"Surrender!" cried a German officer, and ordered his men to withhold their fire.
The mutineers' reply was a volley that laid the officer low.
But the shot that struck the officer did not kill. With difficulty the man raised himself on his elbow and gave a command to his men.
"Kill them!" he said quietly.
Three more volleys flared forth in rapid succession, and when the smoke had cleared away there was no mutineer left standing.
Chester breathed a sigh of relief.
"Safe again," he muttered.
This outbreak of German troops had an unpleasant effect on the German envoys.
"It is time we had peace, no matter at what price," mumbled one to himself. "Our people are on the verge of open revolt. Those men professed to be loyal servants of the emperor. It just goes to show the temper of the masses. Mutiny is in the hearts of the armies. Soon they would take matters in their own hands."
"You are right," said another. "It is to be earnestly hoped that we may have peace and set up a stable government before rioting becomes rampant."