"Look at him rave, will you?" said Hal, with a laugh.

"Ha! Ha!" laughed Ivan.

"He should think himself lucky that we allowed him to go back,"
declared Chester.

The friends were less than fifty feet from the Bulgarian now, but they
ventured no closer for fear they might inadvertently cross the line.
They stood in this order: Hal, Chester, Nikol, Stubbs, Ivan and
Colonel Anderson.

"Poor little fellow," said Stubbs at this juncture. "Poor little fellow.
He looks so awfully mad!"

The Bulgarian officer, who had been growing angrier with each taunt from
across the Greek line, now became suddenly infuriated. Forgetting all
prudence, forgetting all laws of neutrality, forgetting everything except
the smiling face of Anthony Stubbs, American war correspondent, he
suddenly drew his revolver and fired pointblank at the little man.

Stubbs' face blanched at the movement and the others were too surprised
to move--all except one; and this one, quick as a flash, leaped forward
with the agility of a cat and thrust his body protectingly before
Anthony Stubbs.

When the smoke of the revolver had cleared away Stubbs stood erect,
unharmed--but at his feet lay the twitching body of Nikol, the dwarf.