From the rear came the signal to slow down, and, under Hal's firm hand, the terrific speed of the train was checked. Then also from the rear there came the sound of firing. The rapid-firers on the train had been unloosed, and their leaden messengers were spelling death in the ranks of the Germans, of whom the train was now in the middle.
Chester poked his head out the window of the cab, only to withdraw it quickly, as a bullet struck a quarter of an inch from his ear. But in that one brief glance he had taken in the situation.
A short distance ahead he could make out a small knot of British, almost surrounded by Germans. The British had taken their stand directly on the railroad track, the most strategic point for miles. A clump of small trees screened them from the enemy on one side, but from the other three directions the Germans were pouring in their deadly fire.
The British troops stood gallantly to their work, and returned volley for volley. They fought on doggedly. Suddenly the armored train shot up the line which the British were holding, and Hal brought it to an abrupt stop.
Right and left the train poured in broadsides of machine-gun fire, mowing down the Germans at every yard. The Germans fell in heaps, and, as if by a miracle, both sides of the track were suddenly lined with high piles of the dead.
The little troop of British received this unexpected aid with a great cheer, broke from cover and dashed in pursuit of the great mass of Germans, who now were fleeing on all sides.
But the success of the British was destined to be short-lived. Hal and Chester, in the cab of the locomotive, had just raised a loud cheer when there was a terrific explosion, followed by a thundering crash, and both lads were hurled violently to the floor of the cab.
Chester, with blood flowing from a gash in his forehead, was the first to pick himself up. In falling his head had come in contact with a sharp projection of some kind. He was terribly dizzy, but his head was still clear.
He stooped over Hal, and at that moment the latter raised himself on his elbow and then got to his feet unsteadily.
Chester did not reply. Instead he swung out from the cab and glanced back over the train--or rather where the train had been. And what a sight met his gaze!