a dull sort of a groan.

"Bottom knocked out of everything, is it, Rob?" he asked, in a dazed
sort of way.

"Well, nobody could give me any hope," was the reply. "Of course, the
landlord was too excited over the burning of his house to notice just
what the Uhlans did as they rode away, but one man told us he saw the
troopers take our horses trailing behind them."

"Then that settles it," said Merritt; "though I'll never understand what
they could want with those bony and tired nags, unless it was to make
bologna sausages out of. We're in for a little hike that will stretch
our legs."

"Yes, I guess it will," echoed Tubby, in a way that was hardly cheerful.

"And yours can stand a good deal of stretching, Tubby, you know," added
Merritt.

"There's no use crying over spilt milk," said Rob, in his usual cheery
fashion. "I more than half expected that we'd lose our mounts, sooner or
later."

"So did I," agreed Merritt. "Only I thought perhaps they'd die on our
hands from over-exertion. I never dreamed that rough riders like the
German cavalrymen would want to be caught leading such ragtag animals
along."

"Well, shall we make a move?" asked Rob.

There being no word against it, even from Tubby, who knew when duty
called, the three scouts took their last look at the still burning
houses, and then strode forth on the road leading toward the east.

The night promised to be unusually clear, for one thing. This pleased
Rob, for, as they would have no moon to light them on their way, even
the stars were welcome.

Three miles, under ordinary conditions, would have been reckoned almost
nothing to scouts accustomed to taking lengthy hikes over hills and
along valleys. It was a different matter, however, when passing through
a war-distracted country, where hostile armies were encamped, so that at
any minute they were apt to be greeted with a stern command, either in
German or in French or Flemish, to stand and give the countersign, with
the warning that to attempt flight would be at the peril of their lives.

Naturally the nerves of the boys were continually on edge. Tubby, in
particular, kept his eyes roving from side to side, then into the
uncertain distance ahead; and even at times turning to ascertain
whether they were being pursued by some soft-footed enemies who thought
to take them by surprise.

In this way more than a mile was passed over. When Rob announced that he
believed they must be all of halfway to th