The Boy Allies in Great Peril | Page 2

came
to the spot they sought. They had made good time and the invisible
owner of the hand that had explored the officer's pocket was just
withdrawing it. And in it Hal saw a white paper flutter.
He uttered a cry and dashed forward in spite of the crowd. At almost
the same moment the officer came to life. Instinct must have warned
him that there was something wrong. He clapped his hand to his pocket,
and then uttered a fierce ejaculation in his native tongue.
He wheeled about with a cry, and his arm shot out. There was a
struggle, and then the officer fell to the ground. A blow from his
adversary's fist had laid him low. Hal, who was a few leaps ahead of
Chester, reached out to seize the man, who, he could see, still held the
bit of white paper in his hand, but the other was too quick for him.
With a sudden backward leap he was among the crowd, which,
apparently, had failed to grasp the significance of the trouble. Hal
uttered a quick cry to Chester and also dashed into the crowd. Chester
followed him.
Ahead, but almost hidden by others of the crowd, which pressed
forward the better to see what was going on upon the palace steps, Hal
could see his quarry squirming his way through the dense mass of
humanity.
"Stop him!" he cried, raising his voice to a shout.

The crowd paid no heed. The people were too wrapped up in what was
going on before the palace to notice the three who were trying to force
their way through. Again Hal cried out, but the result was the same.
For a brief instant the fugitive glanced over his shoulder, and he waved
a hand at Hal. It was the first time the lad had seen his face, and he
knew that he would recognize it again wherever he saw it.
"I'll get you yet," declared Hal to himself between tightly shut lips. "I'll
get you if it takes a year."
He pressed on, with Chester close at his heels.
Turning and squirming and twisting their way, the lads managed to
plod on through the dense crowd at a snail's pace. Ahead of them,
however, Hal could see that the fugitive was making about the same
progress. His hopes rose, and he called over his shoulder to Chester;
"Keep coming; we'll get him!"
Chester made no reply, for he knew none was expected. He kept close
behind his friend.
Now, suddenly, the fugitive reached the edge of the crowd. For a single
moment he paused, and gazed back at his pursuers. Once more he
waved a hand at Hal, and then, turning, started off at a run.
Hal, seeing that his quarry was about to make good his escape,
suddenly grew angry. Bringing some tactics learned on the football
field into play, he dashed forward, hurling spectators to right and left.
In another moment he, too, had reached the edge of the crowd and, with
a cry, dashed ahead.
He did not pause to see whether Chester was behind him. All he
thought of was to overtake the fugitive.
Chester, in attempting to follow his friend, stumbled over an
outstretched foot and fell heavily to the ground. He was not badly hurt,

but he had struck on his face and for a moment he was dazed. He
dragged himself quickly to his feet and moved forward again. Some
distance ahead he saw that Hal was gaining upon the fugitive.
Down the wide street ran the fugitive, with Hal close behind and
gaining at every stride. As the sound of pursuing footsteps became
plainer, the man looked back over his shoulder. Then he redoubled his
efforts; but still Hal gained.
Suddenly the man dashed around a corner. Three seconds later Hal did
the same. As he did so he caught sight of a big man before him. Hal
tried to check his pace, but it was too late.
Something bright flashed in the sunlight and Hal felt a sickening thud
upon his head. In vain he tried to keep his feet. He sank slowly to the
ground and then fell forward on his face. And even as he lost
consciousness, he thought to himself:
"What a fool I was. I should have suspected a trap. So he hit me with
the butt of a revolver. I'll get even yet."
Above the fallen lad the man stood with a grim smile of satisfaction.
He stirred the prostrate form with his foot and then put his revolver
back in his pocket. He turned to go.
At that moment Chester dashed around the corner. The lad and the
fugitive took in the situation at the same moment. Chester pulled
himself up short and reached