"It must be they," he declared. "Warn your men, von Elbing. I'll turn out a dozen of my crew, and we'll have a hunt for these troublesome pests. Mark my word, there'll be trouble if we don't settle with them." "They cannot get far," added von Elbing complaisantly. "If we surround this hill there is no escape except by the road, and that is well guarded. Let us hasten, for it is already late in the afternoon." Dick nudged his companion. "Now we're on our mettle," he said grimly. "The fun is about to commence." CHAPTER XIII Torpedoed "Like hare and hounds, sir," said Farnworth with a forced laugh. "A quarter of an hour's start, and then look out." "Less than that, I'm afraid," rejoined Dick. "Those fellows won't be long in arming and turning out. We'll take the lowermost terrace. They won't expect to find us there, for naturally they'll think we've scurried towards the higher ground. All we've got to do for the present is to evade those two chaps we saw perched up on the ledge--unless they've been warned." The fugitives hurried without exchanging further words, keeping close to the cliff so as to escape the attention of the German officers whom they had seen smoking cigars and leisurely surveying the scenery. Presently Dick pointed upwards. The midshipman nodded. They were immediately underneath the unsuspecting Teutons. Just at that moment half a dozen German seamen from the submarine appeared, advancing in extended order. Crouching, the fugitives continued their way, but before they had traversed another twenty yards an irregular volley rang out. "They've spotted us," gasped Farnworth. The next instant the Sub saw two grey-coated forms hurtling through the air. With a sickening crash they fell almost at the feet of the British officers. The Germans had brought down their luckless fellow-countrymen, who, ignorant of what had happened, had been taken to be the escaped prisoners in their disguise as Teutonic officers in the Ottoman service. "Cut for it," whispered Dick. "They can't see us from the road. We've another chance." Both men, bending low, doubled along the terrace till a projecting crag separated them from the scene of the blunder. On and on they ran till they reached the defile that cut through the series of ledges. Fifty feet beneath them was cover in plenty, but every inch of that distance seemed as smooth as a brick wall. It was equally impossible to ascend to the next terrace, for the whole of the last quarter of a mile the cliff assumed an almost perpendicular aspect and was absolutely unclimbable. "Look, sir!" exclaimed Farnworth, pointing to the road. Almost abreast of where they stood were three magnificent horses, held by a ferocious-looking Turkish cavalryman. At this point the ground shelved gradually. It would be a comparatively easy matter to gain the road, but the difficulty was that farther along the track was the Ottoman cavalry escort.