The Boy Allies with the Cossacks; Or, A Wild Dash over the Carpathians

by Clair W. Hayes

The enemy greeted them with a hail of bullets, but they faltered not. Men fell and horses dropped, but there was no hesitation among those left.

Now a bugle sounded, and they dashed on with greater ferocity than before.

Squadrons of German cavalry issued forth to meet them. They crashed with a terrible shock. The impact was terrific, and horses and riders on both sides reeled back.

But the Cossacks were the first to recover, and they spurred their horses into the thick of the enemy. The sweep of their lances and the fire from their automatics were deadly. There was no pause in the Russian attack.

Cutting and slashing, the squadron to which Hal, Chester and Alexis were attached was soon in the midst of the foe. Not unused to such encounters, the lads nevertheless found themselves hard put to keep their seats and ward off the blows of their foes.

But with each moment they gained confidence, and finally were fighting with the best of them. Hal caught a descending lance on his upraised sword, and raising his revolver took a snap shot at his opponent. The latter threw his arms high, and toppled from his horse. Chester, by a quick move, escaped a revolver shot aimed at him by a German officer, and the lad’s own weapon spoke sharply. His aim was true, and the German dropped.

Now the Germans began to give ground. It was impossible to stand in the face of the terrible Cossack charge. The Russians pressed the retreating foe closely.

But now new forces of Germans dashed forward to drive back the Cossacks, or at least to protect the retreat of their companions.

The Cossacks dashed into these fresh troops with the same abandon they had first charged. But this time the result was different. Tired by the furious work, they were thrown back by the German reënforcements, and in spite of heroic efforts, were forced to retire slowly.

Flushed with this success, the Germans pressed on. The fighting was man to man, horse to horse, and hand to hand. Not for once had Alexis left the side of the two lads and none of the three had so far been injured, although men dropped on all sides of them.