But when an hour had passed and there came no more sounds of firing from
above, Chester decided it was time to investigate. Accordingly, he
ascended the steps quietly.
There was no one above. The lad gazed about quickly. Except for the dead,
there was no Frenchman in the house. Bloodstains on the floor showed that
the wounded had been removed.
Then Chester realized what had happened.
Quickly he ran to the door and peered out. Far in the rear he could see
the French retreating, pursued by the foe. Chester uttered an exclamation
of dismay and called to his men. He explained the situation to them. All
were dumbfounded.
At that moment Chester espied an object a short distance from the
farmhouse. There was no living form near. With a sudden cry of hope,
Chester dashed from the house.
"Come on, men!" he called over his shoulder.
CHAPTER XVI
CHESTER'S GALLANT FEAT
The object upon which Chester's eyes had fallen and which was the cause
of the sudden activity on the lad's part was nothing less than the
rapid-fire gun the Germans so recently had brought up to bombard the
farmhouse and cut off the retreat of its French defenders. Its crew had
been killed, picked off by the accurate shooting of the French before
they abandoned the house, and the gun had not been remanned.
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