"
"You cannot pass here," said the officer. "Either return at once, or I
shall be forced to place you under arrest."
There was no use arguing.
"Home it is, then," said the young Englishman aloud, and then in a
whisper to the driver: "Ahead! Full speed!"
"To the bottom of the car!" he cried, as the machine jumped forward
with a lurch.
He dived to the floor of the car, the young Frenchman and Hal following
his example.
Chester, however, had been so surprised at the suddenness of this
maneuver, that for a moment he was unable to move; but, while his
momentary inaction placed him in great danger, it nevertheless saved his
companions from capture, or even death.
As the automobile lunged away, hurling the officer to the side of the
street, the latter shouted a command:
"Fire! Shoot the driver!"
One man only was in a position to obey. The others were forced to jump
for their lives, as the machine bore down on them. This one man, however,
raised his rifle and aimed at the driver, just as the car swept by.
The muzzle was right at the side of the car, and a miss would have been
almost impossible.
But, before he could fire, Chester sprang to his feet, and, leaning out,
grasped the barrel of the weapon in both hands. With a desperate effort,
he wrenched it from the soldier's hands, just as he was about to pull
the trigger.
Then, at a second command from Lieutenant Anderson, he dropped beside his
friends in the bottom of the car, and it was well that he did so.
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