“Don’t make me laugh,” said Hal, smiling.
For answer the man drew back his right hand and struck Hal a swift blow in the face. Hal, throwing off the men who surrounded him, promptly knocked the lieutenant down.
The man arose with blood streaming from his lips and an angry light in his eye. With his right hand he drew his revolver, while he cried to his men:
“Shoot him!”
To the German soldier, an officer’s word was law. It was not for the soldier to consider the merits of the case. An order had been given, and German discipline said that it must be obeyed.
A dozen rifles covered Hal instantly.
But an interruption came from an unexpected source.
“Stop!” cried a commanding voice.
Instantly the rifles were lowered and the soldiers came to attention, while the German lieutenant lowered his revolver and saluted stiffly.
Not ten paces away sat a German officer on horseback. He wore the shoulder straps of a general of infantry, as both lads saw at a glance.