“Stummer!” gasped Ben, and was never so glad to see a friend as at that moment. “And Casey, too!”
“Say, but you’re after havin’ a close shave wid a mighty sharp razor,” came from Dan Casey. “Was it thim bandits as collared ye lasht week? Sure an’ I thought it was the Roossians.”
“We were captured by the Russians, Dan,” answered Gilbert. “But we escaped, only to fall in with those Chunchuses. I’m mightily glad you came up.”
By this time the brief fight with the bandits had come to an end, with another killed and two more wounded. It is perhaps unnecessary to add that the wounded Chunchuses were at once beheaded by the Japanese—a common way of treating all bandits in the Orient.
As soon as the excitement was over, a Japanese officer in charge of the detachment listened to the story Gilbert and Ben had to tell. That section of the country was strange to him, and he did not know where the Shan-gow bridge was located.
“About that hole in the An-Ping road there is no use of worrying,” said he. “We have already located a number of such holes, and our advance guard are watching for them. But I think you had best report this bridge affair at headquarters without delay. You have horses, so can make faster time than we can.”
“Are there any Russians between here and the camp?” asked Ben.
“I believe not. They are retreating to An-Ping and Liao-Yang as fast as they can travel. General Kuroki and General Nodzu are pressing them hard.”
After some talk Gilbert persuaded the Japanese officer to allow Stummer and Casey to return to camp with them—the sharpshooters to show them the proper road to take, there being several a short distance back.
“Sure, an’ this is a touch of old times,” said Dan Casey, as the four moved off. “I’m after wishing we were all in one company.”