service boys had
started in the patrol across No Man's Land.

The German captors had either all surrendered or been killed, and the
tables were most effectively switched around. At first Tom and Jack were
too surprised and overwhelmingly grateful to answer.

But they soon understood what had happened. And then they told the story
of their fight against odds until captured. They said nothing just then
of the unexpected information that had come to them about Harry Leroy's
presence in a German camp so comparatively near their own lines. But
they resolved, at the first opportunity, to make use of the information.

The shooting of the big guns gradually ceased when it was made manifest
that neither side was ready for a general engagement. The pop-pop of the
machine weapons, too, died away and the star shells ceased rising.

"Come on you Fritzies--what's left of you," cried the lieutenant, when
he had made sure that there were no others of his party whom he could
rescue.

Then with Tom and Jack the center of a happy, tumultuous throng of their
own comrades, the trip back to the American lines was begun. It was
without incident save that on the way a wounded British soldier was
found lying in a shell hole and carried in, ultimately to recover.

Tom and Jack told what had happened to them, how they had been
surrounded and led away; and then, came the story of the lieutenant who
had led the patrol party which had turned defeat into victory with the
aid of reinforcements which were sent to him.

He had seen his hopes blasted when rushed by the big crowd of the Hun
patrol, and, though slightly wounded, he realized that absolute defeat
would come to him and his men unless he could get help. He sent a runner
back with word to send relief, and then, surrounding himself with what
few men remained alive and uncaptured, the fight went on.

It was bitter and sanguinary, and at last, with only two men left beside
him, the lieutenant heard the rush of the relief guard. He was placed
in charge, as he knew the lay of the land, and the party hurried to and
fro, wiping up little knots of Germans here and there, until the main
body encountered the squad having in charge the two air service boys.

"You began to think it was all up with you, didn't you?" asked the
lieutenant, when they were all once more safely in the dugout.

"We certainly did!" admitted Tom.

"We had visions of watery soup and wheatless bread for the rest of the
wa