Other ears than theirs had heard that firing, too. As they rode along they saw a cloud of dust before them, and soon men and horses emerged from the dust. "Let's hide in the hedge along the road," said Frank. "Come on--they'll never see us." "But they won't hurt us, Frank. They're English--our friends." "Probably they are. But how do we know? They may be more Germans." "Oh, I never thought of that! If they are--" "Yes, if they are, it's good-bye to Captain Hardy and his supplies. But we can't help it. We've already done all we could for him." They watched the oncoming cavalry, but even at a little distance, what with their speed and the dust, it was impossible to tell to which army they belonged. They were either English or German; that was all that could be certain. And that could be deduced from their khaki uniforms. There were no colors to emerge, bright and vivid, from their dun mass; no points of steel, on which the rays of the sun might shine and be reflected. "If they were French we could tell," said Henri, proudly. "We could see their red and blue uniforms and, if they were cuirassiers, their breastplates!" "Yes. The French are far behind the times in that," said Frank, a little impatiently. "Nowadays armies don't try to act as if they were on dress parade. They wear uniforms that can't be seen any great distance away." "The French army fights in the uniform in which its famous victories were won," said Henri. "And it gets killed in them, too," said Frank. "Gets killed when it doesn't do any good. But that doesn't matter now. Ah, they're English! I can see that now. We needn't tell them to hurry--they're going for all they're worth now. They've heard the firing and are hastening." The English horsemen swept by. They were riding low in the saddle, urging their horses on. Each man carried a carbine, ready to dismount at any moment and give battle as seemed best. In five minutes they had swept by. "Two troops," said Frank. "Well, that ought to be enough, though there's no telling how many Uhlans there were. Ah, here come some more!" This time it was a battery of light artillery--four guns, going along almost as quickly as the cavalry had done. "That ought to settle it," said Frank, with satisfaction. "Even if they run into a brigade of Uhlans, the guns ought to do the trick. I don't believe they had any guns or we'd have heard them by this time." "They're still fighting back there," said Henri, as they wheeled their bicycles back to the road. "I can hear the firing." "Yes, and I think it must be a pretty lively skirmish, too," said Frank. "Captain Hardy would keep them at it. Listen! The Uhlans must outnumber them three or four to one. I hope the others get up in time." A few minutes gave assurance that they had. They heard the firing still more loudly; then, a few minutes later, the heavier sound of the guns chimed in. And then there was silence behind them.