Page 132 - A Hero of Liége

"Two good ricks. Are you short?"

"Yes, our supplies haven't come up. Plenty of beer on the farm?"

"Not so much as there was," replied the man with a laugh. "But enough to
get properly drunk on if they give you time."

"That's the place for us. How do you get there?"

"Up the road about five miles, turn down a by-road on the right; there's a
row of poplars on one side; you can't miss it. We must move on. I hope
you'll catch the spies. Good luck!"

The wagon jogged on.

"Whip up your horses," cried the soldier to the driver. "We have been too
long on the road."

The fugitives, on tenterhooks all this time, breathed more freely when they

had passed the spot where the Uhlans were grouped on the grass, guarding
the horses and the ruins of the aeroplane. But they realised that they were
escaping one danger only to fall into another. The destination of the wagon

was Spa, no doubt filled with Germans. They must leave the wagon before
it reached that town.

They were thinking of slipping out at a quiet stretch of the road, and taking
their chance of bolting across the fields, when the wagon was met by

another Uhlan patrol, who after questioning the trooper, wheeled their
horses and rode alongside.

"You are just in time, Schmidt," said one of the newcomers.

"What for?" asked the trooper, who evidently belonged to the same
regiment.