But when they dashed on again, the French heads reappeared and again the Germans fell in large numbers.

But the losses of the French by this time, in spite of the comparative safety afforded by their position, had been extremely heavy, considering the size of the original force.  Chester, in the basement, still had suffered no casualties, but fully a third of the men on the two floors above had been killed or wounded.

And there had been no time to care for these wounded, except for the brief respites occasioned by the retreat of the Germans.  Now that the fighting was on again the wounded were left to shift for themselves; and the air was filled with moans and groans.

The Germans in front of the house again had tried in vain to force a passage of the doorway, choked with their own dead and dying.  This had failed, for the French, under the direction of Captain Leroux, had poured in such a galling fire that the Germans dropped as fast as they appeared in the doorway.

From above, the defenders at the front of the house, also, had done heavy execution among the enemy below.  Again the Germans wavered; then retreated; and the French mowed them down as they ran.

Suddenly Hal bethought himself of a daring plan.  Dashing down stairs he confided it to Captain Leroux.  The latter clapped his hands in approval.

“You shall direct the move,” he exclaimed.  “I’ll take your post and see that the Germans in front continue to fall back; also I shall be able to cover you to some extent.”

He ran quickly upstairs.

Quickly Hal picked fifty men.

“Clear away those bodies,” he said, pointing to the German dead that blocked the doorway.

It was the work of but a few minutes.

“Now,” said Hal, “when we go out the door, I want half of you to go around the house to the left.  The others follow me.”

He divided the men into two squads.

“We’ll catch the fellows who got behind us by surprise,” the lad explained.  “They are still engaged with the men at the windows above.  We can’t afford to be surrounded.  We must drive them off.”

Silently, the men filed from the house.

The strategy of Hal’s plan was at once apparent.  The Germans who had circled the house, after dividing after the grand assault, still were unaware of the retreat of their fellows.  They did not know that this support had been lost to them.  Therefore, they were sure to be at a great disadvantage when attacked from a position that they believed to be held by their comrades.

Above, the defenders still continued to fire rapidly, seeking to keep up the delusion.

There was only one thing that worried Hal—­one thing that he felt possibly might bring disaster following his surprise attack.  He knew that the Germans who had recently retreated from before the farmhouse would understand his plan the minute he led his men from the farmhouse.  This would mean another grand assault.  The question in Hal’s mind was whether he could get his men back inside the house before the main force of the enemy could advance and cut him off.