unning toward
the chateau in response to the imperative summons of the general, they
could call themselves lucky indeed.

"Somebody coming ahead there, Tom!" gasped Jack suddenly, as he caught
the hasty patter of footsteps.

"Into these bushes, and get down on all fours!" Tom ordered, setting the
action himself.

Hardly had they succeeded in leaving the road and concealing themselves
in this way than several bounding figures came into sight. They were
German soldiers without doubt, their spiked helmets could be seen and
also the glitter of guns in their hands could be caught.

Once they had rushed past, Tom again took to the road. The danger from
such sudden encounters was great, but there was no other way for them to
proceed. And in order to escape it was necessary that they reach the
cemetery where the big bombing plane awaited their coming.

Once again did they have a thrill. This was when a figure crashed out
of a thicket without warning, and came face to face with them. He, too,
was a soldier, who had possibly taken a short cut through the thickets
in order to reach the road the sooner.

He uttered a startled exclamation. With the shrill sound of the alarm
whistle still echoing through the valley below, of course his suspicions
would be aroused by seeing two figures clad in the garments of aviators,
and bearing away with them the child he, in common with his fellows, may
have noticed playing near the chateau on sunshiny days.

His actions were so hostile that Tom, acting instantaneously, gave him a
blow with the weighty club he had picked up a moment before.

It must have been a well-aimed blow, for the soldier fell in a heap, and
his helmet rolled on the ground.

Jack, unable to resist the temptation to gather in the spoils as a
souvenir of the event, snatched this metal headgear up. Then he rushed
headlong after Tom, who was making off down the slope at full speed.

Just as Jack, still carrying Helene, but making good time, overtook his
chum, he heard a fearful shouting back of him. Jack ground his teeth
with rage, for he could easily guess what it all meant. The soldier who
had been attacked must have recovered quickly. He was now running in the
direction of the chateau and shouting in German.

While, of course, Jack was not able to tell exactly what it was he
yelled, he could give a guess that it meant:

"Here they are! This way everybody. The French dogs are here!"

Of course that would mean imm