rank hauled in on the cable to which the car was
attached.

By mutual agreement it was arranged that Frank should be the next to go
over, after which they would send the portable wireless, followed by
Jerry, and finally Joe.

Lads of less courage never would have attempted such a perilous escape,
but they made it without a single mishap. It was not until Joe, the last
of the party, was just coming to a stop in the outstretched arms of his
friends, that the Germans below, and on what was now the opposite
mountain, seemed to sense something going on--or perhaps had seen the
mysterious blinking of the flashlight--and let go a distant and futile
volley of shots.

"No use, Boche," called the lieutenant mockingly, "we're out of your
range. And now, having escaped you, we'll see what we can do to harass
you."

Saying which he began opening up the pack-set wireless, while two of the
others set up the umbrella antenna.

Lieutenant Mackinson began tapping off the headquarters call. It might
have been the slightly nearer position they were in, or, so far as they
knew, headquarters might have moved meanwhile, but in a very short time
the operator there was responding.

The young officer gave an accurate account of the operations of the
Germans, and particularly of their artillery. Headquarters thanked them,
told them to stay until morning where they were, and then ask for
further orders.

In less than half an hour the boom of heavy guns from the westward told
them that they had given their information in time.

American artillery was dropping a rain of shells into the cuts in the
mountain through which the Germans had to emerge with their guns to do
any damage! Their whole plan, so carefully carried out, had been
defeated!

CHAPTER XVIII

SLIM GOODWIN A PRISONER

"If I had a good rifle I could 'pot' half a dozen of them from here,"
said Jerry the following morning as he and the rest, standing back among
the trees of the mountain in which they had sought safety, watched two
long, converging lines of German soldiers marching back in the direction
whence they had come on the preceding day.

"And we owe them that much for that nice, nifty little night trapeze act
we had to do through space on their account," added Slim.

"Not to mention the wrecked tractor," put in Frank.

"Well," spoke Lieutenant Mackinson, calling them to the business of the
day, "I guess we can make a report to headquarters now--and a good