Chapter XXI: Raiding

At a fierce gallop the troop of Cossacks bore down upon the little mountain town--firing at a detachment of Austrian soldiers who ventured forth to give them battle--without checking their speed. This band of Cossacks, reconnoitering well ahead of the main advance guard, was probably 1,000 strong; the Austrians opposing them much less. With the rapidly advancing Russians were Hal, Chester and Alexis.

The advance of the Czar's troops to the Carpathians had been without incident. Whenever troops of the enemy had opposed them they had been put to flight without difficulty. The cavalry, dashing rapidly ahead, had outdistanced their cavalry and artillery support, and the entire force of mounted men--60,000 of them--were in the midst of the wild mountains.

Harassed from front and, now that they had advanced well into the mountains, also from the sides and rear, the Cossacks nevertheless pushed on. From behind rocks and trees, isolated bands of Austrians fired upon them, doing great execution, disappearing in the hills when the Cossacks turned upon them.

The reconnoitering force to which the lads were attached dashed down upon the little mountain town, the sun gleaming on their lances and revolver barrels. In vain did the Austrian officers urge their men to stand firm. After one volley at the approaching horsemen, they broke and fled, scattering in all directions. The very name, Cossack, spread terror.

Right into the middle of the little village dashed the troop. Now from every window came a hail of lead, and the Cossacks, apparently trapped, turned this way and that, not knowing which way to go. Struck by a rifle bullet, the officer in command threw up his hands and toppled from his horse. Quickly Alexis sprang to the head of the men, Hal and Chester beside him.

"Dismount!" cried Alexis.

The cavalrymen threw themselves from their horses, and at a second command, rushed directly upon the houses. With heavy kicks they smashed in the doors and rushed upon the occupants within. They soon put an end to these snipers.

But now, around one side of the town appeared a troop of Austrian horse.

Hal raised a cry of warning, and quickly the Cossacks turned and leaped upon their own horses; but the Austrian cavalry had no mind to give battle to their foes, and after pouring in a volley, turned and fled down the narrow mountain pass.

"After them!" cried Alexis.

He put spurs to his horse and dashed ahead, his men following closely.

The Austrians had not gone far when their leader called a halt and consulted with his subordinate officer. They were, the leader knew, not far from a point where he could expect reenforcements.

A plan was quickly formed. The Austrians divided into two parts. The foremost blocked the road--down which the Cossacks were rapidly approaching--near a turn, so as to remain unseen by the approaching enemy until almost the moment of contact. The second force stayed some rods behind the first, forming in two lines, one along each side of the road. Some were armed with lances and sabers, but many also carried rifles.

As for the Cossacks, all carried lances and revolvers.

The Russians went forward at a gallop. Alexis was expecting to overtake the enemy, but he was hardly prepared for the suddenness of the encounter.

Ere he could give an order, there came one loud, flaming, whistling discharge from that living barrier drawn up across the road. Alexis' horse reared, as did others of the troop. Some of the men came to a quick stop, others were borne forward by the impetus of their former speed, but reined in for orders. No man fell, though one groaned and two hurled epithets at the foe.

Alexis, now that he had his horse under control, drew his sword with his right hand, his pistol with his left, which also held the rein, and ordered his men to charge, to fire at the moment of contact, then to cut, slash and club.

The first line of Austrians, as soon as they had fired, retreated between the two lines of supports, stopping at some further distance to reform. The second line, being thus cleared of the first, poured a hail of bullets into the Cossacks as the latter were caught between them.

Many fell, but the others turned on the second barrier with furious force, some, however, rushing upon the reforming first line.

They were the best riders in the world, and many a one of them held his lance aloft in one hand, his revolver raised in the other, the rein loose on his horse's neck.

The Austrians and Alexis' foremost men fired at the same moment. The Austrians had not time to turn and flee, for the Cossacks, unchecked by this second greeting of fire, came on at headlong speed.

"At 'em, boys!" cried Hal excitedly, firing his revolver at a tall Austrian officer, who fell sidewise from his horse.

An Austrian officer struck with a sword at Chester's left arm, but only knocked the pistol from his hand. The lad found himself threatened on the right by a trooper, and slashed at him with his sword. The blow went home, but the sword's end became entangled with the victim's breast knot. A second trooper brought his rifle butt down heavily upon the sword, and it snapped off.

Chester felt a keen smart in his left leg. It came from a second sword blow aimed by the Austrian officer, who might have followed it with a third, but that he was now attacked elsewhere. Chester had no sooner clapped his hand to his wounded leg than he was stunned by a blow from the rifle butt of the trooper who had previously struck the sword. He fell forward on his horse's neck, which he grasped madly with both arms.

Still holding the broken sword in his right hand, Chester now lapsed from a sense of the tumult, the plunging and shrieking horses, the whir and clash of swords, the thuds of rifle blows, into half consciousness, while the unguided horse turned suddenly and made off in the direction from which he had come.

Meanwhile the Cossacks had been pushing the Austrians back. Hal and Alexis, fighting side by side, were so far unharmed. Right into the midst of the enemy they plunged, and for several minutes could see nothing but flying swords and lances. Then, at a signal, the Austrians turned and fled.

Hal turned to speak to Chester, but the latter was not there. In alarm, he called Alexis' attention to the fact that Chester was missing. Quickly Alexis ordered a halt and looked around. Bodies strewed the road, and leaping from their horses, the two investigated. Chester was not there.

"Great Scott!" exclaimed Hal. "What can have happened to him?"

Alexis questioned his men. One remembered that a great black charger had dashed through the troop in the midst of the battle and had fled to the rear. He remembered that a form was upon the animal's back.

"It must have been Chester," said Hal to Alexis. "Do you go on in pursuit of the Austrians, and I will go back and see if I can find him."

"Good," said Alexis. "The horse probably will run back to the main column. You should not have much trouble finding him."

With a word of command Alexis ordered the troop ahead, and Hal started back on the trail of his chum.

When Chester was again aware of things he was still clasping the horse's neck and was being borne along he knew not whither. His head ached and his left leg pained him greatly. He was dizzy and too weak to raise himself from his position. He could not hear any sound of fighting. He tried to sit up and look around, but this added to his pain, so he fell forward on the neck of his horse again.

Suddenly the horse stopped.

Once more Chester tried to sit up. This time he was successful, and in spite of the pain glanced about him. The horse had halted near a little house, set back some fifty feet from the road, and even as he looked up a woman came from the doorway. She started in astonishment at the sight of the horse and its wounded rider, and hastened back into the house. She reappeared in a moment, however, accompanied by a second woman, the latter armed with a huge revolver.

The two now approached the lad and lifted him from the horse. They supported him as he dragged himself into the house, and dropped weakly into a chair. Then the women stepped back and pointed the revolver at him.

"You shall remain here," she said, "until I can turn you over to the Austrians."

Chester was somewhat surprised. By the assistance given him by the women, he had thought that, after resting up, he would be allowed to rejoin his friends; but the set expression on the woman's face told the lad that she meant what she said.

The second woman approached with water and bandages and soon bound up his wounds. Then the lad was escorted to another room, which looked out upon the road. The woman mounted guard over him with her revolver.

"Some of our troops will be here before long," she told him. "Until then I shall guard you."

All this time Chester retained his hold on the broken sword. Suddenly, down the road, came the sound of a galloping horse. Chester glanced through the window and in a moment he had made out the figure of Hal. Quickly he stepped to the window, and before his captor could prevent him, shattered the window pane with his broken sword.

"Hal!" he cried at the top of his voice. "Hal! Here I am, wounded and a prisoner!"

The woman hurled herself upon the lad and bore him back out of sight. In his weakened condition he was no match for her. She thrust him back into the chair. He turned his eyes to the window. Hal had passed on.

"Great Scott!" ejaculated Chester. "He didn't hear me!"

But Hal had heard. He recognized the sound of his friend's voice, and realized that he was in trouble of some kind. Likewise he surmised what the trouble was, for he knew that they were in the heart of a hostile country. Therefore, he did not check the speed of his horse at once, but rode some distance further before drawing rein. Then he dismounted and tied his horse to a sapling.

Springing in among the trees, he advanced cautiously toward the house. Both women, secure in the belief that he had passed on, turned to taunt Chester. The latter shut his lips grimly and refused to make a reply.

Suddenly, from the next room, came a tremendous clattering of pots and pans.

Both women jumped to their feet.

"There is someone out there!" cried one of the women excitedly.

With her revolver pointed straight before her she moved softly toward the door. At the same moment Chester realized Hal's ruse and cried:

"Look out, Hal!"