THE STRUGGLE IN THE CAVE.
In spite of the pain that shot through his head following the contact, Hal did not lose his coolness or his presence of mind. Although his head hurt badly, he did not utter a sound.
His unseen antagonist apparently was too surprised to make an outcry, or it may have been that he thought he had bumped into a wall. If the latter were his thought he was quickly undeceived.
As he sat back on his haunches, to rub his head, Hal moved lightly forward, and, judging the distance by the sound of his enemy’s movements, fell on top of him.
He had gauged the distance to a nicety, and before the German could cry out, one of the lad’s hands sank deep into his throat. But the latter was a powerful man and not to be overcome easily. He hurled the lad from him with a quick shove, at the same time twisting on the wrist of the hand that gripped his throat.
The pain was almost unbearable and Hal was forced to loosen his hold. But again the lad sprang, before the German could take the offensive, and this time struck out fiercely with his right fist. The German uttered a cry of pain, and with one hand delivered a smashing blow at the face so close to his own.
But Hal had figured on this move and had calculated the time of the blow perfectly. With a quick movement of his head he avoided the huge fist, and there came a terrific howl of pain from the German. The blow had passed over the lad’s head and the German’s fist had crashed into the solid wall.
And at the same instant there came the sound of a shot from Chester’s end of the cave.
This sound spurred Hal to greater activity, for he realized now that their presence had been discovered by those on the outside. He felt certain that the sound of the shot would probably bring new visitors into the cave from the end he was supposed to guard.
Quickly, then, while his opponent was still in agony from the self-inflicted blow, Hal drew his revolver and, reversing it, struck out in the direction of a muttered curse.