"By Jove!" muttered Hal. "That fellow is tearing things up. We've got to stop him." To think with Hal was to act. As his men dashed forward, he told off half a dozen and, turning over his command to Lieutenant Edgerton, led them sharply farther to the right. Thus they were able to approach the clump of trees without being exposed to the full force of the concealed machine-gun fire. Bullets from other parts of the field fell among the little party, however, and three men dropped. Besides Hal, this now left three of the original party of seven. The four were almost upon the little clump of trees before the German who was hidden there with his machine gun noticed their approach, so intent had he been upon his other foes. When he espied them, he turned his gun sharply. A hail of bullets swept the field. With a cry to his men, Hal had thrown himself flat upon the ground even before the German had turned his gun in their direction, and thus Hal escaped unscathed. Two of his men, however, were not so fortunate. Besides Hal, there was now but one man able to fight. Together he and Hal sprang to their feet and dashed forward. Again they escaped what seemed almost certain death by hurling themselves to the ground. A moment later they were up and dashing forward again. Hal sprang at the German machine gunner from the left, while the remaining marine attacked him from the right. Unable to fire effectively again, and caught between two fires, the German rose, stepped quickly back and produced a revolver. He took a snapshot at Hal, but the bullet went wild. Before he could fire again, the marine was upon him and sent him staggering back to escape a bayonet thrust. Immediately the German dropped his revolver, raising both hands. "Kamerad!" he cried. Hal lowered a revolver which he had trained upon the Boche and the marine lowered his rifle. As he did so, the German suddenly dropped his hand to his belt, drew a second revolver and fired point-blank at the marine. The latter side-stepped swiftly, but although he moved promptly enough he was not equal to the task of escaping the bullet altogether. The ball which the German had aimed at his heart pierced the man's left arm. Before the German could fire again and even before Hal could bring his own revolver to bear, the marine jumped forward with a roar. "Treachery, eh!" he shouted. "I'll show you!" He dropped his rifle as he jumped and threw both arms around the German. With his right hand he pinioned the man's left arm while he seized his opponent's right wrist with strong fingers. Gradually the man's arms described an arc until his own revolver was pointed at his head. There was a flash and a sharp report. The marine stepped back and the German crumbled up on the ground. The marine surveyed him disdainfully. "Kamerad, eh!" he muttered. "Well, I guess you won't fool anybody else."