"Cavalry, by all the powers!" Granger ejaculated, glancing up the road. "They are sure to visit the house. We have three men still to deal with, and three minutes for the job. The bold simple course, Amory! You must tackle them. Saunter out, don't hurry."
Kenneth, followed by Pariset, walked slowly towards the waiting car. The three men in it stared in surprise.
"We arrived this morning," said Kenneth in an easy tone to the chauffeur, "and ate the Herr Major's lunch--by mistake."
The men guffawed; the German soldier does not love his officers. This was a good joke.
"That's a nice little toy you have there," Kenneth went on, pointing to the machine gun. He stepped quickly into the car to look at it.
"It is forbidden," said the chauffeur, with an uneasy glance at the window. "Only the crew are allowed in the car."
"Yes, yes, one understands. Just a minute!"
Before the men could make up their minds to turn him out he had swung round the machine gun to cover them.
"Hands up!" he cried.
They laughed, thinking it a practical joke, until they saw Pariset covering them with his revolver.