Burton of the Flying Corps

  VII

  When Burton came to himself, it was to find an officer in khaki, withthe red cross of the R.A.M.C. on his sleeve, bending over him.

  "That's all right!" said a cheery voice. "He'll do now!"

  "Where am I? Where's Marco?" Burton asked faintly.

  "The old Serb? Don't worry about him. He has concussion, but he's atough old boy, and we'll pull him through."

  "And the Bulgars?"

  "Toiling like niggers to make a new track a mile from here. It's allright. Take this morphine tablet. You shall hear all you want to know,twenty-four hours from now. Rather hard luck to be knocked out twice inone day, I must say."

  Young Marco, after long wandering and losing his way several times, hadlighted on a part of the British rearguard and delivered his note, whichpassed from a subaltern through his company commander and colonel untilit came to the hands of the brigadier. An examination of the map decidedthat officer to dispatch a regiment of light cavalry to the tower. Theyreached it some ten minutes after it fell, having heard the outlines ofthe story from Captain Enderby, whom they met a few hundred yards away,keeping an eye on the three prisoners, as he said with a smile. Miloshand Nuta, who were returning to the tower when the explosion occurred,had narrowly escaped burial in the ruins. Rushing forward through thesmoke and dust, they had found the two men unconscious but alive,protected by the only half-destroyed arch of the entrance.

  The shelling had ceased with the fall of the tower; the track had beenrendered utterly impassable by the explosion of the mine; and before theenemy were aware of the presence of the British cavalry, and their gunsagain came into play, the regiment had withdrawn with Burton, his partyand the prisoners, and were well on their way to the British lines.

  The value of the defence of the tower was handsomely acknowledged by thebrigadier. It had saved his rearguard. The Serbs were compensated forthe loss of their belongings in the abandoned cart, and young Marco,besides presents given him by the British officers, found himself thehappy possessor of innumerable souvenirs from the men. Old Marco, whosoon recovered, received special commendation and reward for his heroismin firing the mine at the risk of his life. As for Burton, no one wasmore surprised than he when he learnt that his name had been sent in forthe V.C.