They had heard a series of shouts, some of them indicating pain, and others an acute degree of terror. Evidently the Turkish gunners were being demoralized by this firing. The bursting shells were working sad havoc3 in their midst.
But Turks have ever been known to show bravery under fire, and Jack4 was not so very much surprised when there came a bellow5 from the rear that made the earth quiver. The big gun hidden in the brush and rocky spurs had been fired, perhaps almost at random6, to prove to the enemy that although betrayed by that searchlight from above the gunners were ready to die at their posts.
The two boys and Arturus were all hurrying
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along by that time, eager to put as much space between themselves and the danger zone as possible. More terrible shells were bound to fall in that limited area, and since the Turks would be utterly7 unable to move their big gun it stood a good show of being finally smashed.
So accurately8 did the gunners on the warship9 manage to drop their missiles that there seemed no further danger of one falling close enough to the boys to injure them. On this account then they no longer threw themselves down when that flash over the water announced the speeding of another projectile10.
Amos, being now filled with a natural curiosity to observe the effect of the bursting shells, actually turned his head to look back when the next shot came. He would never forget the dreadful sight when the great shell exploded. The whole vicinity seemed to be illuminated11 by the glare, and Amos believed he could see unfortunate men being hurled12 right and left, as well as logs and stones.
“Oh! that was the time they hit it!” he exclaimed,
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when the fearful thunder of the explosion had died away.
“Do you mean they smashed the big gun?” asked Jack, who apparently13 had not been looking at the time.
“Yes, I’m sure of it,” the other went on to assert; “for I saw the shell burst, it seemed to me, right against the cannon14. You’ll hear no more from that piece, I give you my affidavy, Jack. It was beautifully done, and I take off my hat to the bullies15 out there in the gloom who could find their mark so quickly.”
“But the searchlight keeps on playing down on the spot,” suggested Jack.
“They’re trying to make sure of the result,” Amos declared. “You’ll soon see I was right about it, when they send a signal out to the battleship that there’s no need to waste any more ammunition16.”
Somehow they were so fascinated by the idea that all of them stood there, and continued to watch. The air pilot even swooped17 down lower as though bent18 upon making absolutely sure before
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sending word to the war vessel19 waiting to hear from him before continuing the bombardment.
“There, what did I tell you?” exclaimed Amos, with a ring of triumph in his voice.
The aviator20 above had suddenly switched off his light, and dense21 darkness fell upon the scene. No further crash from off over the water came to the ears of the listening boys. The only sounds they heard consisted of cries from wounded men, and a faint faraway whir that must be the aeroplane winging its way back to its former post.
“It’s all over!” said Jack, almost solemnly; “another gun knocked out of business, and from what they say, the Turks can’t afford to lose many more these days, when it’s so hard to get them through from Austria and Germany.”
“We must go on,” said Arturus just then, “for we may be overtaken by some of the Turks fleeing from the place.”
“But did you notice, Jack, that the aeroplane seemed to fly away up the coast and not out to sea?” ventured Amos.
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“Well, now, I hadn’t thought anything about that until you spoke22; but now you have mentioned it, Amos, I believe that’s a fact.”
“Of course we couldn’t see anything,” continued the other, “but I took great pains to follow the sound, and it kept right along ahead of us.”
“From that you figure something out, of course?” asked the other. “I can give a pretty good guess what it is.”
“That aviator must have been the same man who hung over the trenches23 today, and dropped so many bombs,” Amos ventured. “We know he came from the upper camp; and I feel dead sure he was my brother Frank. If that’s so, then here he’s gone and distinguished24 himself again.”
“It certainly looks as if Frank might be in the front rank of the Allied25 pilots if it turns out as we believe,” Jack permitted himself to say; “but now we’d better quiet down again, Amos. Arturus doesn’t like to have us chattering26 away like this, even if it is in whispers.”
“Because we are not yet out of the bushes,” added the Greek guide suggestively, by which
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they understood him to mean that with half the distance still to be covered there always existed a possibility that other enemies might be encountered.
Jack, as he walked along in the wake of Arturus, was thinking very naturally of what wonderful things this war had already brought forth27, what with its Zeppelins, the submarine raiders which Germany was letting loose to prey28 upon the fleets and commerce of her enemies; the marvelous big guns which were able to smash the most formidable steel defences known to modern military science; and the amazing trenches made of concrete which existed for hundreds of miles along the fighting line in Northern France and Belgium.
He wondered what would be the next marvel29 brought out by one side or the other. At that time the asphyxiating30 gases of the Germans, and the dreadful liquid fire had not been used; but Jack could easily anticipate something along these lines.
As for the aeroplane, it had proved its wonderful
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strategic value a thousand times over. Its uses were manifold, from scouting31 to dropping bombs in daylight raids over enemy country and barracks. Jack had already seen enough of these things to convince him that the country which had an abundant supply of both submarines and giant aeroplanes could carry things their own way in the future.
“Listen!” said Arturus all of a sudden.
“We are being pursued!” whispered Amos, as he plainly heard voices from the rear, accompanied by other sounds that might spring from men stumbling while hurrying madly along the rough trail.
The Greek drew his charges aside, and crouching32 amidst the bushes, they waited to ascertain33 what it could all mean. Closer came the sounds. They could now make out that the men rushing headlong toward them were Turks. Jack wondered if they could really be hunting the three who had passed around the hidden battery just before it was bombarded so successfully from out at sea.
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Moving figures now caught their attention, three of them, and all stumbling along in the most reckless fashion. From their excited manner Jack immediately made up his mind they must be remnants of the force of gunners who had had charge of the battery. Wounded by some of the flying missiles when the shells burst around them, they had fled in a panic, that kept them pushing on even after the danger seemed past.
They shuffled34 by the spot where the boys were concealed35, and went on up the shore. Jack’s first thought was that this was a peculiar36 thing for them to do, since they must certainly know that the camp of the New Zealand troops lay not so very far away in that direction.
“What do you make out of it, Arturus?” he asked, softly.
“They belonged to the battery, and have been badly frightened,” the guide replied. “I have not before seen Turks show such alarm. It must be what you call the panic has gripped hold of them.”
“Yes, I can understand all that,” continued
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Jack, “but why should they keep on up the shore? A safe retreat for them would be to take to the hills.”
“That is something we do not know,” answered the guide, seriously, “but it may be we will soon find out. It was no accident, that is sure; and I believe there may be other Turkish forces between us and the camp.”
“Whew! again?” muttered Amos, thinking of that terrible climb they had been forced to take in order to pass around the concealed battery.
The sound of the fleeing Turks had now subsided37. Either they had passed beyond hearing or else managed in some way to curb38 their panicky condition. At the very least it meant they would have these three enemies to contend against, and must therefore be constantly on their guard.
If anything, the ground grew rougher than before. Amos believed so since he tripped more frequently, though that may have come from his weariness. It had been an exhausting day for the boys, what with their work as Red Cross stretcher-bearers, and a lot of other duties performed
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by them. Any boy might well have confessed that he was almost worn out from fatigue39; and it was the wild hope of meeting his missing brother Frank that kept Amos up, more than his will power.
They had not been moving along for more than ten minutes in this slow and cautious fashion when again Arturus, the Greek, came to a stand. Instinctively40 both of the boys immediately strained their hearing to ascertain what sounds may have reached the ears of the guide. And what they managed to catch gave them to understand that a large body of the enemy must be straddling the trail ahead, for some purpose or other.
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1
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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2
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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3
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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5
bellow
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| v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道 | |
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6
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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7
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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8
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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9
warship
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| n.军舰，战舰 | |
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10
projectile
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| n.投射物，发射体；adj.向前开进的；推进的；抛掷的 | |
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11
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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12
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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13
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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14
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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15
bullies
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| n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负 | |
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16
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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17
swooped
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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19
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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20
aviator
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| n.飞行家，飞行员 | |
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21
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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22
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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23
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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24
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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25
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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26
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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27
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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28
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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29
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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30
asphyxiating
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| v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的现在分词 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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31
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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32
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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33
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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34
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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35
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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36
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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37
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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38
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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39
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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40
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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