CHAPTER III.

THE PURSUIT.

Of course when Hanky Panky made this astonishing statement both his chums commenced to send anxious glances back along the road over which they 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 the van declared, without hesitation; "but I couldn't say for certain whether 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 Jeanne on the Antwerp street."

"Shall we let them come up, and have it out?" questioned Josh belligerently, for Josh was something of a fighter in his way, and always had a "chip on his shoulder."

"We are looking for no scrap, if it can be helped," said Rod; "so first of all we can try letting out a little more speed."

"And if they follow suit, then what?" asked Hanky Panky, with a vein of anxiety in his voice; for being in the rear he imagined he would necessarily be the target for any stray leaden missiles that might come that way.

"In the first place we'll feel pretty certain they're meaning to overtake us," Rod called back, as he increased his pace considerably, an easy thing to do, although he knew the danger of going at headlong speed over an unknown road, where at any minute they might rush upon a hay-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!" exploded Josh; "why, it can give us a run for our money, try as we may to get away."

Rod had already discovered this, though saying nothing as yet. He knew that it was not safe to put Hanky Panky to a severe test, for the other was apt to get a little rattled, and while going at a mad pace any sort of accident was likely to be serious.

They continued to speed along at this merry clip for a brief time longer. Then the rear guard reported that the pursuing car seemed to be holding its own.

"Hadn't we ought to go faster, Rod?" he besought the leader; "I know you'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, and dared not risk too much. There had been times in the past when he allowed the limit of speed to be taken, but always with serious misgivings.

"Leave it to me, Hanky," he called out encouragingly; "I'll fix up a game that will cook their goose for them."

"Sure you will, Rod," replied the other at the top of his voice, for the trio of machines made considerable racket as they pushed along in close formation.

Sometimes the dust raised by their passage completely hid the pursuing red car; then a little puff of wind would waft it away, so that the motorcycle boys could easily see the object of their concern.

Past humble homes of the Belgian peasants they rushed. Ducks and chickens and dogs had to get out of the way in great style in order to avoid being run over. This was one of the things Rod had in mind when deciding not to increase their speed any further; a squawking hen has been the cause of a "spill" with many an unlucky motorcyclist; and every one has noticed how persistently "Biddy" will try to cross the road despite the peril, if her home happens to be on the other side.

Rod no longer entertained any doubts concerning the identity of those who occupied the red racing car. One of them he felt positive must be Jules Baggott, the unscrupulous cousin of Andre, who would profit if the soldier should never live to sign the papers which were mentioned in the will of the dead uncle.

By this time Rod had his fighting blood up. Opposition always made him the more determined to accomplish his ends, when his heart was back of the undertaking.

His active mind quickly grasped the situation, and a cleverly arranged plan was formed that gave promise of success.

"Josh, can you hear me?" he called out, not daring to look back now because at the time they were negotiating several sharp turns, and his attention 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 would come to an end!"

"A bully scheme, Rod, and don't you forget that you said Josh was going to 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 several glimpses of the same, and we'll strike it shortly. I don't know why I think we'll find it deserted, but it has that look to me. One end seems to have been burned out. Well, that might be the place we're looking for, to give our pursuers the slip."

"Oh! I see the house right now," barked Josh; "and sure enough it's just as you said, with part of the roof gone."

"It sets near the road, so we can rush around it," called out the leader. "Josh will go on ahead now and hide his machine among the trees near 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 so when the men leave their car to see if you're inside the house you can get busy. Understand?"

Both of the others called out that it was perfectly clear to them. The abandoned mansion was now close at hand. Rod believed they must be drawing near the outskirts of Ostend, the Belgian watering place, which could not lie many miles beyond.

It required a clever mind to arrange all the little details of such a plan of campaign in a hurry. The fact that Rod was able to do so stamped him the right kind of a leader. Still, neither of his companions thought it strange, because they had known him to do numerous similar things in times gone by.

Josh managed to get ahead, and would thus have a brief time to hide his machine alongside the road so as to steal back towards the house before the car arrived, for it was still some little distance away.

When the men in it saw only two boys riding off they would naturally suspect that some accident had happened to the machine of the third fellow, who possibly had taken up temporary quarters in the old house. This was just what Rod wanted them to think; it would allow Josh the chance he needed to disable the car in some way or other.

Things moved along swiftly. Rod and Hanky Panky dashed up to the front of the house and stopped. Doubtless the oncoming pursuers would miss the clattering of the exhausts, and understand that they had halted for some purpose or other.

"They've slowed down some themselves, Rod!" cried Hanky Panky, as he stood "at attention," ready to jump on his machine the instant Rod gave the 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 yard stick; so that the men could readily see that the third motorcycle lad was 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 deserted house, and they could plainly see the man sitting alongside the chauffeur leaning forward, as though eagerly scrutinizing them. Rod imagined he was a little taken aback by their halting, and was trying to puzzle it out.

Suddenly the popping of the exhausts announced that the two motorcycles were once more in action. Both boys sprang into the saddle and away they went down the dusty road. As they were in plain sight the men could readily see that one of the trio was missing. And it would be most natural to imagine that something had happened to his machine, so that he must have taken temporary refuge in the abandoned house, while his comrades continued their flight.

What then?

Would the man they believed to be the plotting Jules stop, and with his assistant rush into the house to look for the missing boy? Much depended on his actions, for if the chauffeur remained with the car, Josh, lying in wait near by, might be utterly unable to accomplish the design he had in view.

Rod had high hopes. He could figure that Jules would want to make sure the third American boy did not have the paper on his person, before speeding 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 again and look backward. Hanky Panky was doing the same, though his machine did wabble more or less, and he had to be exceedingly careful not to land in the ditch alongside the fine road.

It was a moment of considerable suspense to both boys. They saw the car approach the house, and noted with more or less interest that its pace was lessening. That began to look as though the bait had taken, and Jules meant to make sure of the "bird in the hand," before trying for those in the bush.

"Rod, they're stopping, as sure as you live!" yelled Hanky Panky in great excitement just then.

"Yes, and there they both jump out; steady, Hanky, don't lose your head!" warned the leader, noticing how the other's machine wavered.