17 17 "What'll they do if they catch us?" said Ralph, as his eyes expanded and he nervously glanced back. Pierre merely shook his head and remained silent. The Mercedes was not gaining, however. The second car was trailing along some distance in the rear. "Hurrah for Belgium!" shouted Pierre, as he gazed forward intently and nodded in the direction of two low structures which were now plainly visible at the sides of the roadway. The boys saw a distinctive flag on each building. Pierre's hand was on the throttle as he neared the frontier, but he held the lever without drawing it back, while the car sped on. He gave two blasts on the horn, and repeated the signal. In Europe every road which crosses the frontier has two sets of guards, one belonging to each country, and it is necessary for every one crossing the line to make a formal entry under the inspection of a government official. No one appeared in the road in front of the lodges but it was a hazardous thing to cross the border without stopping, as the guards were authorized to shoot anyone who refused to halt, and the boys were equally aware of this danger in attempting such an escapade. They were now not a hundred feet from the posts which marked the frontier and the speed of the car was not cut down. They were surprised to see Pierre's right hand withdrawn from the18 lever while he leaned forward and grasped the steering wheel with an intense grip. 18 ZIP! They shot past the boundary line without a challenge. The flag on the first lodge was German, indicated by the three horizontal stripes, black, white and red, and the flag on the other building had three vertical stripes, black, yellow and red, the colors of Belgium. The Belgian Flag The car fairly sizzled as it glided forward on a road that wound around a long curve parallel with the river and they had an excellent opportunity now to watch the pursuing car. "That has a cross on the side of it,
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