howed that
the wounded had been removed.

Then Chester realized what had happened.

Quickly he ran to the door and peered out. Far in the rear he could see
the French retreating, pursued by the foe. Chester uttered an exclamation
of dismay and called to his men. He explained the situation to them. All
were dumbfounded.

At that moment Chester espied an object a short distance from the
farmhouse. There was no living form near. With a sudden cry of hope,
Chester dashed from the house.

"Come on, men!" he called over his shoulder.

CHAPTER XVI

CHESTER'S GALLANT FEAT

The object upon which Chester's eyes had fallen and which was the cause
of the sudden activity on the lad's part was nothing less than the
rapid-fire gun the Germans so recently had brought up to bombard the
farmhouse and cut off the retreat of its French defenders. Its crew had
been killed, picked off by the accurate shooting of the French before
they abandoned the house, and the gun had not been remanned. Apparently
the Germans had overlooked the small field piece in their haste to give
chase to the retreating French.

The horses were standing a short distance away, unhurt, as Chester could
see. The lad dashed toward the gun at top speed, his five men following
him as fast as they could run.

There was a light of anticipation on Chester's face as he reached the gun
and examined it carefully.

"Plenty of ammunition," he said with a grin, as his men came up to him.

The others grinned also.

"What are you going to do with it, sir?" asked one.

Chester waved his arm in the direction of the retreating French and
pursuing Germans.

"Give those fellows a little surprise party when they turn back," he
said.

The men caught the idea and were immediately filled with enthusiasm.

"We'd better get away from here before we're discovered, though," said
Chester. "Catch those horses, some of you."

This was an easy matter, for the horses stood still as two of the French
soldiers approached them.

"Hook 'em up," cried Chester.

This, too, was the work of a moment.

"I'll do the driving," said Chester. "You fellows climb aboard."

The others needed no urging and a moment later this strange battery moved
toward the French lines at a gallop.

The Germans in pursuit of the French were still in plain view and Chester
intended to keep close behind. He reasoned that the distance was too
great for the Germans to make out the uniforms of the me