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diff --git a/old/51772-0.txt b/old/51772-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8ba83e3..0000000 --- a/old/51772-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5502 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brighton Boys in the Argonne Forest, by -James R. Driscoll - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Brighton Boys in the Argonne Forest - -Author: James R. Driscoll - -Release Date: April 16, 2016 [EBook #51772] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRIGHTON BOYS IN ARGONNE FOREST *** - - - - -Produced by Giovanni Fini, David Edwards and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: - -—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected. - - - - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS SERIES - - BY - - LIEUTENANT JAMES R. DRISCOLL - - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - WITH THE FLYING CORPS - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - IN THE TRENCHES - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - WITH THE BATTLE FLEET - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - IN THE RADIO SERVICE - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - WITH THE SUBMARINE FLEET - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - WITH THE ENGINEERS AT CANTIGNY - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - AT CHATEAU-THIERRY - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - AT ST. MIHIEL - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - IN THE ARGONNE - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - IN TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT - - THE BRIGHTON BOYS - IN THE SUBMARINE TREASURE SHIP - -[Illustration: “KEEP COOL! THEY MUSTN’T REACH US--NEVER!”] - - - - - The BRIGHTON BOYS in the - ARGONNE FOREST - - - BY - LIEUTENANT JAMES R. DRISCOLL - - - ILLUSTRATED - - - THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY - PHILADELPHIA - - - - - Copyright, 1920, by - THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. GOING IN AGAIN 9 - - II. TO THE FRONT 16 - - III. STARTING A BIG JOB 23 - - IV. “INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH” 31 - - V. KILL OR BE KILLED 40 - - VI. SHIFTED 49 - - VII. A GOOD BEGINNING 60 - - VIII. MUCH TO DO AND MANY TO DO IT 70 - - IX. INDIAN FASHION 81 - - X. WITHOUT ORDERS 89 - - XI. A RISKY UNDERTAKING 97 - - XII. SURROUNDED 110 - - XIII. LYING LOW 120 - - XIV. GRIT 131 - - XV. STRATEGY 142 - - XVI. PLUCK 152 - - XVII. THE WORLD’S GREATEST BATTLE 161 - - XVIII. PLAYING THE GAME 167 - - XIX. RETALIATION 178 - - XX. GILL PERFORMS 187 - - XXI. ONCE MORE THE OFFENSIVE 197 - - XXII. PRESTO! CHANGE-O! 207 - - XXIII. THE AMERICAN BROOM 216 - - XXIV. FAST WORK 222 - - XXV. FORWARD 230 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - “KEEP COOL! THEY MUSTN’T REACH US--NEVER!” _Frontispiece_ - - PAGE - - NOW THE WEAPON BARKED ITS PROTEST 44 - - THE TWO WENT DOWN TOGETHER 194 - - ”I GUESS,” SAID THE BOY THICKLY, “I’LL JUST FINISH YOU NOW” 220 - - - - - The Brighton Boys in the Argonne - - - - - CHAPTER I - - GOING IN AGAIN - - -PLUCK and perseverance are American characteristics; in all the world -there are none superior. Perhaps more than to anything else the -physical advancements of our country have been due to the tremendous -desire and the will to go forward, to gain, to consummate. Almost -everything that we as a people have set our hearts upon we have -achieved beyond the expectations of ourselves and other peoples. - -The building of the Panama Canal, the discovery of the North Pole, the -results attained at the modern Olympic games are but minor instances -of our determination; the accumulative values of inventions and their -commercialism, the acquiring of vast wealth and well being express this -more generally. - -And the great World War has given additional evidence of the kind of -stuff that goes along with American brawn and bravery; there was shown -more than mere momentary force. The fighter _par excellence_ is he -who stays in the battle until every ounce of energy he possesses is -expended, if necessary, to beat his opponent and goes back for more and -more punishment, with the determination to give more than he gets. Such -a fighter and of such fighters the American Army proved itself to be, -collectively and with wondrously few exceptions individually; it was -this quality, as much as anything else, that caused the foe to respect -the prowess of the Yanks, to make way before them and to surrender -often when there was no immediate need for it. - -Despite much luxury and pleasure, much easy living, much indolence of a -kind, the fighting stamina has been instilled into the American youth; -history, sports, teaching, habits of life, all have conspired to make -him the kind of man to want to smash the would-be bully and rough fully -as hard as he deserves. And then, when injustice looks like coming -back, to go in and smash some more. - -Brighton Academy, in common with other high-grade schools, in the -classrooms and on the athletic field, wisely implanted qualities of -fairness and of determination into its boys. Imbued thus were the lads -who had, from the halls of Old Brighton, gone forth to do and to die -for their country against Germany, the thug nation. - -Happy, then, was he who could go back after having been invalided -home--and there were many, indeed, who gloried in it. One such, wearing -the chevrons of a lieutenant of infantry, had come from Brighton -Academy and had served with bravery and distinction in the trenches. He -stood on the deck of the transport and gazed through moist eyes at the -receding coast of the land of the free, for the most part seeing but -one figure, that of a one-legged lad waving him a sad farewell. - -“Poor old Roy! It’s the first time I’ve really seen him so sick at -heart as to show it keenly. But who can blame him? He’d rather fight -than eat and now he’s got to sit by and see us go without him.” So -thought the youth on the upper deck, as he long held up his fluttering -handkerchief. - -And then, after not many days of glorious, semi-savage anticipation, -there followed disembarkation at an obscure port of France and our -returning hero, with many others, sauntered to the billets, laughing, -some singing: “Where do We Go from Here?” and “There’ll be a Hot Time -in the Old Town Tonight.” Suddenly the young officer’s arm was seized, -he was whirled about and found himself face to face with another lad, -evidently a little younger, but quite as tall, with the accustomed -military bearing, but upon his khaki sleeve reposed the familiar and -much loved insignia of the Red Cross. - -“Herb Whitcomb, or I’m a shad! You old dear, you! But ain’t it good to -run smack into a son-of-a-gun from Old Brighton? And what now and where -are you----?” - -“You’ve got me, comrade--” the Lieutenant began, eyeing the speaker -narrowly for a moment, his brows set in a puzzled wrinkle as the other -grinned at the very idea of not being recognized by an old friend and -classmate. Herbert, in turn, suddenly grabbed him, seizing him by the -shoulders and chuckling with real delight. - -“Don--Don Richards, by the wild, whistling wizard! You boy! Glory, but -I’m glad to see you! But say, man----” - -“Say it--that I’ve changed a bit. Must have for you not to have known -me.” Don fell into step with Herbert. - -“Yes, you have indeed! Sun-dyed like a pirate and older, somehow. But -I knew that grin. The great thing about it is that you’re alive and -looking fit as a fiddle. Why, man, we heard you’d been wounded past -recovery--hit with a shrapnel.” - -“Shrapnel all right, but it was uncommonly kind to me. Piece just went -through my left shoulder and now it’s only a little stiff at times. -Clem Stapley and I were together out there beyond Bouresches; the -Belleau Wood scrap. He was hurt badly and I was trying to bring him -in.” Don spoke mere facts; not with boastfulness. - -“Red Cross work; we heard that, too. Clem pulled through; didn’t he?” -the lieutenant questioned. - -“Yes, just, but he won’t be good enough to join in again. Went back -home last ship, three days ago. I didn’t go because Major Little came -after me to serve again.” - -“Why don’t you?” - -“Well, I guess I ought to. It’s got under my skin, but I’d like to get -a glimpse of the good old U. S. Came off this boat; didn’t you? Don -asked.” - -“Just landed. Going back to my company; can’t help it; it’s permeated -my carcass, too, with the gas I got near Montdidier. Poor Roy Flynn, -you know, lost a leg, but he wanted to come back, nevertheless. I’m -billeting with this bunch of fellows. Where are you stopping?” - -“Down here at a sort of little inn; jolly fine place, but expensive. -Major Little sent Clem and me there. How about your bunking with me -now? Then we’ll go back together. If I go on again I guess it will be -in an auto and there’ll be room for you. They want me to report at the -base somewhere southeast of Rheims. Where is your old command?” - -The boys had turned aside from the khaki-clad procession, Donald -conducting Herbert toward a side street that led to his inn. Several of -the “Yanks” shouted words of friendly banter at the lieutenant, whom -they had come to know and respect aboard ship. - -“Hey, you scrapper! Don’t let the Red Cross get you this soon!” “Where -you goin’, boy? Stay with the bon tons!” “Sure, we need your cheerful -reminders of what the Heinies will do to us!” - -It was long past the noon hour and the hungry boys ordered a meal; then -began a long and minutely explanatory chat during which the affairs -at Brighton, the pro-war sentiment in the United States, the retreat -of the Germans and the American influence thereon were discussed with -the vast interest that only those who had taken and expected again to -take part in the conflict could so keenly feel. Presently a Red Cross -messenger on a motorcycle came to seek young Richards. - -“How about conveyance?” Don asked. “Major Little said not to bother -with the roundabout on the crazy railroad; a car would make the direct -run across in less time.” - -“There are two new ambulances stored here that came in on the last -freighter across. I have orders to turn one of the ambulances over to -you if you wish,” the messenger said. - -“Then I can deliver my reply to the Major in person, after I have -dropped my friend here at general Army Headquarters. Let’s have your -order. I’ll be on the road early in the morning and likely make the run -by night.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -TO THE FRONT - - -THAT swift ride through France in the new Red Cross ambulance was -quite devoid of any startling incidents. There were the usual bits of -well traveled and rutty roads and long stretches of fine highway, the -occasional detours by reason of road mending; here old men and boys -labored to keep up the important lanes of traffic for the oncoming -hosts of Americans and the transportation of overseas supplies. The -lads overtook heavily laden lorries, or camions as the French call -them; they passed columns of marching men and those billeted in -villages or encamped in the wayside fields. They noted the slow moving -forward of heavy field pieces and here and there they came to drill -grounds where lately arrived Americans were going through mock trench -fighting or were bayonet stabbing straw-stuffed bags supposed to be -Huns. - -Everywhere the boys observed also that there were more people in the -towns and villages than the sizes of these places seemed to warrant, -and in the fields and woods, in uncultivated or otherwise barren spots -little settlements of tents and rude shelters had been established as -evidence of the wide exodus from the battle-scarred areas far to the -east and north. Hundreds of thousands of people, driven from their -ruined or threatened homes, had thus overrun the none too sparsely -inhabited sections beyond the war-torn region. - -“_Non, non, non, non!_” That was the common refrain directed by Herbert -and Donald to the solicitations of the French, for the purchase of -sundry articles, mostly of edible character, whenever the car was -forced to stop. - -“If you want to get rid of your money very quickly,” Herbert explained -to the three Red Cross nurses riding with them in the rear of the -ambulance, “you can sure do it if you patronize these sharpers. Their -goods are all right generally, but the prices--phew! They must think -every American is a millionaire.” - -“And yet one must pity many of them; they have suffered and are -suffering so much,” said the eldest nurse, a sweet-faced woman whose -gray hairs denoted that she was past middle age. - -“They seem to be very patient and really very cheerful,” remarked -the somewhat younger woman whose slightly affected drawl and rather -superior bearing indicated that she belonged to the higher social -circles somewhere back in the U. S. And then up spoke the third, a mere -slip of a girl, who had been quite silent until now. - -“I have wondered and wondered what it would all be like, what the -people would be like; and now I’m glad I’ve come. Perhaps when the war -is over we can do something for these----” - -“We will every one of us be glad to get home again,” said the -gray-haired lady. “You, my dear, will prove no exception, however noble -your reconstructive impulses are. But these people, no matter what they -have gone through, will be well able to take care of themselves.” - -And as the car presently dashed on again, Donald remarked to Herbert, -so that their passengers could not hear: - -“Don’t you think, old man, it is very true when they say that -patriotism over in the dear old United States has had a remarkable -awakening?” - -“Yes, you can call it that, perhaps, if we were ever really asleep. -You refer, I know, to these nurses, evidently ladies of refinement and -culture, coming over here for duties that they must know can’t be any -cinch. The women, if anything, have led the men at home in their zeal -for helping toward making our part in this scrap a good one.” - -“Very good and all honor to the women,” Don said, “but I guess, from -what you and I have both seen and will soon see again, that which is -making America’s part in this war a good one is mostly the scrapping -ability of the lads with blood in their eyes. The humane part of it -comes afterward.” - -“And a little before at times also,” asserted the lieutenant. “There -is the morale to keep up--the general good fellowship and well-being. -If the boys know they’re going to be treated right if they get winged, -then they’re heartened up a whole lot; you know that.” - -“I do,” Don eagerly admitted. “Don’t think I’m throwing any rocks at -the splendid efficiency of the Red Cross; if anyone knows about them -I ought to, from every angle of the service. But I have also seen the -kind of work that threw a scare into the Huns, and believe me that was -not a humane, not a nursing proposition, as you know.” - -“Yes, I know that, too. And it may be funny, but I’ve had a sort of -homesick feeling to get back and see more of it, and the nearer I get -the more impatient I am.” - -“Same here. But this boat is doing her darndest for a long run and we -can hardly improve the time even if you get out and walk.” - -“From watching your speedometer register something over thirty miles -in less than sixty minutes I am convinced that only a motorcycle or an -airplane would help us better to get on.” - -The ambulance did get on in a very satisfactory manner. Here and there -along the road and at all turns and forks splotches of white paint on -stones, posts, buildings, bridges or stakes and by which the transport -and freight camions were guided, made the way across the three hundred -miles quite plain. The lads paid no attention to the French sign posts, -here and there, which announced the distance in kilometers to some -larger town or city and then to Paris farther inland, for the route -avoided these places wherever possible and ran into no narrow and -congested streets or masses of people. - -At the next stop, for a bite to eat in a small village, the -middle-aged nurse expressed some disappointment at not going into Paris. - -“I have been there many times in former years when my dear husband was -living; we stopped there once for several months. But they say now that -the city is not like it used to be--I mean the people, of course, in -manners and gayety; the mourning for the dead and the fear of invasion -or bombardment----” - -“There is no longer fear of invasion,” Herbert declared. “That time has -gone past. The business in hand now is whipping the Huns clear across -the Rhine and into Berlin, if necessary, and we are going to do that in -short order!” - -“It’s terrible. So much death and suffering,” said the young girl. “And -the Germans, too; who cares for them when wounded?” - -“They have a Red Cross and very excellent ambulance and hospital -service,” Don explained. “We pick up a good many of their wounded and -treat them just as well as our own.” - -“You have seen this yourself?” asked the gray-haired woman. - -“My friend was in the thick of it, around Château-Thierry,” Herbert -announced eagerly. “He was wounded, invalided, but he is going back for -more work.” - -The women all gazed at blushing Donald, who hastened to get even. - -“He needn’t heap it on to me!” he exclaimed. “He’s going back, too, -after having been gassed and sent across the pond to get well. And, you -see, he got to be a lieutenant for bravery.” - -“You both seem to be very young, too,” remarked the eldest nurse. -“Hardly through school yet; are you?” - -“No, ma’am; we are both students, junior year, at Brighton Acad----” - -“Brighton? Well, I declare! Why, my brother is a teacher there; -Professor Carpenter.” - -“Oh, hurrah! He’s a dandy! The fellows all like him immensely!” Don -shouted. - -“It’s fine to meet his sister over here, Miss Carpenter,” Herbert said. - -“It is indeed a pleasure to know you both,” said the lady, and -proceeded to formally introduce the other two nurses. - -Then they were on the road once more and two hours later had safely -landed the women at a Red Cross headquarters on the way, a few miles -north of Paris. The boys parted from their gentle passengers with real -regret; then sped on again, headed for the Army General Headquarters. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -STARTING A BIG JOB - - -LIEUTENANT Herbert Whitcomb stood for a long half minute watching the -slowly disappearing Red Cross ambulance. The car merely crept on down -the long, straight road, as though the driver were loath to leave his -companion of the last twenty-four hours, as indeed he was, for these -old Brighton boys, meeting thus on a foreign shore and bent on much the -same business, had become closer friends than when at school. - -“I wish,” Herbert was thinking, “that Don would get into the army -service and could get assigned with me. He’d make a crackerjack of -a scrapper; the real thing. But I suppose they’ve got him tied to -hospital work.” - -Then, after saluting the guard and saying a word or two to an orderly -who was waiting to receive or to reject visitors, mostly the latter, -the young lieutenant passed inside. Ten minutes later he emerged again -with a happy smile on his face and, accompanied by several other -men who had also returned to duty after the healing of minor wounds, -Herbert Whitcomb led the way to a waiting motor car and presently was -speeding away to the fighting front, all of his present companions -being assigned, with him, to the Twenty-eighth Division and to a -company that had suffered serious depletion because of many violent -attacks against the stubborn Hun resistance in the drive beyond Rheims -and on the Vesle River. - -Herbert was far from being disappointed over the fact that he was not -to rejoin his old battalion. Both his major and his captain had been -invalided home and could never lead the boys again; several of his -comrades-in-arms, among them three old Brighton boys, had been killed -or pitiably wounded; there had been such a thinning out of their ranks -that nothing but a skeleton of them remained, which must indeed be -only depressing, saddening as a reminder. Moreover, this division had -now been put in reserve where the American sector joined that of the -British and was doing no fighting. - -Much rather would the boy take up new duties with new comrades, feeling -again the complete novelty of the situation, the test of relative -merit, the _esprit de corps_ of personal equation anew. But however -glad he was to get back again into the maelstrom of do and dare, a -satisfaction inspired both by sense of duty and the love of adventure, -he did not welcome the opportunity more than the boys of the --th -welcomed him. Before Captain Lowden and First Lieutenant Pondexter -received Herbert they had been made acquainted, from Headquarters, with -Whitcomb’s record and it meant good example and higher morale for an -officer, however young, to be thoroughly respected by the rank and file. - -And then, within a few hours back again into the full swing of military -precision and custom, the young lieutenant was ready for anything that -might or could come. - -“The orders are to advance and take up a position on the up slope of -that brown field on the other side of this little valley and thus try -out the enemy; after which we may go on and attack him. So much from -Headquarters. In my opinion the Colonel will say to just go ahead -without bothering to try them out.” Thus spoke Captain Lowden at a -brief conference of his officers, immediately prior to the line-up -after early morning mess. And then he added, by way of sounding the -human nature of his under officers: - -“What would you say about that, gentlemen?” - -Herbert waited until the first lieutenant should express himself. -Pondexter was a grave and serious-minded fellow, oldish beyond his -years, rather slow of speech, studious, thoughtful, austere. - -“We don’t know how strong the Germans may be there,” he said, “and -it would not be very wise, it seems to me, if an offensive were -made against greatly superior numbers intrenched, or within strong, -defensive positions. But if we first try them out then we can----” - -The captain did not wait for the lieutenant to finish, but suddenly -turned to Herbert: - -“I’d take a gamble on it and go over the hill,” the young officer -suggested. “We can be pretty sure, judging from the enemy’s general -distribution all along the line, that just at this point they do not -greatly outnumber us; there can hardly be double our number. We are -good for that many any day.” - -Captain Lowden laughed joyfully and slapped his knee. He was a young -fellow from Plattsburg and Camp Meade, an ex-football star, athletic -in build, quick in his motions and decisions, stern, yet kindly toward -his men and greatly loved by them. He had already proved his heroism -near Vigneulles, during the St. Mihiel battle, when the German salient -was being flattened. He gazed at his new second lieutenant in a manner -that quite embarrassed that youthful officer; then the captain said: - -“You’ll do! Your predecessor is in a hospital in Paris; I hope you -don’t have to go there, but can stay with us. And I am blamed glad they -pushed you right on through the replacement divisions and landed you -here.” - -“Oh, thank you! I--I--don’t----” But the captain paid no attention to -Herbert’s stammering reply, and continued: - -“And I hope the general tells the colonel to send us right on over the -hill.” - -Perhaps that is what the brigade commander did, or perhaps the colonel -decided the matter on his own initiative; it would require a good deal -of cross-questioning and then much guessing, probably, to determine -these matters. Anyway, the battalion of four companies, each originally -of two hundred and fifty men, but now considerably reduced, some -of them to only half their number in spite of replacements from the -reserve divisions in the rear, now advanced almost as though on parade, -except that they were strung out, wide apart, making no attempt to keep -in step. - -And no sooner were they under way than the watchful enemy made the -Yanks aware that their intentions were understood, for almost instantly -the desultory firing of heavy shells and shrapnel aimed at our boys -was increased tenfold. Added to this was the continuous roar of the -latter’s own barrage, the combined American and French artillery -sending over far more than shell for shell in the effort to cripple and -stop the German field pieces and to chase the enemy to cover. - -Of the four companies that composed the battalion advancing across this -short open space with their objective the top of the slope between -two wooded points, Captain Lowden’s company, composed mainly of very -young men, proved to be the most rapid walkers. It appeared also that -Whitcomb’s platoon, taking example from Herbert, speeded up until it -was considerably in advance of those on either of its flanks. The -advantage of this haste seemed evident: the abruptly rising ground and -the fringe of trees at the top offered a natural shelter against the -enemy fire. Thus only one larger shell landed and burst near enough to -the platoon to do any harm, but that was a plenty. It tore a hole in -the ground about a hundred feet behind Herbert and the flying pieces -killed two privates, wounded two others, the concussion throwing -several violently to the ground, the lieutenant among them. - -Herbert regained his feet instantly, looking to see the damage and -calling for a runner to hurry back for an ambulance. The lad dashed -away and a man, heavy-set, with the sleeve marks of a sergeant, -marching some distance in the rear, offered the remark, with what -seemed a half sneer: - -“Red Cross car just down the hill, coming up.” - -“Don’t see it. Sure of that?” There was something in the fellow’s -manner that nettled the young lieutenant and he spoke sharply, quickly; -he must get back to his men. Then he added: - -“Who are you?” - -“Liaison officer. With the Thirty-fifth Division and this one.” - -“Where are your men?” Herbert turned to go. - -“Scattered around, of course, and on duty.” The man spoke with an -attempt to appear civil, but it was clearly camouflage; his habitual -contemptuous expression and lowering glance indicated all too plainly -that he possessed some animosity toward the lieutenant. Herbert, noting -this, wondered. He had never seen the fellow before; evidently the -dislike was sudden, mutual. Whitcomb ran on up the hill and rejoined -his men, never once looking back, and the incident was at once almost -forgotten. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -“INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH” - - -ON the platoons went, gaining the top of the low hill that crowned the -valley slope and then--suddenly the terrors of real war descended with -one swift stroke and bit and tore and gnashed with even more than their -usual fury. - -Captain Lowden had been walking with a French guide up the slope and -not far from where Herbert preceded his men. A moment before the former -had gained the top and come within sight of the enemy’s front-line -defenses, hardly a second before the outburst of machine-gun fire from -the entrenched foe, the captain had turned to his second lieutenant. - -“He says,” meaning the guide, “that right over the hill is the edge of -the famous Argonne Forest. It is a wild place; the Huns have chosen to -make a stand in it and they have boasted that nothing will be able to -dislodge them. But we shall see, my boy; we shall see!” - -How false was this boast of the Germans has been well and repeatedly -set forth in the history of the Great War. Among America’s most -glorious deeds on the fields of battle; among the most heroic annals of -all warfare the bitter fight for the possession of the Argonne Forest -may be ranked with the highest. Perhaps nowhere on earth has the grit -and bravery of men at war been so sorely put to the test as in this -struggle of exposed attacking troops against thoroughly trained and -efficient soldiers with the skill of expert snipers behind well masked -machine guns. - -The French, long practiced in the art of war, asserted that this wide -tract which had been held by the Germans since 1914 had been made -defensively impregnable. According to all previously held standards it -was a place to avoid, but the Yanks took a different view of it; the -Huns must be dislodged and the former were the lads who could, in their -expressive slang, “make a stab at it,” and this in the early morning of -the 26th of September, 1918, they were beginning to do. - -Every soldier engaged in this stupendous undertaking had his work cut -out for him and everyone knew this for a man’s size job. Therefore, -each Yank went at the task as it deserved, do or die being virtually -every fighter’s motto. Throughout the long, bent line made up of the -four combat divisions of infantry and their machine-gun battalion that -now advanced toward the densely wooded hills, backed by brigades of -artillery, there was one simultaneous forward movement with the two -other army corps stretching eastward between the Aire and the Meuse -Rivers. And there was one common purpose: to rout the Huns, destroy -them or drive them back the way they had come. Never before in the -history of wars had there been a clearer understanding among all ranks -as to what was expected of the army at large and just what this forward -movement was meant to accomplish. - -For the glory of America, for the honor of the corps, the division, -the regiment, the battalion, the company, the platoon; for the sake -of justice and humanity and for the joy of smashing a foe that had -not played fair according to the accepted rules of warfare, the -determination that led this force ahead could not have been excelled. -And therein individual bravery and heroism enacted a very large and -notable part in the victory over foes numerically almost as strong and -having the great advantage of position. - -As the line swept up the hill, Lieutenant Whitcomb noted the various -expressions on the faces of those about him. Many of the boys were -very serious and quiet, some positively grim because fully aware of -what they must shortly encounter and were for the moment only shielded -from by the terrain. Others seemed unchanged from their habitual -cheerfulness, even bantering their fellows, and a little bunch of -evident cronies started up a rollicking song, but in subdued voices. - -Herbert heard one man near him call to another: - -“A Frog who talked United States told me that the Heinies are a bad -bunch up here!” - -“These here Frogs know mostly what’s what!” was the reply. Herbert -knew that “Frog” meant Frenchman; it was the common term used among -the Americans, inspired, no doubt, by the idea that batrachians are a -favorite dish with the French, though they cannot be blamed for their -choice. - -“A sky-shooter gave me the dope that the Jerries are just inside the -woods,” another man said. “Reckon we’re goin’ to get it right sudden -when we top the rise.” - -“There’s goin’ to be some Limburgers short if I kin see ’em first!” -said another, laughing. - -One prediction proved true, in part at least; the line topped the -rise--and got it. The barrage and preliminary artillery fire had done -little in this case; bullets, or even high-powered shells could not -penetrate far nor do much damage within the dense forest. But it was -very different with the enemy among the trees and rocks; they could see -out from these natural shelters well enough to choose clear spaces for -shooting. - -And shoot they did. As the Americans went over the first little hilltop -across the nearly level ground towards the woods beyond, the streaks -of flame in the misty atmosphere and the rat-tat-tat-tr-r-r of machine -guns became incessant. The enemy also was on to his job, had his work -well planned and it was now being well executed. - -Did an order to charge on the double-quick come along the American -line? Or was it rather a common understanding born of the impulse to -get at an enemy that was capable of doing so much damage unless quickly -overcome? At any rate, the men broke into a run, with no attempt at -drill about it; every one for himself and yet with the common notion to -work with his fellows, to support and be supported by them. - -Herbert’s men, being still a little in advance, seemed to draw more of -the enemy’s fire than they otherwise might have done. At one moment -there was the full complement of men, a little separated from their -company comrades, charging toward the enemy positions; in the next -sixty seconds there was not two-thirds of this number dashing on, and -in another minute, by which time they had gained the wood, less than -half of their original number were in action. - -It will be remembered that Lieutenant Herbert Whitcomb had been in -several charges when serving in the trenches; a half dozen times he had -“gone over the top.” In one desperate and successful effort to regain -lost ground and then to forge ahead over a hotly contested field he had -seen his men go down; in holding a shell hole gun pit, in springing a -mine, in finally victoriously sweeping back the Germans when they were -driven from Montdidier where he had been gassed, he had witnessed many -bloody encounters, missed many a brave comrade. But here was a new and -more terrible experience. The Americans had forced the fighting into -the open, and yet again and again they were compelled to meet the foe -within well prepared and hidden defenses; therefore, the offensive -Yanks must suffer terribly before the Huns could be dislodged. - -The boys in khaki knew only that before them, somewhere from among -the trees, the enemy was pouring a deadly machine-gun and rifle fire, -sweeping the open ground with a hail of bullets in which it seemed -impossible for even a blade of grass or a grasshopper to exist. The -miracle was that some of the boys got through untouched, or were but -slightly hurt. Those who had nicked rifle stocks, cut clothing, hats -knocked off, accouterments punctured and even skin scratches were -perhaps more common than those entirely unscathed. - -Yet through they did go; and in the midst of the sheltering trees at -last, where now the Yanks, too, were in a measure protected and where -almost immediately a form of Indian fighting began, the Americans still -advancing and stalking the enemy from ambush, in like manner to the -German defense. - -The Yanks took no time to consider the toll of their number out there -in the open and to the very edge of the forest, where men lay dead and -wounded by the score, the ground half covered, except that the desire -was to avenge them, to destroy the cause of the loss among their -comrades. And this was a very palpable desire, serving to increase the -fury of the offensive. - -More than ever among the trees it was every man for himself; yet every -man knew that his surviving comrades were fighting with him, and while -this sort of thing strengthens the morale it was hardly needed here, -for each man depended also on his own prowess, and there were many who, -had they known that every one of their companions had been shot down, -would alone have gone right ahead with the task of cleaning up the -Argonne Forest of Huns. Numerous cases of this individuality were shown -and will be forever recorded in history to the glory of the American -fighting spirit, being all the more notable on account of the German -boast that the Americans would not and could not fight, and they could -expect nothing else than overwhelming defeat if they should attempt to -combat the trained soldiers of the Central Empire. - -In the advance across the open the singing and striking of small arm -bullets accompanied by the roar of many running feet was the principal -impression which Lieutenant Whitcomb received; the purpose of charging -the enemy and overcoming him was so fixed in Herbert’s mind as to be -altogether instinctive. Several times he glanced aside to see a comrade -tumble forward or, going limp, pitch to the ground with his face ever -toward the enemy. Several times the lieutenant but just observed the -beginning of struggles in agony or the desire to rise and go on again. -Once, after a particularly savage burst of fire concentrated from the -forest upon his men, when several fellows in a bunch went down and -out of the fight and the line for a moment wavered a little, the boy -officer called out sharply: - -“Steady, fellows, steady! Keep right on! We’re going to get those chaps -in there in a minute and make them sorry we came!” - -Then a moment later, when they were among the trees, he turned again -to call to his platoon, within hearing at least of the nearest, though -he could not have told how many of his men were with him, how many had -survived the terrible ordeal of the charge in the open: - -“Now, men, go for ’em in our own way! Trees and rocks--you know how to -make use of them! Give them a taste of their own medicine, only make it -ten times worse! Forward!” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -KILL OR BE KILLED - - -TREES and rocks. Lieutenant Whitcomb had always loved the woods and -the wild places, but now, with quite a different reason, a sentiment -based on a more concrete purpose, he could almost have worshiped these -dim aisles of the forest, these noble maples, oaks and spruces and the -rocky defiles that appeared on every side. Here was a place where an -aggressor might be on nearly even terms with his enemy; at least there -was less danger of being hit if one might shield a larger portion of -his body behind some natural object the while he located his foe, or -exposed himself only for a few seconds in his rush to overcome him. - -Anticipating what the fighting would be like and anxious to do all -the execution he could where mere directing could be of little avail, -Herbert had possessed himself of the rifle and ammunition no longer -needed by a grievously wounded comrade and behind the stout trunk of a -low tree had begun to pepper away at the greenish helmets of a number -of men who were sending their fire from a deep fissure in the rocks -against the line to the right. Skilled as the boy was with the rifle, -and we remember how he had been chosen in the training camp at home as -the instructor in marksmanship and afterward given duty as a sniper or -sharpshooter in the trenches, there was every chance of that machine -gun nest of the enemy suffering somewhat. - -This was war and there could be no holding off in the manner of -winning; there could be no sentiment against any means of destroying an -enemy who was eager to destroy, no matter if it were against one man or -an army that the fire was directed. The boy felt few or no scruples at -the time, though he always hated to think of the occasion and he rarely -spoke of it subsequently. Warfare is not a pleasant matter; there are -few really happy moments even in victory. There may be certain joys, -but they can be only relative to the mind endowed with human ideas -and schooled to right thinking. Old Brighton labored to teach its -lads altruism, charity, gentleness and kindness and these qualities -cannot be lightly cast aside, even under stress of battle, which must -be regarded mostly as a matter of self-defense, even in offensive -action. If you don’t kill or wound the enemy, so called, he will kill -or wound you, and as long as the governmental powers have found it -necessary to declare that another people must be considered as an -enemy, there is nothing else to do. As against aggression, injustice, -injury made possible by constitutional declaration, wars are, beyond -argument, often most justifiable, even necessary. This idea must impel -every patriotic soldier to do his best in the duties assigned him, even -though he must rid the earth of his fellow men. - -Herbert had a clear aim at about sixty yards distance through an open -space in the foliage; he could see no more than the shoulders of any of -the Germans. He emptied his rifle with three shots, slipped in another -clip, fired five of these cartridges, replaced the clip and turned to -see what else menaced. That gun nest was no longer in action; when a -corporal and the two men remaining in his squad reached the spot there -was one wounded man and one fellow untouched and eager to surrender -out of the seven; the others were dead. But there must have been other -Americans shooting at them; Herbert always liked to think that, anyway. -And now he frowned when one of the men who had remained with him -remarked: - -“By the Kaiser’s whiskers, Lieutenant, that was great work! Nobody in -the army, not even General Pershing, could beat it! Say, if we had all -like you in this reg’lar fellers’ army, it would take only this platoon -to open the way to Berlin.” - -Herbert ducked; so did his companion. Not fifty feet in front of them -three Huns came quickly though clumsily in their big shoes, over the -mossy rocks, dragging a machine gun. They meant to set it up behind a -fallen tree trunk and in the shelter of a spruce; from their position -they had not discerned the Americans near by. - -The young lieutenant, slowly and without stirring a twig, raised his -rifle. This indeed seemed like murder, but----. There was the crack of -several guns just to the left and the three Huns sank to the earth as -one man. It was this sort of work that made the German respect and fear -his American foe. - -“Come on; more work ahead!” Herbert shouted and as he and his men made -their way through thickets, over rocks, roots and fallen trees they -found plenty to do. A little hillock, almost perpendicular, rose in -front of them; there was the rapid firing of a gun just over the top -of it, though the approach of the boys in khaki beneath wide-spreading -branches and behind dense bushes could not have been observed. - -“Some risk, but if we go up and over quickly, then----” Herbert began, -starting to clamber up the rocks. It was slippery going, a difficult -task at best, and he found it necessary, to avoid being seen, to go -down on hands and knees. One foot slipped back and the other, too, was -slipping when he felt a hand beneath his shoe holding him. He had but -to stretch out and upward to bring his head over the rocks above, when -a Hun saw him. The fellow could not have possessed a loaded pistol, or -in his hurry he forgot it. With a guttural roar of discovery he seized -a big stone in both hands and raised it. But Herbert had climbed up -with an automatic only in his hand, leaving his rifle below. Now the -weapon barked its protest and the rock was not sent crushingly down -upon him. The young officer covered the other four men standing in a -bunch by a machine gun, their eyes, wide with surprise, glancing from -Herbert to their fallen comrade. Then their arms went up. - -[Illustration: NOW THE WEAPON BARKED ITS PROTEST] - -“Kamerad! Kamerad!” they shouted and there followed a string of words -in their unmusical tongue. In a moment three Americans were at the top -of the rocks and Herbert said: - -“Gaylord, you’ve had your hand hit, eh? Hurt much? Too bad, old man, -but that won’t put you out of the fight, will it? Thought not; knew -you’re the right stuff. Merritt, you hold these fellows until I tie up -Gaylord’s hand.” - -A rapid job of first aid was made to a by no means serious wound; then -there were further orders. - -“Lucky it’s your left hand. Now then, leave your gun here; your -automatic will be sufficient to induce these chaps to go ahead of you -to the rear. Turn them over to the guard and get fixed up, old man. -I’ll bring your gun along if you don’t come back for it.” - -“I’ll be back, Lieutenant and find it. Come along, you Dutchies! Start -’em, Merritt. Now then, march!” - -“Come on, Merritt, we’ll catch up with the rest of our bunch,” Herbert -said, well satisfied with what had just taken place, but glancing -woefully at the inert German lying among the rocks. The lieutenant -climbed down to the bottom of the little hill, his soldier after him; -they reached the more level ground, parting the branches ahead before -proceeding. A flash and the crack of a gun almost in Herbert’s ear, -the poking of the muzzle of another weapon through a thick clump of -bushes all but in the young officer’s face. Quickly he stooped low -with bending knees and at the very same instant a mauser blazed forth -its fire, tearing away his hat. The boy fired his pistol directly in -line with and beneath the enemy’s weapon and the rifle fell among the -bushes. Herbert was about to rise when down on top of him came the -weight of a falling man. He caught Merritt in his arms, straightened -up, then saw that his khaki-clad comrade’s face was ghastly and that -he was unconscious. Something warm, sticky, dark spread over the -lieutenant’s hands and with a gasp the soldier lay still. Herbert had -liked Merritt, a boy only, no older than himself; thoughtful, studious, -delightfully versatile, a writer of beautiful verses, many of which -had been published, as had also some of his songs. Here was a youth of -great promise, but war, red war, was surely no respecter of persons. - -“They’ve got to find him and get him out of here, and save him,” -Herbert said aloud, at the same time looking sharply about to see if -any more Hun muzzles were being poked through the leafy screen. The -boy tenderly placed his comrade on the ground, gazed apprehensively -for a moment at the white face, then turned to find someone to go seek -stretcher bearers, if such were yet near. - -Herbert ran back toward the edge of the woods; a minute or two would -thus be consumed. A man in khaki was coming toward him; with the -parting of branches and the rounding of a young spruce the two came -face to face. The other, Herbert knew at once as the grouchy liaison -sergeant whom he had met half an hour ago out on the hill. - -“What, not running away, are you?” There was something more than a -sneer accompanying this speech. Instantly Herbert lost his temper. - -“Keep a civil tongue! I’ll make you eat those words in a minute! You -chase yourself back and bring the _brancardiers_ here for one of my -men!” - -“You can’t give me orders, Lieutenant. I get mine from men higher -up. I’m on my way now to you from the field staff. Stop your men and -withdraw; they’re the orders. Pretty much everyone has them but you, -and they are all halting the charge.” - -“You can’t be correct. The orders were to go on till the bugle recall; -then to----” - -“Changed then. What can you expect, anyway? You heard what I said and -if you know what’s what you’d better obey.” - -“Something wrong about this. Give the orders to my captain, Captain -Lowden.” - -“Lowden’s killed, out there near the woods.” - -“Is that true?” Herbert was shocked, saddened more and more. - -“Don’t take me for a liar, do you?” queried the sergeant belligerently. -Suddenly, hearing someone coming, he swung around and stared for a -moment, then added quickly: - -“Well, if you won’t believe me, you needn’t; it’s your own funeral. -I did my duty so far and I’ve got to go on.” With that he turned and -hastened away through the forest. Herbert had also turned, wondering -what it could all mean. Then he heard a familiar voice, cheery and glad. - -“Oh you Herb!” and Don Richards, pistol in hand, was coming rapidly -toward him. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -SHIFTED - - -UPON his return to duty at the new Red Cross base just south of St. -Mihiel, Don Richards had been sent at once to the evacuation hospital -four miles farther toward the front and there he reported to Major -Little, who received him with many expressions of gratification over -his return. The two entered the surgeon’s office and supply room in the -rear of an old château and sat talking for a few minutes. In one corner -of the room was an army officer at a table covered with documents and -the man was busily engaged. Presently he arose and came over to the -major. - -“May I trouble you for that list once again, Doctor?” he asked. “I want -just another peep at it.” - -“Sure, sure. No trouble. Oh, Colonel, I want to introduce my young -friend here, Richards. I don’t know whether you have heard of him or -not; he did some fine ambulance work for us up at Cantigny and then -above Thierry and along the Marne. Got one through the shoulder near -Bouresches--was trying to bring in a _blessé_ there right back of -the fight. He also got that Red Cross Hun spy who was signaling the -balloon; you may remember hearing about it.” - -“Remember? I guess I do. I had a hand in that; gave orders to a squad -of the Marines to get him; one of them had some dope on him. Well, I’m -glad to meet you, young man. But how about that shoulder? Get over it -and come back to us?” - -“Oh, he’s the right stuff, you may bet that!” put in the surgeon, -searching for the list. - -“I believe you, Major, and that’s what we want. Spin that full yarn -about the spy to me, will you, Richards?” - -Don looked a little sheepish; he did not much like to talk about -himself, but Major Little said: - -“Colonel Walton is in part command of one branch of the enemy -Intelligence Division here.” And Don related fully his part in the spy -affair, beginning even with the capture of the spy’s confederates back -in the States and the important part also that Clement Stapley had -performed. The colonel listened with much interest; then turned and -spoke to the major: - -“Doctor, you have about as many men as you really need now for drivers, -haven’t you?” - -“Yes, but we can always make room for another expert at it.” - -“Or you can let one go if he can be of more use elsewhere. We must have -more men who are keen on spy work and this lad is a go-getter in that -particular. Will you turn him over to me? You wouldn’t mind becoming -a liaison officer; would you, Richards; also a messenger at times; -that is, to all appearances? Your work will really be that of army -detective, to operate in some little measure with the military police -at times, when necessary, but to gain intelligence of what the enemy -may be trying to do within our lines in seeking information. In short, -to stop him from getting information. Agreed?” - -“Anything,” Don replied, “to help lick the Huns! - -“You have an automatic and ammunition? Good! Clothes and shoes O.K.? -Fine! Continue to wear your Red Cross arm band. Now then, report first -to headquarters of the First Army Corps and then to Captain Lowden, -with the Twenty-eighth Division in the field. We have some information -from him. By the time you can get there the advance will be under way -and you’ll probably catch up with the boys somewhere west of the Aire -River; their orders, I believe, are to attack in the Argonne sector. -You will find an ambulance or a lorry going up; the pass I shall give -you will take you anywhere. You are starting out without any definite -information now, but such may come to you from time to time. Now then, -I’ll swear you and you can get on the job at once. Your rank will be a -sergeant of infantry; the pay----” - -“I don’t care what the pay is, Colonel. It’s the duty I’m after,” Don -said. - -A little while later the boy was on his way with half a dozen jolly, -care-free fellows, who were a sapper squad, and two others who were -transferred army cooks, all loaded into a big transport _camion_ that -thundered, jolted, creaked and groaned, sputtered and backfired over -the uneven and rutted roads, stopping now and then for deliberate -repairs, to cool the motor or for meals, when a rest was always in -order, together with card games or crap shooting, accompanied by a vast -amount of hilarity. - -Don took no part in these latter performances, but was an intent -observer; he very plainly smelled alcohol fumes among the men and he -noted that the driver, a morose and silent fellow, was evidently not -under the influence of the beverage that was being passed around. The -boy bided his time. Presently a bottle was offered to him, but he -declared that it made him sick. A little later there was a call for -more and the driver stopped the car, reached back under his seat and -brought forth a bottle of yellow fluid which was handed around, the -driver himself persistently refusing to imbibe. Don watched him and -saw the fellow’s eyes take on a queer, wicked glance at the increasing -intoxication of the men. The boy liked this so little that he decided -something must be wrong; at least there was open disobedience to -strict orders against the use of intoxicants, this being dared because -of the isolation of the long run somewhat out of the usual route -and the expressed desire of everyone in the lorry, except Don, who -was evidently regarded from his youth as quite unworthy of serious -consideration. Instinctively the boy felt that here was a chance for -some investigation along his new endeavor. - -Some risk was being run by the party; an M. P. was sighted ahead as he -rode toward them. The driver gave them all a signal and comparative -quiet ensued, with only one choked-off snatch of a song. The policeman -reined in his horse, turned partly and gazed after the lorry, evidently -thought better of following them and they were presently as noisy as -ever. - -Another stop was made. Don did not believe, nor could he detect -anything was the matter with the motor. Several of the men got out and -started another crap game; some were asleep, or near it, inside the -car. Don saw and took his chance to have a quiet word with the driver, -though he foresaw that he must prod his own nerve. - -“What’s the use of just delaying a little?” he said, looking the other -in the face, with a wink. “Why don’t you run into the ditch and then -get under and disconnect your steering rod, chuck the bolt away and -blame it on that?” - -“What you talkin’ about?” demanded the driver, turning almost savagely -upon the boy. - -“Why, it’s a nice day if it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” Don said, laughing -a little. “I said cross steering rods are often weak and ditches -handy. That’ll fix these _teufels_ so they can’t get to the front.” - -“Who wants to fix them?” - -“Why, don’t you and I both want to? What use are they there, anyway? -The Fatherland doesn’t want anyone there; that I know.” - -“Say, who are you and what?” the driver quickly demanded. - -“You can see,” Don said. “Liaison officer messenger, Red Cross. I’ve -got enough to keep them from even guessing who I may be. You don’t need -to tell who and what you are; I know.” - -It was an awful bluff, barely a guess, but Don reasoned that nothing -ventured nothing have, and now that he had started to burn his bridges -he would go ahead with his quest. - -“Get out; you don’t know nothin’ ’bout me,” denied the driver. - -“Nothing about where your orders came from, eh? When I get mine from -the same general source? We’ve all got to work together. Say, if you -haven’t the nerve to ditch her, let’s start on and give me the wheel; -I’ll do it. And I know a way we can get off unsuspected, too.” - -“Aw, gwan! You’re kiddin’ me, Sarge.” - -“Aw, don’t be a clam! Your think works must be rusty or your mush case -too thick. Come on, get her to going and let me show you a thing or two -that’ll put you wise.” - -“How’d you get into this, Sarge?” - -“How’d a lot of us get into it? One kind of money is as good as -another, if it’s good in exchange. And it’s big money, too, eh? You -know that. Quit your hedging, fellow, and let’s talk sense. Going to -let me ditch her?” - -“You daren’t ditch her. If you do, I reckon you’re givin’ me the -straight dope. But let me say this first: You talk A-1 American; how, -then----?” - -“Well, what of that? So do you. But that doesn’t keep my folks from -being--well, maybe like yours are. We’ve both listened to ‘_Deutschland -uber alles_’ enough to know it by heart, haven’t we?” - -“Let’s see you ditch her. I don’t believe you’ve got the nerve,” the -driver said and shouting “all aboard!” they started the motor, gliding -off as soon as the passengers were in the car. Fortune favored Don at -the wheel. The driver saw at once that the boy knew how to handle the -big car; the fellow sat watching him closely; watching also the road. -It was very rutty for a stretch, but the ground was solid; another -motor car could pull them out of the ditch if they couldn’t get out -alone. - -The boy could not be sure of his ground; there were too many -contributing circumstances for him to be altogether wrong. Yet there -was a large element of risk, too, and it required all his courage to do -what he did. It was really more impulse than an act of clear reason, -but often unerring inspiration may come in leaps from an uncertain -footing. And now before Don lay one course or the other; he had to -choose and that quickly. Showing a lack of nerve would defeat his -object. - -There was a sudden grinding of brakes, a sudden swaying, a big jolt, a -splash. Skidding into the ditch went the big car and stopped almost as -though coming against a tree trunk. Half of the passengers were in a -heap on the floor. - -“You done it! You done it all right, _señor_. I didn’t think you had -the nerve, but you done it!” whispered the driver fiercely. - -“Now let’s get out and look her over,” Don said in a calm voice which -belied his feelings. - -They jumped to the ground, hearing expressions of injury and protest -from those within. Around at the front of the car the man and boy were -quite alone. - -“She’s fixed now, I think.” Don’s manner appeared stern. - -“She is. We’d better attend to that rod and bolt, as you----” - -“Plenty of time. Say, this is getting results. It’ll even things up -with me and the coin---- Say, where did you say you’re from?” - -“I didn’t say yet. Want to know? I’m Mexican born; folks came from -Bavaria. Foreign colony at home; talk English mostly. My old man and -his crowd lost all their money----” - -“Where do we go from here, Betsy; where do we go from here?” sang one -of the sappers within. - -“We don’t go; we stay awhile, blast your boots!” yelled Don. - -“--through an English oil syndicate; he was tryin’ to do them and they -were tryin’ to do him and did it. Reckon there’s some way of getting -square. I enlisted from El Paso. What’s your trouble?” - -“Mebbe you’d be surprised if I tell you I was born in Germany and -learned to talk English on a visit to America, where they got me for -this scrap. Who do you take your orders from? I get mine from----” - -Don paused, as though listening; then added: “That slow shooting is -German machine-guns. Give it to ’em, Fritz, me boy!” - -“I get mine from a liaison sergeant; he’s up at the front now. Got ’em -complete fooled, he has. A German fellow that was in America before the -war broke out. He raised the roof over there, he says; helped to blow -up one ammunition storehouse and set fire to a gun factory.” - -“Mebbe I’ve seen him and I ought to know him. What’s he look like?” Don -asked, making no attempt to hide his eagerness. - -“Short, thick-set; looks something like a wop. Little mustache; has a -cast in his eye. Good feller, though, and free with the coin. You can -ask one of the cooks in there--the big one; he’s with us, too; German. -Where’d you say you got your orders?” - -“From the United States Government!” Don replied, suddenly pulling his -automatic. “Now, hold up your hands! Up, up, I say, and keep ’em up -high!” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A GOOD BEGINNING - - -A SUDDEN quiet, after much complaining, settled upon the occupants of -the transportation _camion_; Don Richards’ quick, sharp order had been -heard and the driver was seen to back away with his arms in air. Then -the chap with the red cross on his sleeve was heard again: - -“Hey, some of you fellows in there, tumble out; will you? Bring a rope! -Here’s a German!” - -A sapper and one of the cooks responded at once; the latter was a big -man and he came ahead, evidently wanting to keep the other back. Don -heard the cook say: “I’ll be enough; you needn’t butt in.” But the -sapper, a wiry little fellow, edged along just the same and he was -quite sober. So was the cook, who spoke quickly: - -“What’s the trouble? What’d he do?” - -There was something in the twang, or in the tone of this; something -quite intangible, that caught Don’s quick ear, even above the -excitement of the occasion. He had heard this man talk a little before -in typical American, to be sure; yet it seemed to be not wholly -natural. The boy eyed the cook; then addressed the sapper: - -“You, little fellow, get a rope off the curtains or in the box maybe -and tie this----” - -The driver replied to the cook’s query: - -“I ain’t done nothin’! This feller’s a German an’ workin’ fer the -Heinies; he just told me so. Git him, not me! I’m American all over, I -am, and I kin prove it!” - -“Headquarters will make you prove it. Keep your hands up.” - -“That ain’t no way to treat a fightin’ man!” said the cook angrily. -“You put up yer gun an’ we’ll take care o’ this feller. He’s reg’lar, -all right; I know him.” - -Don kept his eye on the speaker, but made him no reply. Again he spoke -to the sapper: - -“Come on, you! Don’t stand there like a wooden man! Get a piece of -rope, I said!” - -“Don’t you pay no attention to him, Shorty! He ain’t nobody we got to -mind. Put up yer gun, feller, or I’ll make you put it up!” The cook’s -hand went back to his pocket. Don didn’t wait for him to draw his -weapon, which he knew he was going to do; the boy, as once before on a -somewhat similar occasion, dropped the muzzle of his automatic a little -and fired. The cook twisted about in a rather comical fashion and -flopped on his hands and one knee, quite as though John Barleycorn had -seized and thrown him. The others in the _camion_ had come tumbling out -from the front and rear of the car and were pushing forward. - -“Take his gun, one of you!” Don ordered sharply. “Now then, pick him up -and get him inside and and see how badly he’s hurt. Bandages in the car -somewhere. Two of you watch this guy till Shorty ties him.” - -“What’s this all about, bo?” questioned a big sapper. - -Don turned back his coat lapel and exposed an M. P. badge and that -sufficed to compel obedience to his orders. The big fellow and two -others took the cook in charge and at Don’s directions started to -search him, which immediately brought about a struggle. This proved the -key to the situation; the sappers took from the cook’s possession some -letters that were written in German and postmarked from a German town -and on the driver they found some evident orders, also in German. - -At once the sentiment, rather lukewarm at first in any sense, turned -against the two apparent traitors within the Army. - -“Let’s get a line of some kind and string these two skunks up by the -neck to the first tree we can find!” shouted the big sapper. “Eh? -Fellers, who’re with me?” - -There was a unanimous, loud agreement to this from the sappers and the -other cook; they surrounded the prisoners threateningly, one fellow -reaching over and with the flat of his hand striking the driver in the -face. - -Don, a little frightened at the turn of affairs, still saw his duty -clearly. With drawn pistol he forced his way into the center of the -group, standing before the cowering cook and hastily addressing the -loyal sappers. - -“Men, this won’t do. Of course, we’re all patriotically down on spies -and traitors, but it’s for headquarters to attend to these ducks; -they’ll fix them good and proper, never fear! Don’t let it be said of -us that we are no better than the Huns in acting the brute. A firing -squad is more humane and more certain than a rope and, what’s more, -it’s legal. We have no right to mistreat these polecats; only to arrest -them and shoot if they get gay.” - -This little speech had the desired effect; the clamorous sappers -cooled down and stood listening to and nodding at Don. They saw the -sense of his remarks and their sentiment in common changed quickly, -finding expression in such phrases as: - -“Right-o, bo! We ain’t diggin’ for no trouble.” - -“Sure we ain’t, ner in love with no little old guard house. Me fer the -road an’ the outdoors; eh, Willies?” - -“That’s us, Pete!” - -“Well, you fellows hold these Huns until I back your car out of the -ditch; then two of you can go back with me and these spies, and the -rest can camp here until we return, or go on in the next lorry up, as -you choose.” - -Thus the good _camion_, doing the duty of a Black Maria, retraced -its tracks to general headquarters. Here Colonel Walton had come to -confer with his superior and what he and the General Assistant Chief -of Staff at the head of Enemy Intelligence and Information had to say -after hearing the lad’s story and questioning his prisoners would have -considerably swelled the head of anyone less modest. They boy, though -he could not but feel somewhat cast down that his efforts had led two -men to pay the supreme penalty, was inclined to treat the matter with -more levity than it deserved, for there had been, on thinking it over, -several rather ludicrous circumstances concerning his duplicity, though -not once had he directly lied, nor played unfair. It seemed, indeed, -all quite too simple and Don wondered if his next case would prove as -easy. He was to find, later, that it was anything but that. - -The general and the colonel conferred; then the latter officer again -beckoned Don. - -“My boy, it’s too bad that you are so young. But this war is filling -many youthful heads with very adult knowledge; making men of many mere -boys. Despite your youth we’ve got to reward your immediate ability. -The general has ordered your promotion and his recommendation for a -commission as second lieutenant of infantry will go through at once. It -will be kept here on file and you may assume the rank and the shoulder -straps now. Well, go to it again, young man, and good luck.” - -Once more the staunch lorry followed the road toward the front, guided -now by a new and undoubtedly loyal driver. Don saw to it that the -brandy that had been smuggled beneath the seat was all thrown out, the -bottles smashed. The four sappers and the other cook were again taken -aboard and on the car went, with few stops. Camp for the night was made -in a deserted and shell-torn old house within sound of the occasional -firing and bursting of heavier caliber shells. Early the next morning, -about two hours after the start at daylight, Lieutenant Richards and -his companions crossed a bridge over the Aire River, reached the top of -a long hill and were suddenly almost within range of the German machine -guns at the edge of the Argonne Forest. - -“You fellows go on to your destinations,” Don said. “I stop here; the -bunch I’m hunting are in there fighting now.” - -As Don approached the woods habit was strong within him and he -wanted an ambulance with which he could aid in helping the seriously -wounded that seemed to be everywhere. But the stretcher men, the -_brancardiers_, were on the job and the boy had now no business to take -a hand. Guided by the plop, plop of rifles and the more rapid staccato -of machine guns he ran on into the dense woods, from out of which all -along its edge wounded men were staggering, crawling or being carried -and some few were going in; messengers also from the division C. and -C., liaison men with information tending to hold the units together, Y. -M. C. A. and K. of C. workers, relying on the success of the Americans -and at once eager to advance their depots, even some Salvation Army -lassies, two of whom Don saw ministering to the wounded, but being -gently checked from further dangerous advance by the Military Police. - -Don had made several inquiries of the M. P.’s and of less seriously -wounded soldiers; he knew he was on the right track, but knew not -how he would find Captain Lowden. Under the stress of immediate -circumstances the officer would hardly have time to talk with him now, -but the boy could stand by and wait; he could even take some part along -with the soldiers, and at this his heart leaped. With an instinct born -of knowing well how to use a gun and how to play at Indian fighting, he -would welcome a chance to join this sort of thing. - -Immediately ahead of Don, dodging along through the trees, was another -fellow, probably bent on a similar errand, but evidently in no great -hurry; rather was he looking about him sharply as he advanced, as -though fearing to run into the enemy. As the two clambered together -over a pile of rocks and through a thicket of scrub trees the boy -introduced himself, noting also that the other was a liaison officer, -a sergeant. He was not inclined to talk; did not give his name, but -seemed to want to turn aside. - -There was sudden shooting just ahead of them; some yells and loud -voices in unison. The sergeant stopped and Don, facing him by chance, -looked him over, the former saying: - -“They’re at it right ahead. I guess the Heinies are all through this -wood and what one bunch of our men doesn’t find, another will.” Then -the boy noted that his _vis-à-vis_ was short, heavy-set, with features -decidedly Italian, though with gray eyes, and in one of his eyes there -was undoubtedly a cast. A small black mustache with a tendency to an -upward curl at the outer ends completed Don’s recognition from the -description the treacherous driver had given him. And yet he could -not be sure this was the man. In what way could the boy bring about a -positive identification? - -A bunch of men came pushing through the woods, in front several German -prisoners with arms held up from outward elbows, behind them two -khaki-clad privates, with rifles ready, conducting the prisoners to -the rear. It was a most interesting sight and Don was all attention; -when he turned again the liaison sergeant was gone. The boy hastened -forward, the sound of shooting was on all sides of him now, even almost -behind him, though a good way off. He must be very close to where the -most advanced American line was contesting with the Huns for the well -defended forest. - -The way seemed a little more open to the left; Don went that way. A -long, level stretch more devoid of branches permitted him to see ahead -and fifty yards away the liaison sergeant and an officer were talking. -The short fellow was looking all about him; at the same time his right -hand came slowly behind him and under his coat. Then he turned his head -and saw Don. Instantly the man brought the hand out again, pointed as -though asking directions and disappeared among the trees. Don, his -automatic in hand, was running forward and in an instant he had come -face to face with Lieutenant Herbert Whitcomb. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -MUCH TO DO AND MANY TO DO IT - - -“SAY, who is that fellow?” Don asked quickly. - -“Don’t know; something funny about him. Don, I’m tickled to see you, -old top! Where’d you come from?” - -“Headquarters. With the information force now, posing as messenger, -liaison, anything else but----. Detective work, you know. I’m glad to -see you, Herb. How’s the fight going?” - -“Right ahead; all the time ahead!” declared Lieutenant Whitcomb. “The -Heinies are putting up a good scrap, though. This is only the first -round. Say, I wish we could chin awhile, but----” - -“I know. And now you----?” - -“Going to find some stretcher bearers to get a man of mine out.” - -“I’ll do it; where’s the man. But first I must tell you to keep an eye -open for that liaison sergeant; I believe he’s bad medicine. He may -have been laying for you.” - -“I know he was lying to me; said there were orders to withdraw. I ought -to have held him. Come with me now; then I must get back to my men.” - -Herbert quickly led Don to where Merritt lay; then clasping Don’s hand -and saying that they’d meet again, shortly perhaps, went on a run in -the direction of the fighting. - -Don knelt and at once saw that the youthful soldier’s wound had soon -proved fatal and so, folding the poor fellow’s arms and placing his -handkerchief over his face, the boy arose to again make his way through -the woods. - -Suddenly he came to where a number of officers advanced together and -the boy asked for Captain Lowden. The company commander acknowledged -his own identity and receiving the note from Colonel Walton seemed -eager to talk to Don, explaining that the fight was going very well, -that it was a matter of breaking up machine-gun nests and capturing or -routing the enemy who manned them; the officers could have little part -in this, except to keep their men together and busy. - -“We are ordered to proceed only due north and to maintain our -alignment,” he said, “but I’m afraid some units will meet and get -mixed. However, they’re bringing in the bacon.” - -“I think you mean the wieniewursts, don’t you, Captain?” suggested Don. - -The officer laughed. “Yes, but I wish we had some of the genuine -article,” he said. “Good eats get to us a little too slowly sometimes. -Well, the colonel gives you a fine send-off in this; you must be the -real thing. Now, as to this spy: my men have reported him several times -and I think he was seen around here this morning. But it is hard to -identify him fully and we don’t want to make a mistake; that is the -reason he hasn’t been arrested. We haven’t a very clear description of -him, either, and don’t know what rank he assumes. I rather think it is -several. But we do know that acting as a messenger he has carried some -false orders and he may be still at that.” - -“Not ten minutes ago and to Lieutenant Whitcomb, for one; orders -to quit; retire. I think I know him; liaison officer, thick-set, -dark-skinned, cast in his eye. If anyone by that description runs into -you again hold him, please, by all means!” - -“We shall, you may wager! I hope you get him. Hello! that sounds like -an extra heavy scrap over to the right. I guess that’s within our zone -of advance, gentlemen.” The captain addressed a first lieutenant and a -color sergeant: “Let’s hurry on and back the boys up!” - -Merrily the bushwhacking fight in the Argonne Forest went on; that is, -it might be characterized as merry from the standpoint of the results -obtained by the determined Americans. The Germans had reason to regard -it quite otherwise. And so had both sides when they took into account -the resulting toll in lives and those maimed for life. Before nightfall -of that first day the Germans were routed or captured all along the -edge of the forest and upon the southeastern slopes of the Aire Valley, -the Yanks flanking these latter positions to the left and descending -upon them, instead of charging up the hills from the stream, a movement -that the Hun had never expected. - -Then night came down and the attacking Yanks, eager to continue their -work on the day following, literally slept on their guns and in -numerous cases found need for so doing. - -Don Richards had now one very special task to perform, though his -duty lay in apprehending anyone that might aid the enemy in any way, -particularly in gaining information. But the boy did not seem able to -land on concrete evidence of any kind, nor to meet up with those he -might suspect. Conscious that the task was a difficult one and also -that his superiors knew it so to be, he went about it with a calmness -and assurance that would have done credit to a veteran. No grand stand -plays for him; simply unqualified results were what he meant to obtain -and to this end he kept his mind alert as he had never done before. -Wherever he went and with whomever he talked, his pass gaining for him -complete access to all units and what information he desired, he was -generally received with courtesy and much consideration from commanders -of all ranks, for there is nothing so appealing to the universal sense -of justice as anti-spy work. - -To the boy also there was large satisfaction connected with his -efforts; he gloried in the fact that at least he was endeavoring to -do something worth while for his country and the cause of justice and -right. Whether he succeeded or not, he was one among those who were -keeping their eyes open for a sly and watchful enemy’s attempts to -discover the Americans’ purpose in detail and thereupon deliver telling -counter-strokes. - -All of that first day of the Argonne fight, Don had footed over many -miles just behind the fighting front, seeking to again encounter -the short, dark man uniformed as a liaison sergeant. The boy had -passed from one field of operations to another; he had gained many a -conference with officers, from non-coms to colonels; he had made them -all aware of the spy’s evident character and his disguise, so that -if he again tried to deliver false messages he would be forestalled -and arrested. At night Don returned to the position behind Captain -Lowden’s company and bunked with one of the Red Cross men in an injured -ambulance, the driver having known the boy on the Marne. - -All that night the American-French artillery, both near and miles away, -was barking sometimes fitfully and now and then German heavy shells -would come over and burst too near for real comfort. Occasionally also -there were night raids, or German counter-attacks along and beyond -the Aire, but these never reached the proportions that the daylight -permitted. - -Then, with the first coming of daylight, the opposing forces were at it -again, the Americans, as before, tearing the Hun defenses within the -forest to pieces and driving off their determined counter-attacks, now -being made in force and with selected shock troops. - -Don gathered information from various sections of the forest, over the -area from the Aire westward to the end of the American left wing, that -sector covered by the First Army Corps. Reports came to the boy mostly -from persons not directly engaged in the fighting. - -Lieutenant Whitcomb? Oh, he was strictly on the job. The lad, as -once before, seemed to bear a charmed life; he had not been so much -as scratched when last seen and he had been in the forefront of the -fighting almost continually, with pistol in hand, the weapon often -emptied and hot, leading, always leading his platoon, now a mere -handful of men. Captain Lowden? On the job also, though slightly hurt. -Two reports had come that he had been killed. Lieutenant Pondexter was -dead, killed in the early morning of this second day, and so were the -other officers of Lowden’s company. Thus Whitcomb and two sergeants -were the only ones left to assist their superior in directing the -company’s efforts and in keeping it in line with its supports. - -How far had the Americans advanced from the edge of the woods? At least -a mile; in some places where the line bent forward it was much more -than that and they were still going; by night again it would be another -mile or more. - -This opinion proved to be correct. The first part of the Argonne -attack, on the 26th, 27th and 28th of September, on a front of nearly -thirty miles, had succeeded in driving the Huns out of half the Argonne -Forest and from many small towns and villages along the Aire Valley and -between it and the Meuse River. Then, except when forcing minor attacks -on separate defenses and by an advance of the artillery making good -the ground gained, the Yanks prepared for a still stronger offensive -beginning on October 4th. - -During this period of lesser offensive engagements there was evident -a sort of unrest on the part of under officers and men; the sweet -taste of victory had further nourished the spirit of daring. The -desire was to continue demonstrating that the supposedly invincible -and highly-trained Germans could be thoroughly beaten. Prove this the -Yanks did many times, when the numbers were even, or the odds slightly -in favor of the Huns; it remained for the Americans to show also in -some isolated cases that they were the masters of the enemy when he -was twice their strength. Again, with exceeding bravery and grit they -defied the foe when it outnumbered them many times. - -It was this zeal for scrapping and the adventurous tendency that led -minor expeditions against German positions to exceed their orders -or to penetrate too far without support into the domain still held -by the enemy. Thus it occurred that a machine-gun squad went over a -hill, routed the Huns from an old stone ruins and then, after being -unmercifully pounded with shrapnel for an hour, were attacked by -ten times their number of infantry. How those Brownings, with their -record of six hundred shots per minute, did talk back and how nearly -every man in the bunch learned perforce to become a crack shot with -his Springfield-Enfield, is a record that the survivors who tried -unsuccessfully to compel the squad to surrender could well bear witness -to. And when the Huns were finally beaten off and dared not to make -another attempt to rout those few Yanks because of reinforcements, just -half of that little group of gritty dare-devils came out of the old -building alive and most of them were wounded. But they could still pull -triggers or turn a gun crank. - -Who has not heard of the lost battalion, missing when the reports -were turned in on October 3d, a contingent of the Seventy-seventh -Division? It had been sent to rout out some gun nests that were proving -troublesome in the Argonne Forest. When this task was done they just -kept going and knew not when to stop until night shut down upon them. -Then they sent runners back to ask for instructions and these fellows -could not get through because of a flank movement of the Germans in -some force between the battalion and the main division. So Major -Whittlesey and his seven hundred men were trapped and for five days -those brave boys, having lost almost half their number in killed and -wounded, without food for three days and daring to get water only at -night and that from a dirty swamp, stood off the repeated assaults of -thousands of Huns upon the rocky hillside in the clefts and fissures -of which the Americans found some shelter. They were fired upon from -the hills on each side; enemy trench mortars smashed most of their -machine guns and their ammunition ran out. Many of their number -were captured also and one was induced to bring back a typewritten -message demanding surrender, but to this Major Whittlesey returned a -very decided refusal. Finally rescue came to the lost battalion; men -in the forefront of the second drive reached them and chased out the -Huns. Whereupon the dead that had been laid aside waiting burial that -could not have taken place because of the danger, were now peacefully -interred. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -INDIAN FASHION - - -NO braver deed was ever done than that undertaken by seventeen men--all -that remained of a platoon--and one other, a messenger from a squad in -trouble. The platoon was left without a commissioned officer and was -under the command of a sergeant; he and his men dared the very jaws -of death to effect a rescue, performing that which seemed well-nigh -miraculous. - -The squad of Yanks, like many others exceeding their orders, had -advanced too far and found their return cut off. Perhaps the corporal -in a measure lost his nerve, or perhaps he showed wisdom, for he was -unwilling that they should all make an effort to get back. He chose -but one of their number, who seemed best fitted for the task, as a -messenger. An account of this fellow’s adventures in making his way -through the German lines resembles chapters of the pioneer history of -the western United States. For sheer daring there could hardly be a -parallel. - -Billy Morgan was the name of this fearless chap. He was a mere youth, -in his teens; very tall and large for his age, as agile as a cat, as -strong as a young mule, as soft-spoken as a girl. When urged to make -haste and report the condition of the squad he had smilingly assented; -then had departed at once on the errand. It was after nightfall, but it -did not take the boy long to ascertain that his way was barred. - -The Germans occupied the base of a low hill in front; another bunch -of them had fortified themselves in a bit of dense woodland to the -right, and to his left were even a greater number, a relatively large -encampment that included some sort of headquarters, probably that of -the field commander of that section. All this the young fellow had to -find out by the most painstaking and silent scout work, during which -he crawled half a mile or so, emulating a snake much of the time. Low -voices, almost invisible camp fires, seldom seen moving figures and the -stertorous breathing of sleeping men gave Morgan his clues. - -There was no way to get through the enemy’s lines, except between the -positions in front and to the right of the unfortunate messenger, and -the Germans were practically in touch with each other at this place. -Time was flying, the night was wearing on; the order, rather a plea, to -hasten and the immediate need of his comrades, their ammunition largely -spent and no water to drink, inspired the youth. - -A small ravine, with exceedingly precipitous sides and a dry waterway -or gully along its bottom formed the ground over which he must make his -way. Probably the Germans believed this terrain would be impassable to -an assaulting or scouting force and hence did not occupy it, except to -station a sentry there. - -An unfortunate sentry he proved to be, for Morgan, after ascertaining -that the enemy occupied only the ground at the top of the hills on -either side, crept down the gully, spied the light of the Hun’s pipe -or cigarette, approached near enough, without being heard, to hit the -fellow with a stone and when the sentry showed signs of regaining his -wind and yelling Morgan banged him another that finished him for good. - -Wearing the sentry’s cap, his own stuffed in his blouse, the messenger -advanced then a little less carefully and presently he came to another -sentry, who took him for a comrade and sleepily let him pass without -question. - -On the messenger went, even a little faster. The Huns seemed to be -farther away on both sides of him; was he getting through and past -them? He actually straightened up and was stepping along the water-worn -gully in almost a trot. The woods were silent; there was hardly a sound -except the everlasting boom of guns miles away to the east. A large -hare, in no great haste, crossed the ravine directly in front of him, -leaping up the hill and startling the boy not a little. Small birds -also, from time to time, were frightened from their roosting places in -thickets. With a ripping sound following a sharp blow a bit of bark on -a tree not two feet ahead flew off, sending pieces that stung his face -and upon the instant came the report of the gun that sent the bullet. -This was intended for him, no doubt; a forward sentry had caught sight -of a moving figure where he must have known a Hun soldier had no right -to be. - -Morgan stopped and crouched. At the brink of the gully not three feet -above was a clump of grasses; up the back of this the boy dived, lying -flat, at the same time pulling his automatic. - -A voice, some little distance away, spoke in German; another, much -nearer, made reply. Then almost beside him a third man growled out a -lot of guttural stuff. He it was who had fired the shot, but with what -result he could not have ascertained. The fellow was on the steep slope -opposite and across the gully from where Billy Morgan lay and the least -move of the latter might be seen. - -Morgan could plainly discern the outline of the German against a patch -of sky above and between the trees. The young fellow’s home was in the -Ozark Mountains of Arkansas; he had three brothers and all had enlisted -together. Since quite small he had been almost as familiar with -shooting irons as he was with a knife and fork, and hunting turkeys -on their roosts at night had been a much followed pastime with the -brothers. To get one’s sights against the sky before shooting did the -trick. An automatic pistol was not the accurate weapon that a finely -sighted rifle is, but the man was much nearer than one could ever get -to a roosting turkey. - -Morgan, quite noiselessly, turned partly over on his side and brought -his right arm around with the elbow resting on the ground. He glanced -along the barrel of the little weapon, holding it toward the open sky -above the German’s head. Then without altering the relative line of -eye and weapon he lowered his arm until the pistol barrel was blended -into the dark form of the Hun and pulled the trigger. - -No doubt the sentry’s ears had been troubled with at least the -suggestion of some sound, perhaps the faintest rustle, and this had -caused him to remain motionless, listening intently. But it is doubtful -if he heard even the crack of the automatic. A man shot through the -brain cannot know what hit him. Morgan’s bullet, though a line shot, -went high, naturally. The sentry’s tumbling body had hardly reached the -bottom of the ravine before the Yank was on his feet and going at the -best rate he could down the gully, hearing a short call in German from -beyond and hurrying feet in his direction. They must not see him now, -he knew, and he would leave them behind, for he was making no noise on -the hard earth. - -But not a hundred yards from where the last tragedy occurred the gully -ended, spreading out into a sort of little sand bar over level and more -open ground. Ahead of the American was another hill. He could look up -and get his direction by keeping a little to the left of the milky way -and in line with the bright star Altair, which he knew, having studied -a bit of astronomy. - -Up the steep slope he went, encountering much dense undergrowth and -brambly thickets, though these held him back but little. On the top a -clearer space lay before him; he could again see the sky and get his -bearings. And then right in his path arose three figures, men, but he -could not distinguish whether they were friend or foe. The group stood -there, silently confronting him. Morgan, pistol in hand, was ready for -the slightest hostile move, if he could detect it. Suddenly it occurred -to him that the three were similarly in doubt concerning him. There -must be a show-down. If these fellows were Germans, the Yank meant to -get all three of them as fast as he could pull the trigger, though at -least one of them would probably get him before his triple task could -be completed. - -Which side would first make itself known? It seemed to be up to the -strongest party to take the initiative, the risk. - -A rifle was raised a little, pointing toward Morgan and aimed from the -hip. There was a sort of movement in his direction. Were they satisfied -that he was an enemy? The messenger was on the point of being sure -that his first shot would count and was about to press the trigger of -his automatic when his finger went straight instead and he dropped the -muzzle toward the ground, fearing it would go off. - -“Come on, Heinie; hands up!” were the words that turned a possible -tragedy of some kind into a very welcome reception. - -“I’m right glad you spoke,” remarked Morgan in his soft voice. - -“Ho, a Yank! Where’d you come from, fellow?” - -“From back yonder half a mile or so; the other side the German lines.” - -“Huh? No you didn’t; ’taint possible! We been prowlin’ and the Heinies -is in there thicker’n cooties. You couldn’t shoot in the air without -gettin’ a few when she comes down. Nobody could come through ’em.” - -“But I happened to get through and I’m going back,” Morgan protested. - -“Mean it? Spy work, I reckon.” - -“No; some of my comrades, my squad, are cut off in there.” - -“Saint’s love! Do the Heinies know it?” - -“Not when I left.” - -“Did they hunt a hole and pull it in after em? Come daylight, they’ll -be found. Say, pards, let’s take this fellow to the sarge and see what -he has to say about it.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -WITHOUT ORDERS - - -THE three Yanks who accosted Morgan, the messenger, on his way from -the surrounded platoon were out doing scout duty for the bunch of -seventeen mentioned at the beginning of the last chapter. When they -heard Morgan’s story they chose one of their number to conduct the -messenger to their own camp at the southern foot of the hill on which -the unexpected meeting had occurred. - -Sergeant Grout eagerly listened to what Morgan said; although the -message was not intended for him, he determined to act upon it without -delay. The young fellow’s information concerning the lay of the land -decided him to take this course: a bunch of plucky boys, at night and -led unerringly, could get through to the surrounded men, taking them -ammunition, food and water and then the lot of them could come back -against big odds. - -But Grout still hesitated. He was in command and yet a non-commissioned -officer. Would even a lieutenant or a captain dare assume such -responsibility without orders from higher up? - -At this precise moment who should wander in upon them but Major -Anderson, of their own battalion, and Grout instantly put the matter up -to him. Anderson was the sort of man that goes in for action; he was -also utterly devoid of useless self-importance; entirely without that -arrogance too often found, without reason, in the highly trained men of -the Army. - -“You’re in command here, Sergeant,” he said, “and your past deeds are -sufficient guarantee for your wisdom and scrapping qualities. I’ll -leave the matter to you. If you go in, good luck to you, and you’ll do -some good, I know.” - -It seems strange, perhaps, to one not accustomed to the conditions that -naturally influence the fighting man in the midst of battle scenes that -a lot of fellows who had been almost continually in action and had -lost half their number in dead and wounded should actually want more -action, seek further adventure and deadly risks. But such was the case -with the majority of the Americans and such was the case now with these -seventeen Yanks. - -Grout put it up to them, which may have been not according to military -customs, but they were buddies, one and all; therefore, they should -act only upon their combined decision. This proved to be a unanimous -verdict; there was not a dissenting voice among the lot and forthwith -they prepared for the foray, starting after extra water and food had -been obtained, though in what manner is not recorded. - -Morgan led the way back, just as he had come out: over the hill to the -ravine, then up the gully. The advance was single file, the men five or -six feet apart, following each other exactly and as silently as a lot -of Indians. - -Rapid progress was made and the platoon had, without incident, reached -the spot where Morgan had shot the sentry, the man’s body still lying -where it had fallen. - -Just at this spot the leaders, Morgan and Grout, sensed danger ahead. -There were unmistakable evidences of the presence of a camp: the slight -and almost indefinable sounds that must come from a large number of -men, even though many are sleeping, for a combined loud breathing -pulsates on the night air not unlike the ticking of a clock. - -The Yanks halted; stood waiting, listening, hardly expecting anything -to occur and when it did two of them never knew it. The dense forest -was lighted up for yards around and the detonation was heard for miles. -Probably some shrewd officer of the enemy surmised that a relief -expedition would come along in the way of the death-dealing messenger -had gone out and a mine had been laid, with an automatic set-off, no -doubt. The odd thing, however, was that more than half the Yanks had -gone past before the mine was set off and that the two men, who were -literally blown to bits, had debouched from the path that Morgan had -taken. It appeared afterward that the messenger had turned aside to -pass around the body of the sentry, merely pointing it out to Grout, -and the act had saved the lives of many of the men, not one other of -whom was hurt. - -The explosion, however, was a signal to the foe. In half a minute there -was a curtain of fire being spread out down the ravine from above and -probably every one in the enemy camp ahead was up and busy with rifles -and machine guns. But the trees were thick, the rocks on the hillsides -made good shelter, there could be no marksmanship in the darkness. As a -matter of fact, not until long afterward did the aroused Germans know -whether they had been shooting at one man or one thousand; indeed, it -might have been a hare that had set off the mine. - -Grout was a quick-witted fellow; Morgan, as we have seen, equally so. -The advantage for the Americans lay in the darkness and the density of -the woods. The orders, given more by motions than by words, and the -latter in whispers, were to keep down and get back a little. This done, -they climbed the steep side of the ravine and followed its slope just -below the fringe of bushes on its crest, keeping forward and parallel -to the gully. In this way they were out of the zone of fire and they -came out on the level ground above to within fifty yards of the -disturbed Huns, who were still shooting down the ravine. - -This was a remarkable piece of work; both as a matter of leadership, -and as a streak of pure good luck it was almost unique. That fifteen -men should so elude a watchful foe and get entirely through its lines -untouched, especially after the mine incident had doubly alarmed the -Huns, is almost beyond belief. - -A little farther on Morgan advanced a hundred yards alone to the -entrenched squad, the men of which had begun to think they were doomed -to have a sorry time of it on the morrow. Then Grout’s platoon came -forward, were received with silent plaudits and very soon the entire -bunch of twenty-two was on the way back to its own lines. And they made -it, but not as easily as had Morgan and the platoon of fourteen who had -sneaked through the German positions. - -When they were in the ravine again, which seemed to be a place of -death, they suddenly encountered a small number of Huns, evidently out -to ascertain the cause of the mine explosion, and as the Yanks were -upon them before they were aware of it, they offered no resistance, -but began to fade away. At the moment good fortune was again with the -Americans. A flare had been sent up by the Germans on the hill and -Grout saw an opportunity that was not to be lost. - -At a sharp order the Yanks leaped forward, spread out, heading off the -Huns from retreat back to their own lines and so, without more ado, -they surrendered and the daring rescuers and rescued, driving nine -prisoners before them, made rapidly for the hill to the south of the -ravine. - -To reach it, they again had to pass through the open space and as they -came into this, beneath the luminous sky, a machine gun hard to the -right, possibly set there to intercept them, opened fire. - -Pausing not an instant and now without orders, the larger number of the -Yanks swung about and went for that machine gun, but at the first fire -and before they got the Huns who manned the weapon, several of our boys -went down. - -With both wounded and prisoners the little platoon returned and Grout -immediately sent in a report, which brought Major Anderson again to -visit the boys back in their old camp, which they had left hardly ten -hours before. The officer went with Grout into the shed tent to see the -wounded; when they came out the two stood talking of many things. - -“You’ll get a commission for this bit of work and you’ll deserve it! -Every one of your boys ought to have a D. S. M.!” exclaimed the Major. - -“I wish that messenger--Morgan his name is--could have had one,” said -the sergeant sadly. - -“Yes, isn’t it a pity? And after such heroic work. That fellow is the -real stuff. But enemy lead is no respecter of persons. He can’t live.” - -“No, but heaven be praised, he doesn’t suffer any,” Grout asserted. -“Poor chap; only a kid, too. A pluckier, cooler one never drew breath. -I found this paper on him; his name and his home. Wm. T. Morgan; -sounds like a fighting name.” - -“Yes, I suspect the T stands for Tecumseh. Named after old General -Sherman, I judge.” - -“Likely. And I found this on him, too; pinned on his shirt. You’ll take -charge of them, Major, and send them to headquarters.” - -The Major held his bull’s-eye to shine on the thing that dropped into -his hand; it was a bronze bar without much ornament; across it ran some -letters and figures. - - ALMA MATER - BRIGHTON ACADEMY - CLASS OF 1919 - -Truly the chances of battle are not governed by what we deem as -befitting in a world of needful justification, else this bright and -brave lad would have been spared. Amidst those scenes of carnage many -such an one went down; others less worthy were spared. Many brave deeds -had their only reward in death. Often it was quite the reverse. - -The adventures that were encountered by a squad of Yanks under the -command of Herbert Whitcomb, accompanied by Don Richards, illustrate -these facts and portray many of the conditions that the invading -Americans faced with remarkable intrepidity in the Argonne Forest. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A RISKY UNDERTAKING - - -DON RICHARDS received some information on the morning of October -1st that caused him a sort of real joy. This word came from an -orderly sergeant sent by the lieutenant-colonel of a regiment of the -Twenty-eighth Division, after a messenger had been received from -Captain Lowden, who had, in turn, obtained facts from two of his men. A -liaison man with the sleeve straps of a sergeant had been seen, among -bushes, to go quickly forward beyond the American positions and toward -a point farther on known to be occupied by the Germans. There could -be but little doubt but that the man was carrying information to the -enemy. A watch had been set for his return, which was likely to occur -at any time, and identification was desired. - -Don was on his way at once and soon reached the position held by -Captain Lowden’s company; the boy also then went on watch, which really -amounted to picket duty, and he knew there were other pickets lying -among the bushes and boulders fifty yards or so on each side of him. -He had requested to be allowed to watch the spot where the liaison -sergeant was seen to disappear, but the captain said two of his best -men had that position and no one could get past them. So Don hid -himself among some bushes in a little vale, along which a narrow path -ran, hugging the hillside. There were many such paths traversing the -forest, crossing and re-crossing, leading in every direction; the boy -wondered whether they were made by hares or deer; there were enough -humans frequenting the place to make their tracks thus visible, though -since the Germans came into this area they no doubt used these paths -because of the easier walking. - -This picket duty was a long and tiresome vigil; the other men were -relieved, but Don refused to turn over his watch to another. It was a -warm day, balmy, spring-like, reminding him of Indian summer in the -States, and as the afternoon came on and the hours still slowly trailed -away, the boy grew drowsy. - -He hardly knew what made him wake; there was no sound, no other -impression upon his senses that he could understand, but suddenly his -eyes were wide open and his thinking apparatus was going one hundred -per cent. This was compelled by what he discerned some distance away -within the little valley: a German soldier and a man in khaki were just -parting; the latter turned to say another word to the Hun, then came -slowly, watchfully along the path. - -Don knew the fellow at once--the same short, stout, dark-featured -sergeant, and the boy, whom it was impossible for the other to see, -crouched like a cat about to spring on its prey, the reliable automatic -held in his hand. This was his duty, though no doubt another human -being would be compelled to stand before a firing squad. - -But again this conjecture was to prove erroneous; the plan was -sidetracked. What alarmed the spy Don never knew; the fellow suddenly -stopped when less than half way along the vale, stood peering ahead and -stooping to see the better; then as quickly turned and retraced his -steps, disappearing around the bend of the hill. - -Don was on his feet immediately and running back to Captain Lowden. -That officer’s remark when he got the story hit the nail on the head: - -“Go get him!” he said. “I’ll send Whitcomb, a squad and machine gun -with you. There are not half a dozen Germans within a mile along that -valley path; our scouts have ascertained that. Go get him and bring him -in! They’re not likely to give you any trouble in that region.” - -No sooner said than put into execution. In fifteen minutes, with -Lieutenant Whitcomb and ten chosen men, each carrying plenty of -ammunition, some grub and a canteen, the young member of the Army -Information Force started a rapid and silent march adown the little -valley, in single file, following the path around the edge of the hill. - -“On duty together, old man, at last,” Herbert said. “I always wished -you could get into it in some way with me.” - -“It’s great, being along with you! I feel like just stepping over to -Berlin and grabbing the Kaiser. Anyhow, we may grab one of his smart -agents.” - -“I’m afraid that isn’t going to be so easy,” Herbert said. “The duck’s -evidently a shrewd one and up to more than one trick; you can’t tell -what he may pull off. But orders are orders and here we go, you and I.” - -“Think it’s a little risky, though?” - -“Oh, everything is risky; everything is a gamble in this scrap against -an enemy that’s part fox, part snake and more than half hog. They are -rooting, squirming about everywhere and you can’t have eyes enough to -get on to all their doings. We’re approaching their territory now.” - -“That’s what I was thinking,” Don said. - -“Men, make a more open formation; spread out a little, anyway, but keep -together,” Herbert said. “Keep a sharp lookout. Report what you see to -the next man and pass it along. Talk low; make no noise. Be ready to -take to cover any second; there’s plenty of it everywhere.” - -“Lieutenant, you know Jennings and Gill scouted all through here this -morning,” the corporal said, “and they didn’t see a single Heinie. They -swore they’d all cleared out for over toward that creek they call the -Aire River--that is, all of ’em this side the big hill up here, ’bout a -mile. Up there, I reckon, there’s a million of ’em waiting for us.” - -“Think, then, we’re pretty safe right around here, eh?” Herbert -questioned, knowing the man’s squad had all been detailed for scout -duty during the last two days. - -“If they sneak in around here it’s only on scout duty, too, from the -hill,” replied the corporal. “Reckon this duffer we’re looking for -trades back and forth from the hill to near our camp.” - -“Probably; but I’m not so sure,” Herbert said, “now that we’ve let up -a bit, that machine-gun squads won’t filter through these woods to try -to head us off when we make the next drive. We can take a gamble on it, -however, and follow orders to comb these woods for signs of Mister Spy. -The captain wouldn’t have sent us in here if he hadn’t been pretty sure -it’s all right, though we’ll take precautions and be on the _qui vive_. -What do you think, Don?” - -“I think you’ve got the right idea and I hope the dope the scouts -brought in holds out. I know I’d like to get another peep at that -liaison sergeant.” - -“You’re sure he was with a Heinie when you first saw him in here?” - -“Positive!” - -“That shows, then, that they’re making bold enough to think we’re lying -back; maybe for good.” And Herbert laughed softly. “But they’re going -to get badly fooled pretty quick!” - -“How far ought we to go on, Herb?” Don asked. - -“The captain wants us to find out about this Hun,” he said. “I didn’t -exactly grasp what he meant and he added that we ought to discover, -if possible, where the trail goes that the spy uses, find his camp if -he has one, or lay for him up here where he won’t suspect us. If any -general orders come in the captain will send a runner. I expect we’d -better follow this pathway another quarter of a mile, or until we find -an extra good place for an ambush. There some of us can lie low and a -few can scout around. What say you?” - -“I’m agreed, Herb. You know best.” - -“No, and I hate taking the responsibility in this sort of thing. I -really don’t mind a scrap or going against what a fellow can see, but -this thing of risking men on the possibility of walking into a trap -gets my nerve a little.” - -“You think a trap is possible?” Don asked. - -“Well, you might not call it that; it wouldn’t be intentional, but we -might walk into a noose, nevertheless.” - -“Say, Herb, what do you think of this? Dandy spot for an ambush, eh? I -suggest we stop right here.” - -They had come up out of the valley, rounded a little knoll, over the -top of which some of the men had climbed and come out at the head of -another valley. At one side, well on up the hill, there was a mass of -squarish boulders forming a sort of restricted and oblong basin perhaps -a hundred feet in length and three or four feet in average depth. -On every side among the rocks, grew low, branching spruces, their -spreading branches making a dense shade over the spot. - -“A ripper! Dandy! Perhaps old Mother Nature put this here for our -express purpose, nothing else.” Herbert was enthusiastic. He gave the -word to halt and to assemble; then, stooping under the spruces, led his -men into the natural little fortress. - -“Make all ship-shape, boys,” Lieutenant Whitcomb ordered. “Toss out -these few small stones and sticks and we’ll call this a drawing-room. -Take positions and stow equipment, except guns and ammunition. Make -yourselves all comfortable and easy so that there won’t be a lot of -hitching around later. If we keep right quiet here for a while maybe -we’ll see something. We may get a chance to take in some Hun scouts or -that spy.” - -“I’ve got a hunch,” Don said, when all had settled down upon the dry -carpet of spruce needles, Herbert and himself sitting together, with -their backs against a big rock, “that there’s going to be something -doing around here. I don’t know whether I can smell sauerkraut or not, -but these woods ought to shelter some Heinies somewhere near and if so -they’ll be likely to spy on us. Can’t we beat them at that game, Herb?” - -Lieutenant Whitcomb turned to the men: - -“Corporal, how about sending Jennings and Gill out to scout around? -they’re crackerjacks at that. We ought to know if we have any -neighbors; we might make them a call, or if the forest here is too well -populated with those things from across the Rhine, we want to send a -runner back and tell the captain about it.” - -“All right, sir; those boys are always keen to get out and hunt Huns. -Old deer hunters back home, they tell me.” The corporal got on his -hands and knees and crawled over to the other side of the rocky basin, -taking the orders to two of his men, who immediately, grinning with -positive pleasure, got up, made a hasty survey of the forest and then -sneaked off quickly. - -“I don’t wonder they feel that way about it,” Don said. “I’d enjoy -doing a little scouting myself. With your permission, I----” - -“I’m not telling you what to do, Don,” Herbert replied. “This is your -job as well as mine. Three are better than two, but if I were you I -wouldn’t go far; anything may happen and we’ll all want to be together.” - -Don nodded and arose; in a moment he, too, was making his way slowly, -noiselessly through the underbrush, peering all about, listening. -The forest seemed to be almost silent; hardly a sound came to his -ears. The flutter of a bird ahead, startled from its feeding; a few -stridulating crickets chirping monotonously beneath dead leaves; far -off the occasional boom of heavy guns and once, perhaps more than a -mile away, a brief period of rapid shooting--probably a raiding party -of one side or the other had been warmly received. Don marveled; what -remarkable conditions and surprises intruded upon the great war! Here, -hardly a mile from where hundreds of thousands of men eagerly awaited -the slipping of the leash to spring at each others’ throats, the aisles -of the forest seemed as peaceful as those within a great cathedral; as -though only the plowman or the harvester dominated beyond the woods and -red war was undreamed of. - -Don had noted that Gill had gone about due west--for what particular -reason was not apparent--and that Jennings had disappeared toward the -north and the known enemy positions. Therefore, an easterly course was -Don’s choice. - -Densely wooded low hills in ridges very close together and with narrow, -dry valleys between, that were masses of tumbled rocks and jungle-like -thickets, lay before him. Don crossed three of these valleys, making -his way with the utmost caution and breaking twigs for a blazed return, -in case he had to make it. It turned out that he did. Reaching the top -of the fourth ridge the boy paused upon detecting a familiar sound--the -muffled tramp of many feet only a short distance away. But he could -not see any distance toward the sound and he was about to shift his -position when he heard the snapping of a twig a few yards away. - -Don crouched and was motionless, his automatic in his hand, ready for -any emergency. A figure was coming toward him; he could see the bushes -move a little as though pushed aside. Was this a Hun scout spying on -his enemy also? Were these marching men Americans or Germans? - -Nearer came the lone man, moving along to keep pace with the tramping -feet below. Don dared not move, trusting to chance, though it seemed -that the other must stumble over him. The boy made up his mind not -to shoot unless he was compelled to; then to break all records for -sprinting through a tangled forest. - -Right over him the bushes swayed and then an arm and a leg was thrust -through the interlocking branches. The boy was about to creep aside, -but on the instant he saw that the sleeve and the trousers were khaki. -He straightened up. Immediately a figure was flung forward almost upon -him and before he could make or whisper a word he was gazing into the -muzzle of a U. S. Army revolver. - -“Glory be, it’s you, Lieutenant! By the jumpin’ geehaw, I came near -lettin’ you have it, thinkin’ you were a Hun!” This, though said -excitedly, as one may imagine, was little above a whisper. And then -Jennings, whom Don had by no means expected to see, put his finger on -his lips. - -“Sh! They’re down yonder; hear ’em? I follered ’em from near their -biv’wack up there most a mile. Where they’re goin’ to you can search -me, but they’re headin’ the wrong way for our comfort back to the -rocks.” - -“How many are there down there?” Don questioned. - -“‘Bout three hundred; sev’ral comp’nies, I reckon. Machine guns an’ -such. Headin’ the wrong way. We gotta foller ’em an’ see.” - -The two did follow, toiling along the ridge most warily until they came -to its end, where the evident roadway from the valley turned a little -to the southwest. - -“They’re goin’ to locate right where we come up,” the scout whispered. -“Hadn’t we better go back and report?” - -Swiftly they retraced their steps along the ridge and then, Don leading -at a pace that caused Jennings to breathe hard, they went straight to -the camp. And there was Gill, just returned ahead of them. - -“They’re fillin’ up the whole woods south of us,” he was saying. -“Coming in from every direction and making an unbroken line across. We -can’t get through, Lieutenant; not even at night.” - -And to this information Don and Jennings could but acquiesce. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -SURROUNDED - - -“TRAPPED, eh? I was afraid something like that would occur!” Lieutenant -Whitcomb exclaimed. “It’s not the first time the Heinies have vacated -ground and then quietly occupied it again; a trick of theirs to take -us by surprise when we go after them. Well, this is bad for us in two -ways.” - -“How’s that, Herb?” asked Don. - -“Why, you can see it. In the first place we’re surrounded, for you may -bet the Huns are in close touch with each other; they always are. So we -probably cannot get out, as Gill says. If we try to hold out, then when -our boys make the next drive we may be between two fires. But our worst -fear is of discovery before the next drive commences.” - -“We’re in here pretty snug, Lieutenant; they may never get on to us at -all,” offered the corporal. - -“That’s possible, but hardly likely. We’ve got to lie low.” - -“We’ve a crackerjack place to defend, Herb,” Don said. - -“Very good and I don’t want to be a pessimist, but with a good many -hundred against twelve--well, we might hold ’em off for a time, even -with only one machine gun. But there’s a limit to grub and ammunition, -and especially to water. What do you fellows know about water near -here?” - -“A spring run ’bout as big as a shoe lacin’ over yon a couple o’ -hundred yards to the northeast,” said Jennings. - -“Very good. Who will volunteer to refill all canteens?” - -“I’ll go, Lieutenant!” - -“Me, too!” - -“Count me in on that, please!” - -“Say, Lieutenant, if I kin shove my ol’ face into that ’ere riv’let fer -’bout five minutes, I wouldn’t want another drink fer close on to a -week!” Jennings declared. - -“Oh, boy, you must be kin to a camel!” - -“Sure, an’ my middle name’s tank. Better let me go, Lieutenant; I know -the place.” - -“Who do you want with you?” Herbert asked. - -“That ’ere young lieutenant feller that I run acrosst a while back, -if he’ll go.” Jennings indicated Don, who was up at the other end -cleaning his automatic. - -And so it befell that the boy and the big Pennsylvania mountaineer -were once more on duty together and it may be recorded that they got -back with every canteen brimming. Gill, meanwhile, had crept over to a -previous find of his, a former German position that had been discarded -for no apparent reason and he returned with the complete parts of a -wooden bucket, hoops and all, which was promptly put together and in -turn filled with water. Thereafter, admonished to drink and eat as -little as possible, lie low and make no noise and above all to be ready -for discovery at any time, the squad went into what Herbert called -hopeful retirement and thus remained until the day ended and the night -passed without incident. Dry leaves and spruce boughs made warm and -comfortable beds. - -The morning of October 2d began ominously; at the first peep of day -all were awake and some bantering chatter was heard among the men. -Presently the corporal, who had crept to the outer rocks to take a look -around, held up his hand for silence and came crawling back. - -“They’re coming down the valley, sir, as you reckoned they’d do,” he -said to Lieutenant Whitcomb and a moment later the sound of tramping -feet could be heard. - -“Slip a spruce bough over the end of that Browning gun!” Herbert -ordered. “Now, men; all quiet! Corporal, pass that along. Tell the boys -that our lives may depend on our ability to lie low. And they are to -understand this: if the Heinies get on to us now, we are not going out -of here alive and prisoners! We’ll all croak rather than that. Be ready -for action, but nobody must go off half-cocked. Corporal, you and Gill -and Judson and Kelly and Farnham and Tomlinson man the up hillside; -Lieutenant Richards, Jennings, McNabb, Wilson, Gerhardt and myself will -look to the valley. Silence now and no heads up. I can see what is -going on through this crevice and I’ll report from time to time.” - -On came the men in gray-green, probably a full regiment of infantry, -including a dozen machine-gun squads. They marched well, these sons of -the Fatherland, and they were mostly young and vigorous-looking men, -presenting not the slightest suggestion of weariness, nor of being -underfed. But there was not a word spoken among them; the entire -number was as obedient to evident orders as though possessing but one -brain and as the soldiers filed along the valley and around the little -hill, past and not fifty yards away from the position of the hidden -Americans, they reminded Herbert of so many automatons. Thus they -entered the ranks, were taught and trained, and thus they fought, a -wonderfully coördinated whole, but without individual incentive. The -boy understood, as never before, how it was that the German army was -at once so remarkably pliable and effective in strategic movement and -yet he had seen that in battle the Huns were readily disconcerted when -confronted with conditions foreign to their teaching and understanding. - -Tramp, tramp, tramp. The boys were indeed marching, but they were not -the sort of boys, nor did they have the end in view that made them, as -in the old song, pleasant to contemplate by those twelve Americans up -among the rocks within hailing distance, but as yet unsuspected by the -Huns. - -That muffled jarring of the earth from many tramping men would haunt -Don Richards’ memory as long as he lived. But perhaps he would need to -remember it but a very short time, for how could the little band fail -being discovered, and Herbert had declared they would die fighting. So -be it; Don for one would stick by his friend. - -There was a sharp command given to the marching men below. Instantly -the nearest footfalls ceased, though beyond the little hill they were -heard to go on and on, the sound growing fainter; then ceasing. More -commands given to those near by and a general confusion of breaking -ranks ensued; the unslinging of equipment followed. - -Herbert, his eye against the slit between two boulders, felt a -momentary sinking at the heart when he realized that this company, at -the rear of the column, was separating from the others of its unit and -was stopping here, perhaps for breakfast, or to rest; probably it had -been night marching. - -For how long could the Yank squad remain undiscovered? And remaining -so, would it not be a veritable torture within this narrow defile, -hardly able to change position? Well, for grit and determination, in -any event Whitcomb knew he could rely on the squad; there were none -better nor more loyal; no better shots in the whole Army. - -The German company prepared camp at length. The men ate breakfast -with the methodical exactness that characterizes all the Huns’ doings, -though they were four times as long at it as the Americans would have -been. Each man carried his allotment of food and utensils; each with a -regularity that showed long practice got out his duffel and fell to the -task. They sat in little groups and the mumbled words from the few who -conversed came to the squad up in the rocks like a dull murmur. Herbert -noted that the officers, four in number, kept to one side, standing, -and talking very earnestly, one of them gesticulating toward the south. -Evidently something was on foot that meant a still more determined -resistance to the Americans and this was the company in reserve of the -regiment that was intending to hold the woods at this point. - -The young officer knew that his men must become impatient to see what -was going on, so he relinquished his place to Don for a peep; then -beckoned the corporal. Farther along the rocky basin some of the men -were at another peep-hole they had found and one fellow was trying to -lift his eyes just above the level rocks, but Herbert sternly motioned -him down; then crawled over and explained again the inevitable result -of being discovered. This admonition he imparted to each of the others -also and the agreement again was to try to hold the place in any event. - -Hours wore on. The sky became entirely overcast, the air damp with a -suggestion of rain. From time to time it would get brighter and the -sun would appear for a few minutes. Perfect quiet was maintained in -the rock basin, though after a time Herbert called Don’s attention to -a silent game of cards going on at the other end of their stronghold. -That indicated the American spirit: next door to death or imprisonment -at the hands of the Hun, yet getting what fun and cheerfulness they -could. - -Noontime came. Herbert set the example of not eating. It went harder -with some of the fellows that they could not smoke, for the white fumes -might be seen below. - -The enforced inaction was becoming terribly tiresome, but the cause of -some whispered jests at that: - -“I’ve completely wore out this here rock what I’m a lyin’ on,” -commented the chap from the Pennsylvania mountains. - -“Listen, fellow, this old earth right here is good enough for me. It’s -a blamed sight softer than Heinie lead.” - -“I wish the ‘corp’ would take a notion to get out his mouth organ -and play a jig. He might charm those Jerries down there so that they -couldn’t do a thing.” - -“Sho! The only thing that charms them is tin-pan music and a bass drum. -I expect old man Wagner is right down there with ’em now.” - -“Him? He’s dead! His noise killed him long time ago.” - -“No, sir; I took him prisoner last week and showed him some eats. He -said the dinner horn was the prettiest music he ever heard.” - -“Those fellows they call Faust and Mephistopheles, they were Huns, -weren’t they?” - -“Sure, but a Frog set ’em to music; that’s why it’s worth listening to.” - -“I’ll bet if we all started singin’ ‘The Watch on the Rhine’ out loud, -those Jerries down there would pull their freight for Berlin in two -minutes; they’d think we were ghosts.” - -“Sho! You’d have to sing it in German.” - -“Would, eh? No, thanks! My throat’s a bit sore now as ’tis. Wonder if -the feller that invented that language kept pigs and learned the sound -of it from them.” - -“Sh! Lay low an’ quit gabblin’, you duffers!” whispered the watcher at -one peep hole. “Here comes two Heinies up the hill!” - -Don, at the other rock fissure, turned and spoke to Herbert and the -corporal. A hasty and whispered order went around the rock basin and in -the quiet that ensued the sound of heavily shod feet, treading among -loose stones and of rustling leaves, could be distinctly heard. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -LYING LOW - - -THE next ten minutes were almost a non-breathing experience for twelve -good men and true; they had decided that their safety lay in at least -keeping most woefully quiet. A little while after the ordeal had -passed, Herbert and Donald were telling each other what had been in -their thoughts during those tense moments when the heavy footfalls were -drawing nearer. Herbert had imagined one of his men suddenly sneezing -and Don had wished for the chance to turn a good old American skunk -loose to scent up the place; this would have surely kept the German -officers at a safe distance. - -But there proved to be no fear of the one, nor need of the other -doubtful procedure; the khaki squad was as silent as death and the two -ascending German officers no more suspected their presence in the spot -than they would have a herd of elephants. And so they came quite to the -edge of the spruces, sat down on a boulder and conversed in low tones -for about ten minutes; then got up again and as slowly went back to -their camp. Twelve breathing sets of apparatus were in easier working -order when it was reported that the Germans had gone. - -Jennings was heard then to roll over on his improvised couch of -moss-lined rock and remark, decidedly _sotto voce_: - -“Don’t know’s I’m so durned glad they didn’t ketch on to us. They’d -’a’ been two more dead Huns right sudden. I could ’a’ got ’em both by -myself before they could ’a’ hollered ’donner vetter!’ and I would ’a’ -done it, too, soon’s I seen their eyes a stickin’ out when they ketched -sight of us.” - -“Sho! You’d been so scared you’d forgot you had a gun,” Gill bantered -his fellow scout and buddy. - -“Well, then, I’d ’a’ reached over an’ grabbed ’em an’ fetched ’em in -here an’ held ’em so’s you could ’a’ bit their ears.” - -“Quietly there, men, for the love of Uncle Sam! Levity is usually -admirable, but this is an exception,” Herbert cautioned, hearing the -subdued laughter that went around. - -“It might be a case of being tickled ’most to death,” Don remarked. - -“We might vary the monotony of this existence by having a bite to eat -all round,” Herbert ordered. “Rations, boys, but limited to half that -you want. Hard, I know, but perhaps necessary. After ’while we may need -full stomachs to fight on. Literally that, down back of these rocks.” - -“If them Jerries is ever goin’ to get me, I’d heap ruther they’d have -me satisfied than hungry,” Jennings remarked. - -“I reckon I could eat about a whole Heinie right now! I always was -partial to pork,” Gill declared. - -Again the time dragged on; to relieve it in part the men went through -silent pantomime. Two fellows, on their hands and knees, butting at -each other like rams gave Gill the idea of imitating a dog digging out -a field mouse, and four chaps, who were wont to sing together when -silence was not so golden, sat in a row and went through the motions of -various musical selections, as dirges, ballads and ragtime, granting -several encores in answer to a perfectly silent handclapping. - -Through all these trying hours there had been men constantly at both -peep-holes, all taking turns. The Germans at the bottom of the hill -had simply done little or nothing all day, except to hang around, -eating occasionally, cleaning their weapons, some few writing, others -sleeping or lolling on the ground. Only once was there a break in -this monotony, when a group of officers, probably high in command, -came through the little valley. Then every Hun got to his feet, with -heels together, and saluted for dear life; but unlike the democratic -Americans and Frenchmen, the officers did not appear as though aware of -the presence of the common soldiers or under officers. - -And then once more the shadows grew long and the darkness came slowly -down, with the far distant sounds of occasional firing more distinct -and a chill breeze coming up that caused both friend and foe to seek -some covering for the night. The little squad in the rocky hollow on -the hillside again resorted to dry leaves and spruce boughs, both under -and over. The watch was detailed to include every man, three acting at -a time, and if there was the least suggestion of snoring or of talking -in sleep the offender was to find himself awakened instantly, with a -hand placed firmly over his mouth. And one such instance did occur; it -was Don who toward morning began to mumble and then suddenly cry out: - -“Go get him! He’s the m-m-m----” The rest of this utterance came -through the corporal’s fingers; after which the boy chose to remain -awake for the remaining hour before dawn. - -Jennings had been gone since about eleven o’clock, in the effort to -find an unguarded spot where the squad might sneak through under cover -of the darkness. About midnight a single shot was heard not far away, -followed by another ten minutes later. It was becoming gray in the east -and, all being awake and the scout’s continued absence being noted, -Herbert remarked: - -“I hope they haven’t got him. He might have stumbled into a picket, -but I can hardly think it of Jennings; he isn’t that careless. Let us -hope----” Even while the lieutenant spoke there was a slight stir among -the spruces above them, on the up side of the hill, and when they all -turned that way, some expecting the enemy and having their guns in -hand, the grinning face of the Pennsylvania mountaineer peered at them. - -“They ain’t no way, Lieutenant. Them Jerries is got the hull ground -clear acrosst took up with gun nests an’ some trenches. They’re in -there as thick as hair on a yaller dog; there’s one or two mangy -spots, but they’re watchin’ them close. Got to stay here, I reckon, a -while more an’ then some. Me fer sleepin’ a little now, if you don’t -object, Lieutenant.” - -“Go to it!” Herb said, laughing, as ever softly. “We’re awfully glad to -see you; thought you might have had bad luck. Did you hear those shots -soon after you left?” - -“Rather did.” Jennings grinned again. “But he missed me and when they -come into the brush to look they most stepped on me. Second time I -reckon they thought they heard me again an’ jes’ fired random-like, an’ -I sneaked out. There was four Heinies together settin’ still on a log, -like buzzards waitin’ fer a ol’ cow to croak, or somethin’.” - -“The War Cross for you, old scout!” Don said. “And say, boys, if -the Heinies down there don’t show any more curiosity about their -surroundings than they did yesterday, we’ll likely pull through another -day all right.” - -“Pull through is right,” remarked the corporal. “It is a pull.” - -“If I was the boss of this outfit,” Gill said, with an apologetic -grin at Herbert, “I’d just get up and slip down yonder and take them -fellers prisoner and march ’em into our lines. Nerve is what counts; if -they saw us coming from up out of the earth, they’d all throw up their -hands and holler ‘kamerad’!” - -“I’m afraid not, Gill; we won’t risk it, anyway,” said Herbert. “The -inside of a Hun prison camp wouldn’t look good to any of us and unless -we wanted to commit suicide on the spot, they’d get us. Twelve men -against a good many thousand makes the odds too great; eh, boys?” - -The remarks in reply to Herbert’s were characteristic: - -“Stayin’ here is bad enough, but ketchin’ Hun cooties is worse!” - -“Me fer layin’ low some more.” - -“I’d like to see the good little old United States again if I can.” - -“This place looks good enough to me just now, though it might have hot -and cold water, real sheets on the beds and a kitchen.” - -“If we’ve got to stay here long enough and the Jerries down there -wouldn’t object to the noise, we might accommodate you and build a -hotel.” - -“Reminds me of the Connecticut Yankee they tell about who got wrecked -on nothing but a sand bar in the ocean and in two years he had a -prosperous seaport going, with two factories and a railroad. Who’s a -liar?” - -Again the hours took upon themselves snail-like speed and life among -those rocks became well-nigh unendurable. Imagine, then, the feeling of -relief when the present watchers of the squad beheld the German company -in the valley, under sharp orders, pick up their accoutrements and -move on toward the south again, out of sight and hearing, to occupy, -no doubt, a new and better position. True, the present risk was not -lifted; messengers from or to the front might pass, or Hun units at any -time approach, though it was not likely that the woods this far back of -the occupied defenses were picketed. - -“We can take a gamble far enough,” Lieutenant Whitcomb declared, “to -get out and build up our defenses; pile more rocks all around. Get at -it, men, and make them heavy enough to stop machine gun bullets.” - -Four of the squad were sent on either side to do picket duty and to -keep an especially sharp watch. It was one of these pickets, through -thoughtlessness while meaning to do his duty fully, that, as Don -expressed it, “spilled the beans.” Farnham went into a large patch of -bushes not quite head high, intending to use it as a screened place of -observation just as a Boche one-man airplane passed, flying low and so -far to one side that Farnham knew he could not be seen by the pilot. -Suddenly there was the sound as of breaking camp again; another unit -over the ridge was moving on and Farnham craned his neck, exposing -also his shoulders in order to see ahead. At that moment the airplane -swerved and before the Yank thought to duck down he was seen. - -Then the Boche made an error. Had he passed on and signaled to the -nearest contingent, they could have sneaked up, surrounded and captured -the American, but with the usual show of hate dominating, the flier -wheeled again and sent a stream of incendiary bullets into the bushes. -For a wonder the Yank was untouched; he quickly crawled on hands and -knees back toward camp and the birdman, unable to see him longer, -headed straight for the nearest Hun signal station. When Farnham -reached the squad the pickets were immediately called in, once again -the crowd lying low. It was now only a question of time when they must -defend themselves against terrible odds. - -“Here they come and on the run, some of them!” announced the corporal, -with his eye to the peep-hole. Every man gripped his gun, feeling the -moment had arrived for him to do or die. Still a little longer it -was to be postponed. Intent upon reaching the patch of bushes on the -hilltop where the airman had signaled that the American was seen, the -half dozen Boches hastened on, two going directly past the rock basin -and never once turning to look it over. Several of the Yanks, though -lying prone, could see for a moment the helmets of these searchers who -believed they were on the track of a lone spy, or a lost picket. They -disappeared up the hill and Farnham, who had been responsible for this -scare, but had received not one word of censure from his commanding -officers, ejaculated fervently: - -“Thank the good Lord they didn’t see us!” - -But the relief was short-lived. There being no sign of the spy on the -ridge top, the searchers spread out and two of them came back down the -hill and were again about to pass on. And then the possibility of a -good hiding place beneath the dark spruces may have occurred to one of -them, though it can never be known what he thought. With a guttural -exclamation he turned and saw far more than he had expected, but he -didn’t exist long enough to make even a mental note thereof. As he -tumbled in a heap the other Hun started to run and he, too, joined his -late companion in the unknown. With admirable coolness the Americans -had met the situation and only one shot for each of these foemen had -been used; the ammunition must not be wasted. Farnham’s gun was warm -and he was minus two cartridges. - -“Get out there and drag those poor chaps under cover, two of you, Kelly -and Wilson!” Herbert ordered. “Make short work of it!” - -But they could not make that gruesome task short enough. Attracted by -the shots, the four remaining searchers had turned that way and one -began shooting at Kelly. Lieutenant Whitcomb leveled his rifle at the -tree where only the head and arms of the Hun showed, at a distance of a -hundred and fifty yards; then no more shots came from behind that tree. -Getting an inkling of the situation, though unable to estimate the -number of men among the rocks, the other Huns retreated and carried the -news to their commander. In twenty minutes thereafter the surrounded -squad was facing all that they had known must come to them. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -GRIT - - -PUT your guns low in the niches, instead of on top of the rocks; that -keeps your heads lower. See your front sights fine and shoot low, -low, low! Don’t over aim! Make every shot count! But don’t fire until -the word is given, or it is necessary! This may mean the end, anyway, -fellows, but if so, we’ll make it a glorious one and our memory--it -will do some good; leave a record behind of what Americans can do.” So -spoke Lieutenant Whitcomb, crawling about among the squad, as a platoon -of Huns approached the position and rifle and machine-gun bullets began -cutting through the spruce branches, flattening or ricocheting with a -singing whir against the rocks. After the first deluge of fire, lasting -perhaps twenty minutes, the Germans, unable to note a result, or to -bring an answering shot, determined to know something of their enemy. -And so, quickly chosen by lot, eight or ten soldiers rapidly drew near, -carrying hand grenades and rifles and the eight or ten--they were not -counted--died when half way up the hill. Whereupon the entire platoon, -with fixed bayonets, charged. And then quick work was needed. Herbert -called out: - -“The Browning! Give it to ’em, McNabb! Sweep the line! Hold your rifle -fire, boys, until I say ‘now’--now, fire! Shoot low; low! Don’t miss! -Steady! Keep cool! They mustn’t reach us! Never!” - -They did not. In the face of a stream of machine gun bullets that -scored fearfully from one end of the line of men to the other and back -again, seeking spots untouched, and rifle bullets that counted a far -higher percentage of hits than the Hun knew how to score, the enemy -wavered, stopped, fell back, hunted cover and at once a messenger was -sent for more men. This fellow started up the valley and Don, knowing -what Herbert could do with a rifle, now shouted: - -“Don’t let him go, Herb! Stop him from getting away!” - -To make a shot of the kind the marksman had to rise a little to -have a clear sight over the rocks and among the trees and he had to -choose his time. The others of the squad, the few who could see the -hastening German messenger, watched him. The crack of the rifle -occurred simultaneously with the collapse of two of those thus noted; -the ambling Hun went down and lay still; the lieutenant, his weapon -slipping from his hand, gave a little gasp and lay back as quietly as -though merely tired. Don, the corporal and Gill saw his white face -and crawled to him. He was insensible; across his temple there was a -blue-black scar, but not a sign of blood. - -“Stunned only,” Don said, in a relieved voice. “I thought he was -killed. He’ll come to in a minute. Be all right, I think.” The boy had -seen more than one similar case of glancing blow when in the Red Cross -service. - -“Thank the good Lord!” Farnham said again. - -“He got it just as he pulled trigger; a dozen bullets came over his -way, but he got his man with one bullet; did you see that? He’s one -dandy shot! Best I ever did see, or ever expect to.” So enthused the -corporal. - -“I’d like to take him once after deer in Sullivan County,” Jennings -remarked. “There goes anothor messenger; I reckon mebbe I kin get -him.” And rising to his full height the big mountaineer let fly three -shots in rapid succession, the last of which tumbled the second -dispatch bearer into a silent heap. Whereupon Jennings got down again, -untouched, though the bullets had been singing all about him. - -“Sho! My turn next!” declared Gill, between whom and Jennings there was -always a good-natured rivalry. “If I don’t get my man with the first -shot and tie with the lieutenant, you can take me out and give me to -the Jerries for a barbecue.” - -“Better do that, anyway, so’s to kill ’em. Ain’t nobody kin eat polecat -an’ live through it,” Jennings countered. - -But Gill didn’t get his shot. The squad did not see the next messenger -leave; he must have got away through the thickets in a roundabout way. - -With the added rocks that had been piled up to strengthen their -position the men could stoop low on their feet, or kneel erect. The -machine gun was placed at a hole and above it McNabb and Wilson, the -lively crew, had managed deftly to place a wide, flat stone as a shield -beneath which they could sight very well, indeed. This rendered the -chance of getting hit a comparatively slight one, but who can tell -what direction the flight of bullets will take? The Huns were keeping -up a constant fire, uselessly wasting ammunition on stones impervious -to anything but heavy cannon and except the glancing blow that the -lieutenant had received and a flesh wound in Judson’s right cheek, not -one of the Americans had been hurt. - -But it appeared as though the Huns were getting ready for another -charge and so McNabb was going over the mechanism of the Browning gun -again when a bullet, among a dozen or more sent over in the past half -minute, entered the space between the flat stone and the gun barrel and -the cheery, brave little Irishman sank down, without a groan. Wilson -leaped to his place and sent a volley into the very spot from where the -shots had come and several Huns were seen to drop, but it could never -be known whether the death of McNabb was avenged. - -Meanwhile Don was working over Herbert and soon had the satisfaction of -hearing that lad’s voice: “Huh! Got hit, eh? Not as bad as gas; head -aches, though, some. We are still alive; are we? Don’t pay to show so -much as a finger; does it?” - -Then they told him about Jennings’ risk and what had happened to the -machine gunner and Herbert came to his senses in a jiffy. But his were -not the only tear-dimmed eyes that gazed upon the body of the sturdy -little scrapper. - -“We can only lay him aside there, boys, now. Make his temporary bier -pretty and fragrant, anyhow, with some spruce boughs, just as though he -were asleep and had laid down to rest. Now, watch out, fellows; we need -every man to hold off those weasels. I wonder what they will do next?” - -It was soon very evident what they would do. Another contingent, -perhaps two squads, came to reinforce them. No doubt the commander had -been reprimanded for not killing or capturing the Americans and more -men could not be spared for the task. At least forty men should be able -to clean out a dozen, the number of the Yanks having been correctly -estimated after noting the gun fire coming from their rocky stronghold. - -So the Hun commander who meant to rid their very midst of those daring -Americans resolved upon strategy, which was immediately put into -effect, but which Lieutenants Whitcomb and Richards at once foresaw. -The Hun ranks became suddenly thinned, a number of the men going off -through the trees, hastened by another round of machine-gun fire -admirably directed by Wilson. Back of trees, logs, stumps and mounds -the others waited for some little time; then, probably at a signal from -the ridge above the Americans, they came charging again up the hill. - -Jennings, Gill and Lieutenant Whitcomb, with the machine gun, received -the up-hill charge and stopped it. Don, the corporal and the other five -men watched the ridge and presently, from among the dense shrubbery and -thickets, gray-green clad forms began to emerge and most of them were -sorry for it. But one Hun got far enough among the spruces to make the -throwing of a lighted grenade effective and back went his arm. Then he -dropped, for Farnham had proved to be a wonderfully quick shot. The -grenade, which had fallen with the man, exploded, blowing the body of a -brave fellow to bits. - -In this sort of Indian fighting, a heritage of their forefathers, the -Americans excelled; they proved it many times in the woodlands of -France and the Germans came to fear the Yanks accordingly. This case -was no exception. Though a young and enthusiastic officer urged them -on down the hill, the Huns refused to face the accurate close range -shooting that came from they hardly knew where. It is one thing to -charge a foe that can be seen and its powers of resistance estimated -upon and quite another to attack that which is an unknown quantity and -proves itself stronger than any estimate. - -Once again the squad was left alone for a time, barring the desultory -firing that always occurs when one foe is besieging another; but to -this the Americans rarely responded, except when a Hun would carelessly -show himself. At the two hundred yards intervening between besieged -and besiegers this was not safe, a fact that, after several of their -platoon were hurt or killed, the enemy discovered. - -There were several ways of reducing a weakly held position, or of -destroying a small isolated force, but before some of these methods -of modern murder could be brought into use, before the means of which -could be obtained, the shades of night once more were falling fast, -though no long and idle vigil was now looked forward to. The hours of -darkness promised plenty of action, for the Yanks all knew the schemes -practiced by the Germans. - -“They’ll eat and rest a bit and wait until they think we believe -they’re not going to bother us--probably two or three hours--then -we’ll be ready for them,” Herbert reasoned. “If they have flares, they -can’t use them to advantage in this woodland and they can’t be sure -enough of our position to waste ammunition on us. How do you regard -that, Don, Corporal? Come on, fellows, we want all your opinions. Don’t -let us make this so much a matter of leadership as is usual; we’re all -fighting as man and man, now; shoulder to shoulder; brothers in a big -effort to save our own and each other’s lives, so that we must all have -a say. One of our teachers at school--good, old Brighton Academy, eh, -Don?--when he would frequently consult the class on a difficult problem -would say: ‘in a multitude of counselors there is wisdom.’ Well, -fellows, we’ve got to have all the wisdom there is amongst us trotted -out here and now; we need it; we can’t make any blunders.” - -Herbert was talking more than he had ever done before, but necessity -was prodding him. He continued: - -“Because I am already your appointed leader I am willing to take the -responsibility of giving sudden orders when needed, but we must all -have a hand in the plans. Now, they can send a whole company here, a -regiment perhaps, and rush us. Can we hold them off? Or they can try to -wear us out by continued attack and reduce our numbers. They may use -rifle grenades, trench mortars; they probably have to send for them, -else they would have had them going before now. They might even find -means of treating us to some gas, but I guess that’s difficult in a -small way. Then, there is the night attack--we must watch for that; we -cannot see so well to repulse the considerable number that may make it -and they can get some grenades over, which in this small place won’t -be comfortable. That is the situation as far as keeping up our defense -goes.” - -The young officer paused for a moment; then, speaking very slowly, his -voice a little lower, he propounded a question: - -“I can hardly imagine it,” he said, “but--are there any among you -who would like to surrender? It would mean a big chance for life and -here--well, we might as well face it--you all know this means a big -chance for the beyond, or to be taken prisoner, anyway, after being -wounded perhaps and then to be neglected and suffer. We’ve got to face -it; to decide--now.” - -“Durn them limberg chasers; they don’t get me livin’!” spoke up -Jennings. - -“Here, too!” said Gill. - -“We ought to accept your decision, Lieutenant,” declared young Farnham, -“but as for me, I’d rather hang on and fight!” - -“That’s me!” “I’ll say so!” “Good boy!” came from the other men. - -“There are ways, Lieutenant, to meet pretty nearly everything they -can pull off. Can’t we make some rock and pole shelters here, against -grenades and if the Heinies come up tonight, can’t we play a trick on -them?” Judson, merely a boy and showing some embarrassment, made this -suggestion. - -“What kind of a trick?” Herbert asked, and Judson explained, an idea -that took with every one of the squad. Herbert was enthusiastic. - -“You ought to get a commission for that, Judson! Oughtn’t he, Don? It’s -a crackerjack and we all agree to it. Now, then, let’s get to work -on the whole idea. Some of these flat stones will do for a couple of -dugouts; all we’ve got to do is to remove some of the stones to go down -several feet. Each one ought to be big enough to hold five men, sitting -down; we’ve got to sleep any old way.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -STRATEGY - - -WITH three men on watch and eight working like beavers, silently and -effectively, the two partly excavated and stone-built shelters were -completed in little more than two hours. Tomlinson, a brick mason and -with a head for construction generally, was given direction of the -work. From the fact that a little noise could not be avoided and indeed -was desirable, the Huns were sure that the Yanks were alert. But with -all quiet a little later it must have seemed more opportune for a night -attack. That such would come the squad had no doubt and, therefore, it -proceeded to put young Judson’s scheme into practice. - -It was very certain that no attempt would be made by the enemy to -penetrate the dense thickets on the up-hill side; it could never -get through without lights. And so the squad began assembling a low -breastworks of stones on the up-hill side and but a few yards beyond -the rock basin. Forming a line behind this in order that every man’s -rifle would command the basin, the Yanks set themselves to patiently -waiting. - -“A ol’ deer stand ain’t nothin’ to this fer expectin’,” Jennings -remarked to Gill. - -“More like waitin’ for bear,” was Gill’s reply. - -“It must be fast and sure work, boys,” Herbert said. “Don’t stop to -see your sights, but get the glint all along the barrel and shoot low; -always shoot low! You have McNabb’s rifle; eh, Don?” - -“Yes, and it’s all right; seems to throw lead just where you hold it. I -tried it, just before it got dark, on a Hun who was cleaning his gun, -away on the far side of their camp, and I knocked his gun out of his -hands. I’ll bet he was some surprised.” This was said lightly; then the -boy’s voice lowered and he spoke thoughtfully, as might an old friend -and present comrade to another at such a time: - -“I think, old man, that in the football days back at Brighton we never -could have imagined we would be together in anything quite like this.” - -“It would have been just dreaming, Don, if we had. Football! Child’s -play! And yet in many a game we had as much determination to win as -we have now. Funny; isn’t it, how the human mind can be swayed by big -and little things to show similar tendencies? Professor Galpard would -call that ‘a most interesting study in comparative psychology, young -gentlemen;’ wouldn’t he?” - -“Just that and right he’d be, too,” Don replied. “But I think the -determination to win out now is somewhat different from anything I have -previously experienced; you’ll have to admit it has more pep to it than -any game we ever got into.” - -“I will admit that,” Herbert said. - -“For back of it is that primal love of life. We are willing to -sacrifice everything rather than miss the glory of fighting on until -we’re done for, but yet, Herb, it’s kind of sweet to think of living to -do something worth while; to make an effort to gain happiness. You know -I’m quoting a little from the principal’s last commencement address.” - -“And yet I know as well as that I’m lying here on a hard rock that it’s -a hard, cold fact that nobody could induce you to surrender,” argued -Herb. - -“Perfectly right, old man. If there were ten thousand Jerries, as the -boys call them, going to rush us in ten minutes I would want to stay -right here and give it to ’em until our cartridges were all gone.” - -“Do you remember young Gaylord at Brighton, Don?” - -“Remember him? Who doesn’t? You’re going to refer to the fact that he -was generally considered a softy; that he was so blamed gentle that -every one looked for him to burst into tears at any trying moment; -aren’t you?” - -“Yes, but you know what he did once; don’t you?” - -“You mean standing off those burglars?” - -“Just that,” said Herbert. “They tortured him horribly for an hour to -make him tell where Grant, his roommate, kept his money hid--a lot of -it--and did Gaylord tell? Not he! He refused and made mental notes of -the men; they were arrested and sent up on it.” - -“But what, exactly, has that to do with us, Herb?” - -“It only shows that no matter what a fellow’s get-up is he may rise to -any occasion. And I guess that’s us, Don. I know I used to hate the -idea of shooting any living thing, and I do now, but in war--and they -are human beings, too!” - -“I know, but human beings may be thugs and criminals, Herb. I’d -rather much less shoot a robin or a bluebird than some murderers and -cut-throats who deserve nothing else.” - -“But, Don, granting that the Kaiser and his war ministers are no better -than murderers, all of his soldiers are not thugs and cut-throats. -Many of these fellows are kindly, fair-minded family chaps, living -blamelessly at home and minding their own business; hard-working, -enjoying their simple pleasures until war calls them and they have no -choice but to enter into the killing of their fellowmen of another -nation. Because they are the dupes of an unjust military system they -must be driven into duties that may make them victims of others who -have no personal desire to harm them, except that being at war makes it -necessary. I tell you, Don, there is nothing more harshly unjust than -war!” - -“I guess you’re right. We ought to know, being in it. And yet, we -wouldn’t be called pacifists, Herb.” - -“Pacifists? Never! Our cause is just; our country had to fight and it -is the duty of those who could fight to get busy for her.” - -“Sure; just the same, I take it, Herb, as when a ruffian terrorizes -a town. The police must go get him, stop him, or there’s no telling -what harm he may do. Germany is that ruffian and our army is one of the -policemen.” Don was nothing if not logical. - -“You’ve got the right dope,” Herbert said. “And yet isn’t it a pity -that there are ruffians and that those who must go get them are liable -to get hurt; perhaps killed? Don, I think there should be no such -thing as war; something should be brought about that would make war -impossible.” - -“I reckon every fellow who is in this thing would agree with you, Herb. -Listen! What’s that? Kelly and Gerhardt coming in?” - -“Yes, and in a hurry, too. There’s something doing down the hill. What -is it, Kelly?” - -“They’re coming up, Lieutenant, on the quiet; the whole bunch, I think. -Gerhardt saw them first and came over to me; then we waited a little -and could hear them plain. So we sneaked in quick.” - -“Then get to your places,” Herbert said. “Dead quiet, now, everybody!” - -“And don’t anyone shoot too soon and spoil the scheme!” Judson demanded. - -“Nobody shoot until Judson yells ‘fire’!” Herbert ordered. - -There was the suggestion of a sound as of moving objects down the -hillside. It seemed to grow a little plainer, be multiplied, to come -nearer and was barely discernible. To every member of the squad it -was not apparent that the enemy was approaching; a few of trained -and keener senses knew it. Jennings and Gill detected the fact very -soon after Kelly and Gerhardt came in. Said Jennings, presently, in -something like a stage whisper: - -“Most here, Lieutenant. Reckon this is goin’ to be a reg’lar circus fer -all concerned, ez they say in court.” - -“Sh!” “Hush!” and “Can the talk!” came in muffled accents from along -the line. - -“Sho! He knows how far away they are and that they couldn’t hear him. -The nearest one ain’t closer than half way up the hill and they’re all -coming together. When you lay for deer----” - -“I think we’d all better keep quiet now,” Herbert said, and the deer -hunters subsided. - -Several minutes passed without any apparent incident; if straining ears -caught any sounds they were difficult to distinguish until a stone was -displaced on the down hill side of the rock basin. This was hardly a -signal, but if an accident it probably precipitated the ensuing action. - -There was a sharp, shrill whistle; the yells as of a thousand imps -of Satan suddenly filled the night with a fury of sound. With a rush -the enemy’s suspected night attack began. Quick orders in German, -the leaping forward of heavy feet upon and over the rock parapet, -the surging on of men eager to kill marked the arrival of the entire -platoon into the Americans’ stronghold. And then a transformation, -almost as sudden as the charge, took place. - -The yells died down, ceased. Exclamations followed, guttural -expressions of evident surprise, announcement, chagrin, at finding the -enemy gone. The natural question was: had the Americans quitted their -refuge? And the answer was self-evident. Lights were thrown here and -there about the rocky floor, into the stone shelters, out among the -spruces. Under officers and men gathered in the very center, in hasty -conference; twenty, or more, were thus beneath the dim light from a -torch stuck in a limb of a spruce tree. Other torches in the hands of -the Huns within or on the rocky sides of the basin suffused the place -in a pale fight. Only a few men remained without the stronghold. And -then, more suddenly than the coming of the platoon, the action, like a -well rehearsed drama, took on a vastly changed aspect. - -“Fire now!” yelled the shrill voice of Judson, from among the dense -herbage ten yards up the hill; the burst of flame and the roar from -eleven rifles almost drowned the last word. Nearly as many Huns went -down; the second and third irregular volleys followed before the -invaders could more than lift a gun and about as many more men dropped. -More shooting, fast and furious, sent still others to the earth, a few -wounded, most of them done for. Of the reinforced platoon not a dozen -men got safely out of the place and disappeared in the darkness. There -had not been a single shot fired in answer to the American fusillade. - -What followed with the squad was partly mild elation; partly an -immediate performance of duty. A detail went about to get the wounded -into the shelters, giving them also first aid wherever possible. -Another bunch became the undertakers. - -Those Huns who had escaped from this virtual massacre in reprisal -would, of course, make their way to their divisional headquarters to -report and another and stronger body of men would be sent to make short -work of the Americans, but all this would take time. Probably, too, -hearing the firing at the rear, the officers in command of the new line -would also send a reserve detachment to clear the matter up and such a -combined force would simply mean annihilation of the squad. - -Swiftly the duties of the Americans were performed. Half the night -was yet to come. Wilson and Kelly begged leave to inter poor McNabb’s -stiffened body and to mark the spot. Lieutenant Whitcomb, after another -earnest talk with Don Richards and the corporal, called the men -together again. They were cautioned against too much elation now, or -self-assurance. Not one of them, Herbert knew, felt any real delight -at the defense they had made, except that which was prompted by having -once more defeated an implacable foe and of being spared a bayonetting, -a blowing up or other almost certain death. - -The corporal had made a suggestion: What was the sentiment regarding a -breaking up and an attempted escape, every man for himself, through the -German lines and back to the American front? Could it be done? Would it -be worth trying? - -Some of the squad looked rather askance, some dubious, some shook their -heads. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -PLUCK - - -“I GOT a objection to quittin’ any o’ me buddies.” Jennings was always -the first to announce an opinion and it ever rang true. - -“Sho! Me, too. I’ll stick t’ him, if all the rest leave!” Gill -exclaimed vehemently, loyal beyond measure to the man he loved to -banter. - -“Lieutenant Richards and I feel the same way,” Herbert said, “but -we want to do what is the best not only for ourselves, but for our -country. If we stick here, we’ll likely stay forever; if we try to -break through tonight some of us may be successful and can go on -helping to lick the Huns. Perhaps, though----” - -“Let’s all stick,” Farnham suggested. “We can do just as much here. -Even if they get us, we can get a lot of them and the fewer Heinies -there are, the sooner they’ll get what’s coming to them.” - -“You bet, Lieutenant, they won’t get us without we do up a lot more of -them!” Kelly declared. - -“It seems to be the general desire, Herb, to stick,” Don said. - -“Stick we will, then. Back to the mines!” Herbert turned to the rock -basin. “Wilson, better set up that Browning again. Corporal, detail -two men to fix up some comfortable beds out here on the ridge and four -others to make a couple of rough litters to carry these wounded men. -We’ve got to get them out of here. Don--you’re a doctor’s son--can you -see what these fellows need and look after them a little?” - -“Sure. They all have first aid kits. I’ll pick out those who are the -least hurt and get them to looking after the others. Corporal, I’ll be -one to fix up a hospital. Who--? Gerhardt? Come on, then, young fellow; -we’ll have these poor chaps comfortable as possible in a jiffy.” - -But one of the wounded Germans was far gone, with a bullet evidently -through the bottom of his right lung. He was coughing blood and slowly -bleeding to death. Another was terribly ill from a shot through the -abdomen; eventually he would die. Of the other seven one was blinded, -another had a part of his jaw shot away, the rest had injuries to legs, -arms, shoulders, a hip. And one was a medical student, which fact he -made known to Don in mixed German and bad English, the former of which -the boy understood a little, or guessed at it. - -The student was genuinely grateful for the care that Don insisted that -the wounded men must have and for the help in getting his own shoulder -bandaged. Then, beneath an improvised cabin of poles, with thatched -roof of spruce boughs, the embryo surgeon went to work with one hand. -Jennings, meanwhile, somewhat against his will, had made a trip to -the spring run and refilled the water bucket for the wounded foes and -returned to fill the empty canteens of the squad. - -“Didn’t see nary Jerry on the way,” he announched. “Reckon we got ’em -scared off.” - -“Sho! You’ll find out about ’em bein’ scared a bit later. Trouble with -you is your swelled head,” Gill asserted. - -“I’ll swell your head with my foot if you don’t go away from me!” the -big mountaineer threatened. - -“If you sling your old hoof this a-way, I’ll jest bite it off,” Gill -chuckled. - -The two went on working side by side, still further strengthening -the defenses. Presently they were seen, with arms over each other’s -shoulders and carrying their beloved rifles, sitting on the stone wall, -swapping experiences about shooting deer and bear. - -During the rapid work about the stronghold, Lieutenant Whitcomb had -gone out on picket duty, choosing the valley side of the hill. The -corporal was on the hillside above. The orders then to the squad -were that all who could must get some sleep before morning. The food -had been exhausted, but the boys, though ravenously hungry, made no -complaint. Some coarse rye bread, found in the Kits of the dead Huns, -did not go very far nor give much satisfaction. Into the shelters -several of the boys went and to sleep almost immediately; others -were too wakeful to think of closing their eyes. Jennings and Gill, -questioned as to their need of rest, declared they were too empty to -sleep and being used to long night vigils when hunting, they preferred -to chat awhile. - -“Ever go on a coon hunt, son?” Jennings asked Kelly. The latter had -never experienced that pleasure. - -“Me, I’ve been coon hunting three nights straight an’ follered the plow -all day between,” Gill said. - -“Huh! Four nights straight fer me,” was Jennings’ boast. - -“Sho! ’Course you’d lie to beat the world’s record for stayin’ up. Jen, -listen: I’m an awful good liar myself, but you make me jealous.” - -“Fact, you runt! Four nights. Me an’ my brother Ben. You knowed Ben an’ -you kin ask him.” - -“Now? Where is he?” - -“Back home; when you go back----” - -“Mebbe I won’t, so I better do it now, only my holler’s a little wore -out tryin’ to talk sense into you and I reckon Ben wouldn’t hear me -’bout four thousand miles.” Then the two went on bantering over some -trifling incident. - -Herbert moved slowly across to where the German wounded were ensconced -and was accosted by Don as the latter was leaving. - -“I suppose human nature doesn’t differ much the world over,” Don said. -“Those poor chaps in there are a queer lot, nevertheless. Some of them -seem grateful for what I was trying to do for them; one of them caught -and tried to kiss my hand. Another, who is very bad, kept talking to -me and when I held my torch and stooped over to say something that he -might understand for sympathy, I’m hanged if he didn’t reach up and try -to strike me and he spit at me, too, like an angry cat. It made the -young surgeon so mad that he slapped the fellow’s face; then apologized -to me most profusely. And the string of German talk--ugh! I’ll never -want to hear a word of it again when I get back home.” - -“You won’t ever hear much of it, I’m thinking,” said Herbert. - -“Why, do you think we’re not going to get out?” - -“I was meaning that the language is going to be very unpopular at home -for a long while.” - -“How about Professor Meyer at school?” - -“Just before I left I heard that he had left; was fired. They traced -some propaganda to him, and other things.” - -“Hurrah for old Brighton!” Don said. - -“And may we enjoy her bright halls once more, Don.” - -“Amen! But it’s a toss-up; eh, Herb?” - -“It must be getting near morning now. Have you had any sleep?” - -“No; I don’t need it. I couldn’t go to sleep. But how about you? I’ll -take this watch and you can go up and turn----” - -“Listen! Firing. Away to the south.” - -“Southeast, too. Must be all along the line. And more and more. Herb, -is it a _barrage_?” - -“What else could it be? Is another drive on--the one that was soon to -come off? Oh, Don, if it is, there’s a chance for us. If it is not, -then before long----” - -“I know it’s serious, old man, and I guess you and the corporal see it -clearer than the rest of us. But--it’s a _barrage_ in full force and -the drive will follow.” - -“Look! It’s getting gray over yonder; morning. Let’s go up and get -the fellows awake and in their places. If the Heinies are chased back -again, and they will be, some of them may want to stop on the way and -take another fling at us. I wish we had more ammunition; there are -barely fifty cartridges left to each man. I have about seventy, but I -must have been a little more careful.” - -“Slower and surer, Herb. I tried to follow your example. There are -about seventy in my box; poor McNabb’s. How about pistol ammunition?” - -“Plenty, I guess, Don. We must fall back on that at close quarters. Oh, -hear the music of that cannonade!” - -“I hope they don’t drop any long ones over on us, Herb.” - -“They won’t. The barrage is not much good in the woods, nor are shells. -East of the Aire in the more open country, you know, it’s different. -What we hear in the south is the Hun machine guns and our rifle fire. -Our divisions are attacking again in force all along the line. The boys -are at it, Don; they’re at it and they’ll get here!” - -The young commander’s joy and enthusiasm were shared by all the others -of the squad except Jennings. - -“Lieutenant, we’re havin’ a right good time here, ain’t we? Nobody hurt -much, except McNabb, and laws! most ev’ry year some feller gets killed -even huntin’ deer. Some fool takes him fer a ol’ buck an’ lets fly. -Well, me an’ Gill, my buddy, we’re havin’ a little fun makin’ these -here Huns wish they’d stayed home an’ if----” - -“Sho! You talk for yourself, Jen,” Gill said, for the first time -deserting his friend. “I told you, Lieutenant, that the big boob wasn’t -right; he’s got bog mud in his head ’stead o’ brains. Thinks he can -lick the whole German Army.” - -“I kin, too, if they’ll give me a chanct t’ hunt a tree an’ then come -at me one at a time in front,” asserted Jennings. - -“You couldn’t lick a postage stamp if it was sick a-bed,” Gill -muttered, evidently angry because the big mountaineer didn’t seem to -know good news from bad. - -There was no levity in Gill’s manner nor speech and the others appeared -to share his feelings, though Jennings’ statements generally caused -a laugh. However joyful the squad may have felt over the resounding -evidence of a new drive, they all sensed that the final hour or so -before their probable delivery must hold for them the question of -survival. They knew that their leader’s foreboding was correct; they -would be furiously attacked by some of the re-established Huns, and in -greater numbers than before, for then men had been needed to hold the -line elsewhere. - -Therefore, it was a quiet and serious lot of young fellows that looked -to their weapons and lay behind the rocks of the little basin as the -continued sound of firing came slowly nearer and nearer. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE WORLD’S GREATEST BATTLE - - -CONSIDERING the numbers engaged, the severity of the defense, the -difficulty of dislodging a foe entrenched with nature’s aid, and the -dash, energy and destructive work of the offensive, the fight for the -Argonne has no equal in the records of mankind. This has been the -verdict of many witnesses; not alone those with the desire to give -praise to their fellow Americans, but alien critics also have affirmed -it. - -History has recorded many bloody encounters of modern times. Waterloo, -the Bloody Angle, Pickett’s charge--these are but a few instances -of the pluck and bravery that men will show when facing an equally -determined enemy. The greatest war has furnished innumerable evidences -that men are no less courageous than in former times. - -As we have seen, it was a trick of the Germans, practiced over and -over again, to vacate a position under pressure and at night, when the -victors had paused to reinforce and count results, to come back again, -occupying much of the ground they had vacated during the day. But -the Americans soon discovered this ruse and looked for it; they also -followed the Huns more closely and held all of the ground taken from -them. - -Greater dash, a more complete disregard for danger which amounted in -many cases to individual foolhardiness, causing at the same time the -enemy to feel that he was up against foemen that outclassed him in -that sort of thing, had much to do with the winning streak that the -Yanks maintained. The Germans fooled themselves into thinking that -they were above defeat where the great forest, its ravines and hills, -afforded them such protection, but this was the sort of thing that the -Americans--many of them hunters, sportsmen, woodsmen, mountaineers, -or with vacation experiences in such places and having the hereditary -instincts of ancestors who were pioneers--now welcomed. - -This manner of fighting took from the Germans their natural -inclinations following their training as a body of men who depended -upon the spirit of comradeship and who were only at their best when -fighting shoulder to shoulder. But it was exactly according to the -American standards and training, showing clearly the superiority of -the latter method of making each man depend on himself. Moreover, it -was what is known as open fighting, differing from trench warfare and -though the opposing forces often fortified themselves behind natural -rock masses and within thickets and groves, they were not as fixed as -in the elaborate dugouts and fortresses beneath the surface of the -ground. In some instances, however, over officers had erected cabins or -stone huts. - -The fighting in the Argonne occurred mostly in the daytime and except -where some few night raids were carried out with slight gain either -way, the opposing forces were content to lie in wait until early -morning hours, when they again leaped at each other’s throats, the -Yanks doing most of the jumping and the Huns getting the larger part of -the throttling. Then, until the fall of darkness again, the battle went -on uninterruptedly. - -Naturally, slow progress was made in the forest. Between the Aire -River, which skirts the Argonne region on the east, and the Meuse, -an average of twelve miles away, the attacking Americans got on much -faster, taking village after village and compelling the Germans to -fall back continually. Units of other divisions cleared the immediate -valley of the Aire of Huns, but before all this was done the now famous -77th Division had penetrated into the very center of the forest and was -still going strong. After pausing to make good the ground and re-form, -the drive was resumed in the early morning of October 4th, the sounds -thereof conveying the glad fact to Herbert Whitcomb, Don Richards and -their brave little company. - -The open farming section to the west of the Argonne was vacated by -the Germans after the St. Mihiel battle and the severe fighting on -the Vesle. The Huns knew they could not hold this section against the -combined French and Americans; therefore, they retired to within the -forest proper, believing that nothing could dislodge them there and it -became the job of the Americans alone to prove them wrong. - -Where a successful offensive is conducted, even against open formations -or ordinary trenches, the attacking force necessarily outnumbers -the defenders and this was the case in the Argonne battle, but the -differences were not by any means as great as might have been expected, -considering the terrain and the decisiveness of the defeat. - -In many separate actions, or what might be termed somewhat isolated -fights, where bodies of Americans were separated from their fellows, -though the Germans managed generally to keep in touch with each other, -the defenders also decisively beaten at these points, often greatly -outnumbered the attacking forces. Sheer inability to recognize the -possibility of being beaten or even seriously repulsed carried the -Yanks on to victory, compelling the foe to give way before their -terrific onslaughts. - -This sort of fighting while it lasted did not surprise the American -commanders, but the English, French and Italian officers detailed to -visit the American command viewed with astonishment the result of -the battle. Never before had they seen such persistent energy and -cool determination shown by an army of such large numbers. Only the -Canadians and Australians, on certain smaller occasions, demonstrated -the more hardy purpose and tenacity of men from less densely settled -countries where the pioneer spirit still prevails. - -May it be that, however advanced our country becomes in the niceties -and needs of civilization, however earnestly we come to adhere to those -finer traits of national integrity and purer manliness, we still -retain much of that pioneer spirit which made of our forefathers the -kind of men to gain the greatest nation on earth. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -PLAYING THE GAME - - -“HERE they come, men; some of them! Drifting back,” announced -Lieutenant Whitcomb, with his eye at a peep-hole in the rocks. At -almost the same instant Farnham called out the same news and Jennings, -rising to glance over the stone breastwork of the basin, remarked: - -“By glory, they be! Let’em went, Lieutenant; we don’t want to stop’em -from goin’ right on home. Ain’t that where they’re headin’?” - -“Yes, but with a good long way to go yet. Get down, man, unless you -want to stop a mauser!” - -The little valley below rapidly became filled with gray-green figures, -most of them hurrying along. There was very little artillery; only now -and then some light field pieces on wheels, that were pulled along by -men. The weapons used in this forest defense were mostly machine guns -and rifles. Officers were all along urging the retreating Huns to -greater speed and the watchers on the hillside witnessed many cases of -wanton brutality shown toward the wearied privates who, underfed and -overworked, were often lacking in patriotic effort. There was instant -obedience on the part of these thoroughly drilled and long-practiced -troops, but they had begun to feel when they were overmatched in dash -and energy; to know when they were being beaten at their own game. Had -it not been for the officers, who were personally more responsible -to the high command, the defense of the Argonne would have cost the -Americans far fewer casualties. - -Either there had been orders to ignore the little bunch of Americans -on the hillside, or else in the endeavor to get back unscathed from -the furious attack being made upon them, the existence of the squad -in their midst had been forgotten. The Huns were making every attempt -to hold the ground and, where that was impossible, to save themselves -and their army impediments from capture. Back, back, ever back they -were being forced, contesting every inch along the fighting line; when -beaten and not forced to surrender rushing back in order to form new -lines and points of defense. Every moment, up among the spruces, the -lads, grown bolder as the first few hours of the morning went by and -they were not attacked, gazed over the rocks and saw the narrow wooded -valley filled and emptied and filled again with retreating men, ever -passing on to the north, marching in loose formation, straggling, -often with wounded among them, with heads and arms bandaged, but still -in the ranks, and others borne on stretchers carried either by their -comrades-in-arms or by men of a hospital corps. But there was never any -stopping, never a turning back of those retreating until near the end, -when the numbers very perceptibly began to thin. - -Then quite suddenly there was a change. Down from the north, from -the direction the retreat was taking, came a full platoon of men, -exhibiting far more haste than had been shown by those withdrawing. -Most of this platoon were on the run, lashed to greater effort by -the sharp commands of their officers. They were a fresh contingent -rushed into line in place of those units exhausted and depleted and -reaching the head of the vale that sloped away to the north, as the -Yank squad had done, they stopped at another command. With a precision -of drill that resembled an exhibition contest, they almost leaped -apart to given distances and stood with rifles and machine guns ready -for action. Then, at still another command the under officers of each -squad began to lead them to selected spots most suitable for defense, -thus beginning to spread the force out widely. It was evident that the -intention was to hold this part of the forest, as many other spots were -being defended, against a further advance of the American divisions -whose task it was to drive the Huns from the Argonne. - -Again the word had been given to the khaki-clad squad to lie low. -Herbert, at his hole in the rocks, saw exactly what was about to -happen. The spreading out of the German platoon would surely tend to -the occupancy of the ground held by the Yanks among the spruces and a -clash was therefore certain, though with no greater numbers than the -American squad had faced, before, unless others came on the scene. - -It was Herbert’s intention to lie low, as before, until again -discovered. Not one of these Germans now in the valley could have known -of the existence of the Americans in their midst; in the shifting about -those who had previously attacked the position on the hillside must -have been moved elsewhere prior to the retreat, or else had all been -captured in the new drive. - -But Herbert’s well-laid plan to surprise the enemy went wrong, as plans -often do, though this was due to no lack of foresight on his part. -There was always the chance of information of the position of the Yanks -being given. And now this very thing happened. - -Don had an eye at one of the peep-holes. He was observing with swift -comprehension all that was transpiring down the hill. Suddenly the -lad saw that which no one else in the squad could have as fully -understood. Hastening forward through the woods and up the hill came -a man dressed in the uniform of an American officer and accompanied -by two German lieutenants, the commanders of this platoon. At first -it seemed as though this khaki-clad individual was but a prisoner, -tamely submitting. Then, as he drew nearer, it could be observed that -there was a white ribbon tied on either arm and one on his service cap, -one mark of the spy by which his friends the Huns would know him. But -Don saw more than this; he saw that this apparent American was short, -heavy-set, swarthy; then he knew the fellow. - -Don, it must be remembered, was not a soldier; he had not been enlisted -as a fighting man. His first experience on the front was as a saver of -life, instead of one who was expected to kill, though in the latter -capacity he had visited upon one spy and the murderer of his dear -friend Billy Mearns a just revenge. Now with the Intelligence Division -it had not been expected of him to enter battle, nor to use firearms, -except in extreme cases. But for the last two days he had been allied -with several extreme cases involving a most warlike undertaking and to -play the soldier had been as much his part as that of any member of the -squad with Herbert Whitcomb. The taking part in war, of shooting, under -excitement, at the enemy line, or picking out figures in that line as -special marks to hit seemed truly enough the office of a fighting man, -but the act of deliberately shooting down an individual, especially -when the victim was unaware of his peril, must appear to him who -reasons more of an assassination than warfare. Justifiable homicide, -it might indeed be, for there may be such a thing, even outside of the -bounds of war, but in the deliberate act itself there cannot be utter -disregard of its cold-blooded character. - -To what extent these considerations entered Don Richards’ head are -now uncertain; he has never given expression to the incident in full, -but it may easily be inferred, judging from the boy’s humanity and -right-mindedness, that for a little disinclination held him, perhaps -only for the turn of a few seconds; then bold circumstance demanded -action. - -The three men came on up the hill, walking now more and more slowly and -finally advancing with some caution. They were easily a hundred and -fifty yards away when they halted, facing the spruces. And then the -khaki-clad figure deliberately raised its arm and pointed out, with -evident care, the precise position of the fortified squad of Americans. - -It is possible that even then the spy would have got away with his -ruse, so earnest had been Lieutenant Whitcomb’s orders to his men. -Perhaps Don did not feel exactly bound by these orders; Herbert had -frankly admitted that he was independent of the command, though bound -by courtesy and necessity to generally act with the squad. Perhaps, -under the stress of the moment, Don forgot orders, purposes, strategy. -The spy, clad in the uniform of those against whom he was striving, -condemned to death by his occupation, the most contemptible and often -the most dangerous of enemies, stood there, openly giving information -to his friends of that which he had in some way become possessed. It -was a sight to make the justice-loving blood of any patriotic lad boil. - -It is an axiom with the marksman, in warfare as well as in hunting -dangerous game, to keep cool and bend all effort on the correct aiming -of his weapon. Once before, in the flight of a spy, Don had lost sight -of this important rule and his man had escaped. Another, at shorter -range, though in the fury of a duel battle, had paid the penalty. And -now bitter anger clouded the sighting of the rifle. Indeed, the boy -hardly contemplated that he raised his gun, that he glanced along the -barrel, or that he pulled the trigger at the supposed moment of seeing -his front sights low. He knew, however, that at the crack of the weapon -the white-ribboned cap of the spy flew into the air and that at the -next instant the fellow was behind a tree, dodging thence to another, -his companions with him. - -The shot was a signal. Herbert had been disturbed by the act of the -spy, as had others of the squad; then when Don fired, the jig was up -and the Yanks, in their little natural fortress, became this time the -aggressors. - -“Get ’em, men! Get all three of them!” the lieutenant shouted and -three guns spoke with flaming malice. Don fired again. Unable to see -enough of the spy and conscious of his first error, he took quick, low, -accurate aim at a fleeing officer and knew intuitively, as any expert -marksman may call his shot on a target, that the bullet had hit the -fellow between the shoulders. With something of a shudder at seeing the -German go down the boy tried again to draw sight, but unsuccessfully; -the fellow was quick, elusive and fortunate with his protecting trees. -Herbert, master of the rifle, fired but once. The other Hun officer -fell. Five or six shots went after the spy, but without avail, making -him all the more wary. And at that the big mountaineer grew furious. - -Jennings towered above his fellows, climbing upon the rocks and -leaning far out from the spruce shadows. His marksmanship was superb; -the spy was so far among the trees that the others, even Herbert and -Gill stopped firing. But Jennings’ bullets cut a twig right over the -khaki-clad fugitive’s head; then splintered the bark beside him as he -dodged around a tree; then tore the cloth from his hip and seared the -flesh. Again one shot ripped open his sleeve. But the fellow ran on -until hidden behind several large trees growing close together. - -Naturally the American squad had not been the only observers of this -brief and exciting episode; a Hun squad of machine gunners, locating -on the hillside a little to the north of the spruces and almost level -with them, saw clearly whence the firing came, spied the mountaineer’s -figure and immediately got busy. - -Jennings turned about, defeated in his effort, but elated, nevertheless. - -“I ain’t never shot no closter, even to a ol’ groundhog huntin’ his -hole; hev I, buddy?” he said to Gill. - -“No, nor anybody. That was drawin’ a bead some fine. An’ him movin’ an’ -dodgin’ that way worse’n a cottontail through corn. Fine work, boy; -fine work! I couldn’t done any better me own self.” - -The big mountaineer glowed with pride; nothing pleased him more than -genuine praise from his life-long pal. Jennings stood straight on the -rock and swelled his chest. - -“Jest you wait, Lieutenant, till I git a chanct t’ draw on the ol’ -Kaiser at about three hundred yards! I’ll clip that ol’ fish tail o’ -his’n on his lip fust on one side, then on t’other an’ then plant one -right here.” Jennings raised his hand and tapped his forehead; with a -broad grin he gazed down at the others, then suddenly toppled forward -and pitched headlong among them. At the same instant a dozen leaden -slugs pounded, flattened, glanced from the rocks where Jennings had -stood and half of those fired from the machine gun had hit him. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -RETALIATION - - -“LIEUTENANT, I ain’t complainin’, I ain’t kickin’ an’ I don’t want to -disobey no orders, but please let me go out an’ round up them polecats -on the hill, that killed my buddy. I knows just where they’re at an’ I -can do it. Please, sir, I want t’ go.” - -So begged the hunter and scout Gill, the big tears rolling down his -cheeks, though his features were grim with determination. Beyond the -unutterable love for his dead friend and comrade, only revenge stirred -him; the desire to get the very ones who had caused Jennings’ death was -now his one purpose in life. - -But Herbert shook his head. “No, Gill, old chap, if only for your own -good; they’d get you, too. And we can’t spare you now. They are making -ready to hit us hard and we’ve got to fight, man; hold ’em off. There -are no more of them than before, but they’ve got a field piece out -there on the hill and shells probably. They’ll hammer us a bit and -then rush us.” - -It proved to be as Herbert foresaw; these tactics would be most -effective and the Huns could not tolerate a nested enemy able to do -much damage upon their immediate flank. Directed now by a gray-haired -veteran just arrived on the scene, there was a precision of action -that augured badly for the Yank squad. The first shell came over a -few minutes after the raking machine-gun-fire that had killed the big -mountaineer and the shot struck well up among the spruces, splintering -a tree, throwing bits of wood and limbs down upon the men, the -concussion throwing several of them to the ground. Then Herbert ordered -all within the two stone shelters, except one who must risk going on -watch, and he elected himself for this task, though some of the others -strongly objected. The lieutenant crouched down close to the rocks and -two of the boys reared some large stones about him as a shield; then -the tired and hungry squad awaited results. And these results were a -little beyond their most pessimistic estimates, if even one of the -remaining ten could have taken anything but an optimistic view of the -situation. - -The second shell also landed among the spruces, but far back; the -third, fourth and fifth struck outside of the stone breastwork and one -was a “dud.” Then came the sixth, which squarely hit the side of one -stone shelter, making the rock splinters fly and the explosion seemed -as though it would tear down the heavy walls. Though the watcher was -several yards away and protected in part, he was terribly affected by -the concussion and his first thought was the fear of shell shock if -this sort of thing was to continue. But what could the squad do, other -than remain here, even though it meant annihilation or insanity? - -Don Richards also, from nearest the doorway of the smallest shelter, -saw clearly, as all of the squad must have seen, the inevitable; with -him to determine was to act. - -“That gun has got to be stopped! Two of us can do it. Who?” - -“Me, me! Take me!” Gill held out his arms like a child begging a favor. -“I wanted him to let me go, but he said we’d all be needed here.” - -“So we will, later. They don’t know how many of us there are here and -they won’t rush us yet a bit; we ought to get back before that, if at -all. There’s no need of Lieutenant Whitcomb’s knowing; he’s too busy -watching to take note of us. Now then, Gill, we’ll slide as soon as the -next shell lands, if it doesn’t get us.” - -The next shell didn’t get them; it struck, as most of the others -had done, against the rock wall. With about one-half minute between -each shot there was time and to spare for a get-away. Out under the -shadows the two leaped, Don leading, and however agile the slim young -mountaineer was, he was no quicker on his feet than the school athlete. - -But long training in the woods and then the special course in fighting -methods in the camps had made of the mountaineer an expert that no -tyro, nor even few so drilled could hope to equal. Conscious of this, -Don motioned that Gill now take the lead. - -“Soft, still; go easy like,” Gill cautioned. “Big game ahead! They -killed my buddy and we’ve got to git ’em. Don’t break no sticks nor jar -no high bushes.” - -On through the dense undergrowth the two went, doing that which Donald -had deemed impossible: making haste and going cautiously at the same -time. The boy, an apt pupil, following almost in the footsteps of his -comrade, doing whatever Gill did, avoiding whatever he dodged. Then it -occurred to Don that he was not sure of the ground; rather uncertain -of the direction they must take. Could he trust the woodsman? Did Gill -know? - -Suddenly the scout stopped, crouched, gestured for Don also to get -down. Thus they remained, silent, motionless for a full half minute, -hearing plainly someone beyond pushing through the thicket, the sound -coming nearer. Gill was moving his head about in the effort to see -through and beyond the bushes; then he held up one finger and finally -pointed to himself, motioning Don to come on slowly, which Don did; -fearing to spoil his comrade’s plan, then only to witness in part the -subsequent tragedy. But as little as he saw of it, for one fleeting -second the question assailed him: was he to go on with this task alone? -He felt that he could go on with it, for his automatic was in his hand -and he knew well how to use that weapon. Then he saw Gill’s bayoneted -rifle lifted high; he saw it strike forward and down; he heard a -gasping exclamation and the scout, turning once to glance back among -the bushes and wiping his bayonet on a tuft of grass, rejoined the -wondering boy. - -“He near got me, acrosst the peepers; his blade was longer than mine,” -Gill remarked, in a whisper. “Scout, too, lookin’ for a way to get to -us from this side. Come on!” - -Again Don followed. They made even more rapid headway than at first, -veering continually to the right until the boy was almost convinced -that they had completed a circle. Finally, straight ahead, they -described a more open woodland on ground sloping away. This they -closely scanned from a screened position within the underbrush. - -“See ’em, eh?” Gill made remark, grinning fiendishly. And Don, craning -his neck above the friendly branches, had a full view of half a dozen -Huns, rapidly operating a long-barreled field piece under the expert -direction of an under officer. The Germans were not a hundred paces -distant and chance favored the two Americans for there were but few -trees between them and the cannoneers. - -“Now, then, buddy, lay low and watch your uncle! If they come a huntin’ -up here, an’ they won’t, you can wish ’em well with your gun and -automatic.” Gill openly took command in this sort of thing, as it was -right that he should. It was surely his game, even if partly Don’s -idea, and the young officer was not arrogant. He knew he was no match -for the other with a rifle and that they might need every cartridge -they had in close work before their task was completed, if completed it -could be. - -The Huns were about to fire their long weapon; the officer stooped to -sight it. As his hands loosened upon the adjusting mechanism and he -slumped to the earth, the others glanced quickly around to see where -the bullet came from that had killed him. One big, fat Hun raised his -arm to point in almost the exact direction where Don and Gill knelt; -another also had his eyes turned upon the spot where the Americans -crouched. Then the fat fellow pitched headlong and the man with him -leaped back to a machine gun; he had seen a movement, the flash of -flame from Gill’s weapon, or detected the gaseous drift from smokeless -powder. But before the death-dealing weapon could be brought into -action, the gunner also tumbled over, grasping at his side, struggling -a little, then lying inert, as were the other two. Two of the remaining -gunners flung themselves flat on the ground; the other leaped toward -the machine gun, but fell between the legs of the tripod, upsetting the -weapon in his struggles before he, too, lay still. - -“Reckoned I’d make ’em sorry they killed old Jen,” Gill said. “Now -then, buddy, let’s go down an’ fix them other two.” - -But seeing that this would be a foolish attempt, Don now took command. - -“No. You stay here, Gill, and pick off any others that come up and try -to use that gun, which they will and soon. I’ll go back to the rocks. -In about ten or twenty minutes you come back, too. If you get some more -of them they’ll likely let the gun alone for a bit and then try to -grenade us. If they get to working the gun again, then----Listen, Gill; -listen! The shooting all along the line is getting awfully near. It -can’t be half a mile away. They’re coming fast. I’ll get back now.” - -There was little trouble in retracing his steps and creeping under -the spruces. Don found the squad just as he had left it, except that -another man was missing. Gerhardt had gone a little out of his head; -had become quarrelsome and abusive, mumbling that he was hungry, that -there were apples and pears down in the woods and that, Germans or no -Germans, he was going after them. Before the others of the squad could -lay hold to stop him he had leaped over the stone barrier and actually -untouched by a veritable hail of bullets had gone off on a wabbling -run. And that was the last any of them had ever seen of Gerhardt; his -fate was never known. Probably he got into the German lines, was -killed because dangerously insane and his unmarked grave would tell no -tales. - -Herbert, still on watch and looking terribly pale and haggard, had not -known of the expedition of Don and Gill. When young Judson crawled out -and insisted on taking the lieutenant’s place on watch and Herbert had -almost reluctantly crept back to the shelter, he remarked that the Hun -shells had ceased being fired. Then Don informed him of what Gill had -done. - -“That has saved our lives, Don! They were getting our exact range to a -T. We never could have survived that shell fire. And Gill is still out -there?” - -“If he gets back, Herb, that fellow will deserve all the honors that -may be put upon him. He’s coming back in twenty minutes.” - -“Listen! Was that a bugle, men?” - -“It might have been; off a long way.” - -“If it was, it was Yank.” - -“The shooting is nearer all the time.” - -“Slow, but mebbe sure, Lieutenant.” - -“I am sure it is sure. They’ll get here, Farnham.” - -“And find us sitting up and waiting for a square meal.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -GILL PERFORMS - - -THE young Pennsylvania mountaineer, with his eyes, followed Don until -the boy disappeared among the dense bushes; then Gill turned again to -his grim duty--that of keeping the long gun out of action. The two Huns -who had got away evidently had recognized that to attempt to work the -piece in its present position, with enemy marksmen concealed where they -could pick off the gunners, was a much too risky business. - -Gill knew that these conditions would be reported at once to the -nearest officer and that very soon men would be sent to hunt the -mountaineer out and others to work the gun again. - -Well, let them come; he would endeavor to give as good as they sent, -or better, even if he were only one against many. He had about thirty -cartridges left; they ought to be enough for a couple of dozen Heinies, -if they didn’t crowd him too fast. And then he had his automatic; he -had hardly needed so far to fire a shot from it, but he knew how to use -it. Also he had his bayonet as a last resort. - -Probably in the end they would get him, but it didn’t matter very much -now that his buddy, Jennings, was dead. To be sure, he would love again -to get back to the dear old hills of his native state and again follow -the plow or the hounds. Going after raccoons, foxes, deer and bear was -milder sport than this, with no danger in it, but it didn’t inflict -upon one’s mind that primitive desire to destroy an enemy; it didn’t -stir the blood as did this war game. - -Quite calmly, but without relaxing for an instant his keen watchfulness -on all his surroundings, Gill began cleaning his rifle, examining -his cartridge clips and pistol ammunition, looking to his general -well-being, even to the extent of re-tying his shoe lacings. He had -little to wish for, except that Jennings were with him and that he had -something to eat and a cup of good water. This going hungry and thirsty -for so long was not calculated to put a fellow on his best edge. But -still his eyes and nerves were good and his stanch muscles all there. -If his buddy had not been killed and were to share his fortunes now, -he might get into really far greater misery than the grave: long -imprisonment. It wouldn’t be exactly desirable to be seriously wounded, -either, and to lie for hours in these bushes. But Gill promised himself -that if he were hit and not knocked out completely, the Huns would have -no little trouble finding him. - -He remembered rather vaguely that Don had told him to come back in -twenty minutes. Gill’s watch had been smashed, he had thrown it away -and how long was twenty minutes? There would be more Huns at the field -piece before half that time and there was no telling how long it might -take to further impress upon them that its mere vicinity was fatal -ground. - -Gill was right in this conjecture. He had hardly finished his task and -shoved a new cartridge clip into his gun before he saw a half dozen men -come running up the hill. He recognized one of them as belonging to the -gun squad and this fellow was evidently protesting to the young officer -at the head of the new bunch. - -They came boldly into the little space, the member of the old squad -trying almost to hold the officer back. Suddenly that smirk-faced -leader turned and struck the well meaning man a blow across the face. - -The sheer brutality, the nasty ingratitude of this act impressed the -watcher in the bushes much as when he had once seen a drunken coon -hunter kick his dog when the beast was doing his best to make known the -whereabouts of a hunted animal. - -It was well now to get busy and the rule was to get an officer, if -possible, so as to upset the morale of a fighting force, big or little. - -The Hun leader was still glaring at the man who would dare to try to -tell him his business or interfere with his duty; he had also a thing -or two to say about it, judging from the way he flung out his chest and -pounded it with his fist. Suddenly he bent forward, placed both hands -upon his stomach and sank to the ground. Gill hoped that his bullet had -not done enough damage to keep the fellow from repenting his meanness. - -The other Huns had all rushed for cover; one was a little slow and -the mountaineer’s next shot did not permit him to gain shelter. One -fellow, from behind a tree, began shooting at where he must have noted -the flash of Gill’s gun and the bullets were cutting low over the -mountaineer’s head as the latter drew a fine bead to the left of that -tree. The Hun marksman stopped shooting, but Gill knew the man had only -been nicked a little; hurt only enough to render him unable to keep on -worrying the Yank. - -But others were shooting now and the spot that Gill occupied was -getting to be uncomfortable. A bullet struck and split a stout scrub -oak sapling right in front of his face, the missile going off at a -tangent, else the mountaineer would have been done for. Therefore, he -moved, and quickly, backing out on hands and knees, and when screened -completely he slipped into the friendly shelter of some other bushes -where, back of a sprout-grown tree stump he was still better hidden. -The bullets continued to cut and to tear through the thicket he had -just left, all of them wasted, of course, and Gill smiled grimly. - -“No good, Heinie,” he thought, “though if I’d ’a’ stayed there you’d -’a’ got me, I reckon.” - -Presently he observed that only one gun was blazing away at his -supposed position and he suspected a ruse. This fellow was trying to -keep Gill’s attention, or to draw his fire; others would make a detour -and try to surprise him from behind. Well, he’d be ready to give them -a warm reception. - -He had not long to wait. Directly back of the place that he had just -occupied he saw the bushes sway a little. He did not take his eyes from -the spot and presently a German cap came slowly up above the mass of -foliage, followed by a pair of staring eyes that spied Gill just as the -latter fired. The cap flew into the air, the eyes disappeared from the -mountaineer’s view and he ejaculated, half aloud: - -“Sho! I done missed him. Here’s fer gettin’ him, though.” With that, -not having rifle cartridges to waste, Gill drew his automatic and sent -a half dozen bullets into the bushes, low down. The only immediate -result, as far as he could be aware, was some Hun language and the -sound of hasty retreat, evidently of at least four or five men who had -been advancing close together upon him. They must have either imagined -themselves outnumbered, or else the leader or several of them had been -hit. - -Gill chuckled to himself and remarked _sotto voce_: - -“Guess my ol’ buddy Jen was about right in thinkin’ he could ’a’ licked -the whole Hun army, give him a show.” Then he turned his attention -again to the sniper down the hill and at last, locating that fellow -behind a fallen tree, he set himself to stopping him, which his third -bullet effectually did. Having the habit of talking to himself, as -probably without exception every lone hunter has, Gill further indulged -in it now. - -“Reckon my twenty minutes is up, but I got t’ wait here a bit an’ see -they don’t try fer to work that field piece some more. They will try it -an’ groun’ hog shootin’ ain’t no touch t’ the sport o’ stoppin’ these -fellers. Reckon they ain’t goin’ t’ try t’ come after me again right -off.” - -The mountaineer lay there for fully fifteen minutes longer and nothing -occurred as far as he could see. The cannon was as lonesome as though -in the middle of the Desert of Sahara; no one approached it. Gill -worked himself down into a comfortable sort of nest amid dry moss and -leaves in the warm sunshine and still waited. - -It is hard to believe that under stress of such circumstances sleep -would come to one unawares. But the mountaineer had not closed his eyes -for more than forty-eight hours and outraged nature must assert its -natural protest. Before the poor fellow was conscious of the danger to -himself his head dropped on his outstretched arm and he was actually -snoring. - -He awoke after a time at the sound of a gruff voice above him and -glancing up he beheld the muzzle of a gun not six inches from his head. -Words that he did not understand followed. His rifle was snatched away. -But with the quickness of a wildcat the Yank was half on his feet, -reaching for his automatic and meaning to kill or be killed. - -A blow descended upon his head; he dodged it in part, but it struck the -pistol from his hand. He leaped at the fellow who was striking at him -with the butt of his gun, catching the Hun a wood wrestling grip around -the waist. The two went down together, Gill on top, and no sooner -had he thrown his man than he tried to get away from him. But his -antagonist was a big chap, with muscles like iron and hands like hams; -he held to Gill with a grip that seemed impossible to break. In doing -this, however, both hands were kept so busy for a time that a weapon -could not be used. - -[Illustration: THE TWO WENT DOWN TOGETHER] - -Gill got a hold on his antagonist’s throat and the Hun began to -choke. Not being able to break that hold and to save himself, the big -fellow tried to reach around under him for his pistol and Gill tore -loose, flung himself over the ground and got his own automatic. The -two men fired almost at the same instant, the German’s bullet tearing -through Gill’s blouse not six inches from his heart, but without even -scratching the skin. Gill’s shot was better placed. Without another -glance at the dead Hun the mountaineer remarked to himself. - -“They’re onto me here. Reckon I’ve got t’ move again.” He crept back -into the bushes once more and made another detour, coming out at the -edge of the thicket farther away from the field piece, but an increase -of distance did not worry him much regarding his certain marksmanship. - -Again he took up his vigil and pinched himself to keep awake, but the -need of sleep was even greater than before and he made the same mistake -of getting into a comfortable position. A few flies and mosquitoes -aided his efforts to maintain wakefulness, but apparently nothing short -of a Hun charge upon him could have sufficed. - -When he awoke again not one, but five, grinning Huns stood over -and around him. Gill got to his feet and made an instant mental -reservation not to surrender. He would not go into Germany as a -prisoner. Finding his weapons taken, he did the only thing he could: -rush at the nearest man, get him in the stomach with his shoulders and, -upsetting him, fetch another a blow on the jaw that put him down and -out. There is no telling what the Yank would have succeeded in doing -next had not all light and sense been blotted out. The well directed -butt of a gun proved harder than his head. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -ONCE MORE THE OFFENSIVE - - -WHIZZ! Plunk! Bang! - -The men in each of the stone shelters gazed at their comrades not in -surprise, not in question, but with returning horror at the bursting -of the shell; some shuddering, others putting their hands over their -faces. And into the midst of the bunch closest the watch came charging -young Judson, his face livid, his eyes staring, his mouth limp and -jabbering, as one driven insane. He caught the nearest man by the arm -and flinging himself on his knees cowered behind Wilson’s legs. - -“Another one,” remarked the corporal, “but this is plain shell-shock. -Wait till we get the lieutenant here. Tomlinson, you tell him.” - -This tall soldier, always erect, ready, precise, who now stood near -the door, was more averse than any of the squad, excepting Jennings, -to getting under cover. He barely stooped as he left his shelter and -passed along to the other one. At its doorway he gave Herbert the -message. Then he turned to go, but fell back limp into the lieutenant’s -arms. Other hands stretched to assist; as they laid him on the floor -only a glance was necessary to learn his fate. - -“Men, another! They’re slowly and surely getting us. At this rate our -friends won’t be here soon enough. And Judson out of it, too. There are -only six of us left here; if they knew that down yonder they’d have us -in ten minutes. Come, you fellows, we’ll call this hut the morgue and -bring Jennings in here, too; the other must be the hospital. Hands and -knees now and carefully!” - -Death was solemn enough, but the horror on poor Judson’s face called -from the others words of sympathy for the victim and of detestation -of the enemy. It was all in the practice of war, of course, but such -heart-touching incidents bring the natural hatred of foemen uppermost. -Those of the little squad who now remained were none the less eager to -hold out and fight. - -Then came another shell, striking and exploding outside of the rocks -again and had Wilson possessed nerves as sensitive as those of young -Judson there would have been another case of shell-shock, for both men -had been previously jarred and shaken. It is generally the continued -and persistent menace of these horrible spreaders of death and -destruction that drive men into a chronic fear that utterly overmasters -their strength of will. As it was, splinters of stone and shell flew -through the lookout opening and struck the watcher in the head, -painfully, though not seriously wounding him. Back he came, crawling -and bleeding, as poor Jennings would have said, “like a stuck pig.” Don -bound Wilson’s head; then the leader said: - -“Men, there is really no alternative for us. We cannot wait longer -here. Something has happened to Gill, or he would stop that gun again. -We must get out of here by the hilltop and then Wilson will stick up a -white rag. Come on!” - -The surviving five--Herbert, Don, the corporal, Kelly and -Farnham--shook hands with Wilson; then creeping farther into the -shadows, gained the dense growth above. At the brow of the hill Herbert -again addressed his followers: - -“We must make a choice here, boys. Are we to lie low, hide, hoping for -the drive to reach us; are we to try to get through the German first -line positions, as suggested before, or are we to stay on the job and -take it out on those gunners? If you will all join me, let us go for -the chaps who have played the Old Scratch with us for the last two -hours.” - -“I’m with you, Lieutenant,” Farnham said. - -“Of course we are,” said Kelly. - -The corporal smiled and nodded eagerly. - -“Then, Lieutenant Richards, we are under your leadership,” Herbert -said. “You know how you and Gill went about it. Go to it, old sport!” - -And go they did, sneaking through the thickets like boys playing Indian -or hunters stalking game, Don leading the way, and they came out at the -exact spot that he and Gill had reached, but there was no sign of the -mountaineer. - -The German field piece was in the same place as before and an artillery -squad of seven or eight new men had been working the gun. Having noted -the white flag, a bit of poor Tomlinson’s shirt, on a stick they had -stopped shooting while Hun officers investigated the inside of the -recent stronghold of the Yank squad. But the Hun artillery men were -not idle. They had received orders of a more exacting character than -the shooting up of a small squad of Americans; now they were to shoot -at the American Army and to join in the effort to stem its advance. So -each man was engrossed with his duties: the cleaning of the piece, the -oiling of mechanisms, the storing of shells for immediate and rapid use -when the occasion demanded. - -“Now then, men,” said Don, “we’ll select a moment when all of them -seem particularly busy and at the word let them have it; then charge. -Herb, you take the fellow at the extreme left; I’ll take the next man; -Farnham, you take the third in the line; Kelly the fourth. Corporal, -that big guy with the specs is yours. And hit ’em, boys; fire at -command! Now then, are you ready?” - -What followed was a complete surprise to all concerned, Americans and -Germans alike. The little bunch of avenging Yanks had planned to spring -something, most unexpected, upon their foes and the Huns themselves -figured upon doing their duty. Was this for them a fateful spot, or -was the gun an unlucky piece, as such things are often said to be? One -squad had been nearly wiped out here working the gun and now---- - -The big shell, fired from a French or an American large caliber gun, -may have been aimed with precision from information given by an Allied -airplane high in air, or it may have sent its terrible messenger -partly at random, hoping that it might land somewhere even near a Hun -position. And as Don said afterward, the missile must have had good -luck written all over it, for it performed its mission fully. - -As the avengers raised their rifles and waited for the deliberate word -to aim and fire, their eyes fixed upon those gray-green figures in -the open grove, they heard the whine of the great shell and amid the -many long streaks of flame, the volcanic-like dust, smoke and flying -particles of a great explosion, the entire Hun squad, with the long gun -and the boxes of shells exploding also, disappeared. For many minutes -the Americans crouched there in silent awe. - -“First message from our lines! Good omen!” Herbert declared. - -“Effective, anyway, but awful,” Don said. - -“Our boys are coming up through the valley!” Farnham exclaimed. “Didn’t -you hear that yell down there? It was a Yank cheer, sure!” - -They all stood, listening intently and were swiftly convinced. The -firing had become very rapid; there were other sounds of battle as -though an attack, fast and furious, were being made. The positions of -the Hun platoon far down the hill and just below the spruces were being -assailed. - -“Let’s go meet them!” Herbert shouted; then turned, laughing. “Any of -you fellows had dinner recently?” - -“Me for chicken, waffles and ice cream, P.D.Q.!” - -“Mush and molasses wouldn’t go bad, but I could stand steak!” - -“A good old Irish stew for mine, with plenty of gravy!” - -“Can’t we make a short cut, Lieutenant?” They could and did; straight -down the hill, through the dense thickets, everyone racing, but Don -was well in the lead, this sort of thing being familiar work to him. -Suddenly he halted, dodged back and much effort was required of him to -stop all of the others. - -“Herb, there’s a bunch of Huns ahead, with machine guns.” - -Herbert peeped. “They’re in a position to do our boys an awful lot of -damage. We could get around them, but we won’t. Ready, men; we’re -going to take that crowd by surprise. There are nine of them, two -depleted squads, but if we surprise them quickly----” - -“They are our meat, Lieutenant,” the corporal said and Kelly echoed: - -“We’ll eat ’em alive!” - -Down on all fours went the five, creeping in single file after Herbert, -who, in turn, followed Don. Around a cluster of birches they crept; -then into a mass of prickly furze that shielded them well and yet could -prove a telltale if much disturbed. This occasioned slow going, but -beyond was a clearer space with clumps of high grass as a wide shield. -Don caught the advantage, whispered to Herbert and the commander -motioned to the three others to come up, all then having an even start. -After a little pause the word was given and a second later the five men -were leaping down, straight at the machine gunners and almost behind -the Huns, all of whom were gazing expectantly into the valley. - -A German officer wheeled about and his hand went to his pistol; someone -fired and the fellow dropped. Another grabbed a gun, making a club of -it, and a pistol shot put him out of business. The other officer tried -to swing the machine gun around, but a rifle butt full in his face -jarred the notion out of him. The remaining men, more surprised than -if a snow squall had struck them and taken completely off their guard, -saw no alternative but to fling their arms upward and shout rather -unintelligible German, one word of which was recognized as “_kamerad_.” -Ten minutes later, disarmed, but not appearing terribly dejected, the -six able-bodied fellows, carrying their injured comrades, were headed -down through the woods. - -Putting the machine guns out of action caused Herbert a moment’s delay; -Don remained by him. One of the prisoners addressed the latter in pure -German, of which the boy understood enough to get the general meaning. - -“Herb, he says there’s an _Amerikaner_, wounded, back here in the -bushes. It may be Gill. Had we better go see?” - -“Sure! You and I. Corporal, hold those chaps; if they try to make a -break, you men know what to do. Come on, Don!” - -Into the hilltop thicket the boys, spreading out, forced their way. -Presently Herbert called: “Hello! Anyone in here?” An answering call -came from somewhere ahead. The lads came together and advanced again, -going fully fifty yards in all from the more open woodland on the -slope. A big pine towered ahead and as usual there was a small cleared -space here, into which the boys went hurriedly. A khaki-clad figure -lay on the ground, hands and feet tied with twine. Herbert and Don ran -toward it. - -“Hands oop, _Amerikaner_” came a terse command from the bushes and with -that four Huns, with rifles ready, leaped out confronting them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -PRESTO! CHANGE-O! - - -WHAT could the lads do but comply with this order? The German soldiers -seemed jubilant; they had merely been set to guard a prisoner who, -though firmly bound, had proved himself somewhat of the wildcat -species. Now, in pure good luck they were to add two more prisoners and -thus gain some recognition from their commander; perhaps added rations. - -The biggest Hun handled his automatic with evident evil intention; he -thrust it almost into Don’s face and called on his comrades to disarm -and to bind the captured Yanks, which was speedily done. Then he flung -them both upon the ground and Don fell across the legs of the first -prisoner, who lifted his head to stare from bloodshot eyes. The boy -gazed into the much bruised face of Gill. - -“Sho! Got you, too, eh? And the lieutenant! Reckon we’re in for Berlin -now, sure enough. And there ain’t no way to make a break. I tried it; -fit three of ’em over ’bout ten acres, I reckon, an’ hurt ’em some, -too, I’m bettin’, but they got me, final. Wish I had somethin’ to eat.” - -“I’d go without grub for a week longer to be out of here!” Don -exclaimed. - -“This is tough luck,” Herbert agreed. “But we seem to be in for it. If -we could only get a yell out that would reach the other fellows; maybe -they’d understand.” - -“Let’s try it, Herb! All together, Gill; now then----” - -And the yell of “Help!” twice repeated that rent the air was almost -enough to wake the dead. The big Hun leaped forward and swung the -butt of his gun at Herbert’s head, but the lad leaned back quickly -and avoided it; then the fellow tried to kick the agile lieutenant in -the face, but again without avail. Two of the other men went over to -Don and Gill and threatened to shoot them. Don understood that much. -He urged that it would be better not to risk too much by shouting -more. But Gill was of a different opinion and obdurate; he would not -then have taken orders from the President of the United States and he -yelled again, as only a full-lunged mountaineer can yell. The flow of -hasty and guttural German that resulted did not equal in ferocity the -heavy-booted kicks that the American received from all four of the -captors, taking turns that seemed to greatly satisfy them. They turned -away and immediately Gill yelled, even louder than before. The biggest -Hun caught up his rifle and put the muzzle against Gill’s head and the -torrent of German that followed was like ten pigs in a pen clamoring -for swill. The weapon was held in this position for some time; then was -withdrawn with apparent reluctance and the very moment that the barrel -was pointed elsewhere Gill set up another yell. - -Don undertook, then, a means of saving Gill from further torment. He -rolled over in front of the mountaineer and with a grin and a shake of -the head looked up at the Germans. The boy’s face was at once so kindly -and youthful that even the big brute of a man hesitated while Don -admonished Gill: - -“They will surely kill you if you keep it up. Why persist? For our -sakes, Gill, please don’t yell again!” - -“I’d rather they would butcher me than keep me this-a-way and carry me -off to have that old Kaiser feller rub it in on me!” Gill declared. - -“Maybe there’ll be a way out of this, Gill,” Herbert suggested. “Don’t -yell again and let’s wait a bit.” Whereupon the mountaineer subsided -and lay back upon the ground. Don bethought him to try a little German -on their captors, but it fell flat. Either they did not understand him -at all, or they affected not to; he got no reply. He addressed his -countrymen: - -“If we could manage in some way to get them to loosen up on this twine, -I’d feel almost like whistling a tune. These strings cut and there are -some plagued mosquitoes around here.” - -“They’re here, too. I’m going to bite the legs off one presently,” -Herbert affirmed. “Don’t you think it’s queer if our fellows out there -didn’t hear us and Gill?” - -“Mighty funny if---- Lie low! I hear someone coming.” - -“In the brush yonder. A lot of them. More Huns, I suppose. They’ve -stopped now. The Germans seem to hold this hill and we must have been -right in the thick of them, Don. They’ll get our fellows, too, and turn -our prisoners loose if they don’t keep a sharp eye.” - -“They’re coming on again, Herb. Our jailers are taking notice, too. -Friend or foe, I wonder.” - -“We’re going to find out mighty sudden. Look alive, Gill! There may -be something doing in about half a minute. Our dear friends here are -getting on to them.” - -One of the smaller Huns had climbed on the big fellow’s shoulders -in order to see over the bushes; suddenly he slid to the ground and -all four crouched, one of them gazing anxiously at the Americans, -especially at Gill. Nearer came the noise of advancing men, forcing -their way slowly through the thicket. Then the sound veered off to the -right and was surely passing. - -“Huh! Them’s Yanks,” Gill observed quite calmly. “I can tell by the way -they hit the ground with their feet. Heinies walk like a ol’ raccoon -full o’ huckleberries. Them fellers’s goin’ past, eh? Not if I got any -holler left!” - -And yell he did, once again, with no uncertain voice; upon which the -four Huns leaped to their feet, picked up the guns of the Americans -also and ran past the prisoners, giving Gill another savage kick or two -as they went. - -“I’ll get you fer them kicks an’ things, if I got to hunt you from -here to Hail Columbia!” the mountaineer shouted after them. And then, -bursting through the bushes into the clearing by the old pine came a -most welcome half dozen khaki-clad men. - -Hardly stopping to take in the situation, they at once knelt to unbind -the late captives, the corporal of the squad, however, making quick use -of his very ready tongue: - -“Reef the mainsail and throw the jib overboard! Oh, you Whitcomb, alive -and kickin’ and ain’t we overjoyed? Won’t the captain cut a caper? -Where have you been? And how did you get lost? How long have you been -in this fix? And if there ain’t old Gill! Lieutenant, where’s the rest -of your bunch?” - -“Thanks, thanks for this timely release, Peters, my man! Three of my -men are out yonder with a lot of Hun prisoners; the rest are pretty -much all dead. This is my friend Lieutenant Richards, Corporal Peters. -Say, man, you came just in time.” - -Further question, reply and comment were interrupted by Gill: - -“Get me free, quick! And I want your gun, buddy!” This to one of the -squad. “Make him lend it to me, Corp.--Lieutenant. I got to go after -them polecats that beat me up and just quit here. I got to get ’em! -They got our guns, too.” - -The man’s eagerness was catching; his words thrilled both Herbert and -Don, for they had witnessed some of his treatment at the hands of -the captors and they felt now instinctively that he would make good. -Telling Corporal Peters that he would be entirely responsible, Herbert -insisted that Gill be given the weapon. In spite of his bruises and -aching bones, the mountaineer, gun in hand, dived into the thicket like -a panther, and those in the clearing, uttering hardly a word, stood -waiting and listening. - -A shot sounded not a hundred yards away. Two more followed in quick -succession; then was heard only the more distant shooting in the valley -and beyond the ridge, the firing in the continuous battle. - -“It’ll be either Gill or some of them. I think it won’t be Gill,” Don -said in a whisper. Again they all waited. - -“That fellow’s a terror. He’ll come back with a big score, or he won’t -come back at all,” Herbert remarked in a very low voice. - -“Listen. He’s coming back!” asserted one of the men. - -“Someone is coming, sure.” And then, eager to satisfy their wonder, -Gill, just beyond, let out a joyous whoop. A moment later he came -limping, laboring, grinning, into the open again. - -“Got three. Three shots. The big one. Would ’a’ chased him to Berlin. -Here’s your gun, Lieutenant, and yours, fellow. I got mine, too.” Then -to Don: “The feller that got away took yours, I reckon, buddy.” - -“You got more than even for that kicking, then, Gill? asked Don. - -“A little. They’re out there and to bury. Say you fellers, have you got -anything to eat and drink? My ol’ stomach would be thankful for melted -lead and horseshoe nails raw.” Herbert turned to the corporal: - -“That about states our case. We’ve had nothing to eat nor drink since I -don’t know when. You’ll get a history of our experiences later. We must -go now and join the other fellows out yonder. Where is Captain Lowden?” - -“Down the hill, now,” Peters replied. “The company is on this slope. -But won’t the captain be glad to see you? Calls you his lost sheep; -thought you were all dead or behind the enemy’s lines by this time. -What I’m thinking you’ll want most to see is the chuck wagon.” - -“We want everything that’s coming to us. If you are glad to see us, -how do you think we feel about it? Now, we’ll be getting along. We owe -you barrels of gratitude, Corporal--all of you. Come on, Don and Gill!” - -Rejoining the men with the docile Hun prisoners, the three quickly -told the story of their very short captivity; then all headed for -the valley. That Captain Lowden received them warmly is putting it -mildly; his joy seemed unbounded. After getting a brief report from -Lieutenant Whitcomb he gave immediate orders that the needs of the lost -squad be looked after in every way. In this poor Judson, Wilson, the -honored dead and the battered, though still defiant Gill were tenderly -considered. - -Gratified at their reception and eager to recoup at once and to get -back into the fight with his platoon, Herbert looked about for Don, -wishing to share with him the present happiness. - -But Don was missing. He had believed a report from him was hardly -needed and so, thinking of Judson and Wilson in the shelter beneath the -spruces, he had turned his steps that way. It would be fine for them -also to know that the Americans had come. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE AMERICAN BROOM - - -VAULTING over the stone breastwork Don ducked beneath branches and -reached the doorway of the first shelter, desiring to enter cautiously. -Upon the instant he grasped the situation within the small space before -him, though its precise explanation did not appear until later. - -In a corner poor Judson was crouched, staring, shuddering, jabbering. -On the floor Wilson lay sprawled out, as one having fallen heavily; -inert, unconscious. Beside the fallen man and facing Judson the short, -heavy, khaki-clad figure of another stood, pistol in hand, menacing the -crazed soldier. - -Don had approached quite silently; above the not very distant noise of -firing and the jabbering man he had not been heard. But the man on his -feet turned his head, his face aflame with hate. The boy, off his guard -for the moment, yet with instant presence of mind, saw that he could -not draw his automatic and use it, however skillfully, as quickly as -the other, with his pistol, could swing and fire. But to dodge was -quite another matter, and with a leap to one side Don had the wall -between himself and the spy. - -Even then the boy was not safe. There had been no cement to put -together the stones of the shelter walls, the crevices were large -enough to see through and for a bullet to pass through in some -directions, if aimed with accuracy. - -At the first shot from within the shelter, Don felt something strike -his hip; another and another shot and he knew the spy was trying to -shoot through a hole in the wall before which the boy stood. He had -become the target of this would-be assassin, as he had once made the -fellow his target from this same spot. Don could not retreat; a shot -from the doorway, or from a crack, with the muzzle of the other’s -pistol placed in it might easily get him. And Don dared not play the -game for fear of hitting Judson. - -Chance then favored him a little, even if against him with the creviced -wall. Below where he stood a large rock on edge at the base of the wall -extended a yard or more upward and from the corner of the doorway. -Another shot came from the spy and, uttering an exclamation not unlike -a groan, Don dropped to the ground. This bullet had been better aimed; -it had dislodged a bit of stone through the crack and this had hit the -lad a blow over his stomach that felt like the kick of a mule. Fair on -the solar plexus the blow landed and there is no surer place where one -may be hit to score a knock-out. - -For an instant almost insensible with pain, then sickened and nearly -helpless, his nervous energy at a standstill, but his mind struggling, -groping, demanding swift self-consciousness and muscular action, the -boy got upon his hands and knees. - -Within the spy must have known that Don was hit; perhaps wounded or -killed. A gasp of pain, then a sound as of falling and a struggle -probably convinced him that his last shot had won the fight. But he -must be sure. - -The big rock prevented the fellow’s seeing what had happened to Don; -therefore he crept stealthily forward to the wall, sought a crevice and -tried to peep through it. All he could see at the downward angle was a -figure apparently lying there. Inert? It did not move as the spy gazed. -There could be little doubt of the outcome now. - -It was compatible with the German’s usual methods to shoot all three -of these Americans through the head before he made for over the hill -to rejoin his friends. The wounded man inside had opposed his entrance -and had been flung unconscious upon the floor; the shell-shocked youth -might be better dead, but first he would make sure of the fellow -outside--the spy-catcher. Faugh! One shot around the corner of the -doorway, the pistol held low, would complete the business. - -“I must think; I must get on my feet; I must fight him, fight him!” -These thoughts crowded into Don’s still befuddled brain; he wanted to -sink down and rest, to ease the torture in his body, but violent death -was hovering near again. He could not give up; he must fight. - -His eyes were open; his hand still clutched the pistol; he was still -kneeling. And then, as he half sank down again, an object round, -tubular, shining, came slowly from the doorway, past the end of the big -stone. For a moment Don gazed at it with a sort of dumb fascination; -then his senses, with another struggle for mastery, became a little -more acute. - -The other’s weapon was thrust farther forward; the fingers of the hand -that grasped it appeared. Lifting his own gun and at the distance of -hardly a yard, the boy, with a mighty effort at steadiness, fired -point blank at the weapon and the hand. The thing that had been his -target seemed to dissolve; the struck pistol went bounding along on the -stones; the hand was withdrawn. A cry from the shell-shocked man was -the only sound then heard within. - -The result of his shot proved a partial tonic to Donald. He got to his -feet, his mind still a little cloudy, and staggering forward, entered -the shelter. His antagonist, with another weapon, might have killed -him then, for the boy was still far from alert. But the spy stood with -his back against the stone wall, a hand thereon to steady himself, and -the other hand, a mass of torn flesh, hanging and dripping big red -splotches on the floor. - -“I guess,” said the boy, thickly, “I’ll just finish you now. I know who -you are. I’ll just----” and then the sunlight seemed to be blotted out -and without a further effort Don dropped. - -For one moment the spy gazed at him; then he leaped toward the -automatic lying on the floor. His good left hand was about to clutch -it; he would yet wreak vengeance and get away. - -“Drop that and stick up your paws! Hello, Don! What’s this? Have you -killed him? Then, I’ll kill----” - -[Illustration: “I GUESS,” SAID THE BOY THICKLY, “I’LL JUST FINISH YOU -NOW”] - -“No, no! He’s all right. He shot me here in the hand--you can see -for yourself. I--he mistook me for a German. I came in here to help -these----” - -Herbert motioned the fellow to silence. “You’ll tell that at -Headquarters. Stand where you are! My men will be here in a minute and -attend to you. I think, too, we’ll have enough on you.” - -Hours later, toward sundown, Lieutenants Whitcomb and Richards walked -from the army kitchen to the captain’s tent, but paused without for a -chat. Whitcomb, now first officer of the company under Captain Lowden, -was talking: - -“I know just how it felt, Don; been hit there boxing. Hurts for a -little while; you did mighty well to keep up under it as you did. -Well, news for you: The captain wants another lieutenant and with your -commission you fit in without more red tape. So he sent a messenger to -Colonel Walton asking for your transfer, and now that you’ve landed -that spy, they’ve granted it. So tomorrow, old scout, we go on again -together.” - -“Nothing could tickle me more, Herb! I guess I know enough of this -military business now to carry on.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -FAST WORK - - -IT is the unexpected that often happens, in battle as well as in -everyday life. - -Captain Lowden had given orders to his men to cease advancing a little -before darkness set in and to hold the ground they had gained against -counter-assaults, a plan carried out by the 77th Division wherever the -fighting was so severe as to show that the Germans equaled or exceeded -the Americans in numbers and were most bitterly contesting the ground. - -About twenty men of a depleted platoon were now with the Captain and -operating directly under him. With the setting of the sun they began -to prepare a hasty camp, putting up a few small tents, all used for -the temporary relief of the wounded. A messenger had been sent after -stretcher bearers and several men had been detailed to roughly clear an -old roadway that led out to the nearest approach for ambulances. - -But although there was much hustle and bustle about the camp, it -really bore a remarkable contrast to the daytime scenes of men in -action and of those supporting and aiding them in every way. In a -little while the activities quieted down and the men began to seek -places of rest, a few pickets being sent forward, as usual, and others -detailed to remain on guard against an attack of the enemy. Captain -Lowden went back to the hospital tents. - -Needing sleep more than anything else, Lieutenants Whitcomb and -Richards selected ponchos and rolled up on beds of leaves, dropping off -instantly into perfect oblivion. Don meant to ask something about Gill, -who had suddenly acted as though ill and had been sent to the rear, but -the question died before the boy could frame the words. He would not -have got a reply had he spoken. - -The hours dragged on for those awake. Private Neeley had been hit in -the hand; so slight a wound that he did not report it. But now it -commenced to hurt and gaining his corporal’s consent he went to the -rear to have the wound dressed. That done, he returned, coming alone -through the short stretch of woods between the camp and the _abri_. -It was not very dark and now and then distant flares brightened the -surroundings a little, even slightly penetrating the forest. - -Neeley paused to rub his paining wrist; he looked off among the trees -quite absent-mindedly, and an object that ordinarily he would have -taken for a stump seemed to move slightly. The soldier gazed at it -curiously; the thing moved again. - -The Yank was without his gun; he had placed it against a tree, calling -the corporal’s attention to it. Neeley had his automatic, but while no -coward, he was cautious; it would hardly do, with only a pistol, to -challenge a possible enemy scout. Better pretend not to have noticed -the object and then to watch it. - -Therefore, Neeley calmly walked on slowly and when he knew he was out -of sight of the thing, if it were human, he silently doubled back and -crouching within the gloom of a big spruce, kept his eyes sharply -directed toward the spot where the moving object had been. - -Was it possible, he wondered, for a Hun to sneak so far through the -American lines and would one dare to do it? The Yank’s query was -answered very soon. There was not one, but fully thirty men slowly -advancing, still for half a minute, then moving forward for a few -seconds, all together as in drilling. They were strung out like -sheep, though far apart, and they came along this unoccupied stretch -of woodland from the densely grown hilltop above the late fortified -position of the lost squad. That great thicketed patch was surely Hun -territory, up to the present time, at least. - -If these were Yanks, they would not come among their friends in this -manner, but the enemy would do just so. Surely an error had been made -in not picketing the slope below the rocks. And now the little bunch -of Yanks separated from the rest of the company, would soon face, in a -night assault made upon them, superior numbers, with the advantage of -surprise. - -With all the speed possible, not to apprize the foe, Neeley got out -of his place of close observation and, once beyond sight of the Huns, -made rapid progress to the camp. The fellow fairly flung himself upon -Herbert and shook him like mad, bringing the lad to a sitting posture; -then instantly to his feet and awake. Neeley knew it was necessary to -spread the alarm silently, lest the Huns should be impelled to attack -at once; the Yanks, in turn, must quickly be ready to give the enemy a -surprise. - -Lieutenant Whitcomb shook the cobwebs out of his brain; he caught Don -Richards by the collar and yanked that officer to his feet, dodging his -sleepy blow, and sent Neeley to apprize the guard and pickets, that -they might all, observing caution, waken their sleeping comrades. With -whispered commands Herbert brought the platoon silently to attention -and made his hasty plan known. From a few spare garments a figure -not unlike a scarecrow was erected and a few yards away a bull’s-eye -lantern was left burning. Then, dividing the men into two groups of ten -each, one with Don and the other with Herbert, they sneaked off into -the woods in opposite directions and a little toward the rear, each -man following the example of the leader by crouching or hiding behind -a tree. The signal for action, a combined rush from two directions, -was to be the whistle of a bird, as though some belated songster was -disturbed on its roost. Each man tied a handkerchief, or white rag, to -his cap band to avoid being shot by friend instead of foe. - -But the Yanks had long to wait and just exactly what they were waiting -for they did not know. There was no sound of a definite character in -the forest near by; it was not possible to see for more than a few -yards. At any moment, back near the camp, they expected to hear the -sound of rushing feet and the Hun order of “Hands oop, Amerikaner!” It -never came. - -After nearly half an hour, almost convinced that some mistake had been -made, Don took it into his head to do some scouting. If there were a -false alarm, a needless scare, he would endeavor to find it out. - -Asking Sergeant Fetters to take command, the boy went off toward the -stretch of more open woods at the base of the hill and just below the -rock basin and spruces, the scene of so many recent tragedies and brave -acts. The boy knew this spot, even at night; he knew the only way that -might be taken without mishap after dark to gain the top. Did he hear -some sounds a hundred yards or more away, as of feet stepping on loose -stones, a cracking stick, a low command, or was he imagining this? - -Don quickly and by a slightly circuitous route gained a position at the -bottom of the hill and waited. Even now he half believed he was on a -sort of wild goose chase; it was probably all quite absurd. - -But what was that? Another breaking stick, a low word spoken and now -quite near. With field glasses one may discern objects much farther -away and more clearly at night, and the boy’s handy little lenses came -into play. Coming slowly almost toward him, working their way with -infinite caution and at a snail’s pace up the hill, were many figures. -Were they friends or foes? Did this bear out Neeley’s observations? - -Don held his place, with some risk of the advancing men’s discovering -him, but he was sufficiently curious. Again the little glasses -performed their duty. The first man in the van wore a German officer’s -service cap. - -The fact was pretty evident that after a painfully tedious, silent -march into the very jaws of the American positions, in order to -surprise and capture a platoon of sleeping men, of which in some way -they had gained knowledge, they had found these fellows had become -alarmed and so, patiently, after the German painstaking method, the -Huns were retracing their steps. - -A quick mental calculation convinced Don that he could get back and -bring up the platoon to a position on the hill, ahead of the Germans -and, once away from possible observation, he moved like a June hornet. - -Single file, as usual on such expeditions and almost on a dog trot, -the Yanks followed Don and Herbert up through the woods where the much -interfered with field piece had been destroyed, reached the very spot -where Gill had been captured, skirted the thicketed edge once again and -then dropped to the ground. And this time the waiting was brief. - -“Hands up, Dutch!” ordered Don, as the tall officer came abreast of -him, and as the Yanks on either side of the way, with leveled guns -leaped to their feet the enemy made no resistance. - -Coming to make a capture, they were themselves taken prisoners by the -very men they meant to surprise. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -FORWARD - - -BUGLES called Captain Lowden’s company together on the night of the 5th -for the purpose of re-forming, a practice pretty regularly followed -throughout the army when engaged in continual fighting and advancing, -it being desirable to keep tabs on losses, to reorganize and to fill -gaps among officers and men. - -Four lieutenants in this company so far had been killed or wounded; it -was to replace the last one that Don Richards had been pressed into -immediate service. Lowden had been hit in the shoulder, disabling -his left arm, but after a brief treatment while still on his feet -he had kept on with his men, carefully directing the re-furnishing -of supplies, the ambulance work, and, where possible, keeping their -efforts lined up with and not encroaching upon the work of other units -on either side. - -Placed in command of a platoon, Don’s heart beat fast with the joy of -the responsibility and the honor of it. Though a mere boy, he was in -every way a manly fellow; older than his age, to use a paradox; much -younger than he looked to be. So full of stirring incidents had been -his experiences in France, as spy catcher and Red Cross driver during -the period of America’s participation in the Great War that he might -now as well be called a seasoned veteran as anyone thrice his age. - -“Now then, gentlemen, our duty lies ahead, as before,” Captain Lowden -was saying, as the several officers together curled up on the ground -for a few hours of sleep, with two-thirds of the men about them already -lost in slumber. Their leader continued: “We can plan no particular -action, as you know, but just take what comes. The only order now, just -received, is to vary the general direction of attack to about three -degrees east of north, or as a sailor would box it, north, northeast by -north, and not to exceed one-half mile per hour until further orders, -unless there is evidence of a larger part of the line’s making greater -progress. This is done to keep separate units from getting so far ahead -as to become cut off from immediate support, as has occurred. - -“Whitcomb, you take the right center of the advance; I shall proceed -with the left center; Jones and Morley will work off to my left and -Richards to the right of Whitcomb. Every little while it will be the -duty of each officer to get in touch with his nearest comrades, thus -to know where we all are, and after three hours, if possible, despatch -a messenger to me with a brief report. I am doing the same with the -captains of the other companies and reporting to the colonel, who, in -turn, sends back word of agreement or other orders by the returning -messenger. In this manner we aim to co-ordinate our efforts. - -“Now then, fellows, go to sleep and good luck tomorrow morning! -Good-night.” - -Almost with the first streaks of dawn, when it was hardly light enough -to see what one was doing, the men were preparing breakfast, carrying -portions to those on watch, and the portable field kitchen was soon -emptied of its supplies, though soon to be replenished. Most of the men -stuffed a little for lunch and a nibble between times into duffle bag -or pockets, often adding a bit also in case of accident. - -An hour before sun-up they were roughly formed and advancing, depending -upon the scouts ahead to apprize them of the nearest enemy positions -and after that finding these as the advance continued. - -Herbert and Don had a few minutes together before the advance began. - -“Pills says that Judson will come round all right in a few weeks, Don.” - -“I’m glad of that; I like that fellow. How about Wilson?” - -“Oh, he’ll be back with us in a few days; he’s keen to get another -whack at the Heinies.” - -“And Gill?” - -“That’s a funny thing,” Herbert declared. “He simply didn’t know how -badly he was hurt; some kind of a nerve shock and yet he kept his -wits about him. Clear case of grit, will power, though he had to be -invalided home. Didn’t want to go, either, but the captain and I made -it clear to him that he had done more than his share of reducing the -Hun army and that poor Jennings was more then avenged. Say, Don, if an -army could be made up of such chaps as Gill it wouldn’t take more than -ten thousand of them to lick the whole German army.” - -“He didn’t seem to know what fear is and he got positive sport and -satisfaction out of killing Huns. Odd, isn’t it, considering the really -good heart in the fellow, as shown toward his friends? I expect, Herb, -there are a good many such as he in this man’s army.” - -“Right, there are. I’m glad Gill didn’t get his quietus. He asked for -you; then when the ambulance had to go before you came over he insisted -that as soon as we get back from Berlin and across the pond again you -and I must go see him. I guess we’ll have to accept his invitation, -Don, and have a coon hunt.” - -“Let us hope we may do so. It’ll be some fun to hear him relate his -experiences; to live over what he went through back there on the hill -and before. Well, Herb, is it nearly time to start out now?” - -“About. I feel good and rested; don’t you? And I want to get back into -the scrap. We’re going right on and make a clean-up, Don.” - -“We sure are! Got to carry out orders,” Don agreed. - -First Lieutenant Whitcomb became more positive: - -“The main thing now is driving the Huns out of these jungles and we -surely are on to that game. By another week we’ll have them herded into -Grand Pre and then we’ll chase them into Sedan and after that we’ll -cut their supplies off and break up their army. You’ll see how it’ll -turn out, though it means many a hard scrap yet.” - -We know now how true Herbert’s words proved. That program was commonly -accepted throughout the Army, from the C. and C. to the sutlers. What -befell our two young fighting officers over this bitterly contested -ground and from the Argonne drive to the morning when the armistice -became effective must be left to a further account of the part the boys -from Brighton Academy played in the Great War. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brighton Boys in the Argonne Forest, by -James R. 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