rds to his right and as far ahead.

Hal grasped his automatic more firmly.

"Hope I get the first shot," he muttered.

Suddenly he caught sight of a form as it flitted from one tree to
another. Quickly the lad raised his revolver and fired.

There was no outcry, and looking again, the lad saw no one.

"Missed him," he muttered. "Well, I've betrayed myself! Now I'll have to
be more careful."

He lay down upon the ground behind the tree where he had taken shelter
and waited patiently. Ten minutes later he thought he saw an object move
behind a tree a scant fifteen yards away.

Again the lad fired.

This shot was followed by a startled cry as a figure leaped to its feet
and started off through the woods at full speed.

Hal sprang to his feet.

"Halt!" he cried.

The figure seemed to run faster than before.

Hal paused and leveled his revolver in deliberate aim. His finger
tightened on the trigger--then, suddenly he let his arm fall.

"Stubbs!" he cried in amazement.

The running figure was indeed the little war correspondent.

"By Jove!" muttered Hal. "Another moment and I would have shot him." He
raised his voice in a shout: "Hey, Stubbs!"

But the little man ran on, unheeding.

"He'll run right smack into that other fellow if he doesn't watch out,"
Hal told himself. "Well, I suppose I'll have to stop him."

Still holding his revolver in his right hand, he also broke into a run
and made after the fleeing Stubbs.

Several times he called, but Stubbs paid no heed. Then Hal grew angry.

"I'll get you if I have to chase you right back to the door of the _New
York Gazette_" he muttered to himself.

He gained at every stride and was rapidly overtaking the war
correspondent, although Stubbs, with head lowered, looking neither to the
right nor to the left, his arms working like pistons, ran blindly on.

Suddenly Hal stopped almost in his tracks and his heart leaped into
his throat.

From behind a tree directly in Stubbs' path, stepped a short squat
figure, with great long arms dangling at its side. A revolver was
clasped in the right hand and the weapon was slowly raised until it
covered Stubbs.

Hal gave a loud cry of warning, raised his own revolver and fired. But
even as his finger tightened on the trigger he knew he had missed. Stubbs
was so close to the other figure that the lad had been afraid of hitting
him. Consequently the bullet went wild.

But though it missed its mark, Hal's bullet undo