he
service, and appreciated what was about to happen.

Nearer and nearer to the ground flew Tom and Jack. And then, to their
horror, they saw that several Germans had set up two machine guns to
rake the prison yard, which was still filled with excited captives. The
Germans were determined that as few as possible of their late captives
should find freedom.

Tom acted on the instant, by sending the plane in a different direction,
to enable Jack to use his machine gun. And Jack understood this, for,
with a shout of defiance, he turned his weapon on the closely packed
Germans around their machine guns.

For a moment they stood and some even tried to swerve the guns about to
shatter the dropping aeroplane. But Jack's fire was too fierce. He wiped
out the nest, and this danger was averted.

A moment later Tom had the machine to earth, and it ran along the uneven
and shell-torn ground, coming to a rest not far from what had been the
outer fence of the prison camp. A group of Allied captives, newly freed,
rushed forward. Tom and Jack, removing their goggles, looked eagerly for
a sight of Harry Leroy. They did not see him, but they saw that which
rejoiced them, and this was more aeroplanes coming to their aid, and
also a column of infantry on the march across a distant valley. The
stars and stripes were in the van, and at this the rescuers and the
prisoners set up a cheer. It meant that the Germans were beaten at that
point.

"Where's Harry Leroy? Is he among the prisoners?" cried Jack to several
of the liberated ones who crowded around the machine. There would be no
question now of trying to save some one, a rush by mounting to the air
with him. The advance of the Americans and the Allies was sufficiently
strong to hold the prison position wrested from the Germans.

"Was Harry Leroy among you?" asked Tom, of the joy-crazed prisoners.
Many were Americans, but there were French, Italian, Russian, Belgian
and British among the motley throng.

Before any one could answer him there was a hoarse shout, and from some
place where they had been hiding a squad of German soldiers rushed
at the group of recent prisoners about Tom and Jack. Their guns had
bayonets fixed, and it was the evident purpose of the Huns to make
one last rush on the prisoners near the aeroplane to kill as many as
possible.

The Germans were a sufficiently strong force, and none of these
prisoners was armed. They began to scatter and run for shelter, and T