t a command, halted and braced to receive
the shock.

"Great Scott! What did they stop for!" exclaimed Hal. "They are giving
the other fellows, all the advantage when they come together."

"Looks like bad generalship to me," Chester agreed.

Now, at a command from their officer, the Serbians resumed their charge;
but the damage had been done and when the long lines of opposing horsemen
came together the very impetus of the Bulgarian charge carried them
through. The Serbians reeled, staggered and their line broke.

The Bulgarian horse plowed in among them, cutting, slashing and stabbing.
Individually, the Serbians fought as bravely as their foe, but in spite
of the desperate work the Bulgarian cavalry retained its cohesion and
pushed steadily on.

The fighting was terrible to behold. Revolvers were brought into play and
their sharp crack, crack could be heard above the sound of the trampling
horses and yelling men. It became apparent to the onlookers that the
Serbians were getting the worst of the encounter.

Casting his eye toward the main Serbian line, Hal gave a short cheer. A
long, dense line of infantry was moving out to the support of the
cavalry. Slowly they came at first, then faster and still faster as the
men broke into a run. An imposing sight, indeed, and one to stir the
blood. The Serbian cavalry, at a command, fell back upon the infantry,
which separated into two sections to permit of the cavalry passing
through the center. Then the infantry closed in again.

But the Bulgarian cavalry, with victory apparently within its grasp, had
no intention of giving up now. With utter recklessness they charged the
Serbian infantry, dying bravely before the rifles and upon the bayonets
of their enemy when they chanced to escape the rifle fire.

The Serbian line held like a stone wall.

Then the Bulgarian cavalry drew off. A cheer, which arose from the
Serbian line, was quickly checked as the giant batteries of the
Bulgarians opened upon the unprotected Serbian line. The Serbians
wavered, broke and fled.

Then once more the Bulgarian cavalry wheeled and charged. Right into the
dense masses of Serbians rode the troopers, cutting and slashing to
right and left. The execution among the panic-stricken Serbians was
terrible to behold.

"They can't stand it long," Hal shouted, barely making himself heard
above the roar of battle.

"The day is lost already," Chester shouted back.

There seemed no doubt of that no