"But who can get to it?" Lucia demanded.
"I can; it is mined. If I can reach it we may drive them back."
He did not wait to say more.
Lucia watched him impatiently as he stumbled and slid clumsily down the rough trail below her. The shells were coming nearer and nearer, and the air was filled with brilliant fire.
She watched the man every second, afraid to lose track of him. At the base of the rock he fell. She caught her breath and shouted aloud when he picked himself up and stumbled on. He reached the road and was just starting across the little path that led to the river, when a shell exploded so near him that the smoke hid him completely from view.
CHAPTER IX
THE BRIDGE
It was several minutes before Lucia saw him again; he was lying flat, a little to one side of the road, and he was very still. She waited, hoping against hope to see him move, and fighting against the horrible thought that filled her mind.
"He is dead," she exclaimed, terrified, "and they are moving; and the bridge!"