The Boy Scout Automobilists; Or, Jack Danby in the Woods

except for the one prisoner, poor Harry Warner, of the Raccoons, was still all togeth

sleep we can. I shouldn't wonder if the battle to-morrow began long before dawn. If we can turn the right wing of the Blue army, which doesn't seem very likely now, we will want to start the action as soon as pos

ts to Newville in time, doesn'

of things, and he was able, from the information that he and Tom Binns had intercepted, to get a complete view of the whole scene of th

n they marched several miles toward Hardport, turned aside for a big flanking movement, and had hardly occupied the city when they were started off for the Cripple Creek Bridge. Then they were turned off again from that, and sent to march another twenty miles to Newville. That was necessary, of course-they'd

ly to be decided to-m

t they can eat up the main body of our army, and then turn around and capture Bean when they like. While they're working on that idea, General Harkness is making a desperate effort to turn the tables on them, and lead them into

ll happe

course, we've taken the offensive to-day, and on the showing that's been made so far the Blues are very much out of it. On the single day the umpires would h

o sound taps, and in a few minu

their well-earned rest. For miles all about them there was bustle and activity. Troops, exhausted after a day of work that was very real indeed for a good many of the militia

but they were finding that it closely resembled hard work-the sort of work they got too little of in their crowded days of office routi

e of hours after midnight, the roll of rifle firing in the distance, coming like light thunde

Stubbs and Tom Binns, his particu

you remember that they're using smokeless powder in this war?

e general and Jack hi

ms to me that it's pretty general firing, as if considerable bodies of me

all about them, but the Scouts weren't inured to such heavy firing yet, and it disturbed and excited them. Durland himself wasn't bothered, but he sensed t

id Durland. "Let's see if we can't find out who'

were clicking busily when the Scout-Mast

operator, flicking a cigarette from his mouth as Durland spoke to him. "Funn

laughed at himself for his own anxiety. H

me. But I'd certainly like to know the inner meaning of that firing. Unless we've been grossly

Dick. "Isn't that the right way, too? Of course, it's on

an't take this too seriously. I'm going to horn in

d over t

to General Harkness as ready for

rator to get the message through. Th

what Colonel Abbey's doing. All the Colonel can report himself is that he's run into a considerable force, an

owed anot

," said the operator,

urland. "I can re

nding key both Durland and Di

to discover the nature of the enemy's operations on the Newville road beyond the point where Colonel Abbey's command has engaged the enemy. General Bean is

o the operator, and he and Crawford hurried from the building to rejoin the Scouts

wford, as he reached the Scouts. "Dan

to his instruc

" said his commander. "But it counts for more, too.

nts to know chiefly is whether there are enough troops of the enemy between Colonel Abbey a

est when the time comes. This is the sort of a situation that changes literally from minute to minute, and

Tom Binns

verhaul your car carefully-you don't want any little mechanical trouble t

. I had an idea I might be called for some sort of emergency work when ev

d'-that's a pretty good motto. It has certainly

cavalry, but Jack and Tom Binns, in the big grey car that moved silently, like a grey gh

e the night's over, either, Tom. We've got a roving commission, with no order

o stick to the m

this road, we couldn't get beyond his position, anyhow, and it won't do us any good to get as far

ain body of our

to the place ourselves. The rest of the army, at Hardport, can move to his support, or it can develop a big flanking movement that will bring Bremerton into the centre of our line, with the forces toward Newville making a sort of a triangular wedge

a trap if they had kept on

erton, unless they gave him the chance to make it an offensive campaign. The mistake we made in sending a brigade to Cripple Creek more than made up for

blame for

s guess right. I think we'll beat them all right-that is, I don't think they'll get within twenty miles

oss roads, Jack. Which

ig circle around Hardport, and way beyond it. I want to co

that way it'll take you pret

e to find out what the enemy is going to do is

Tom had first traveled when they crossed the line at full speed after war had been declared. But Mardean wasn't held by the enemy now. The troops that had crossed there had been recalled after the captu

," said Jack. "Remember how we had to take to the fiel

! I'm glad we can sti

y have to do before the night's over, you know. It

y sped around and beyond Hardport, and Jack, studying his road map, lighted now by a little electric light, began to slow d

ve had some way of finding out what our army was doing. You know that we're not the only people who can detect concealed and covered

e going, Jack. Where does this

of our army to-morrow. A brigade will drop back that way from Hardport, if we

and break over the State line near Mardean, they'd be

rton, and east of Hardport. The trouble Colonel Abbey encountered seems to indicate that it's their

ething about the song of the throbbing engine bothered Jack. In a moment he had shif

ater, "or we'd have been stuck properly a few miles f

und of approaching horses in the same instant. At once Jack leaped to his driv

here," he said. "That does

ater he realized that had he gone on at full speed he would have enc

hing on. There was purpose in the look of them

o cross at Mardean and swing around to cut off our troops from Bremerton. They've got a nice