"You might just as well go back and get unready," said Stubbs in a faint voice.
Helen gazed at the serious faces about her queerly.
"Why, what on earth is the matter?" she asked anxiously.
"Matter?" echoed Stubbs. "Everything is the matter. The Serbians and
Bulgarians are coming to shoot us full of holes."
Helen turned to Hal for an explanation.
"It's true, Miss Ellison, though not as Mr. Stubbs expresses it," said Hal quietly. "We are between two fires. The Bulgarians are less than half a mile from us and they have seized my airplane. The Serbians are advancing. There will undoubtedly be a battle and we will be somewhere about the middle of it."
"But can't we leave now and hurry toward the Serbians?" asked Helen.
"I had thought of that," said Hal; "but the Bulgarians are too close. If they saw us fleeing, they would probably shoot us down."
"Then cannot we seek the protection of the Bulgarians?"
This brought a growl from Ivan.