d at the way the men moved, taking advantage
of every bit of cover afforded by the trees and undergrowth, and, when
in the open, of every fold in the ground. They had clearly made good use
of the weeks they had spent in eluding pursuit, and had become in their
way very fair backwoodsmen. This accomplishment was worth any amount of
fighting power at that moment, and increased threefold their chances of
escape from the armed circle closing in upon them.

During the march, Max and Dale, at every opportunity, increased their
knowledge of the men with whom they had now practically thrown in their
lot. The British soldiers had been stragglers from the army which had
been pushed up to Mons, and had subsequently retreated before the
overwhelming odds hurled against it at the express command of the German
Emperor. The object had been annihilation rather than defeat, in order,
no doubt, to fill the people of Britain with discouragement and make
them reluctant to venture another force on the Continent. Everyone knows
how the Emperor's legions failed in their intention, and at what a heavy
cost, and there is no need to dilate upon it here. Corporal Shaw had
been wounded and left behind during the retreat. He had managed to drag
himself to the house of a Belgian peasant woman, who had nursed him
quickly back to health. Then he had said farewell and made for the
Belgian coast at Ostend. He had been constantly headed off, and at last
found himself in the Ardennes with several comrades picked up here and
there on the way.

Their stories were much like his. Some had been wounded, and others had
dropped behind in the retreat totally exhausted, or so sore of foot that
they were unable to move another step. The Frenchmen had been picked up
for the most part in one body. They had been engaged in a running fight
with some German infantry, and the British soldiers, drawn irresistibly
to the spot by the sound of firing, had joined in the little battle with
good effect, enabling their French comrades to get away with only the
loss of two of their number. These had fallen wounded, and it was
asserted in the most positive manner that the German soldiers had been
seen to smash them to death with the butt-ends of their rifles the
moment they came upon them. Such an episode as this did not improve the
feelings of either the British or French soldiers towards their German
foes, and went far to explain to Max and Dale the keenness and zest of
the men