“Tell me,” said Hal to Chester, “what was all the shooting about?”

“Oh, it didn’t amount to much,” returned Chester.  “Thirteen Bulgarians attacked us.  That’s all.  Anderson, Miss Ellison and I disposed of a couple and Ivan here attended to the rest.  They are all dead now, I guess.”

“And where is Anderson?” demanded Hal.

“Over there on the sofa,” said Chester, pointing.  “He’s sleeping and I didn’t like to disturb him.  He’s got a hole in his head.”

“Bad?” asked Hal anxiously.

“No; mere flesh wound.  He’ll be all right directly.”

“And do you mean to tell me,” demanded Hal, “that Ivan here did all this work?”

“Well, he did the greater part of it.  It reminded me of the old days, when we watched Alexis in action.  Any one who had ever seen them both fight would know they were brothers.  Ivan is a powerful man and a great fighter.”

Ivan had hung his head modestly as Chester talked.  Now he looked up and said: 

“It was nothing.”

“And yet how unlike Alexis,” muttered Hal.  “Can you imagine what Alexis would have said after a fight like that?”

“Rather,” said Chester dryly.  “He’d have sworn he had defeated a regiment.”

“Well,” said Hal.  “It seems to me we have delayed here long enough.  You will remember your orders to hurry.  My plane will carry us all, if Miss Ellison cares to go.”

“Certainly she cares to go,” returned Chester.  “We can’t leave her here alone.  I’ll wake Anderson now.”

He did so.  The Colonel announced that he was feeling perfectly fit and ready to go at any time.

“Well, you people get ready and I’ll go and have a look at the plane,” said Hal.

He left the house.

It had grown light by this time.  Dawn had broken half an hour before and there was every indication that the day would be bright and cheerful.

Helen was upstairs getting her things together, while the others sat about in the parlor.  Suddenly Hal dashed into the house.  There was an expression of alarm on his face.  The others jumped to their feet excitedly.

“Now what’s the matter?” exclaimed Chester.

“Oh, nothing much,” said Hal, “only that about fifty thousand Bulgarians have nabbed my aeroplane.”

“What?” exclaimed the others.

“Exactly,” said Hal, “and that’s not the worst of it.”

“My goodness!” exclaimed Stubbs.  “What can be worse than that?”

“Well,” replied Hal, sinking into a chair.  “On the other side of us I made out about a million Serbians advancing.”

“Great Scott!” exclaimed Chester.  “You mean we are in between them?”

“Precisely.”

“Oh, my,” groaned Stubbs.  “This will be the last of us for sure.”

“Quiet, Stubbs,” said Hal sharply.

Now Ivan had a remark to make.

“There don’t happen to be a million Serbians,” he said calmly.