Under Fire For Servia

by James Fiske

He pointed to a clump of trees beside the road, and forced the reluctant Hallo to go in before him. The pistol was giving him fine support for it was very evident that Hallo did not mean to take chances. Dick did not know, as a matter of fact, whether he would be able to fire if the necessity arose. To shoot even Mike Hallo in cold blood, and when the man was helpless to all intents, was something he could not contemplate without a shudder.

In fact it was partly because Hallo was his enemy that he felt that he was likely to hesitate, and at a moment when hesitation was likely to be dangerous, if not fatal.

"I'd feel differently if I didn't have anything against him, personally," said Dick to himself. "As it is, I'd never be sure, if I shot him, whether I was doing it in self-defence or because it was a good chance to get even with him for the things he's done to me and to my family."

Fortunately, however, Hallo did not put him to the test. Dick realized that it was a dangerous minute. The seconds that elapsed while the soldiers were passing in the road were the longest he had ever spent. A single shout from Hallo would have settled matters. In such times, and with a reminder of the dangers of the situation such as the destruction of the arsenal, there would have been an immediate investigation, and, whatever happened to Hallo himself, Dick would be in a bad case, and he fully realized his situation.

Dick allowed plenty of time for the soldiers to pass. It did not take long, as a matter of fact, and he decided that there could have been only a small detachment, not more than a company of infantry probably. Hallo might have told him that there were comparatively few troops in Semlin, and that the greater part of the Austrian forces along the border were placed at two points, Schabatz, on the Save, and Losnitza, on the Drina, since it was at those two points that the invasion of Servia was to be begun, according to the plan of the Austrian General Staff.

The bombardment of Belgrade was not intended to cover a subsequent attack, but to serve as a feint, in the hope that a large number of Servian troops would be retained for the defense of the capital. Belgrade was of no use to the Austrians. By holding Semlin they could cut the railway and had every advantage that the occupation of Belgrade could have given them, except the sentimental value of having possession of the enemy's capital. Later in the war the Austrians were to make the grave mistake of occupying Belgrade for just such sentimental reasons, and the mistake was to be proved by the sacrifice of an army.

"All right, we can go back to the road again," said Dick, when he had allowed more than enough time for a rear guard to pass. "Your friends have held us up. See if you can't move a little faster to make up for the delay!" and he prodded him with his revolver for emphasis.

Dick had scattered his corn steadily and now, as they went back to the road, he kicked the kernels that marked their digression aside, since he knew that Stepan and the others, if they were following, would only waste time by following the detour into the woods. He had brought a plentiful supply, and he was glad of it, since he was traveling further with Hallo than he had thought it at all likely that he could. For some time he had been listening eagerly for some indication that Stepan and his friends were approaching, but there had been none. He was not ready to be worried about them yet, however dangerous as he knew their work had been, since it was easy to imagine a dozen trifling things that might have delayed them.

And yet he could think of more serious things, too. There might have been a premature explosion of the mine, and he shuddered at the thought of what the fate of the Servians must have been if that was what had happened. Or they might have been caught as they emerged from the tunnel. Or—but he shook off such ideas. There was no reason yet to suppose that everything was not all right. And the important thing was to get Hallo to the boathouse. It was absolutely vital, now that Hallo knew about that refuge, and also the identity of his former office boy, that Hallo should not escape to use his knowledge, since he could do incalculable mischief to the cause that Dick had now made his own.

Hallo went along stumbling, groaning, growling. Finally Dick did begin to feel sorry for him. After all, the man was in bad condition. He had been painfully hurt by the crashing down of the big packing case, and his fright and escape through the water had weakened and tired him, even before that. Now he seemed to be in the last stages of exhaustion, and when he began to plead with Dick on account of his weariness, rather than with promises or threats, he was on the right track. Perhaps that feeling threw Dick off his guard for a moment. At any rate, when Hallo finally made his bid for freedom he chose the most, perhaps the only, opportune moment.