If his calculations were correct he must now be behind the enemy.
The little band of British crept forward silently now and more slowly. It
was ticklish work, and not a soldier but recognized the fact as, very
cautiously, they pressed on.
Chester halted abruptly. Directly ahead, perhaps fifty yards, he made out
the form of a single figure. Silently the lad crept closer. It was as he
had expected. The man was a German, and undoubtedly one of the force
which had so recently attacked them.
Chester threw his men out in a thin line, the distance between each man
being perhaps twenty yards.
"Fire when I give the word, and not until then," he ordered. "And make
every shot count. If the enemy rushes us give way as slowly as possible;
but if they try a hide-and-seek game, keep your positions behind shelter
as much as you can."
The men repeated this order to show that they understood, and all crept
forward. Three minutes of silent crawling and they came within full view
of the German line. It was still facing the road, across which were the
British.
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