His revolver, less than a foot from the man’s head, spoke sharply. Hal waited long enough to see that the work had been well done, then rose to his feet, placed his hand upon the barrier, and, amid a hail of bullets from the other Austrians, vaulted back to safety.
“I got him!” he told Chester quietly, as he turned and emptied his own revolver at the enemy, who seemed on the point of rushing forward.
Quickly Chester reloaded his own revolvers, and it was well that he did so, for the enemy seemed to be manifesting a desire to come forward to the attack, apparently believing that the lads were out of ammunition.
The lads had now accounted for eight of the enemy, but they were not so foolish as to believe that the Austrians would remain in their present position and be picked off one at a time.
“They’ll make a rush soon!” declared Chester.
“Well,” replied Hal, “when they do we’ll be ready for ’em. We can shoot straighter than they can while they are on the run. We should be able to pick off two more each before they get here.”
“We’ll have a try at it,” said Chester simply.
It was plainly evident that the Austrians were preparing for a move of some kind. Suddenly, at a given signal, all twelve of the foe still alive, sprang to their feet and made a concerted rush toward the barrier.
“Here they come!” cried Hal. “Steady now!”