o the right. The driver of the car
had been struck by a German bullet and killed.

The driverless machine, swerving suddenly to the left, leaped forward
ahead of the others, turned suddenly to the right again, and plunged
straight toward the dense masses of Germans, the British inside still
shooting as calmly as though they stood on firm ground, although it
was plainly evident to them that the wild car was carrying them to
certain death.

All this the boys could see at a glance, but they quickly passed
beyond, and so did not see the gallant fate of their comrades.

Plunging straight into the dense masses of Germans, the gallant
machine leaped upon them like a thing of life, hurling them off on
all sides, and running amuck over their prostrate forms. Then, with
another sudden turn to the left, it sped directly toward a group of
officers, who stood nearby directing the firing. So sudden was this
unexpected turn that the officers were run down before they could move
from their tracks.

Then the machine darted straight at a German field battery.

It was a fatal move, for a German gunner sprang forward--there was a
fearful roar--a loud explosion, a cloud of smoke, and, when the smoke
had cleared away, there was no automobile to be seen--nothing but
wreckage and a few maimed bodies scattered about.

But Hal and his companions were having troubles of their own. Even at
the moment that the first car disappeared in smoke, the driver of a
second sprang to his feet, waved his arms about, as he wildly gasped
for air, and tumbled overboard. The machine, now wild, turned and
crashed into its nearest neighbor.

There was a terrific crash, and both cars turned turtle. Came a cry
of triumph from the Germans, but Hal and the driver of the other
remaining car paid no heed; rather, if possible, their cars leaped
ahead faster than before.

But the herculean task the lads had set out to accomplish was too
much. In spite of the fact that the Germans had been taken by
surprise, their numbers were so great that the success of such a
dash was impossible.

Straight ahead the boys made out a regiment, drawn up with leveled
rifles. In one last desperate attempt to break through, Hal and the
driver of the other car dashed into them.

A blow from the butt of a German rifle knocked the driver of the
second car from his seat as he swept past, and the machine, turning
round and round, like a huge top, suddenly turned over, pinioning
its oc