All the boys
were bitten many times, and it seemed to them that they would
never come to the end of the passage alive. But none of their
assailants reached their throats, although one had to be knocked
from Billy's shoulder, and at last the nightmare journey ended
when they stumbled against the steps that led to the trap door.
Frantically they heaved the door up and clambered out and sank
down on the ice covered ground, spent and out of breath and
utterly exhausted.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE CRITICAL MOMENT
For a time the Army Boys sat there, panting and gasping from their
unwonted exertions, yet filled with a deep thankfulness that they
had won through as well as they had.
At length Frank gave a short laugh that had in it little trace of
mirth.
"Three husky doughboys of the American Army put to flight by a
horde of rats!" he exclaimed.
"All the same, they'd be picking the bones of those same husky
doughboys if we hadn't vamoosed," defended Billy. "Gee! it seemed
to me that there must have been millions of them."
"I know now how that Bishop Hatto, or whoever it was, felt when
the rats were after him," put in Bart.
Pages:
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176