Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-04-02
CHAPTER xvnI-tcontinued)

CHAPTER RNNuI-(Conunued)
HAMNfERSLEY had drawn his auto
IL matte from his pocket and was
lingering it coolly. lie put his fingers
over his eyes, so that the light would not
mar his familiarity with the darkness. lie
did not know how many men opposed
him and did not seem to care. the
main thing now was TO keep his eye
undimmed and his hand steady The
machine came, slowed down and stop
ped while a cultural exclamation came
from the driver. The searchlight To-
oused downward into the rocks OF the
gully. Screening his eyes from It's light
with hand, Hammersley peered out
at the occupants Of the car. There
were two men--better than three, but
not so good as one. The man az the
wheel rose and got down just beside
him, moving forward to remove the
obstacles.
Hammersley wasted no time. He lev
eled his automatic at the broad back
OF the driver and his voice rang sharply
In German:
Il have come here for the dispatches
]
berg You will give them TO me at
once"
! The man who was just bending over
/ toward the timber Strengthened quickly
| and turned, reaching for his holsteri
| but the man I'm the seat OF the car,
| who wore a military cap, was quicker,
| for there was a report and n bullet
! sang close to Hammersleys ear.
| A stream Of fire came from Ham.
mersley's automatic; three shots IN
| quick succession, and the man In the
car pitched forward In his seat and
! slid to the floor. And by the time the
other man had drawn his pistol, Ham,
/ mersley had leaped behind tree auo
come out OF some bushes beyond. The
! chauffeur fired. but not i'm Hammers
ley's direction. The continuous glare
| Of the light in their eyes had made
their vision in the darkness uncertain
DO you surrender" shouted Ham
mersley.
The Germans reply was to fire. a.
him again and miss. He still stood II
| the reflection OF the headlight bulky
silhouette, which made too fair a mark
while Hammersley stood in the shadows
of the bushes Hammersley pitied him
Surrender :" he repeated.
The man was not a coward and rush
cd blndly toward the voice, shooting
again, too close for comfort,
We'll. then" Hammersley salt
and fired again.
then fell prone. his fingers clutchinl
among the leaves. The whole inciden
had taken less than a minute, and ;
deathly silence seemed to fall, following
the reverberatlons of the shots, Ham
mersley stood tensely listening AM
peering along the road toward Blau
felden. There was glow of light a
a distance and he could now hear tn
sound of another machine. Won Strom
berg had learned of his escape and witt
a perfect intuition was coming here di
rectly and fast The sound OF the shot
had been heard. There was no tim
to lose.
Hammersley bent over the man on tn
ground and searched his pockets rapidly
Gloves, matches, spark plug tobacco
but no papers. The chauneur, q
J course. BY main strength he lifted tn
dead weight of the man in the car an
carried him down into the glare of tn
searchlight. II was a dangerous thin
to do, for the lights of the machine froi
Blaufelden were already swlngin
through the tree trunks But he work
ed quickly and skllfuly, tearing ope
the officers gray overcoat and searchin
his pockets. In the inside pocket OF hi
' uniform he found them, a bulky pacf
age, and other papers. He read tn
< General Graf ven Stromberg' The
sprang aside out of the glare, of th
lights at the very moment when tn
other machine came swinging rapidl
The papers are safe?" roared a NoiC
: which Hammersley recognized.
r ia" Hammersley replied i'm "A roug
$ tone "a man tried to stop me and
l shot him"
, He is here" shouted Hammersle
again. --.,-.- -,
OF the glare of the searchlights' ana a
| the men from the other car tumbled OF
l and came forward he turned into IN
darkness, and abandoning all caution
a took to his heels and ran at top spec
in the opposite direction; -
Behind him he heard shouts as HI
l trick was discovered. but he knew tins
= i'm the matter of speed he had nothin
2 to fear afoot from any German AT ~
dCnberg The thing that bothered MI
nov was a way TO hide the marks
bia footsteps. for in places the mud wa
soft and he knew that in the mornin
light they would follow him so he picl
! ed his way carefully, running at 10
speed for mile at least. TO lead IN
rursult away from the Thorwald an
then at the banks of small streai
r paused a moment and listened. lie ma
eluded them. Then without hesitatlol
= though putting fearfully from his eI
Irtions, he stepped down into the col
waters of the stream and wadeo up
; avoiding the lodges and making sur
5 that he left no mark behind nm. q
: he climbed higher up the mountain
I could see in the distance the glow
tho lights OF the machines and when }
< reached a mossy bank which would n'
D betray him, he clambered out OF n
n water and turned, doubling like 10
o upon his trail, turning back in the ger
a LraI direction from which he had com
Doris worried him. He could imagir
: her crouchng there two hundred fe'
in the air just above the two machine
: half dead with fear of capture and tel
d rof for him. Had she seen what ha
5 happened and understood it? Would st
have the kind of silent endurance
crouch there and wait? He hurrio
on into the maze of rocks and dee
woods, finding at last a deer trail th3
: he knew. There were but two mear
/, Of ingress to the cave of the Thorwal
! Cne by the secret path i'm the bushes u
I tho rocks which Doris had taken, II
= other from the upper side which he wa
4 now rapidly approaching.
He ran along the deer trail, reloadir