ate," he whispered. "Fire the moment I do."

They dropped to their hands and knees and again the stealthy advance
was resumed. Every boy selected a large tree behind which to take his
position. The white wings of the monoplane glistened and a clump of
dark figures could be seen nearby. Whether they were horses or men it
was impossible to distinguish.

Suddenly, above the rim of the forest appeared the moon. It had
appeared much sooner than the young soldiers had expected, or was it
that they had consumed more time than they had realized? If the latter
was the case they had need of haste. Leon and Earl waited impatiently
for Jacques to open fire but as a matter of fact he did not know at
what to aim. Killing the horses would do no good and the flash of the
revolver shots would only serve to disclose their positions to the
Germans.

Higher and higher rose the moon. It was soon half above the tops of
the trees and the whole clearing began to be suffused with its soft
light. The monoplane could be distinctly seen now and the dark clump
proved to be horses as the boys had surmised. Where were the Germans?
Surely they would not go away and leave their mounts.

All at once something moved near one end of the monoplane. Instantly
there was a sharp report; Jacques had found his target. Four flashes
in rapid succession disclosed the location of the remaining Germans.
Leon and Earl immediately opened fire. Another shot from the position
Jacques had selected showed that so far he had been untouched.

The fight became general and the firing increased. The three young
soldiers of France had a distinct advantage over their enemies,
however. The moment the Germans had fired they had revealed their
locations and now it was possible to make out the forms of the Teuton
horsemen in the moonlight; the three boys were hidden in the shadow of
the woods.

The bullets rained about them, cutting through the branches of the
trees and rattling through the bushes. As quickly as they fired,
however, the boys shifted their positions and the Germans having
nothing to guide their aim save the flash of the pistols, were unable
to locate their adversaries.

The frightened horses snorted and jumped at every shot; they tugged
violently at their tethers and danced madly about. The moon, now risen
completely above the crest of the forest, shone down upon a strange
scene. The great aeroplane still stood silently by, a mute witness t