von Hindenburg.

But though he had felt that he was perfectly justified in sacrificing
Schmidt to his own need to escape, Fred could not help feeling sorry for
the poor fellow.

"I hope he'll be able to think up a good story!" he said to himself.
"And, by George, I hope I don't meet any more German soldiers! They
would certainly finish me off if they found me riding on a German horse!
There isn't anything I could do that would make them think that was all
right, no matter how stupid they were!"

He urged his horse on now as hard as he dared, tired though he knew it
to be. His plan was simple enough. He meant to ride to within a mile of
the village, and then dismount, letting the horse go wherever it liked.
Its usefulness to him would be over as soon as it had put him past the
possibility of pursuit. He thought his troubles were nearly over. But
suddenly, around a turn in the road, came a glare of light, and in his
ears sounded the bugle of a German military automobile.

CHAPTER XIV

ALTERED PLANS

Fred's horse did for him what he could scarcely have done for himself in
time. It reared and threw him, then bolted. Tired already, the sudden
appearance of the monstrous ray of light and the roar of the approaching
motor was too much for that horse. Fred was not hurt by the fall. Having
had no stirrups from which to disengage his feet, he was able to let
himself go. And he had no sooner landed than he was up. For just a
moment, he knew he must be plainly visible in the glare of the
searchlight. But he dashed for the side of the road and made his way
through a hedge and into the field on the other side. There he began to
run as fast and as hard as he could.

He had two chances, he thought. One, that he had not been seen at all;
the other, that whoever was in the car might think he had passed on the
flying horse. If he had been seen, however, he could not hope to escape
by running. He was too tired, for one thing, after the strenuous
experience of the previous night, and for another, he was almost certain
to be seen, for after he had traversed a space that was covered with
shrubs and young trees, he would be in the open. And a bullet could
travel faster than he could.

And so, after making his dash, he stopped running and threw himself
down, facing the road, to watch and to listen. At first he thought he
was safe, for the car roared by. But in a moment his ear caught a
different note in the sound of the motor,