"Oh yes! We shall have to keep them until someone discovers that they are missing and ultimately finds out their whereabouts. And I’ve no doubt we’ve several men who can ride." "There’s a further consideration. The road you mention is now between our firing line and the enemy’s. It will be decidedly unhealthy." "A little risky, no doubt; but by all accounts the Germans have been thrown back some distance, and they’ll be too busy consolidating their new position to be very dangerous to-day. I daresay there’ll be snipers here and there, but they’re not very successful at running targets. I’d suggest that you triplicate your despatch: send one copy by this man the long way, and two at short intervals by the direct road. You’d make sure of it thus." "Well, I’ll ’phone to the front and discover how the land lies. In the meantime see if you can find riders. If it appears reasonably safe I’ll adopt your suggestion: it will save half an hour or more." The captain at once hurried to the Bonnards’ cottage. "Amory’s a likely man," he thought. The upshot was that when the official despatch rider was returning to headquarters by the long way round, Kenneth and Harry were speeding along the road north-eastward. Harry was the first to start; Kenneth followed at a minute’s interval, just keeping his friend in sight. Their orders were to let nothing interfere with or delay the delivery of the despatch. If any accident happened, if either of them was hit by a sniper’s bullet, there must be no question of helping the other. Before starting they had attentively studied a large-scale map of the district. The colonel’s information had shown the impossibility of attempting to reach headquarters without leaving the direct road. This lay, for about half the distance, between the new fronts of the opposing forces, but it then crossed the new position which the Germans were believed to be entrenching, and ran for several miles behind it. There was, however, a by-road forking to the left just before the halfway point was reached, and this opened into a bridle track leading in the right direction. By making this slight detour they would lose a mile or two, but they might hope to incur no more danger than they were bound to risk in the early part of the journey. "Barring accidents, we shall save a good deal more time than the colonel thinks," said Kenneth, as he folded the map. "The way the other fellow has gone is sure to be congested with traffic: this will be clear." "I hope so," replied Harry, "but don’t forget there’s been an action. The road is probably half pits. Well, I go first then; if I come a cropper, take warning and scoot."