"Well," said Hal quietly, "if you want a volunteer, I am willing to tackle it for you." "You?" "Yes; I have made some slight study of a locomotive, and, while I have never run one any great distance, I have ridden many miles in the cab of an engine in lumber camps in the United States." "And I can fire the engine," Chester broke in. "Well," said the officer, "something has to be done at once; and, if you are willing to take a chance, so am I. Get aboard." He turned and rushed hurriedly back to his car, while Hal and Chester leaped aboard the locomotive. In response to a signal, Hal released the brakes, gently opened the throttle, and the great engine began to forge slowly ahead. Gradually the lad opened the throttle wider, and the huge locomotive commenced to gain momentum, until at last it was rushing along like some mad thing. Chester, in the meantime, was busy with a shovel. A moment, it seemed to the two lads, and the sound of firing rose above the roar of the locomotive, and the spat spat of bullets against the armored sides could be heard. But Hal did not falter. Rather, the engine seemed to leap ahead with even greater speed. From the rear came the signal to slow down, and, under Hal's firm hand, the terrific speed of the train was checked. Then also from the rear there came the sound of firing. The rapid-firers on the train had been unloosed, and their leaden messengers were spelling death in the ranks of the Germans, of whom the train was now in the middle. Chester poked his head out the window of the cab, only to withdraw it quickly, as a bullet struck a quarter of an inch from his ear. But in that one brief glance he had taken in the situation. A short distance ahead he could make out a small knot of British, almost surrounded by Germans. The British had taken their stand directly on the railroad track, the most strategic point for miles. A clump of small trees screened them from the enemy on one side, but from the other three directions the Germans were pouring in their deadly fire. The British troops stood gallantly to their work, and returned volley for volley. They fought on doggedly. Suddenly the armored train shot up the line which the British were holding, and Hal brought it to an abrupt stop. Right and left the train poured in broadsides of machine-gun fire, mowing down the Germans at every yard. The Germans fell in heaps, and, as if by a miracle, both sides of the track were suddenly lined with high piles of the dead. The little troop of British received this unexpected aid with a great cheer, broke from cover and dashed in pursuit of the great mass of Germans, who now were fleeing on all sides. But the success of the British was destined to be short-lived. Hal and Chester, in the cab of the locomotive, had just raised a loud cheer when there was a terrific explosion, followed by a thundering crash, and both lads were hurled violently to the floor of the cab.