“I guess they haven’t gone back to that room yet,” he thought. “Well, I hope they don’t go back until I’m a long distance away.”
He kept to the highway for about two miles further, and then, reaching the outskirts of a small village, turned slightly to the northward. Here there was another patch of woods, and into this he plunged, finally reaching a place where he thought it would be safe to sit down and make up his mind what to do next.
Dave had rested a quarter of an hour when suddenly he heard a noise about a hundred yards further within the wood. Then, of a sudden, came a roar which almost deafened him. This roar was followed by others, until the very ground under him seemed to tremble.
He leaped to his feet, and with good reason. With that opening roar came a discovery which interested him tremendously. He had reached the vicinity of the fighting front without knowing it. Directly in front of him was one of the German batteries, and it was now in full action.
With a quick move he gathered in the maps and documents.—Page [287].
CHAPTER XXIX
THE LAST FIGHT
“They must be getting ready for an advance, or else they are trying to hold back the advance of our own men.” Such was the thought of the young lieutenant as the German battery continued to pound away with unusual vigor.
The bombing soon covered a distance of many miles, showing that a move of some sort was either taking place or was contemplated.
“Maybe if there is a real battle it will give me a chance to get through the lines,” Dave reasoned, and his heart gave a bound of hope. If he could only get through quickly and reach headquarters, perhaps the maps and documents he had confiscated from the enemy might prove of great value to the Americans.