the stomach; but the little man determined to give the best that was in him to undo his work.
With an angry bellow he charged his German opponent. The latter stepped back a pace and sought to draw his revolver, but Stubbs was too quick for him. Almost at the moment that Stubbs crashed into his foe he lowered his head, as would a steer, and his head caught the German in the region of the belt.
Came a gasp from the German as he doubled up and collapsed. He rolled over upon the ground several times in a vain attempt to gain his breath; then lay still.
The victory was with Stubbs!
Hal had now regained consciousness and sat up just in time to see the effect of Stubbs' charge.
"Good work, Stubbs!" the lad cried. "Now lend me a hand and we'll get away from here!"
Stubbs did as requested and a moment later Hal was on his feet. The lad felt the bump over his eye tenderly.
"Stubbs," he said, "it was rather dark and we were so mixed up on the ground that I couldn't see, but I would be willing to wager a whole lot that it wasn't a German who gave me this crack over the eye. Now was it?"
"Well," said Stubbs, "I—I—"
"Just as I thought," declared Hal. "So you tried to do me up as well as the German, eh?"
"It was an accident," declared Stubbs. "You know I wouldn't have done it on purpose, Hal."
"It came very near being a costly accident, Stubbs. Suppose the German had laid you out? Then what? We would have been nabbed, sure."
"I'll be more careful next time," said Stubbs, apologetically.
"You won't have to be," said Hal. "Next time I'm going to get in the first blow. Then we'll see how you like it. But come. We must be moving away from here. See. The German is regaining consciousness. I don't want to kill him, and we mustn't be here when he comes to. Come now."
Hal led the way rapidly along the row of tents.
"Looks as though we should be safe enough now," the lad said, after they had walked for perhaps fifteen minutes.
The lad produced his watch, and by the soft light of the moon, took note of the time.
"By Jove! half past one o'clock," he said. "We shall have to hurry back or Chester will be worried."
"Let's hope Chester will be there when we arrive," said Stubbs.
"Oh, he'll be there, all right. Come on."
"Say," said Stubbs as they walked along, "what I want to know is how you knew the German officer you knocked down had any valuable papers?"
"That's easy," was Hal's response. "Before entering the tent where your little game was in progress, I overheard one of the officers without mention the fact that an aide of General Ludwig's was in the tent and that he carried important papers. The rest was very simple."
"I see," said Stubbs. "Now what—look there, Hal."
The little man broke off suddenly and pointed directly ahead. Advancing toward them were perhaps a dozen German soldiers, with an officer at their head.
"We'll have to get out of the way," said Hal, quietly. "We haven't time to answer questions now."
He turned between the rows of tents and hurried on, with Stubbs close behind him. And from the German officer came the command to halt.
Instead, Hal increased his speed and a moment later he and Stubbs were running quietly between the rows of German tents. Behind came the sound of pursuing footsteps.
"We're in for it now, Stubbs," panted Hal. "I was a fool to run. They know now that there is something wrong and they won't rest until they have scoured the entire camp."
"Then we are done for!" exclaimed Anthony Stubbs.
"Not yet!" replied Hal. "While there's life there's hope. Never say die, Stubbs."
The little man did not reply. He saved all the breath he had left for running purposes, for he felt that he was likely to have to run the rest of the night.
Suddenly, making another short turn, Hal pulled up. Stubbs did likewise and both listened attentively.
The footsteps were some distance back.
"We've gained a bit, Stubbs," said Hal.
"Well, what's the use of waiting here then?" demanded the war correspondent. "Let's gain a bit more."
"Hold on!" exclaimed Hal, as Stubbs would have taken to his heels again. "We can't run clear through the German camp like this, you know. We're bound to be caught if we try it. It must be strategy rather than fleetness of foot if we hope to get out of this situation safely."
"All right," Stubbs agreed. "Whatever you say suits me. But if it is strategy that is going to get us out of this, tell me some strategy real quick."
Hal considered a moment. Every second the pursuing footsteps were coming closer. Stubbs squirmed about uneasily.
"Say," he said at last; "hear those fellows coming? I'm going to get away from here."
Again he took to his heels; and there was nothing for Hal to do but follow, for he did not wish to lose sight of the little man. Besides, in that moment's pause, Hal had decided upon a plan that he believed had a fair chance of success.
For perhaps five minutes more they ran on, Hal fearful at every moment that German soldiers would pour from their tents and interrupt their flight. Fortunately, this did not happen, however.
Hal, fleet of foot as he was, was hard pressed to catch up with Stubbs, who had gained a slight lead and was covering the ground with rapid strides. But at last the lad overtook him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Slow down, there," he commanded. "First thing you know you'll have the whole camp after us. Those shoes of yours must be at least number elevens. They shake the whole earth when you run."
"Well, they have come in pretty handy to-night," said Stubbs. "What are you stopping here for?"
"Because I don't want to arouse every German in the camp. I'll tell you about that strategy now."
"Well, let's hear it real quick," said Stubbs, impatiently. "I want to get away from here."
"So do I," said Hal, "but I want to get away all in one piece. Here's my plan: We can't hope to get away by running. Sooner or later, before we are clear of the German lines, we are certain to bump into some one. That would settle it. We'll go ahead a little more, then we'll enter one of these tents, tap the occupants on the head with our revolver butts and crawl into their cots. Then when our pursuers have gone by we'll go back."
"By Jove!" said Stubbs, "that's not half bad. Wonder why I can't think of things like that?"
"Because you're too busy running," returned Hal.
The first of the pursuers came into sight at that moment and uttered a cry. This told the others following that the prey had been sighted and they dashed forward.
"Come as fast as you can, Stubbs," shouted Hal. "We've got to get out of sight."
In the distance Hal saw a solitary figure standing before a tent. He knew that this figure had seen him and decided that the man must be disposed of before he could give the alarm, Therefore, he headed straight for him.
As he ran, Hal expected every moment that the figure before the tent would open fire on him and his own revolver was held ready should the man's first shot go wild. Hal did not wish to fire if he could possibly avoid it.
Close behind Hal, Stubbs panted and puffed along. Once Hal was forced to reduce his speed in order that Stubbs might keep up with him. The little man was doing his best, but his short legs were not built to maintain a pace that Hal could set. Besides, he had long since lost his youthfulness and he could not run as he had done in his earlier days.
"I can't go much farther, Hal," he gasped.
"Just a little ways, Stubbs," Hal urged him on. "See that man in the tent there? That's where we'll hide. I'll knock him out if he doesn't get me first. The fool! He is taking a long chance. He should fire."
At that moment there came a fusillade of shots from behind.
In his anxiousness to get the man in the door of the tent out of the way, Hal had continued a straight course longer than he had realized; and this had allowed the pursuers to come within sight again. There was nothing to do but make the best of it now.
Hal dashed straight for the figure in the tent.
Drawing close, Hal raised his revolver, reversed, and held it ready to
bring down on the figure's head the moment they should come together.
There was a sudden exclamation from the figure in the tent; and with it
Hal dropped his arm; the exclamation was a single word:
"Hal!"