“A quick dash—­and a fight if necessary,” he declared.

And Stubbs had agreed, peaceful man though he was; and although Hal did not know it, the little man was literally shaking in his boots.  However, like many men of his kind, he had a certain manner of concealing his nervousness, and he now followed Hal coolly enough.

Fifty yards from the tent Hal paused, as he saw two figures emerge from the prison and walk quickly away.

“Strange.  Wonder what that means?” he said to himself.  He turned to Stubbs.  “All right now,” he said quietly.  “Follow me and be quick.”

He ran lightly forward and dashed into the tent.  And in the darkness he stumbled over a prostrate form.  Quickly he drew a match from his pocket and struck, it.  The face of the man on the floor was not that of Chester nor Colonel Anderson.  The flare of the match showed him a second prostrate form, and he saw that this, too, was a stranger to him.  Then he saw the discarded clothing and realized what had transpired.

“Quick, Stubbs!  They have escaped!” he shouted, and darted from the tent.

And in the entrance he met an Austrian guard, whose attention had been attracted by the sound of Hal stumbling within.  The man uttered a low exclamation and sought to bring his gun to bear.

But Hal was too quick for him.  In spite of the fact that he keenly realized the need of caution, he also realized the value of time.  His hand slipped quickly to his revolver, and without raising it he fired from his hip.  The Austrian staggered back and tumbled over.

“We’re in for it!” cried Hal.  “Follow me and hurry!”

He dashed forward in the direction recently taken by the two figures he had seen leave the tent, for he felt sure the forms were those of Chester and Colonel Anderson.

Stubbs was right behind him.  Fear lent wings to the little man’s legs, and Hal, despite his longer strides, did not forge ahead of him.  Both ran at full speed.

And suddenly Hal made out figures in front, and before he could swerve aside, he heard Colonel Anderson’s well-known voice exclaim: 

“We surrender!”

With a stifled shout, Hal put forth an extra burst of speed, as he realized that the men who held the drop on Chester and Colonel Anderson numbered but three, although from beyond he could see others rushing toward them.

Again his revolver spoke and a bullet whizzed close to Colonel Anderson’s head; but an Austrian soldier dropped.  The others were taken by surprise, and relaxed their vigilance for a moment.  And then Colonel Anderson and Chester, who had now recovered his balance, fired.

Chester started as he recognized Hal’s voice, which now called out: 

“Quick, Chester!  To the right.”

Colonel Anderson was no less surprised, but he did not hesitate; and closely bunched the four turned to the right and ran for their lives.