Stubbornly the Germans held their ground.  Reinforcements were rushed to their aid, and the battle became general all along the line.

It was evident by this time that the German commander realized something had gone wrong with his plans; but now that the attack had been made he was not the man to give up without doing all in his power to go ahead.  Now the Germans broke and began to retreat.  With a wild yell, squadron after squadron of Belgian horsemen charged down upon the retreating Teutons.

Three times the German officers, bravely exposing themselves to the leaden hail of death, succeeded in checking their straggling troops, and three times the Germans coolly reformed under a terrific artillery and rifle fire.

But it was no use.  For now the Belgians began a concerted advance all along the line.  The German charge had spent itself, and the Teutons gradually drew off.

But the retreat did not become a rout.  The Germans fell back slowly, contesting every inch of the ground.  The aim of the Belgian gunners and infantrymen was excellent, and the havoc wrought in the German lines was terrible.  The field was strewn with dead, but over these the Belgian troops pushed on, pressing their advantage to the utmost.

Finally General Givet called a halt.  The Germans were still retreating, but the Belgian commander did not feel that he could afford to pursue them farther.  The danger of a surprise was over, and he did not wish to risk another battle, particularly as he was unable to see the necessity of extending his own lines.

Therefore, the Belgian troops fell back upon their line of defense and the battle was over.

Chester, upon the express command of General Givet, had not been allowed to take part in the battle.  The Belgian commander had kept the lad close to him, occasionally dispatching him to some near portion of the field with some order.  And now that the fighting was over, General Givet announced that he would be pleased if Chester would dine with him.

But his work over and all his duties properly attended to, Chester bethought himself of his wounded chum.  He was anxious to see Hal and relate what had happened and to make sure that his friend was being properly taken care of.

He reminded the general of the latter’s promise to have Hal sent to Brussels, and received the commander’s renewed assurances that he would not forget.  Then he set out for the place where he had left Hal.

He stopped on the way, however, to see Edna Johnson, knowing that she would be interested in what had occurred since he last saw her and learning that but for her the Belgian army in Louvain might have suffered a terrible calamity.

Chester did not linger long with Edna, however, after relating his experiences and a brief chat on other subjects, made his way to the house where he had left his wounded chum, to whom he gave a detailed account of all that he had done, and of the arrangements he had made for their reaching Brussels.