the food and ammunition in readiness, and dragging back
the dead bodies out of the way, the boys occasionally looked from the
mill windows. As Roger had said, the army appeared to have come to a
halt, both the center and the wings.

The Khaki Boys had just finished binding up their minor hurts, and
were talking of their chances for escape, when there suddenly sounded
outside a whine, a scream and a mingled roar.

The next instant there was an explosion that threw them all flat from
the force of the concussion, and a terrific noise deafened them. They
seemed to be at the ending of the career of this part of the old earth
as they saw the whole front wall of the red mill collapse, falling as
though sliced off by a gigantic cleaver.

CHAPTER XI

A STRANGE RESCUE

Stunned by the concussion, half choked by the clouds of dust and
smoke, terribly jarred when they had been felled by the force of the
explosion just outside the mill, our five heroes lay, for several
seconds, totally unable to stir. Had there been a rush of Huns on them
at that moment, or had some following explosion endangered the mill,
they would not have been able to move to save themselves.

But, for a time, there was no further explosion, so that the Khaki
Boys had a chance to recover their breath, and, what was more
important in their perilous situation, gather their no less scattered
wits.

"What--what in the name of the great Attila himself was that?" gasped
Roger.

"I think it was yet a gun what went off," mildly said Iggy.

"A gun? Say, it must have been the grandfather of all the cannon the
Huns ever made," declared Jimmy. "Are any of you alive?"

"Guess we're all alive," answered Bob, as he slowly arose and shook
some of the dust from him. For the dust was thick all over, in clouds
and scattered about. Some of it was flour dust and other was the lime
and mortar that had held together the front wall which had collapsed
and slid outward. The whole front of the mill was open.

There was no doubt about their all being alive, but, for a time, even
this had been in doubt. They were still stunned, but they managed to
gather in a knot about Jimmy. They were hardly able to breathe, partly
because of the shock and partly because of the choking dust.

"There goes our defense," said Bob, gloomily, pointing to where the
machine-gun stood--the one they had decided to use against their
enemies. It had been crushed by the falling wall.

"Lucky