“Thad, you just manage to think of nearly everything,” commented the admiring Bumpus, once more looking pleased, as if some weighty doubts had been thus removed.
“I’m glad you said ‘nearly,’” the scout leader told him, “because I’ve got my weak points as well as the next fellow. But here we come to another pack; and it’s going to take a whole lot of managing to get through in a hurry.”
They were making very good progress all this while, however. Thad felt greatly encouraged. He believed it could not be long before they arrived at the place where they expected to leave this main artery of travel, and strike out along the road running parallel with the fighting line. Here the vehicular traffic might be expected to become much less dense, and they would be able to make better time.
“Keep your eyes on the watch for an opening to the left,” he told the others, after they had managed to get by the jam, and had a little clear space ahead.
“Watch that ambulance coming, Thad; it seems to wobble a bit, in the hurry of the man at the wheel to get back to the front; and we don’t want any smashup at this stage of the game, you know.”
“Oh! they’ll give us plenty of room when we get closer,” retorted Thad. “With three on the seat they ought to be able to manage things, I should think.”
“The ambulance is full of men, too,” remarked Allan just then. “Just as like as not they’re fresh workers of the Red Cross Corps getting out on the front line to help the tired gang we left up to their eyes in business.”
“Say, it seems to me there’s something mighty familiar about one of those chaps on the seat of that machine!” exclaimed Bumpus.
His words caused both the others to look closer. Then Allan gave a laugh.
“As sure as you live that’s nobody else save our chum, Giraffe!” he exclaimed. “I’d know that long neck of his among a thousand. And see, he recognizes us now, for he’s grabbed the arm of the pilot of the ambulance, and means to get him to stop. Well, if this isn’t luck, then we never had it come our way.”