CHAPTER III.
THE PURSUIT.
Of course when Hanky Panky made this astonishing statement both hischums commenced to send anxious glances back along the road over whichthey were spinning so grandly.
"What d'ye think of it, Rod?" demanded Josh quickly.
"They act as if they meant to overtake us, all right," the boy in thevan declared, without hesitation; "but I couldn't say for certainwhether one of them is the scheming Jules or not. You remember I only_thought_ I had a glimpse of him at the time we talked with Jeanneon the Antwerp street."
"Shall we let them come up, and have it out?" questioned Joshbelligerently, for Josh was something of a fighter in his way, andalways had a "chip on his shoulder."
"We are looking for no scrap, if it can be helped," said Rod; "so firstof all we can try letting out a little more speed."
"And if they follow suit, then what?" asked Hanky Panky, with a vein ofanxiety in his voice; for being in the rear he imagined he wouldnecessarily be the target for any stray leaden missiles that might comethat way.
"In the first place we'll feel pretty certain they're meaning toovertake us," Rod called back, as he increased his pace considerably, aneasy thing to do, although he knew the danger of going at headlong speedover an unknown road, where at any minute they might rush upon ahay-wagon blocking the whole thoroughfare, and concealed by some bend.
"Well, they've let out another notch, all right!" called Hanky Panky,from his position in the rear.
"And believe me that's some racer of a car they're running!" explodedJosh; "why, it can give us a run for our money, try as we may to getaway."
Rod had already discovered this, though saying nothing as yet. He knewthat it was not safe to put Hanky Panky to a severe test, for the otherwas apt to get a little rattled, and while going at a mad pace any sortof accident was likely to be serious.
They continued to speed along at this merry clip for a brief timelonger. Then the rear guard reported that the pursuing car seemed to beholding its own.
"Hadn't we ought to go faster, Rod?" he besought the leader; "I knowyou're only holding in on account of me, but forget that, won't you?"
But Rod knew better than that. He was aware of his chum's failing, anddared not risk too much. There had been times in the past when heallowed the limit of speed to be taken, but always with seriousmisgivings.
"Leave it to me, Hanky," he called out encouragingly; "I'll fix up agame that will cook their goose for them."
"Sure you will, Rod," replied the other at the top of his voice, for thetrio of machines made considerable racket as they pushed along in closeformation.
Sometimes the dust raised by their passage completely hid the pursuingred car; then a little puff of wind would waft it away, so that themotorcycle boys could easily see the object of their concern.
Past humble homes of the Belgian peasants they rushed. Ducks andchickens and dogs had to get out of the way in great style in order toavoid being run over. This was one of the things Rod had in mind whendeciding not to increase their speed any further; a squawking hen hasbeen the cause of a "spill" with many an unlucky motorcyclist; and everyone has noticed how persistently "Biddy" will try to cross the roaddespite the peril, if her home happens to be on the other side.
Rod no longer entertained any doubts concerning the identity of thosewho occupied the red racing car. One of them he felt positive must beJules Baggott, the unscrupulous cousin of Andre, who would profit if thesoldier should never live to sign the papers which were mentioned in thewill of the dead uncle.
By this time Rod had his fighting blood up. Opposition always made himthe more determined to accomplish his ends, when his heart was back ofthe undertaking.
His active mind quickly grasped the situation, and a cleverly arrangedplan was formed that gave promise of success.
"Josh, can you hear me?" he called out, not daring to look back nowbecause at the time they were negotiating several sharp turns, and hisattention was required at the front.
"Easy thing!" sang out the one just behind him.
"How about you, Hanky?" continued the leader.
"I get you O. K., Rod; let her go!" came the reply in a roar.
"If we can only coax them to leave their car for a short time,"explained Rod, "Josh might disable it in some way, so the pursuit wouldcome to an end!"
"A bully scheme, Rod, and don't you forget that you said Josh was goingto be Johnny on the spot!" the party in question bellowed exultantly.
"There's a big house ahead of us," continued Rod, "for I've had severalglimpses of the same, and we'll strike it shortly. I don't know why Ithink we'll find it deserted, but it has that look to me. One end seemsto have been burned out. Well, that might be the place we're lookingfor, to give our pursuers the slip."
"Oh! I see the house right now," barked Josh; "and sure enough it's justas you said, with part of the roof gone."
"It sets near the road, so we can rush around it," called out theleader. "Josh will go on ahead now and hide his machine among the treesnear the road. Hanky, you keep with me. Perhaps we'll enter the house,and pass out the back way, to speed on again. Josh, you hurry back sowhen the men leave their car to see if you're inside the house you canget busy. Understand?"
Both of the others called out that it was perfectly clear to them. Theabandoned mansion was now close at hand. Rod believed they must bedrawing near the outskirts of Ostend, the Belgian watering place, whichcould not lie many miles beyond.
It required a clever mind to arrange all the little details of such aplan of campaign in a hurry. The fact that Rod was able to do so stampedhim the right kind of a leader. Still, neither of his companions thoughtit strange, because they had known him to do numerous similar things intimes gone by.
Josh managed to get ahead, and would thus have a brief time to hide hismachine alongside the road so as to steal back towards the house beforethe car arrived, for it was still some little distance away.
When the men in it saw only two boys riding off they would naturallysuspect that some accident had happened to the machine of the thirdfellow, who possibly had taken up temporary quarters in the old house.This was just what Rod wanted them to think; it would allow Josh thechance he needed to disable the car in some way or other.
Things moved along swiftly. Rod and Hanky Panky dashed up to the frontof the house and stopped. Doubtless the oncoming pursuers would miss theclattering of the exhausts, and understand that they had halted for somepurpose or other.
"They've slowed down some themselves, Rod!" cried Hanky Panky, as hestood "at attention," ready to jump on his machine the instant Rod gavethe word, so as to continue the mad flight.
The red car had come around the last bend, and was now in plain sight.For a distance of at least two miles the road ran as straight as a yardstick; so that the men could readily see that the third motorcycle ladwas not in sight ahead.
"All right; it's time we were off!" cried Rod presently.
The car had covered half the distance between the bend and the desertedhouse, and they could plainly see the man sitting alongside thechauffeur leaning forward, as though eagerly scrutinizing them. Rodimagined he was a little taken aback by their halting, and was trying topuzzle it out.
Suddenly the popping of the exhausts announced that the two motorcycleswere once more in action. Both boys sprang into the saddle and away theywent down the dusty road. As they were in plain sight the men couldreadily see that one of the trio was missing. And it would be mostnatural to imagine that something had happened to his machine, so thathe must have taken temporary refuge in the abandoned house, while hiscomrades continued their flight.
What then?
Would the man they believed to be the plotting Jules stop, and with hisassistant rush into the house to look for the missing boy? Much dependedon his actions, for if the chauffeur remained with the car, Josh, lyingin wait near by, might be utterly unable to accomplish the design he hadin view.
Rod had high hopes. He
could figure that Jules would want to make surethe third American boy did not have the paper on his person, beforespeeding after the two whom he could see going leisurely down the road,as if inviting pursuit.
As their pace was now less swift Rod was able to turn again and againand look backward. Hanky Panky was doing the same, though his machinedid wabble more or less, and he had to be exceedingly careful not toland in the ditch alongside the fine road.
It was a moment of considerable suspense to both boys. They saw the carapproach the house, and noted with more or less interest that its pacewas lessening. That began to look as though the bait had taken, andJules meant to make sure of the "bird in the hand," before trying forthose in the bush.
"Rod, they're stopping, as sure as you live!" yelled Hanky Panky ingreat excitement just then.
"Yes, and there they both jump out; steady, Hanky, don't lose yourhead!" warned the leader, noticing how the other's machine wavered.
Big Five Motorcycle Boys on the Battle Line; Or, With the Allies in France Page 3
