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were silenced. He saw men running through the trenches and he picked off
several of them. By this time the Germans were aware that something was amiss-
-that an uncanny sniper had discovered a point of vantage from which this sector
of the trenches was plainly visible to him. At first they sought to discover his
location in No Man's Land; but when an officer looking over the parapet through
a periscope was struck full in the back of the head with a rifle bullet which
passed through his skull and fell to the bottom of the trench they realized that it
was beyond the parados rather than the parapet that they should search.
One of the soldiers picked up the bullet that had killed his officer, and then it was
that real excitement prevailed in that particular bay, for the bullet was obviously
of German make. Hugging the parados, messengers carried the word in both
directions and presently periscopes were leveled above the parados and keen eyes
were searching out the traitor. It did not take them long to locate the position of
the hidden sniper and then Tarzan saw a machine gun being trained upon him.
Before it had gotten into action its crew lay dead about it; but there were other
men to take their places, reluctantly perhaps; but driven on by their officers they
were forced to it and at the same time two other machine guns were swung
around toward the ape-man and put into operation.
Realizing that the game was about up Tarzan with a farewell shot laid aside the
rifle and melted into the hills behind him. For many minutes he could hear the
sputter of machinegun fire concentrated upon the spot he had just quit and
smiled as he contemplated the waste of German ammunition.
"They have paid heavily for Wasimbu, the Waziri, whom they crucified, and for his
slain fellows," he mused; "but for Jane they can never pay--no, not if I killed them
all."
After dark that night he circled the flanks of both armies and passed through the
British out-guards and into the British lines. No man saw him come. No man
knew that he was there.
Headquarters of the Second Rhodesians occupied a sheltered position far enough
back of the lines to be comparatively safe from enemy observation. Even lights
were permitted, and Colonel Capell sat before a field table, on which was spread a
military map, talking with several of his officers. A large tree spread above them,
a lantern sputtered dimly upon the table, while a small fire burned upon the
ground close at hand. The enemy had no planes and no other observers could
have seen the lights from the German lines.
The officers were discussing the advantage in numbers possessed by the enemy
and the inability of the British to more than hold their present position. They
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