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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9789-8.txt b/9789-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..57b3dc8 --- /dev/null +++ b/9789-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6138 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Army Boys in the French Trenches, by Homer Randall + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 + + +Title: Army Boys in the French Trenches + +Author: Homer Randall + +Posting Date: November 3, 2011 [EBook #9789] +Release Date: January, 2006 +First Posted: October 17, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + + + +ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES + +OR + +HAND TO HAND FIGHTING WITH THE ENEMY + +BY + +HOMER RANDALL + +AUTHOR OF +"Army Boys in France" and "Army Boys on the Firing Line" + +Illustrated by ROBERT GASTON HERBERT + +1919 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, +as wire entanglements were uprooted.] + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I A SLASHING ATTACK + + II THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + III TAKING CHANCES + + IV BETWEEN THE LINES + + V THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + VI A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + VII NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + VIII COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + IX THE ESCAPE + + X A GHASTLY BURDEN + + XI WITH THE TANKS + + XII BREAKING THROUGH + + XIII CAUGHT NAPPING + + XIV IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + XV THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + + XVI CHASED BY CAVALRY + + XVII THE BROKEN BRIDGE + +XVIII RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + XIX PUTTING ONE OVER + + XX SUSPICION + + XXI A FAMILIAR VOICE + + XXII THE SHADOW OF TREASON + +XXIII A HAIL OF LEAD + + XXIV A DEED OF DARING + + XXV STORMING THE RIDGE + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A SLASHING ATTACK + + +"Stand ready, boys. We attack at dawn!" + +The word passed in a whisper down the long line of the trench, where the +American army boys crouched like so many khaki-clad ghosts, awaiting the +command to go "over the top." + +"That will be in about fifteen minutes from now, I figure," murmured +Frank Sheldon to his friend and comrade, Bart Raymond, as he glanced at +the hands of his radio watch and then put it up to his ear to make sure +that it had not stopped. + +"It'll seem more like fifteen hours," muttered Tom Bradford, who was on +the other side of Sheldon. + +"Tom's in a hurry to get at the Huns," chuckled Billy Waldon. "He wants +to show them where they get off." + +"I saw him putting a razor edge on his bayonet last night," added Bart. +"Now he's anxious to see how it works." + +"He'll have plenty of chances to find out," said Frank. "This is going +to be a hot scrap, or I miss my guess. I heard the captain tell the +lieutenant that the Germans had their heaviest force right in front of +our part of the line." + +"So much the better," asserted Billy stoutly. "They can't come too thick +or too fast. They've been sneering at what the Yankees were going to do +in this war, and it's about time they got punctures in their tires." + +At this moment the mess helpers passed along the line with buckets of +steaming hot coffee, and the men welcomed it eagerly, for it was late in +the autumn and the night air was chill and penetrating. "Come, little +cup, to one who loves thee well," murmured Tom, as he swallowed his +portion in one gulp. + +The others were not slow in following his example, and the buckets were +emptied in a twinkling. + +Then the stern vigil was renewed. + +From the opposing lines a star shell rose and exploded, casting a +greenish radiance over the barren stretch of No Man's Land that +separated the hostile forces. + +"Fritz isn't asleep," muttered Frank. + +"He's right on the job with his fireworks," agreed Bart. + +"Maybe he has his suspicions that we're going to give him a little +surprise party," remarked Billy, "and that's his way of telling us that +he's ready to welcome us with open arms." + +"Fix bayonets!" came the command from the officer in charge, and there +was a faint clink as the order was obeyed. + +"It won't be long now," murmured Tom. "But why don't the guns open up?" + +"They always do before it's time to charge," commented Billy, as he +shifted his position a little. "I suppose they will now almost any +minute." + +"I don't think there'll be any gun fire this time before we go over the +top," ventured Frank. + +"What do you mean?" asked Bart in surprise, as he turned his head toward +his chum. + +"Do you know anything?" queried Tom. + +"Not exactly know, but I've heard enough to make a guess," replied +Frank. "I think we're going to play the game a little differently this +time. Unless I'm mistaken, the Huns are going to get the surprise of +their lives." + +"Put on gas masks!" came another order, and in the six seconds allowed +for this operation the masks were donned, making the men in the long +line look like so many goblins. + +It was light enough for them to see each other now, for the gray fingers +of the dawn were already drawing the curtain of darkness aside from the +eastern sky. + +One minute more passed--a minute of tense, fierce expectation, while the +boys gripped their rifles until it seemed that their fingers would bury +themselves in the stocks. + +Crash! + +With a roar louder than a thousand guns the earth under the German +first-line trenches split asunder, and tons of rock and mud and guns and +men were hurled toward the sky. + +The din was terrific, the sight appalling, and the shock for an instant +was almost as great to the Americans as to their opponents, though far +less tragic. + +"Now, men," shouted their lieutenant, "over with you!" and with a wild +yell of exultation the boys clambered over the edge of the trench and +started toward the German lines. + +"We're off!" panted Frank, as, with eyes blazing and bayonet ready for +instant use, he rushed forward in the front rank. + +"To a flying start!" gasped Bart, and then because breath was precious +they said no more, but raced on like greyhounds freed from the leash. + +On, on they went, with the wind whipping their faces! On, still on, to +the red ruin wrought by the explosion of the mine. + +For the first fifty yards the going was easy except for the craters and +shell holes into which some of the boys slid and tumbled. The enemy had +been so numbed and paralyzed by the overwhelming explosion that they +seemed to be unable to make any resistance. + +But the officers knew, and the men as well, that this was only the lull +before the storm. Their enemy was desperate and resourceful, and though +the cleverness of the American engineers had carried through the mine +operation without detection, it was certain that the foe would rally. + +Fifty yards from the first-line trench--forty--thirty--and then the +German guns spoke. + +A long line of flame flared up crimson in the pallid dawn. + +"Down, men, down!" shouted their officers, and the Yankee lads threw +themselves flat on the ground while a leaden hail swept furiously over +them. + +"Are you hurt, Bart?" cried Frank anxiously, as he heard a sharp +exclamation from his comrade. + +"Not by a bullet," growled Bart. "Took some of the skin off my knee +though when I went down." + +A second time the murderous fire came hurtling over them, but the +officers noted with satisfaction that the enemy were shooting high. + +"They haven't got the range yet," observed Billy. + +"Up!" came the word of command, and again the men were on their feet and +racing like mad toward the trench. + +They came at last to where it had been. For it was no longer a trench! + +Gone was the zigzag line that the boys knew by heart from having faced +and fought against it for weeks. The mine had done its work thoroughly. + +Everywhere was a welter of hideous confusion. Barbed wire entanglements +with their supporting posts had been rooted from the ground. Guns had +been torn from their carriages. "Pill boxes" had been smashed to bits. +Horses and men and wagons and camp kitchens were mingled together in +wildest chaos. + +Parts of the trench had been filled to the surface with earth, while +huge boulders blocked the entrance to some of the communicating +passages. + +There were a few sharp fights with scattered units of the enemy that had +retained their senses and were trying to get their machine guns into +action. But these detachments were soon cut down or captured. The great +majority of the survivors were so dazed that they surrendered with +scarcely a show of resistance and were rounded up in squads to be sent +to the rear. + +The first trench had been won, and it was almost a bloodless victory, +only a few of the American troops having fallen in the sudden rush. + +But sterner work lay ahead, for the second and third German lines were +still intact, bristling with men and supported heavily by their guns. + +"This was easy," grinned Billy. + +"Like taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten," chuckled Tom, as he +wiped the grime and perspiration from his face. + +"Don't fool yourselves," warned Frank, as a shell came whining over +their heads. "This was only a skirmish. The real fight is coming, and +coming mighty quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + +Even while Frank Sheldon spoke, the artillery of the enemy took on a +deeper note until it reached the intensity of drumfire. + +But now the American gunners took a hand, and the shells came pouring +over the heads of the boys, searching out the line of the second enemy +trench and preparing the way for the advance. + +In obedience to commands, the American soldiers had sought shelter +wherever they could find it, while they were recovering their wind. + +Only a moment could be granted for this, however, for time was +everything just now. They had caught the enemy off his guard and must +take advantage of the opportunity. + +"Line up, men!" cried the leader of Frank's detachment, and the high +state of discipline that the American forces had reached was shown by +the promptness with which the order was obeyed. + +A signal was sent back to the supporting guns, and they opened up a +deadly barrage fire over the heads of Frank and his comrades, clearing +the ground before them of everything that dared to show itself in the +open. + +Behind this curtain of fire, the boys advanced, slowly at first, but +gathering speed at every stride, until they were running at the double +quick. + +Bullets rained about them from the machine guns of the enemy and great +shells tore gaps in the ranks. At Frank's left, a soldier suddenly +wavered and then pitched headlong into a shell hole and lay still. +Another toppled over with a bullet in his shoulder. But the lanes that +were made closed almost instantly. + +Now they had reached the wire entanglements that had been battered by +the artillery until they hung in festoons around their posts, leaving +paths through which the American lads poured. + +Then like a great tidal wave they struck the trench! + +The Germans had clambered out to meet them, and when the two forces met +the shock was terrific. Back and forth the battle surged and swayed, +each side fighting with the fury of desperation. The cannon had ceased +now, for in that locked mass the shells were as likely to kill friends +as foes. It was man against man, bayonet against bayonet, each combatant +obeying the primitive law of "kill or be killed." + +The opposing forces at this part of the line were nearly equal, with the +Germans having a slight advantage in numbers. But to make up for this, +the Americans had the advantage of the attack and the tremendous +momentum with which they had struck the enemy's line. + +For a time victory hung in the balance, but then Yankee determination +and superior skill in bayonet work began to tell. The Americans would +not be denied. The German line was pierced, and the forces broke up into +a number of battling groups. + +Frank and Bart, Billy and Tom, who all through the fight had managed to +keep together, found themselves engaged with a squad of Germans double +their number, two of whom were frantically trying to bring a machine gun +to bear upon them. + +With a bound Frank was upon them. He toppled one over with his bayonet, +but while he was doing this the other fired at him point-blank with a +revolver. At such a close range he could not have missed, had not Bart, +quick as a flash, clubbed him over the arm with his rifle, making the +bullet go wild. + +"Quick, Bart!" panted Frank, as with his comrade's help he slued the +machine gun around, gripped the trigger, and sent a stream of bullets +into a group of the enemy charging down upon him. + +Before that withering fire they dissolved like mist, and a circle was +cleared as though by magic. + +What Germans were left in that immediate vicinity leaped back into the +trench on the edge of which they had been fighting. + +"Now we've got them!" cried Frank, as with his friends' assistance he +quickly wheeled the gun to the brink of the trench and depressed the +muzzle so that it commanded the huddled bunch below. "Come out of that, +you fellows. Hands up, quick!" + +They may not have understood his words, but there was no +misunderstanding the meaning of that black sinister muzzle of the +machine gun with a hundred deaths behind it. They were trapped, and +their hands went up with cries of "_Kamerad!_" in token of surrender. + +On that part of the line the battle was over, for the plan did not +contemplate going beyond the second trench at that time. The American +boys had won and won gloriously. From all parts of the trench, on a +two-mile front, groups of captives were coming sullenly out with uplifted +hands, to be herded into groups by their captors and sent to the rear. + +"Glory hallelujah!" cried Bart, as he removed his mask and wiped his +streaming face. "And no gas, either." + +"Some scrap!" gasped Billy, as he sank exhausted to the ground. + +"Did them up to the Queen's taste," chuckled Tom. + +"We certainly put one over on the Huns that time," grinned Frank +happily. + +And while they stand there, breathless and exulting, it may be well for +the benefit of those who have not previously made the acquaintance of +the American Army Boys to sketch briefly their adventures up to the time +this story opens. + +Frank Sheldon, Bart Raymond, Tom Bradford and Billy Waldon had all been +born and brought up in Camport, a thriving American city of about +twenty-five thousand people. They had known each other from boyhood, +attended the same school, played on the same baseball nine and were warm +friends. + +Frank was the natural leader of the group. He was a tall, muscular young +fellow, quick to think and quick to act, always at the front in sports +as well as in the more serious events of life. + +His father had died some years before, leaving only a modest home as a +legacy, and Frank was the sole support of his mother. The latter had +been born in France, where Mr. Sheldon had married her and brought her +to America. + +Later, Mrs. Sheldon's father had died, leaving her a considerable +property in Auvergne, her native province. This estate, however, had +been tied up in a lawsuit, and she had not come into possession of it. +She had been planning to go to France to look after her interests, but +her husband's death and, later on, the breaking out of the European war, +had made this impossible. + +She was a charming woman, with all the French sparkle and vivacity, and +she and her son were bound together in ties of the strongest affection. +Naturally her ardent sympathy had been with France in the great war +raging in Europe. But when it became evident that America soon would +take part, although she welcomed the aid this would bring to her native +country, her mother heart was torn with anguish at the thought that her +only son would probably join in the fighting across the sea. + +But Frank, though he dreaded the separation, felt that he must join the +Camport regiment that was getting ready to fight the Huns. The deciding +moment came when a German tore down the American flag from a neighbor's +porch. Frank knocked the fellow down and in the presence of an excited +throng made him kiss the flag that he had insulted. From that moment his +resolution was taken, and his mother, who had witnessed the scene, gave +her consent to his joining the old Thirty-seventh regiment, made up +chiefly of Camport boys, including Billy Waldon, who had seen service on +the Mexican border. + +Bart Raymond, Frank's special chum, a sturdy, vigorous young fellow, was +equally patriotic, and joined the regiment with Frank as soon as war was +declared. Tom Bradford, a fellow employee in the firm of Moore & Thomas, +a thriving hardware house, wanted to enlist, but was rejected on account +of his teeth, although he wrathfully declared that "he wanted to shoot +the Germans, not to bite them." In fact, almost all the young fellows +employed by the firm, except "Reddy," the office boy, who wanted to go +badly enough, but who was too young, tried to get into some branch of +the army or navy. + +A marked exception was Nick Rabig, the foreman of the shipping +department, who, although born in the United States, came of German +parents and lost no opportunity of "boosting" Germany and "knocking" +America. He was the bully of the place and universally disliked. He +hated Frank, especially after the flag incident, and only the thought of +his mother had prevented Frank more than once from giving Rabig the +thrashing he deserved. + +Frank's regiment was sent to Camp Boone for their preliminary training, +and here the young recruits were put through their paces in rifle +shooting, grenade throwing, bayonet practice and all the other exercises +by which Uncle Sam turns his boys into soldiers. There was plenty of fun +mixed in with the hard work, and they had many stirring experiences. A +pleasant feature was the coming of Tom, who although rejected when he +tried to enlist had been accepted in the draft. Not so pleasant, though +somewhat amusing, was the fact that Nick Rabig also had been drafted and +had to go to Camp Boone, though most unwillingly. + +How the regiment sailed to France for intensive training behind the +firing lines; how their transport narrowly escaped being sunk by a +submarine and how the tables were turned; the singular chance by which +Frank met a French colonel and heard encouraging news about his mother's +property; how he thoroughly "trimmed" Rabig in a boxing bout; how the +Camport boys took part in the capture of a Zeppelin; how the old +Thirty-seventh finally reached the trenches; Frank's daring exploit when +caught in the swirl of a German charge; these and other exciting +adventures are told in the first book of this Series, entitled: "Army +Boys in France; Or, From Training Camp to the Trenches." + + + +"Do you remember what that airship captain said the day we bagged him?" +chuckled Billy. + +"About it being impossible for Americans to get to France?" asked Bart. +"You bet I do. I'll never forget that boob. I wonder if he still +believes it." + +"He'd sing a different tune if he were here to-day," observed Tom. + +"I don't know," laughed Frank. "The German skull is pretty thick. Still +you can get something through it once in a while if you keep on +hammering." + +"I guess these fellows haven't any doubts about our being here," +observed Billy. + +"They've had pretty good evidence of it," confirmed Tom, as he watched +the enemy captives standing about in dejected groups, waiting to be sent +to the rear. + +One thing that struck the boys forcibly was the disparity of age between +the prisoners. There was an unusual proportion of men beyond middle life +and of youngsters still in their teens. + +"Grandpas and kids," blurted out Tom. + +"The Kaiser's robbing the cradle and the grave," commented Billy. +"Germany's getting pretty near to the limit of her man power, I guess." + +"That's true of France and England, too," observed Frank thoughtfully. +"They lost the flower of their troops in the early fighting and they all +have to do a great deal of combing to keep their ranks full." + +"And that's where America has the Indian sign on the Huns," jubilated +Bart "We'll have our best against her second best." + +"We'll trim her good and proper," predicted Frank. "Even at her best, +we'd down her in the end. But don't let's kid ourselves. She's full of +fight yet, and will take a lot of beating. And there are plenty of +huskies in her ranks yet. Look at that big brute over there. He looks as +though he could lift an ox." + +He pointed to a massively built German corporal, who was evidently mad +with rage at his capture. He was gesticulating wildly to his fellow +prisoners and fairly sputtering in the attempt to relieve his feelings. + +"Seems to be rather peeved," grinned Tom. + +"I can't catch on to what he's saying," laughed Bart. "But I'll bet he +could give points to a New York truckman or the mate of a Mississippi +steamboat. They'd turn green with envy if they could understand him." + +"He's frothing at the mouth," chuckled Billy. "I'd hate to have him bite +me just now. I'd get hydrophobia sure." + +There was no time for further comment. The officers had had to give the +men a short breathing spell, for all were spent with their tremendous +exertions. But now after the brief rest, all was bustle and hurry. + +"The Huns will be back for more," predicted Frank, as he and his friends +were set to work changing the sandbags from the side of the trench that +had faced the Americans to the other side that looked toward the German +third line. + +"They must be hard to please if they haven't had enough for one +morning," growled Tom. + +"They're gluttons for punishment," remarked Bart. "The first-line trench +is junk from the mine explosion, but they won't give this second one up +without making one mighty effort to get it back." + +The young soldiers were working feverishly to organize the captured +position, when their corporal, Wilson, summoned them out and they +scrambled forth promptly and stood at attention. + +"Fall in to take back the prisoners," he ordered. + +A look of disappointment came over their faces and Wilson's eyes +twinkled when he saw it. + +"Haven't you had enough fighting yet?" he demanded. "Well, I feel that +way myself, but orders are orders. Come along." + +"Hard luck," muttered Frank in a low tone to Bart, as they obeyed the +command. + +"We'll miss some lovely fighting," agreed Bart. + +"I was just getting warmed up," mourned Billy. + +"Don't worry," advised Tom. "We'll be sent back after we get these +fellows to headquarters, and we'll have a chance to get another crack at +them." + +The prisoners, having been searched, were placed in double file between +the members of the guarding squad, who walked at a few paces interval on +either side of them. + +"Fall in!" came the corporal's order. "Shoulder arms. March!" + +They started out briskly. + +Frank and Bart happened to be close beside the big German corporal whom +they had before observed. His wrath was not yet abated, and he kept up a +volley of epithets as he sullenly marched along. + +"He's making as much fuss as though he were the Kaiser," chuckled Tom, +who was vastly amused at the prisoner's antics. + +"Slap him on the wrist and tell him to be nice," counseled Billy with a +grin. + +The captive glared at them with insane rage in his eyes. + +"I think he's going nutty," remarked Bart. "It's lucky for him there +aren't any squirrels around." + +"You want to keep your eye peeled for him," warned Frank. "He's bad +medicine." + +"He's safe enough," replied Bart, carelessly. "He hasn't any weapon, and +if he started to run he wouldn't get far. He isn't cut out for a +sprinter." + +"Even if he were, a bullet would catch him," chimed in Billy. "He'd make +a big target and it would be a pretty bad shot that would miss him." + +When they reached the blown-up first trench they found it difficult to +keep in line, and had to pick their way over the heaped-up ruin that had +been made by the mine explosion. + +Bart tripped over a strand of broken wire, and in trying to save himself +from falling, his rifle slipped from his hand. + +The German corporal was within a foot of him and saw his opportunity. + +Quick as a flash he drew from his clothing a trench knife that the +searchers had overlooked. The murderous blade gleamed in the air as the +corporal brought it down toward the neck of Bart, who had stooped to +pick up his rifle. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +TAKING CHANCES + + +"Look out, Bart!" yelled Billy, while Tom made a desperate leap to his +comrade's rescue. + +But Frank was quicker than either. + +Like lightning he lunged with his bayonet and caught the German in the +wrist, just as the knife was about to bury itself in Bart's neck. + +With a howl of rage and pain, as his arm was forced upward, the +prisoner's hand lost its grip on the weapon and it clattered harmlessly +to the ground. + +In an instant the German was overpowered and his arms tied behind him +with his own belt. Then his wounded wrist was bound up with a surgical +dressing, and under a special guard he was urged forward in no gentle +manner, for all were at a white heat at his treacherous attempt. + +By the laws of war his life was forfeited, and he seemed to realize +this, for all his bravado vanished and from time to time he looked +fearfully at his captors. He saw little there to encourage him, for Bart +was a great favorite with his company and the attack had stirred them to +the depths. + +"A close call, old man." said Frank, affectionately tapping his friend +on the shoulder. "It would have been taps for me, all right, if you +hadn't acted as quickly as you did," responded Bart gratefully. + +"Frank was Johnny-on-the-spot," said Billy admiringly. "My heart was in +my mouth when I saw that knife coming down." + +"It was a waste of time to tie up that fellow's arm," remarked Tom, as +he glowered at the miscreant. "He'll soon be where he won't need any +bandages." + +"I guess it's a case for a firing squad," judged Billy. "But it serves +him right, for it was up to him to play the game." + +Before long they reached headquarters and delivered up their prisoners. +If they had expected to be sent back immediately to the firing line, +they were disappointed, for the examination of the prisoners began at +once, without the squad receiving notice of dismissal. + +This had its compensations, however, for although they had captured +prisoners before, they had never been present at their examination, and +they were curious to see the turn the questioning would take. + +Captain Baker, of the old Thirty-seventh, was detailed to do the +examining, and because time was precious and it was most important to +learn just what enemy units were opposed to the American forces, he got +to work at once, an interpreter standing at his side while a +stenographer made note of the replies. + +The captain signaled to one of the most intelligent looking of the +prisoners, and the latter stepped out, clicked his heels together +smartly and saluted. + +"What is your name?" asked the captain. + +"Rudolph Schmidt." + +"Your regiment?" + +"The Seventy-ninth Bavarian." + +"Who is your colonel?" + +"Von Armin." + +"Who commands your division?" + +"General Hofer." + +"Who is your corps commander?" + +"Prince Lichtenstein." + +"How many men have you lost in the last few days' fighting?" + +Obstinate silence. + +The captain repeated the question. + +"I do not know," the prisoner answered evasively. + +"Well, were your losses heavy or light?" pursued the captain patiently. + +"I cannot tell." + +The captain switched to another line. + +"Do you know who have captured you?" he asked. + +"The English," was the prompt answer. + +"No," replied the captain. "We are Americans." + +The prisoner permitted himself an incredulous smile. + +"Can't you see these are American uniforms?" asked the captain, with a +sweep of his arm. + +"Yes," was the reply. "But our captain tells us that the English wear +that uniform to make us think that the Americans have arrived in +France." + +A grin went around the circle of listeners. + +"You blawsted, bloody Britisher," chuckled Bart, giving Frank a poke in +the ribs. + +"Where's my bally monocle, old top?" whispered Frank, while Billy and +Tom grew red in the face from trying to control their merriment. + +The captain himself had all he could do to maintain his gravity. + +"Do you believe your captain when he tells you that?" he inquired. + +"I must believe him," answered the prisoner simply. + +"There's discipline for you," muttered Billy. + +"Such childlike faith," murmured Tom. + +"But even if the Americans are not already here," persisted the captain, +"don't you believe they are coming?" + +"They may try to come," answered the captive doubtfully; "but if they +do, they will never get here." + +"Why not." + +"Our U-boats will stop them." + +"That settles it," whispered Bart. "We think we're here, but we're only +kidding ourselves. We _can't_ be here. Heinie says so and, of course, he +knows." + +"What a come-on he'd be for the confidence men," gurgled Billy. "They'd +sell him the Brooklyn Bridge before he'd been on shore for an hour." + +Questioned as to food supplies, the German admitted that their rations, +although fairly good, were not so abundant as at the beginning of the +war. Then with characteristic arrogance he added: + +"But we will have plenty to eat and drink too when we get to Paris." + +"I suppose your captain tells you that too," remarked the inquisitor. + +"Yes," was the reply. + +"That eternal captain again," murmured Bart. + +"He must be a wonder," chuckled Tom. + +"You've been rather a long time on the road to Paris, haven't you?" +asked the captain, with a tinge of sarcasm. "Seems to me I've heard +something about a banquet that was to celebrate the Crown Prince's entry +into Paris a month after the war was started." + +A discomfited look stole over the prisoner's face. + +"That was Von Kluck's fault," he said sullenly. + +"Seems to me the French army had something to do with it too," whispered +Frank to Bart. "What does your captain tell you your armies are fighting +for?" continued the questioner. + +"To give Germany her place in the sun," answered the prisoner without +hesitation. + +"That seems to be a stock phrase of the Huns," whispered Billy. "I'll +bet it's part of the lesson taught in every German school." + +A few more questions followed, but failed to elicit any information of +special importance, and the prisoner was dismissed, to have his place +taken by some of his comrades. + +But what they told the boys never knew, for just then Corporal Wilson, +who had been in close conference with his lieutenant, beckoned to them +and they filed silently out of the quarters. + +"Back to the firing line for us," remarked Frank. + +"About time too," replied Bart, as he shouldered his rifle. "We've been +missing all the fun." + +But the first words of the corporal showed them that they were mistaken. + +"You lads are out of it for the rest of the day," he remarked. "Go back +to your old trench now, get some grub and tumble into your bunks." + +They looked at each other in surprise, for the sun had not much more +than risen. + +"You heard what I said," reiterated the corporal. "Get all the sleep you +can to-day, for you won't do any sleeping to-night!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +BETWEEN THE LINES + + +The Army boys looked at each other in blank inquiry, but the corporal +did not offer to enlighten them, and they were too good soldiers to ask +questions when orders were given. + +"What do you suppose is in the wind now?" asked Bart, as they made their +way to their sleeping quarters. + +"Search me," replied Frank. + +"Aeroplanes," chirped Billy. + +Bart made a thrust at him which Billy dodged. + +"I guess we're picked for a scouting party," remarked Tom. "The captain +may want to confirm some of the information he's getting from those +chaps." + +"Information!" snorted Bart. "More likely misinformation. Those fellows +struck me as being dandy liars." + +"They wouldn't be Huns if they weren't," remarked Billy. "You know Baron +Munchausen came from over the Rhine, so they come rightly by their +talent in that line. But what's the matter with Tony here?" he added, as +they passed by one of the field kitchens in a protected nook, where one +of the bakers was kneading away desperately at some dough and muttering +volubly to himself. + +"He seems all riled up about something, for a fact," commented Frank. + +"What's the matter, Tony?" inquired Bart of the perspiring baker, an +Italian who had spent some years in the United States and who was +generally liked by the boys of the old Thirty-seventh because of his +customary good nature and his skill in compounding their favorite +dishes. + +Tony looked up in despair. + +"I can't maka de dough," he complained. "I worka more dan hour. It lika +de sand. It getta my goat." + +The boys laughed at his woe-begone face. + +"Put some more water with it," suggested Billy at a venture. + +Tony looked at him with such a glare of contempt that the amateur baker +wilted. + +"I usa de water!" he exclaimed. "Plent water! No maka de stick." + +"It looks all right," remarked Frank, as he picked up some of the +substance on the kneading board and let it dribble through his fingers, +"but as Tony says, it's like so much sand." + +"And it tastes queer," said Billy, putting a bit of it on his tongue. + +"Looks as though some of the food profiteers were trying to put +something over on us," observed Tom. + +Just then one of the commissary men came along, evidently looking for +something. + +"There's a bag of trench foot powder missing," he said. "Have any of you +chaps seen anything of it?" + +"Not guilty," returned Bart. "Though the way my feet feel it wouldn't do +them a bit of harm to have some of that powder on them right now." + +A sudden light dawned upon Frank. + +"Say, Tony!" he exclaimed, "let's see the bag you got that flour from." + +Tony complied and brought forth from one of his receptacles a large +paper bag which was two thirds full. + +Frank seized it and turned it around to see what was stamped on the +other side. Then he almost dropped the bag in a wild fit of hilarity. + +"No wonder Tony couldn't make his dough!" he exclaimed, when he could +speak. "Some chump in the supply department has handed him out a bag of +foot powder when he asked for flour." + +He showed the others the marking on the bag, and their merriment equaled +his own, while Tony alternately glowered and grinned. He had begun to +think that somebody had cast on him the "evil eye," so dreaded by his +countrymen, and he was relieved to find that his plight was due to +natural causes. Yet the thought of all that wasted effort stirred him to +resentment. + +"That's one on you, Tony, old boy!" chuckled Billy, with a poke in the +ribs. + +"It's lucky the dough wouldn't stick," laughed Frank. "There wouldn't +have been much nourishment in that kind of bread." + +"Dat guy a bonehead," asserted Tony, as he scraped his board with vigor. +"A vera beeg bonehead." + +The boys assented and passed on laughing. + +"And now for grub!" exclaimed Billy. "Oh, boy, maybe it won't taste +good!" + +"I guess we've earned our breakfast, all right," said Bart. + +"I can stand a whole lot of filling up," observed Tom. "Talk about +exercise before breakfast to get you an appetite. We've sure had enough +of it this morning." + +"I never ran so fast in my life," declared Billy. "A Marathon runner +would have had nothing on me." + +"We must have covered the space between those trenches in about twenty +seconds," agreed Bart. + +"Well, as long as we weren't running in the wrong direction it was all +right," grinned Tom. + +"The Boches haven't seen our backs yet, and here's hoping it will be +some time before they'll have that treat," said Frank with a laugh. + +They ate like famished wolves and then threw themselves on their bunks +to get a long sleep in preparation for the strenuous night that lay +before them. And so used had they already become to roaring of cannon +and whining of bullets and shrieking of shells, that, although the din +was almost incessant all through that day, it bothered them not at all. + +It was nearly dusk when the corporal passed along, giving them a shake +that roused them from their slumbers and brought them out of their bunks +in a hurry. + +"Time to get up, boys," said the corporal. "Not that we're going to +start out right away. But we've got quite a job before us and I want you +to have plenty of time to think over your instructions and have them +sink in." + +They dressed quickly and after a hearty supper reported to Wilson at +their company headquarters. + +They found the corporal grave and preoccupied. + +"As I suppose you fellows have already guessed," he began, "we're going +to-night on a scouting party. We're to find out the condition of the +wire in front of that third trench that the Huns still hold, and we want +to get more exact information about the location of the enemy's machine +guns. Anything else we find out will be welcome, but those are the main +things. + +"It's going to be pretty risky work," he continued. "Not but what +there's always plenty of risk about a job of this kind, but to-night +there's more than usual. The fierce fighting to-day has got the enemy +all stirred up and he'll be on the alert. Likely enough he'll have +scouting parties of his own out, and we may run across them in the dark. +Then it will be a question of who is the quicker with knife or bayonet. +Now you boys scatter and get your crawling suits and hoods and masks, +and we'll be ready for business. + +"I can see that there'll be no monotony in our young lives to-night," +observed Frank to Bart, as they obeyed instructions. + +"Not that you can notice," agreed Bart. "The corp has quite a little +program marked out for us." + +"So it seems." + +"And No Man's Land is going to be a little rougher land to-night than it +ever was before," predicted Tom. "That mine explosion hasn't done a +thing to it." + +"All the better," chimed in Billy. "There'll be better places to hide in +when Fritz throws up his star shells. But let's get a hustle on or the +corp will be after us." + +They got into their "crawling suits," so named because they were used +only on scouting duty, when it was necessary to move over the earth on +their stomachs or at best on hands and knees. They were a dead black in +color, and in addition to the suit itself comprised a black mask and +hood. The hood was loose and shapeless, so as to avoid the sharp outline +that would have been afforded if it were tight-fitting. + +Dressed in this fashion and lying prone and motionless on the ground +whenever a star shell threw its greenish radiance over the field, the +scouts were reasonably safe from detection and sniping. They would seem, +if seen at all, to be just so many more objects added to the hundreds +that littered up the ground between the two armies. + +Since they had been in France, the boys had had special training in +scouting duty, and the one thing that had been drilled into them perhaps +more than anything else was the necessity for "playing dead," as Tom +expressed it. One of their exercises compelled them to lie on the ground +absolutely motionless for an hour. Not even a muscle could twitch +without bringing a reprimand from their keen-eyed instructor. Another +part of the drill made them take half an hour merely to rise to their +feet from a prostrate position, each move in the process being marked by +the utmost caution. It was hard drill, but necessary, and in time the +boys had gained a control over their muscles that would have done credit +to an Apache Indian. + +In a few minutes they were fully arrayed in their crawling suits and +reported to Corporal Wilson. He looked them over carefully and noted +with satisfaction that nothing that was essential to the success of +their night foray was lacking. + +"With a fair share of luck we'll bring home the bacon," he remarked, as +he led the way from the trench. + +At the start there was no special caution necessary, as would have been +the case the day before. For the two trenches in front of them that had +been occupied by the enemy were now in the possession of the United +States troops. + +All that day, since the mine explosion had given the signal for attack +and storm, the Germans who had been driven from their first two lines of +trenches had made desperate efforts to get them back. There had been +fierce counter attacks, many times repeated, but through them all the +Americans had stood like a rock and thrown the enemy back without +yielding a foot of the conquered ground. + +At nightfall the enemy had ceased his infantry attacks, although the big +guns on both sides, like angry mastiffs, kept growling at each other. + +"It's been a great day for our fellows," exulted Frank, as they picked +their way through the welter of debris that bore testimony to the +violence of the fighting. + +"It sure has," agreed Bart. + +"We've got there with both feet," remarked Tom. + +"And in both trenches," chimed in Billy. + +"Yes," said Frank. "I'm glad we didn't stop at the first one. The mine +caught the Boches napping there and stood them on their heads. But in +the second it was an out and out stand up fight, man to man, and we +licked them." + +"And licked them good," asserted Billy. "I guess they won't do any more +sneering at the Yankees after this day's work." + +They passed the place where Bart had so nearly met his death through the +treacherous attack of his captive. + +"Here's where you nearly went West," remarked Tom. + +"Don't talk of it," objected Bart with a grimace. "It makes the chills +creep over me to think of it. I could stand being knifed in a square +fight, but I'd hate to get it the way that fellow meant that I should." + +"One of the Frenchmen was telling me of something like that that +happened at Verdun," said Frank. 'Two Frenchmen were carrying a wounded +German officer on a stretcher to the hospital. The officer got out his +revolver and shot the first stretcher bearer dead." + +"That's gratitude for you," remarked Bart. "Something like another +German in a hospital, who pretended he wanted to shake hands with the +Red Cross nurse who was tending him, and then with a sudden snap broke +her wrist." + +"You hear it said sometimes," said Billy, "that 'the only good Indian is +a dead Indian.' That's always sounded a little tough on poor Lo. But if +the Huns keep on the way they are going, it won't be long before all the +world will be saying that the only good German is a dead one." + +"I'm beginning to say it already," replied Tom. + +They passed stretcher bearers carrying away the wounded, and burial +parties engaged in a business still more sad. There was plenty for them +to do, for death and wounds had come to many that day, which had been +the most strenuous for the United States troops since they had come to +the fighting line. + +That many of their regiment had fallen and still more been wounded the +boys knew well, although the full toll of their losses would not be +known until the next day. But the enemy had lost still more, and a large +number of prisoners were in American hands. They had taken two trenches +on a wide front, and that night American boys were eating their suppers +in the dugouts where Germans had breakfasted in the morning. It had been +a dashing attack with a successful result, and Uncle Sam had reason to +be proud of his nephews. + +"One more step on the road to the Rhine," exulted Frank, voicing the +thought that stirred them all. + +"Right you are," replied Bart "It's a long, long road, but we'll get +there." + +"Do you remember what old Peterson said just before we left for France?" +queried Tom. "'The United States has put her hand to the plow and she +won't turn back.'" + +"Good old Peterson!" remarked Billy. "He was a dandy scrapper himself in +the old days when he wore the blue. I'll bet he's rooting for us every +day." + +"Sure he is," agreed Frank. "Everybody in the old firm is." + +"Reddy's rooting the hardest of them all," laughed Bart, referring to +the red-headed office boy. "Do you remember how excited the little +rascal got when the old Thirty-seventh went past? He almost tumbled out +of the window. And how he cheered!" + +"He's got the right stuff in him," said Tom. "Do you know, I shouldn't +be a bit surprised to see that kid turn up here some time." + +"You're dreaming," replied Bart. + +"You wait and see," prophesied Tom. "When any one wants a thing hard +enough he usually gets it. He'll ship as cabin boy or something of the +kind and some day, when we're least expecting it, Reddy will pop up +here. Watch my hunch." + +"How scared the Huns would be if they knew that Reddy was coming to +clean them up," mocked Tom. + +"He might account for some of them at that," remarked Billy. "A bullet +from Reddy's gun would go as fast and hit as hard as any other. You know +what David did to Goliath." + +By this time they had passed the second captured trench and were facing +the enemy's trench about three hundred yards away. Their talk ceased or +died down to whispers. + +Before them stretched the desolate waste of No Man's Land, pitted with +shell holes, blasted and seared by the pitiless storm of fire that had +swept it all that day. + +Once it had been fertile and beautiful. Now it was withered and hideous. +It was a grim commentary on the war that had been as ruthless toward +nature as it had been toward man. + +"Now, boys," said the corporal in a low voice, "you know what we've got +to do. Keep together as much as you can and--Drop!" + +The last command came out like a shot, and was caused by a star shell +that rose from the opposing trench and burst in a flood of greenish +light. + +Had they been standing, it would have revealed them clearly, but at +their leader's word they had dropped instantly to the ground, where they +lay motionless until the light died away. + +Then they rose and like so many shadows moved cautiously forward, with a +motion more like drifting than walking, their ears alert, their eyes +strained, their hearts beating fast with excitement. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + +The night was as black as pitch, which, while an advantage in one way, +was a disadvantage in another. For though it lessened their chance of +detection, it also made it more difficult to get the lay of the land and +keep their sense of direction. + +But here again their training came into play, for they had been +specially drilled to be blindfolded and remain in that condition for +hours at a time. In that way they had developed their sense of feeling +just as a blind man does and had acquired an almost uncanny ability to +avoid obstacles and steer a course without the aid of their eyes. + +"Gee!" whispered Bart to Frank, as the two comrades moved along side by +side, "I never saw a night so dark." + +"Yes," replied his comrade, "it's as black as velvet. You could almost +cut it with a knife." + +"Lucky if that's the only cutting we'll have to do before the night is +over," murmured Tom. + +Soon they reached a little patch of woodland that stood almost halfway +between the lines. Only a few gaunt trees had been left standing, mere +skeletons of what they had been, every branch and twig swept away by +shells and bullets and even the bark stripped off, leaving the trunks in +ghastly nakedness. + +But they still afforded shelter from bursting shrapnel or a sniper's +bullet, and the boys stood behind them for a few moments while they +listened intently for any sound that might betray the presence of an +enemy patrol, prowling about on an errand similar to their own. + +But nothing suspicious developed, and, reassured, they again, at a +signal from their leader, moved forward. But new they were no longer on +their feet. They were too close to the German line for that. + +Down on hands and knees they wormed their way along inch by inch, +reaching out their hand cautiously for each fresh grip on the uneven +ground. Sometimes their hands encountered emptiness and they were warned +that they were on the edge of a shell hole. At other times they drew +back in instinctive repulsion, as they felt the rigid outlines of a dead +body. But whatever detours they had to make, they managed by touch or +whisper to keep together, and although their progress was slow it was +still progress, and they knew that they were steadily nearing the German +lines. + +Suddenly Frank's extended hand came in contact with a sharp object that +he recognized on the instant. It was the barb on a broken strand of +wire. + +They had reached the entanglement protecting a segment of the German +trench. + +Frank had been a trifle in advance of his comrades, and he softly +signaled his discovery to the others. In an instant they had stiffened +out and lay as rigid as statues. + +For five minutes not one of them stirred, while they listened for the +tread of the sentry who might be stationed behind the wires. + +Some distance off they could hear the sound of voices in guttural tones, +the occasional click of a bayonet as it was slipped into place, the low +rumble of what might have been field pieces being moved into position. + +Now too their eyes came into play, for ahead of them the darkness was +threaded with a faint ray of light that rose above the trench, and while +it did little more than make darkness visible, it was still sufficient +to form a background against which they could have detected the figure +of a sentinel. + +But they drew no false assurance from that fact, for the enemy's patrol +might be lying on the ground, as silent as themselves and as watchful, +ready to fire in the direction of the slightest sound. + +It was a nerve-trying situation, but life or death might depend on their +self-control, and they stood the test successfully, although poor Tom +had an almost irrepressible desire to sneeze, in conquering which he +almost broke a blood vessel. + +Convinced at last that it was safe to move, they commenced to crawl +along the outside of the wire, trying by the sense of touch to find out +what havoc had been made in it by the American artillery fire and where +it would be easiest to break through. + +They had drawn on rubber gloves, for they knew that the Germans +sometimes charged the wires with electricity, and a touch with the bare +hand would mean instant death. + +But that day the fighting had been so fierce and the enemy had been kept +so busy in resisting the American onslaught that no such precaution had +been taken. And this better than anything else told the boys how badly +the enemy had been shaken. + +At several places they found gaps that had been made by the Yankee guns, +and these they widened by the use of the wire cutters that they carried +in their belts. + +At each such breach the boys tied small pieces of white rag, so that on +the next day these fluttering bits of white could be seen through field +glasses by the American officers, and the full force of guns and men +could be brought to bear against these weakened portions of the line. + +They worked rapidly and silently, timing their cutting with the roar of +the guns that still kept up the artillery duel, so that the click of the +nippers would be drowned in the heavier sound. + +Little by little in the course of the work, the members of the patrol +had drawn apart, depending upon their ability to rejoin each other by +following the line of the wire. + +Frank found himself working on a specially tangled bit of wire that was +made still more difficult of handling because it was intertwisted with +the stalks of a thick hedge. He had just nipped a piece of wire in two, +when his quick ear detected a sound on the other side of the hedge. + +Instantly he stiffened. Every muscle became as taut as tempered steel. +He scarcely seemed to breathe while his unwinking eyes tried to bore +through the mass of tangled brush and wire to see what was on the other +side. + +There too the rustling sound had ceased and a silence prevailed as deep +as his own. + +For minutes that seemed ages this condition persisted. Then slowly, so +slowly that Frank at first was not sure that he saw aright, a slender +spear-like point broke the outline of the top of the hedge. Only the +fact that it stood out against the dim light that came from the enemy +trench enabled Frank to see it at all. + +Gradually the object rose higher until it seemed to broaden out at the +base; and then with a quickening of the pulse Frank realized that what +he saw was the spike of a German helmet! + +He had won in the duel of silence. The other, unable to stand the +strain, had risen first. Would he win in the grimmer duel that seemed to +be impending? + +Frank's fingers stole toward his revolver, but stopped before they +reached it. There must be no shooting so near the enemy trench. A horde +of Germans would be upon him in a twinkling. + +His rifle lay beside him where he had placed it while working on the +wire. His fingers closed upon the stock. Here was a weapon that he might +use at either end with deadly effect. The butt could serve as a club, +while the bayonet, painted black like the rest of his accoutrements so +that no glimmer of steel should betray it, carried death on its point. + +Now beneath the helmet the head of a man appeared, then the shoulders, +and finally the sentry, evidently satisfied that his suspicion had been +without foundation, straightened out to his full length. He stood for +another minute or two peering into the darkness. But Frank's black-clad +form merged so perfectly into its surroundings and he remained so +motionless that the German at last was convinced. + +With a grunt of satisfaction he stooped to pick up his rifle. + +Lithe as a panther, Frank sprang to his feet, leaped over the hedge and +landed heavily on the stooping form, knocking the breath out of the +German's body. + +In a flash Frank's sinewy hands were upon the sentry's throat, stifling +the cry that sought to issue from his lips. + +There was a brief struggle, but the attack had been so sudden and +tremendous that it was soon over, and the German lay limp and +unconscious. + +The instant Frank realized this, he relaxed his hold. He tore open the +man's coat, felt for his heart and found that it was still beating. + +What his foe would have done if the case had been reversed, Frank knew +perfectly well. A dagger point would have pierced his heart and stilled +its beating forever. More than once he had looked on the bodies of +comrades who had been butchered while lying wounded and helpless on the +battlefield, and had been stirred by a wild desire to take similar +vengeance on those who had violated all the laws of war. + +But he was an American, with all the proud traditions of honor and +chivalry that had come down to him through generations. He could not +slaughter a helpless foe. He had the man a prisoner. It was enough. + +Quickly he tied the sentry's hands, using the German's own belt as a +strap. Then he tore some strips from the white cloth he had been +carrying to fasten on the bushes and made a gag, in case the man should +recover his senses and try to give the alarm. + +He dragged the man through a gap in the hedge so that he would not be +found by any of his comrades who might come that way. Then he crept down +to where the corporal and the other members of the patrol were still +busy on the wires and in a whisper told what had happened. + +Wilson was quick to see the opportunity that the capture had afforded. + +"Good work, Sheldon," he commended. "Here's where we get through the +wires. And we've got to do it quickly, for we don't know at what time +that fellow's relief may be coming along." + +His prophecy seemed about to be fulfilled with startling suddenness, +for, even while he spoke, a group of several figures, topped by helmets, +was revealed by the action of one of them in striking a match. It flared +up brightly for a second, but luckily the boys were outside the zone of +light that it formed. + +They lay perfectly still, although each of them took a tighter grasp on +his rifle. + +The men conversed in guttural tones for several minutes, that seemed as +many ages to the watchers in the shadows. + +Would the Germans come toward them or walk away from them? Their lives, +or at the least their liberty, might depend upon the answer. + +One of the men pointed in their direction and even took a step forward, +but his comrades stopped him and an animated discussion ensued, which +finally resulted in their retracing their steps in the direction from +which they had come. + +A sigh of relief went up from the boys and their grip on their weapons +relaxed. + +"A mighty close shave," whispered Billy. + +"It was all of that," agreed Bart. + +"As close for them as it was for us," said Tom grimly. "I had that big +fellow picked out and I'd have dropped him sure." + +Like so many ghosts, the party drifted along in Corporal Wilson's wake +until they came to the gap. A glance at the motionless sentry showed +that he had not yet returned to consciousness. + +"That was a knockout for fair," murmured Billy admiringly. + +"He must have thought a house was falling on him," whispered Bart with a +low chuckle. + +"Frank's no featherweight," agreed Tom. "I'd hate to have those trench +clogs of his come down on my back with him inside of them." + +A warning "s--sh" from the corporal brought them back to the grim +business still before them, and they crept along behind him as he wormed +his way through the breach. + +Camp utensils were scattered upon the ground and indicated that a field +kitchen had stood there recently, an impression that became a conviction +when Bart burned his hand by bringing it down upon some smoldering +embers covered with ashes. + +He bit his tongue trying to repress the exclamation that leaped to his +lips, but he succeeded, although his fingers were badly blistered. + +Little by little, with many pauses, they reached the edge of a small +section of the first trench. Nothing hindered them, no one challenged +them. In fact their progress was so free from obstacles that the +corporal, a wily veteran who had had long experience among the savage +Moros while serving in the Philippines, became uneasy, fearing an +ambush. + +Still, that was one of the chances that the party had to take, and there +was nothing to do but to keep on. But they redoubled their precautions, +every sense tingling with watchfulness against a sudden surprise. + +They worked their way along the trench until they reached the entrance. +No sound came from the interior. They listened for the murmur of +conversation, the scraping of feet, the clank of a weapon. They looked +down its length for a ray of light. Not a gleam or a sound rewarded +them. + +As far as they could judge, it was absolutely deserted. But on the other +hand it might be bristling with armed men, waiting in a stillness as +deathlike as their own the command to fire. + +For fully ten minutes their watch continued. Then the corporal gathered +them close around him and gave his commands in a whisper. + +"We'll raid it," he decided. "There are only a few of us, but we'll have +the advantage of surprise. That is, if they're not waiting to surprise +us. But we'll have to gamble on that. It's only a connecting trench, and +there won't be more than a dozen men or thereabouts in it. If we could +bag them and take them back to camp it would be a good night's work. +Have your guns ready and be prepared to slip them a few grenades if we +have to. I'll lead the way and when the time comes I'll flash my light. +Come along now and be right on your toes when I give the word." + +Corporal Wilson went first and his scouting party followed close on his +heels. It was like going into the jaws of death. It would have taken +less nerve to face a charge, for then their blood would have been up and +they would have been fired by the sight of their enemy. There would have +been nothing of this eerie stillness, this vault-like chill. Yet not one +of them hesitated or lagged behind. + +Twenty paces had been covered when the corporal stopped, drew out his +flashlight and sent out a stream of radiance that illumined every nook +and cranny of the trench. + +On the instant the boys had their rifles at their shoulders with their +fingers on the triggers, ready for a volley. + +But their precaution was needless. The trench was empty! + +Empty as far as men were concerned. But it was full of other things that +made their hair stand up with horror as their meaning swept in upon +them! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + +Planted at intervals in the trench were rows of iron stakes, coming to a +sharp point at the top and cunningly camouflaged so that they would not +be detected by any one looking over the edge. The Army boys were not +slow in seeing the meaning of the trap and the fiendish ingenuity that +had conceived it. + +"It's a dummy trench!" murmured Corporal Wilson. "The idea is to have +their men seem to retreat into it when the fighting takes place on this +part of the line. Our boys come on in pursuit, jump over the edge, come +down on these sharp stakes and are spitted like larks. Nice way to wage +war, that!" + +"It's worthy of the Hun," growled Tom. + +"And when you've said that you've reached the limit," observed Bart. + +"The Turks are pretty good at torture," murmured Frank bitterly, "but +they must feel like thirty cents when they compare themselves with their +German masters." + +"Let's get these things out of the way," said Billy wrathfully, as he +grasped one of the spikes. + +But the corporal stopped him instantly. "Don't dig them out!" he cried. +"There's no knowing but what you may cause an explosion. Or they may +have some electric connection that will give warning to the Boches. +We've spotted the location of this infernal trap and that's enough. Our +officers will see that our men steer clear of it." + +"Of course," remarked Bart, "all the value to the Huns of this trap +depends upon our boys jumping in from the top of the trench. If they +came in from the entrance to the dugout, all the trouble of planting +these spikes would be thrown away." + +"It would be a trap just the same, only in a different way," replied the +corporal. "It's a safe bet that the Germans have machine guns planted +where they can sweep the whole length of this part of the trench. They'd +wait until our boys were all crowded in here and then the machine guns +would start spitting and wipe every last one of them out. There'd be no +way to get put except the way they had come in, and no one could get +through that storm of bullets. But now let's get out of this while the +going's good." + +The conversation had been carried on in the faintest whispers, and after +the first hurried examination of the dummy trench there had been no +light. But they all felt better when they had passed out of the trench +without mishap and lay on the ground above. Here they were at least in +the open, and if death came to them they would not be slaughtered like +rats in a trap. + +The corporal consulted his radio watch and found that it wanted but two +hours to dawn. + +"Not much time left, boys," he murmured. "And unless we get back to our +lines before daylight, we'll stand a good chance of losing the number of +our mess. But if we don't do anything else, we've done a pretty fair +night's work. The finding of this dummy trench will put a crimp in the +Heinies' plans. I'd like to have some prisoners to take along just for +luck but all we've bagged is that sentry." + +"Perhaps we haven't even got him," suggested Frank. "Some of his +comrades may have found him by this time." + +"Not likely," replied Bart. "He couldn't make a noise, and as we left +him outside the wire they wouldn't be likely to stumble over him." + +"All the same, we'd better get a hustle on," replied the corporal, and +they started on their homeward journey as stealthily as they had come. + +They had some difficulty in finding the breach in the wire through which +they had entered, but at last they succeeded and wormed their way out. +Then they felt around for the sentry and found him in the place they had +left him. He had returned to consciousness, for when the corporal risked +a ray of his flashlight on the upturned face, they could see that his +eyes were open and looking at them intelligently. + +The corporal placed the muzzle of his revolver against the man's neck as +a gentle reminder of what would happen to him if he should make a sound, +and they proceeded to untie his hands. Then they motioned to him that he +was to get on his hands and knees and go before them, which, with +muffled grunts, and after two or three attempts, he succeeded in doing. +He was evidently dazed yet and stiff from the cramped attitude in which +he had been lying, but stern necessity was on him and he finally wobbled +and staggered on before them. + +They had got some little distance away from the wires when Frank +suddenly came to a dead stop. His comrades halted instantly. + +"What is it?" whispered Wilson, who was nearest to him. + +"That blur ahead of us," returned Frank. "It looks a little more solid +than the rest of the darkness." + +He pointed ahead and a little to the right. + +"I don't see anything," remarked Tom. + +"Neither do I," affirmed Billy. + +"I think I see a little blacker patch than usual," declared Bart. "And +it seems to be moving." + +The corporal put his ear to the ground. + +"I think Sheldon is right," he said, after a moment of intense +listening. "At any rate we'll take no chances. Slip into some of these +shell holes and lie low. If it should be an enemy patrol and there are +too many to tackle we'll let them go by. But if there aren't more than +double our number we'll take a crack at them. Keep your weapons ready +and let fly when I give the word." + +The ground was so pitted with craters from the heavy artillery duel that +had been raging all the day before that they had no difficulty in +finding shelter. Their prisoner, who judged by the preparations that +some of his own comrades were approaching, was inclined to balk a little +and delay matters, but a vigorous push of Bart's boot hastened his +movements and he was tumbled in unceremoniously. And they blessed the +precaution that had still left the gag in his mouth when they had +unfastened his hands. + +More and more the blur ahead of them detached itself from the +surrounding darkness, until even skeptical Tom and Billy knew that what +they saw was a body of men bearing down steadily in their direction. + +Of course there was a chance that it was an American patrol out on an +errand similar to their own, but it was unlikely, if that were so, that +they would be going in the direction of the enemy's lines when the night +was so far spent. + +Nearer and nearer came the party until not more than thirty feet lay +between them and the American boys who knelt in the shell holes, with +faces stern and set and fingers on the triggers of their rifles awaiting +the word of command. + +But for some unknown reason the blur became motionless and remained so +for several minutes. Then it receded, as though the party had changed +its plan. + +"What do you suppose is the matter with them?" whispered Tom. "Do you +think they've tumbled to our being here?" + +"How could they?" returned Frank. "They'd have to have the eyes of cats +to see us in these holes." + +"I hope the corp will let us go after them," murmured Billy. "I'm all +tuned up for a scrap." + +Wilson hesitated. If he went after the supposed enemy, they would +probably hear him and he would lose the advantage of the surprise. On +the other hand, that they now seemed to be going in the direction of the +American lines might indicate that, after all, they were a patrol of his +own comrades. But while he weighed the chances, the question was solved +for him by the fact that the blur again became distinct. And this time +it grew larger very rapidly, indicating that the party had at last +reached a definite decision. On they came until only a few paces +separated them from the Army boys. + +Just then a star shell rose from the German lines and sent a flare of +light stabbing the darkness and clearly revealing a dozen or more +Germans. As they were facing the glare they were momentarily dazzled by +it, and the Americans peering beneath their black hoods on a level with +the ground could have easily escaped detection had they been so +inclined. + +But that instantaneous flash had decided the corporal. The odds were +more than two to one, but such odds as that was only a challenge to +Yankee fighting blood. + +"Fire!" he shouted, and five rifles spoke as one. Three of the enemy +went down as though stricken by an axe, and another staggered and his +rifle clattered to the ground. + +But the enemy rallied almost instantly, and at a hoarse command there +was a return volley. This proved harmless, however, for the boys knew +that it would come and bent beneath the edge of the craters until the +iron storm had swept over them. + +"Now, boys, at them with your bayonets!" shouted Corporal Wilson, as +soon as he had drawn the enemy's fire. + +With a leap the American squad was on the level ground and rushing with +leveled bayonets at the foe. + +The Americans had the advantage of the surprise, and their headlong +charge would have won instantly if the forces had been equal. But +although two went down at once, the others, after yielding ground +somewhat, closed in a death grip with their assailants, and there was a +furious combat at close quarters. + +There was no more shooting. It was a matter now of clubbed rifles and +bayonet thrusts. + +Frank found himself engaged in a bayonet duel with a massive German who +towered above him in height and probably outweighed him by twenty +pounds. He was well trained too in bayonet work and was a most +formidable opponent. + +But he met his master when he crossed bayonets with Frank. The latter +had made himself expert by long training under skilful French +instructors, and, besides, was the most finished boxer in the regiment. +At thrust and parry, feint and riposte, advance and retreat, he stood +first among his comrades. + +Against the furious bull-like rushes of his opponent, he opposed a +quickness and agility that more than counterbalanced his enemy's weight +It was a contest of a bull against a panther, and the panther won. + +For perhaps two minutes the fight continued. Then with a lightning +thrust Frank's bayonet found its mark, and the German staggered for a +moment, fell headlong and lay still. + +His fall seemed to take the heart out of the others who were being +outfought and pressed back. They wavered, broke and started to flee, but +the sharp crack of the corporal's revolver brought one of them to the +ground, and the others halted. + +Up went their hands and from the lips of each came the cry "_Kamerad_!" +in token of surrender. + +The American boys rounded them up and disarmed them. Then the corporal +took account of stock. + +Bart was there panting and flushed with nothing worse than a scalp wound +where a rifle butt had glanced from his head. Wilson himself was unhurt. +Billy also had come through unscathed, but Tom was nowhere to be seen. + +An awful fear, a fear that they had never felt in the fighting itself, +clutched the hearts of his comrades. Good old Tom, bound to them by a +thousand ties of friendship and comradeship--had he met his fate in this +desolate stretch of No Man's Land? + +Frantically they searched among the bodies for one that wore a suit +similar to their own. Frank found it first. His hand went to the heart +and to his joy found that it was beating. + +He lifted Tom's head and rested it on his knee. + +"Tom! Tom!" he called, as he chafed his chum's hands and loosened his +suit at the throat. + +Tom's eyes slowly opened, and, recognizing his friend, a faint smile +came to his lips. But he did not speak, and Bart, who was the only other +one who could be spared from guarding the prisoners, joined Frank in +redoubled efforts to bring Tom back to full consciousness. + +"He doesn't seem to have any bones broken," said Frank after a hurried +examination. + +"And he isn't bleeding," replied Bart. "But he has a lump on his head as +big as an egg." + +At last Tom's full consciousness returned, and with his chums' +assistance he got slowly and painfully to his feet. + +"Guess they haven't got my number yet, but they came mighty near it," he +said, trying to grin. "I'd just run one of the Huns through the arm when +I saw another out of the tail of my eye swinging for my head with his +rifle. I tried to dodge, but he must have been too quick for me, for +that's the last I remember." + +"Thank heaven it was no worse!" ejaculated Frank fervently. + +"It would have been a mighty bad thing for us if you had cashed in, old +boy," said Bart with feeling. "How did the scrap turn out?" asked Tom. + +"Though I suppose there's no use in asking, or you wouldn't be here +taking care of me." + +"We trimmed them good and proper," said Frank, from whom a ton's weight +had been lifted by finding that his friend had escaped serious injury. + +"A lovely scrap," added Bart. "I wouldn't have missed it for a farm. +We've wiped out five and rounded out the rest. Let's go over and see how +many there are." + +"Eight," announced the corporal, as he counted the prisoners who stood +in a group sullen and morose. "There must have been a baker's dozen in +the party." + +"I don't know how superstitious they may be," chuckled Billy, "but I'll +bet that from now on they'll agree that thirteen is an unlucky number!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + +"Well," remarked Corporal Wilson, who was relieved beyond measure to +find that his own little force was practically intact, "eight is a +pretty good bag for one night's work, not to speak of five more who +won't do any more strafing for the Kaiser." + +"Nine," corrected Bart. "Don't forget our speechless friend in the shell +hole." + +"No doubt he'd be perfectly willing to be forgotten," grinned Billy. +"But we'd better take him along just for luck. That'll be nearly two +prisoners apiece for each of the bunch. Pretty fair work if you ask me." + +There was no further time for talking, for it would soon be dawn and +they were eager to get back to their own lines. They had been under a +terrible strain through all the long hours of the night and were +beginning to feel the reaction. And they were not at all averse to +showing their comrades in the regiment how well they had fared and how +stoutly they had held up the colors of the old Thirty-seventh. + +"Who goes there?" came the sharp challenge of the sentry, as they drew +near the American trench, and they knew that a score of rifles was +trained upon them to back up the sentry's demand if the answer were +halting or suspicious. + +"Friends," replied the corporal. + +"Advance and give the countersign," was the next requirement. + +Corporal Wilson complied, and he and his squad were joyfully welcomed. + +"I said 'friends'" added the corporal with a grin, as the party made +their way through the opening in the wire defences, "but perhaps that +doesn't go for all this crowd. Some of them didn't want to come, but we +told them they'd better, and here they are." + +"A bunch of huskies," remarked the sentry, as he surveyed the prisoners +critically. "You don't mean to say that just you five rounded up that +gang?" + +The four privates merely grinned. + +"Looks like it, doesn't it?" answered the corporal with keen relish of +the sentry's surprise. "Counting those we brought down, there are just +fourteen that will turn up missing when the Boches call the roll this +morning." + +"That's going some," said the sentry admiringly. "I only wish I'd been +along with you. Some fellows have all the luck." + +The prisoners were turned over to the officer in charge, and the +corporal made his way to headquarters to make his report of the night's +work. + +Bart and Tom went under the hands of the surgeons to have their wounds +and bruises treated, and were assured that with a little rest they would +be as well as ever in a day or two. Then the boys, "dog-tired," as Bart +expressed it, but happy and exultant that they had done their work well +and were back safe once more, tumbled into their bunks to enjoy the rest +they had so richly earned. + +"Never was so tired in my life," murmured Frank, drowsily, as he fell +rather than climbed into his bunk. + +"Same here," chimed in Billy. + +"Rip Van Winkle won't have anything on me," drawled Tom. "What's twenty +years of sleep? I'm going to take forty." + +As for Bart, he started to say something but dropped off to sleep while +saying it. + +None of the quartette woke until late in the afternoon. Then they found +that their exploit had made a stir in the regiment. Their fight against +twice their number was the most interesting feature to their comrades of +the rank and file. But still more important in the view of their +officers was the discovery of the dummy trench, which might have been +turned into a shambles for the American troops if they had rushed into +the trap so cunningly and so fiendishly set for them. + +"It was fine work, Corporal," the captain said warmly, when Wilson +finished his report. "You deserve credit for having brought your squad +back without the loss of a man." + +"They mostly brought themselves back, sir," replied Wilson with a smile. +"It's a pleasure to command such a nervy crowd as that. You don't need +to use the spur. I'm mostly busy putting on the brakes. It would have +done your heart good if you could have seen the way they waded into the +Huns. That fellow Sheldon particularly is a crackerjack when it comes to +a scrap. He's as strong as an ox and as quick as a cat." + +"I've had my eye on him," replied the officer. "He'll go far before the +war is over. You can go now, Corporal. I'll have your work mentioned in +the order of the day." + +He was as good as his word, for when the regiment was drawn up for +inspection the order of the day commended each man of the squad by name +for their gallant exploit that, as the order ran, "reflected credit on +the regiment." + +"How's your head feeling now, old man?" Frank asked of Tom, as they +rejoined each other at mess. + +"Pretty groggy," responded Tom. "But I'm not kicking. I'm lucky to be +alive at all. That fellow made an awful swipe at me, and if it had hit +me fair it would have been all over." + +"A miss is as good as a mile," put in Bart. "I had a pretty close shave +myself. Seemed as though twenty star shells were going off at once." + +"Yesterday was your lucky day," remarked Billy. "You had two narrow +escapes." + +"Let's hope it won't be three times and out," responded Bart lightly." +By the way, I wonder what they did with that corporal who tried to do me +up?" + +"Most likely he's shot by this time," observed Tom. "If he isn't, he +ought to be." + +"He isn't shot yet at any rate," remarked Fred Andon, who sat near by. +"I guess the fighting was so hot all day yesterday that they didn't have +time to attend to him. Likely enough he's down in the prisoners' pen +waiting for the court-martial." + +"Let's go down and see after we've finished our chow," suggested Billy. +"That is if you fellows ever get through eating. Look at Tom stowing it +away. He'd eat his way through the whole quartermaster's department if +he was let." + +"And he's the fellow that they wouldn't let enlist because of his +teeth," gibed Bart. "They didn't know Tom." + +"I'm not the only one that got a raw deal," replied Tom, with whom it +was always a sore point that he had been refused when he wanted to +enlist, but had been accepted in the draft. "There's a drafted man here +who was telling me the other day that he walked ninety miles to enlist. +And do you know what the enlistment board did to him?" + +"What?" was the query. + +"Turned him down because he had flat feet," responded Tom. "Told him he +wouldn't be able to stand a five-mile hike." + +There was a roar of laughter. + +"I heard another good one," chimed in Billy. "A fellow wanted to enlist, +and the examining board wanted to reject him because he had a cast in +his eye. 'Oh, that's all right,' he drawled, 'I allus shets that eye +anyway when I shoot.' That made them laugh and he got by." + +In high spirits they finished their meal, and as they were off duty for +the next hour or two, made their way down to that quarter of the field +where the prisoners' camp was placed. + +Behind the barrier at the point nearest them they saw one bulky captive, +who was munching contentedly the food that had been given him, and who +had none of the woe-begone expression that a man in his position is +commonly expected to show. + +"See him shovel it in," laughed Billy. + +"He doesn't seem to have a care in the world," remarked Bart. + +"Probably glad to be behind our machine guns instead of in front of +them," conjectured Tom. + +"Hello, Heinie!" said Frank good-naturedly. + +"Hello yourself," came the answer. + +"Do you speak English?" asked Frank in surprise. + +"A little," replied the German, and proceeded to prove it by answering, +although in rather a halting manner, the questions they put to him. + +No, he at any rate had not wanted the war. He was a skilled mechanic in +one of the munition factories. There had been a strike on account of bad +conditions and he had been one of the leaders. The Government had seized +him and bundled him off to the front. He was glad to be captured. After +the war the Kaiser would see that men were born to be something else +than cannon fodder. + +"Well," remarked Frank as they moved along, "there's one fellow at least +that doesn't cry: '_Hoch the Kaiser_.'" + +"Seems good to see it so full," remarked Bart with great satisfaction, +as he saw the large number of Germans who had been captured in the +fierce fighting of the day before. + +"If only the Kaiser and the Crown Prince were in that bunch," sighed +Tom. + +"That's a pleasure still to come," replied Frank. "But where's the +fellow that tried to stab Bart? I don't see him anywhere. Seems as +though the party isn't complete without him." + +They made inquiry of one of the guards. + +"Oh, that one," replied the guard. "They've roped him out from the rest +of these mavericks and given him a hut all by himself. I guess he's +thinking of making his will. I hear they're going to have him out before +a drumhead in the morning." + +"Which hut is it?" asked Frank, as his eye took in a little group of +shacks at the further end of the field. + +"That end one down by the big tree." The guard pointed it out with the +point of his bayonet. + +They went down in that direction, and as they neared the hut saw that it +was guarded by a single sentry. + +"Who's that fellow on guard?" asked Tom. "My head's so dizzy yet that +I'm seeing things double." + +"Looks rather familiar for a fact," said Bart. "Wait till he turns his +head this way." + +The next instant the sentry turned, and there was a whistle of surprise +from Billy. "By the great horn spoon!" he ejaculated. "It's Nick Rabig!" + +"Set a Hun to watch a Hun," remarked Tom bitingly. + +"Oh, come, Tom," remonstrated Frank, "that's going a little too far. +I've no reason to like the fellow, and we know he had to be dragged into +the army, but that doesn't say he's a Hun." + +"All except the uniform," persisted Tom. "He'd rather be fighting for +the Kaiser this minute than for Uncle Sam." + +"Shouldn't wonder if Tom's more than half right," assented Billy. "You +know the way he" used to talk in Camport." + +"You notice that we've never seen him volunteering for any of the +raiding parties," said Billy. + +"But that may only mean that Rabig has a yellow streak in him. It +doesn't say that he's a traitor," returned Frank. + +"Well, maybe he isn't," conceded Tom. "But all the same it seems rather +queer that he should have been picked out to guard this Heinie. They +could talk together in German through that closed door and nobody be +wise to what they were saying." + +"I don't suppose the officers know Rabig as well as the rest of us do," +said Billy. "But say, fellows, look at that bit of white under the door +of the hut. What do you suppose it is?" + +"Oh, just a scrap of paper," laughed Bart. "Just like the Belgian +treaty." + +"Something the wind's blown up against the door, I guess," conjectured +Tom. + +"Wind nothing!" exclaimed Frank, whose vision was keener than that of +any of the others. "It's under the door and it's getting bigger and +bigger all the time. I tell you what it is, fellows," he went on +excitedly, "it's a note that's being pushed out by the fellow inside." + +"Let's get behind these trees and see what's going on," suggested Bart, +indicating a clump of trees near which they happened to be standing. + +In a moment they were screened from observation. Then they watched with +the keenest interest what would follow. + +That Rabig had caught sight of the paper was evident, for he stopped his +pacing and turned his eyes on the door. Then he looked stealthily about +him. The nearest sentry was some distance away, and the boys were well +hidden by the trees. + +Then Rabig made a complete circuit of the little hut, as though to make +sure that no one was lurking about. Having apparently satisfied himself +on that point, he returned and resumed his pacing until he was directly +in front of the door. + +Here he paused and drew out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead. But +as he went to put it back, it dropped from his hand so that it lay close +by and almost upon the protruding piece of paper. + +He was stooping to pick it up, when he caught sight of a sergeant coming +in his direction. Instantly he straightened up, and as he did so the +butt of his rifle knocked against the door. + +The paper disappeared as though it had been drawn swiftly back from the +inside, just as the sergeant came up. + +"Gee!" gasped Tom. + +"Prisoner all right, Rabig?" inquired the sergeant. + +"Yes, sir," replied Rabig. "He seems to be keeping pretty quiet. I +looked in a little while ago and he was lying asleep on the bench." + +"Keep a close watch on him," counseled the sergeant. "What he tried to +do to Raymond yesterday shows that he's a desperate character. But I +guess that by this time to-morrow he won't need any one to watch him." + +The sergeant passed on and the boys looked at each other with +speculation in their eyes. + +"What do you think of it?" asked Frank thoughtfully. + +"Think?" snorted Tom. "I think that Rabig is a bad egg. What else is +there for any one to think?" + +"It certainly looks suspicious," said Bart with a little wrinkle of +anxiety creasing his brow. + +"One thing is sure," declared Billy. "It was a note that was being +pushed outside that door. The fellow inside was trying to get into +communication with Rabig." + +"True," assented Frank. "But that in itself doesn't prove anything. You +or I might be on sentry duty and a prisoner might try to do the same +thing to us." + +"Yes," agreed Billy. "But we wouldn't act the way Rabig did. We'd have +picked up the note and given it to the sergeant of the guard." + +"And we wouldn't have sneaked around the hut to see if any one was near +by," said Tom. "Why did he drop his handkerchief, except to have an +excuse for picking it up and copping the note at the same time?" + +"And his rifle butt didn't hit the door by accident," put in Billy. +"That was a tip to the prisoner that some one was coming. Did you see +how quickly the note disappeared?" + +"I hate to think that there's a single man in the regiment who's a +disgrace to his uniform," remarked Frank, "but it certainly looks bad. +That fellow Rabig will bear watching." + +"I told you he was a Hun," declared Tom. "His body's in France, but his +heart's in Germany." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + +The Army boys thought over the situation in some perplexity. + +"What do you suppose we ought to do?" asked Bart. + +"We ought to go hotfoot to the captain and tell him what we've seen," +declared Tom with emphasis. + +"I hardly like to do that," objected Billy. "At least not at this stage +of the game. After all, we haven't any positive proof against Nick. His +handkerchief might have dropped accidentally. And the knocking of the +butt of his gun against the door could have happened without his meaning +anything by it. He could explain his going around the hut by saying he +wanted to be especially vigilant in guarding the prisoner." + +"Yes," agreed Frank, "we haven't proof enough against Rabig to hang a +yellow dog. And I wouldn't want to get him in bad with his officers on +mere suspicion." + +"That note might be proof if we could only get hold of it," suggested +Tom. + +"Swell chance!" returned Bart. "You can bet that note is chewed up and +swallowed by this time. The first thing the Hun thought of, when he was +tipped off that some one was coming, was to get rid of the evidence that +might queer his chance of escape." + +"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Frank. "We'll just go down and see +Rabig and ask him casually about the prisoner. That may make him think +that we're on to something, and if he's planning to do anything crooked +it may scare him off. It won't do any harm anyway, and we'll take a +chance." + +They left the clump of trees and strolled down carelessly in the +direction of the hut. + +Rabig saw them coming, and the surly look that was habitual with him +became more pronounced than usual. There was no love lost between him +and any of them. He had been thoroughly unpopular in Camport because of +his bullying nature even before the outbreak of the war, and his evident +leaning toward Germany had deepened this feeling. + +Since he had been drafted, he had of course kept his pro-German views to +himself, for he valued his skin and had no desire to face a firing +squad. But his work had been done grudgingly, and his disposition to +shirk had more than once gained him short terms in the guardhouse. + +Of all the group approaching him he most heartily disliked Frank. In the +first place, Frank had never permitted him to bully him when they were +with Moore & Thomas, and the two had been more than once on the brink of +a fight. And since the boxing bout in the camp, when he had tried foul +tactics and Frank had thrashed him thoroughly, his venom toward his +conqueror had been more bitter than ever. + +The boys stopped when they reached the front of the hut. + +"Hello, Rabig!" they greeted him. + +"Hello!" responded Rabig, still keeping up his pacing. + +"Right on the job, I see," remarked Bart, pleasantly enough. + +"Your eyesight's mighty good," replied Nick sullenly. + +"Yes," Bart came back at him, "I can see a bit of white paper from quite +a distance." + +Rabig gave a sudden start. + +"What do you mean by that?" he demanded. + +"Nothing special," replied Bart carelessly. "What should I mean?" + +"By the way," put in Tom, "you'd better tuck your handkerchief in a +little more tightly or you'll lose it. It looks as though it were almost +ready to drop out." + +"What if it does?" snarled Rabig. "I could pick it up again, couldn't +I?" + +"Of course you could," said Tom, "but you might pick up something else +with it. Dust, or a bit of paper, or something like that." + +"Say, what's the matter with you guys anyway?" demanded Rabig, glowering +at them. + +"That looks like quite a solid door," remarked Frank, inspecting it +critically. + +"Oh, I don't know," responded Billy. "It's got dents in it. Here's one +that looks as though it were made by a rifle butt." + +Rabig looked at them angrily, and yet furtively, evidently seeking to +find out how much their remarks meant. + +"You fellows had better get along," he snapped. "You're interfering with +discipline by talking to a sentry on guard." + +Rabig's newborn reverence for discipline amused the boys so that they +had hard work to repress a laugh. + +"You're right," responded Frank. "We'll mosey along." + +"Ta-ta, Rabig," said Bart. "Keep your eye peeled for any Hun trick. That +fellow nearly got me yesterday with his knife, and he might try to play +the same game on you." + +"Don't you worry," growled Rabig. "I can take care of myself." + +The chums passed on, laughing and talking about indifferent things, +until they were out of ear shot. + +"We've got him guessing," remarked Billy with a grin. + +"We managed to put a flea in his ear," agreed Tom. + +"Did you see how red he got?" questioned Bart. + +"He sure is wondering how much we know," summed up Frank. "Whether it +will make him go straight or not is another question. What we fellows +ought to do is to take turns keeping tab on him, so that he can't act +crooked even if he wants to." "It's a pity there should be any men in +the American army whom we have to watch," said Tom bitterly. + +"Yes, but that's to be expected," returned Frank. "There's never been an +army in the history of the world that hasn't been infected with traitors +more or less." + +"Look at Benedict Arnold," remarked Billy. + +"To my mind, it's surprising that there aren't more," said Frank. +"That's what the Kaiser was counting on. He thought that the German +element in America was so strong that we wouldn't dare to go to war with +him. Do you remember what he told Gerard? That 'there were five hundred +thousand Germans in America who would revolt'?" + +"Yes," grinned Billy, "and I remember how Gerard came back at him with +the 'five hundred thousand lamp-posts on which we'd hang them if they +did.'" + +They were out on the main road by this time, and they stepped to one +side and saluted, as an officer in French uniform, accompanied by an +orderly, came galloping along. + +The officer's eye swept the group as he returned the salute, and when it +rested on Frank he drew up his horse so suddenly that the beast sat back +on its haunches. + +The officer threw himself from the horse's back, cast the reins to his +orderly, and came impetuously toward the astonished Army boys with his +hand extended to Frank. + +"Monsieur Sheldon!" he exclaimed, his face beaming. "_Mon brave +Americain. Le sauveur de ma vie._" + +"Colonel Pavet!" cried Frank with equal pleasure, as he took the +extended hand. + +"Yes," replied the newcomer, "Colonel Pavet, alive and well, thanks to +you. Ah, I shall never forget the night when I lay wounded on the +battlefield and you climbed out of the trench and made your way through +a storm of bullets and shells to my side and carried me back to safety. +It was the deed of a hero, a modern d'Artagnan! How glad I am to see you +again!" + +"And I to see you" responded Frank warmly. "You were so dreadfully +wounded that I feared you might not recover." + +They were talking in French, which Frank spoke like a native, thanks to +his French mother, and the other boys saluted and passed on, leaving the +two together. + +"If we had not met, I would have searched you out," went on the colonel, +"for I have some news for you. News that both you and your mother will +be glad to hear." + +"My mother," repeated Frank, his eyes kindling and his heart responding, +as it never failed to do at the mention of that dear mother of his, who +in her lonely home across the sea was waiting and praying for him. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ESCAPE + + +"Yes," replied Colonel Pavet, "your mother, Madame Sheldon,--it seems +strange for me to name her thus, for I never think of her except as +Lucie De Latour, as I knew her in her girlhood--has a very excellent +prospect of coming into the property that was willed to her." + +"I'm very glad to hear that!" exclaimed Frank. "And I know that my +mother will be pleased too. I have told her in my letters about my +meeting with you, and I gave her the remembrances that you were kind +enough to send her. She was delighted to know that I had met one of her +old neighbors in Auvergne, and she asked me to thank you most heartily +for your kindness in promising to look after her interests." + +The colonel smiled genially. + +"She is too good," he responded. "The obligation is all on my side. My +humble services would have been at her disposal in any event simply for +the sake of old friendship. But how much more ought they to be wholly +hers, now that her son has saved my life." + +"I am afraid you put too much value on what I did, Colonel," said Frank +deprecatingly. + +"It was something that not one in ten thousand would have done," replied +the colonel warmly. "When I found myself helpless and wounded on that +field of death I thought my life was over, and I had commended my soul +to God." + +"I'm glad that you have lived to strike another blow for France," said +Frank. + +"Ah, for France!" repeated the colonel fervently, as he lifted his cap +reverently. + +"As I started to say," he resumed after a moment, "your mother's +prospects for coming into her own are excellent. After my wound I was +sent home, and for some time it was doubtful whether I would live or +die. But God was good and I recovered. While I was gradually mending I +had ample time to look into that matter of the contested will. And, +fortunately, just at that time my brother André, who is one of the +leading lawyers of Paris, came to the chateau to see and cheer me up +while I was convalescing. I laid the whole matter before him, and he +went into it thoroughly. He has gone over all the proceedings in the +case, and he tells me that there is no doubt that your mother has the +law as well as right--unfortunately they are not always the same thing-- +on her side. He says that the testimony of those who are contesting the +will smacks strongly of perjury. It is too bad that your mother cannot +be here, for then André thinks the whole thing could be straightened out +at once." + +"It is too bad," agreed Frank; "but in the present state of things, and +the danger on the Atlantic from submarines, I would not want her to take +the risk. But what you say delights me, as I am sure it will her, and I +can't thank you enough for all the trouble you have taken." + +"Not trouble, but pleasure," corrected the colonel. "And you can be +assured that the matter will not be allowed to lag now that André has +taken it up. When he starts a case he can be depended on to carry it +through to a finish. I will keep in close touch with him and will let +you know from time to time how the matter is progressing. But now tell +me about yourself." + +"There's not much to tell," replied Frank. "I'm well and have been lucky +enough so far not to have stopped a bullet." + +The colonel's eyes twinkled. + +"Not much to tell," he repeated. "No, not if Monsieur Sheldon does the +telling. But there are others who speak more freely. Your captain, for +instance." + +Frank flushed uncomfortably and Colonel Pavet laughed outright. + +"Bravery and modesty usually go together," he went on. "How about that +machine gun episode yesterday, when an American soldier cut down its +crew, turned it on the enemy trench and compelled the men in it to +surrender? How about the raiding party where five men accounted for +fourteen of the Huns? You see, _mon ami_, that I have a good memory for +details. Ah, you are blushing. I wonder if you, too, could recall these +things if you tried." + +"There were a lot of us in on them," parried Frank, "and one did as much +as another." + +"Well," rejoined the colonel, "I'm proud that a French woman is your +mother. You have a glorious heritage in the traditions of two gallant +countries. And I rejoice to see the way you Americans are throwing +yourselves into the fighting. We were sorely pressed by the Hun hordes +and were fighting with our backs against the wall." + +"And such fighting!" returned Frank enthusiastically. "The world has +never seen anything finer. The spirit of France is unconquerable." + +"Yes," replied the colonel proudly. "As one of our great orators has +said: 'If the men are all killed the women will rise up; if the women +are killed the children will rise; if the children are killed the very +dead will rise and fight--fight for France." + +"But I must go on," he continued, motioning to his orderly to bring up +his horse. "I have a long journey yet before I reach the headquarters of +my division. I am more delighted than I can tell that I met you as I +did. May we meet again soon." + +"In Berlin, if not sooner," interjected Frank with a smile. + +"Ah, that is it," said the colonel delightedly. "In Berlin! That is the +way to speak. It may be a long time, but sooner or later the Stars and +Stripes and the Tricolor will wave together _Unter den Linden_. May +Heaven speed the day!" + +The French officer wrung Frank's hand warmly, sprang into the saddle, +and with Frank's "_bon voyage_" ringing in his ears, galloped rapidly +away. + +Twilight was coming on as Frank set out to rejoin his comrades, who were +waiting for him at a little distance down the road. His heart was light, +for he had news to write his mother that he knew would bring her +pleasure. + +"Some swell," chaffed Tom, as Frank came up to his friends. "Talking to +a colonel as though he were a pal. I wonder that you condescend to talk +to us common privates." + +"It is a comedown," grinned Frank; "but I'll try to tolerate you for a +while longer. But say, fellows, that colonel is a brick! Not a bit of +side about him. And he's doing a lot for us in the matter of my mother's +property that I've told you about." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Bart heartily. + +"I'll forgive him," conceded Tom magnanimously, "even if he does talk in +a lingo that I can't understand." + +"Why, I thought you were a finished French scholar by this time," +chaffed Bart. + +"Do you remember the day Tom tried to ask for soup and got his tongue +twisted around 'bouillon'?" gibed Billy, with a broad grin. + +"Well, I got the soup anyway, didn't I?" defended Tom. + +"Sure you got it," agreed Billy. "I could hear you getting it." + +Tom made a pass at him that Billy ducked. + +"Talking about soup makes me hungry," remarked Bart. "If you fellows +stand talking here much longer we'll be late at chow." + +"I'd like to have one more look at that hut Rabig's guarding," said +Frank a little uneasily. + +"We might stroll down this way again after supper if you like," +suggested Billy, "but just at present a little knife and fork exercise +seems the most pressing business I have to attend to." + +Just then their talk was interrupted by a single shot, followed by a +volley of them, and looking back in the direction from which they had +come, they saw men running in the direction of the hut that Rabig had +been guarding. + +They turned and ran at full speed and were soon in the midst of an +excited group gathered about the hut. + +"What's up?" asked Frank of one of the soldiers. + +"Prisoner escaped," replied the other briefly. + +"What prisoner?" + +"The fellow that Rabig was guarding. Some way or other he got out, +managed to strike Rabig down and skipped. Poor Rabig's pretty badly +messed up." + +The boys looked at each other. + +"_Poor_ Rabig," repeated Tom, and there was a world of meaning in his +tone. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A GHASTLY BURDEN + + +The sergeant of the guard came running up quickly, followed by two other +officers of higher rank, and a hurried inquiry took place on the spot. + +Rabig had been lifted to his feet from where he had been lying, and +stood supported by two comrades. Blood was running down his face from a +wound in his head. He seemed weak and dazed, although a surgeon who had +been hastily summoned pronounced the wound not dangerous. He seemed to +have been dealt a glancing blow, and, as in the case of all scalp +wounds, the blood had flowed freely. + +"Bring a seat for him," commanded the lieutenant in charge, and the +order was promptly obeyed. + +"Now, Rabig," proceeded the officer, not unkindly, "tell me about this. +How did you come to lose your prisoner?" + +Rabig looked about him in a helpless sort of way. + +"I don't know," he mumbled. "My head is swimming so that I can't +remember." + +"Try to think," said the officer patiently. Rabig seemed to make an +effort, but did not succeed and fell back in a swoon that put an end for +the present to the questioning. + +"Who saw anything of this?" queried the lieutenant, looking about him. +"Does any one know in what direction the prisoner went?" + +"If you please, sir," said one of the sentries who had been guarding an +adjacent hut, "I saw a man jump on a horse and go through the woods +there, but it was getting dark and I didn't know but what it might be +one of our own men. But I ran up here and found Rabig lying on the +ground, and the door of the hut was open. I sent a shot after the man on +horseback and so did some of the other men, but we couldn't take aim and +I don't know whether we hit him or not." + +"Look alive there," commanded the officer. "Sergeant, take a squad of +men and beat up these woods. The fellow may be hiding there. Take him +dead or alive." + +"Yes, sir," replied the sergeant, saluting. + +The soldiers standing by were hastily sent into the woods and others +were summoned to join them. The prisoner had got a good start, but by +this time the field telephones were busy all along the line and his +chance of ultimate escape was by no means bright. But he was a powerful +and desperate man, and if he had any weapons at all he would probably +make his capture a costly one. + +"He'll reason that he's a dead man if we get him and he might as well +die fighting," remarked Frank, as with his comrades he picked his way +through the woods. + +"Righto," agreed Tom. "And even if he didn't have a weapon when he +escaped, there are lots of them lying around and he won't have any +trouble in picking one up." + +"I wonder if he'll stick to the horse," mused Bart. + +"I hardly think so," replied Billy. "He knows from the shots that were +sent after him that we know he used a horse in escaping and will be +looking for a man on horseback. So he'll try to deceive us by going on +foot." + +"He'll probably hang about in the woods until it's pitch dark and then +try to get through the lines," said Frank. "He may be behind any tree or +bush, and we want to be mighty careful to examine each one as we go past +it." + +"Maybe he'll climb a tree," suggested Tom, looking up to the branches of +one he happened to be under at the moment. + +"Not a chance at this time of the year," objected Billy. "There aren't +any leaves to hide him, and even in the darkness we could probably see +his outline against the sky. Then, too, if he were seen he could be +potted too easily. No, he's not up a tree." + +"Queer that he should have got away so soon after we'd been down to the +hut," remarked Frank. + +"Queer!" snorted Tom. "It isn't queer at all to my way of thinking. The +whole thing was cut and dried." + +"Then you think that Rabig was in cahoots with him?" asked Bart +dubiously. + +"I'm sure of it," responded Tom. "Use your common sense, fellows. We see +half a dozen suspicious things that look as if Rabig and the prisoner +had some understanding. A little while after the prisoner escapes. +What's the answer?" + +"The answer might be several things," replied Frank, who hated to +believe evil of even his worst enemy. "A lot of things are due to +coincidence. It may be perfectly true that Rabig was in sympathy with +the German, but that doesn't say that he'd go so far as to let him +actually escape. He was taking big chances with his own skin in doing +it." + +"Besides, there's no doubt that Rabig was wounded," remarked Bart. "That +fellow seems to have given him an awful knock. He was bleeding like +fury." + +"Oh, it was easy enough to arrange that," answered Tom, unconvinced. "It +would have been too raw to have Rabig let the fellow go and still be +safe and sound. How could he explain it? He'd be brought up for +court-martial. But a scalp wound could be easily made where it would +produce the most blood and do the least harm." + + +"But what object would Rabig have in taking such chances?" asked Billy. +"The fellow had been searched and couldn't have had any money with him." + +"No, but he could have promised plenty," argued Tom. "Perhaps he's told +Rabig that the grateful Kaiser would make him rich. How do we know that +Rabig wouldn't fall for that? He's got an ivory dome anyway. If there +were more than two ideas in his head at one time they'd be arrested for +unlawful assemblage." + +The boys laughed and Tom went on: + +"Besides, how do we know but what Rabig is planning to desert and wants +to pave the way for a warm welcome on the other side? It would be easy +enough to slip across while the lines are so near each other." + +"But Rabig seemed to be pretty badly hurt," said Billy. "You saw him +faint." + +"Which only proves that he is a good actor," retorted Tom dryly. "Don't +think me hardhearted, fellows, because I'm not. I'm always ready to give +everybody his due. But I feel sure down in my heart that this thing was +all fixed up beforehand, and some day you'll find that I'm right." + +For more than two hours they kept up the search without result, and the +fact that they had not had their supper was forced upon them with +growing insistency. + +"Isn't there any time limit to this?" grumbled Bart. "I'll be hunting +for acorns instead of a prisoner before long." + +"I've got a vacuum where my stomach ought to be," moaned Billy. "Gee, +wouldn't I like to be streaking it for the mess room." + +"Cork up, you fellows," commanded Frank. "Listen! I thought I heard +something just then." + +The talking ceased instantly, and all stood as rigid as statues. + +"It's a horse coming this way," whispered Frank, after a moment of +strained attention. "Quick, fellows, get behind these bushes and have +your rifles ready!" + +They crouched low and peered up a little glade that ran through the +forest. + +But the noise ceased as suddenly as it had begun and they began to think +that their comrade had been mistaken. + +"Guess Frank's been stringing us," chaffed Billy. + +"He's the only one who seems to have heard anything," said Tom. + +"Don't you worry about my hearing," said Frank. "I tell you I heard a +horse's hoofs. Perhaps the rider suspects something and is trying to get +a line on us, just as we're trying to get one on him." + +"It may have been a horse all right," said Billy, "but that doesn't say +he had any rider. He may be rambling around all by his lonesome, and +perhaps he's stopped to graze somewhere." + +"There he goes again!" exclaimed Frank, and this time every one of them +heard what was undeniably the thud of a horse's hoofs. + +But there was a hesitation, an uncertainty about the animal's movements +that seemed unusual. It moved as though it had no purpose in view no +guiding hand on the reins. At times the canter seemed to subside into a +walk. There was something about this unseen steed, at large in the dim +forest, that gave the boys a most uncomfortable feeling. + +Then suddenly a more resolute note in the sound and an increase in its +volume told the listening boys that the horse was coming straight toward +them. + +The clatter of hoofs drew nearer, and they clutched their guns more +tightly. + +Soon they were able to distinguish in the gloom the outline of a horse +and rider. The man's figure loomed up huge and threatening, and they +felt sure that it was the big German corporal for whom they were +searching. + +The boys waited until the horse was almost upon them and then rushed out +into the road. + +"Halt!" cried Frank. He seized the horse's rein while the others leveled +their rifles at the rider. + +The horse reared in fright, but the rider made no answer nor did he +attempt to draw a weapon. + +"Get down!" commanded Frank. "We've got you covered. Surrender." + +Still the rider remained silent. + +Frank having quieted the horse went alongside and put his hand on the +man's arm. + +"Come----" he began, then stopped suddenly. + +There was a moment of utter silence, and Frank for the first time in his +life could feel the hair rising on his head. Then he controlled himself. + +"Put up your rifles boys," he commanded. "The man is dead!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +WITH THE TANKS + + +"Dead!" exclaimed Frank's comrades in voices that shook with surprise +and horror. + +"That's what I said," replied Frank. "Touch him and see for yourselves." + +All did so and found that the body was rigid. How long the horse had +borne his lifeless burden they could not tell. The legs were set stiffly +in the stirrups and the hands had a death grip on the reins. + +The boys had seen death in many forms. Scarcely a day had passed since +their arrival at the front without that sad experience. But it had never +seemed so ghastly or uncanny as at this moment. That silent, colossal +figure, seated bolt upright, worked fearfully on their imaginations and +seemed far more formidable than any living enemy would have seemed. + +"One of those bullets that the sentries sent after him must have reached +him," said Bart in an awed voice. + +"I suppose so," replied Frank. "But it doesn't matter now. Our search is +over." + +"What are we going to do with the body?" asked Billy soberly. + +"I guess we can't do anything just now," replied Frank. "I don't think +we could get those reins out of his hands anyway, and I for one don't +want to try. Besides, this is the proof for the officers that the +prisoner hasn't escaped. They're anxious, because they don't know what +information he might have been carrying back to the German lines. The +only thing to do is for one of us to lead the horse--with its rider-- +back to camp." + +This seemed to the others the solution of the problem, although the task +was a gruesome one and they would have gladly evaded it if they could. +It made chills run down the spine to trudge along leading the horse with +that huge figure towering behind them in the darkness, mocking at them +because he had escaped to the silent land from which they could never +bring him back. + +But there was comfort in numbers, and what no one of them could perhaps +have done singly they finally accomplished by taking turns, keeping +close together all the while as the ghostly cavalcade wound its way +through the woods. + +It was with a sigh of heartfelt relief that they finally drew up before +the friendly lights of the regimental headquarters that had never before +seemed so welcome. + +Their coming caused a great sensation, and there was soon a dense crowd +around them, for the uncanny circumstances of their return spread +through the camp like wildfire. The reins were cut from the dead hands +and the body lifted to the ground. Then after making a full report the +boys went to their quarters. They were besieged with inquiries by +curious comrades, but they shook them off as soon as possible. Their +experience had been one that they were only too anxious to forget. + +"I don't think I want any supper, after all," remarked Tom to his +friends. + +"Same here," responded Bart. "I don't feel as though I'd ever be hungry +again." + +"All I want to do is to get to sleep and forget it," said Billy. "That +is, if I _can_ get to sleep." + +"You'll sleep all right," observed Frank, "but I wouldn't guarantee you +against nightmare." + +But harrowed as their nerves had been, they were too young and healthy +to stand out against the sleep they needed, and when they woke the next +morning both their spirits and their appetites were as good as usual. +Life at the front was too full of work and rush for any one experience +to leave its imprint long. + +Their first inquiry after breakfast was for Rabig. + +"How's Rabig getting along?" Frank asked of Fred Anderson. + +"Oh, he's all right, I guess," answered Fred carelessly. "When the +doctors came to examine him they found that the wound didn't amount to +much. Said he'd be all right in a day or two." + +"Is he under arrest?" asked Tom. + +"Why, yes, I suppose he is," answered Fred. "But I guess it's a mere +form. The fact that the prisoner didn't finally get away will count in +his favor. It's like baseball. An error is an error, but if the man who +ought to be out at first gets put out when he tries to steal second the +error is harmless. It's no credit to Rabig that a bullet got the man he +let escape, but it's lucky for him just the same." + +It was evident that Anderson had no suspicion that Rabig had been guilty +of anything but carelessness, and the boys carefully refrained from +saying anything about what they had gathered from their observation the +day before. But when they were alone together they had no hesitation +about speaking their minds. + +"Some fellows could commit murder and get away with it," grumbled Tom. + +"Cheer up, you old grouch," chaffed Billy. "At any rate the prisoner +didn't escape, and so there's no harm done." + +"And if Rabig is guilty he's got nothing from it but a sore head," put +in Bart. + +"I don't feel dead sure that Rabig helped him," said Frank, "and yet the +more I think it over, the more I'm inclined to think that Tom is right +about it. Still, Rabig's entitled to the benefit of the doubt. I know +how the Scotch jury felt when they brought in the verdict: 'Not guilty, +but don't do it again.'" + +"That's just what I'm afraid Rabig will do," said Tom. "This time +luckily it didn't matter. The prisoner didn't escape. But if Rabig is a +traitor, how do we know but what the next time he might do something +that might cause a defeat?" + +"It does make one uneasy," agreed Bart. "Nick in the regiment is like a +splinter in the finger. It makes you sore. But we'll keep our eyes open +and the very next crooked move he makes it will be curtains for him." + +"Or taps," added Billy. + +The fighting now had lost the first intensity that had signalized the +day of the mine explosion. The Germans had been strongly reinforced, and +had held their third line, which had now become their first. + +"And they've got plenty of other lines behind that one," commented Tom, +as he sat on a trench step cleaning and oiling his rifle. + +"Slathers of them," assented Billy. "I suppose they stretch all the way +back to the Rhine." + +"It will be some job to root them out of them if we have to storm each +one of them in turn," remarked Bart. + +"We don't have to count on that," said Frank confidently. "The Allies +gained twenty-five miles at a clip when they drove Hindenburg back from +the Somme. The Huns may stand out a long while, but when the time comes +they may collapse all at once like the deacon's 'one-hoss shay.'" + +The Americans in the meantime had thoroughly reorganized the captured +positions and had held them against a number of strong counter-attacks. +But these became fewer as they failed to produce results, and although +the artillery still kept on growling and barking, the wearied infantry +had a chance to get some of the rest they so sorely needed after their +herculean efforts. + +"Nothing to do till to-morrow," yawned Billy, as after performing their +turn of trench duty they found themselves with an hour or two on their +hands. + +"Let's take a little hike back of the lines and see what's doing," +suggested Bart. + +"I think there's something in the wind connected with the tanks," +remarked Frank. "They say there's a bunch of them coming up from all +parts of the front and getting together just back of our division." + +"They're hot playthings, all right," commented Tom. "They certainly keep +the Huns on the jump. If we only had enough of them we might roll right +into Berlin." + +They passed some of the field batteries where the men, stripped to the +waist, were serving the guns, running the shells in and discharging +their weapons with marvelous smoothness, speed and precision. + +"This is the life," chaffed Tom. "You fellows have a picnic here away +back of the lines, while we chaps in the front line do all the work and +stop all the bullets." + +"G'wan, you doughboys," retorted a gunner good-naturedly. "If we're +alive here after eight days, the orders are to shoot us for loafing." + +A little further on, they came upon a myriad of tanks of all +descriptions. There were "baby" tanks, "whippets," "male" and "female," +all with different functions to perform during a battle. Just as in the +navy there are vessels of all sizes from a light scout to a +super-dreadnought, so already this arm of the service was developing +various grades, each to do some special work for which the others were +not so well adapted. + + +"See how they're hidden," said Frank, as he pointed to a very forest of +bushes and branches that extended above the array of tanks. + +"That's to keep the Boche aviators guessing," observed Bart. "They'd +give their eyes if they could only spy out where these fellows are being +massed." + +"I heard one of the fellows say that the tanks travel only at night so +that the Boches can't track them," said Tom. + +"And see what a raft of them have been got together here," said Billy. +"I tell you, fellows, there's something big going to be pulled off +before long." + +"Say, boys, see who's here!" exclaimed Frank, and they turned to see +Will Stone coming toward them with a broad smile of welcome on his +bronzed face. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BREAKING THROUGH + + +There was a rush toward Will Stone, and in a moment the Army boys were +shaking hands with a vigor that showed the pleasure they felt at again +meeting their acquaintance, who belonged to the tank division. + +"Say, fellows, have a heart," Will grinned. "I need these hands in my +business. But it sure does me good to see you again. And all of you +alive and kicking! I'll bet that's more than some of the Huns are that +you've run up against." + +"Oh, we're still able to sit up and take nourishment," laughed Frank. +"But tell us about yourself, old man. You look like ready money." + +"I see you have a marking different from what you had when we saw you +last," remarked Bart, looking at the insignia that proclaimed Will an +officer. + +"And look at that war cross!" cried Tom. "I guess you've been some busy +little bee to get that. Shake again, old scout." + +Stone flushed and looked a little embarrassed. + +"Only a few little skirmishes here and there," he said deprecatingly. +"But the real big thing is yet to come. Look at this army of tanks. +We've never had so many in one place since the war began." + +"Looks like a herd of elephants," commented Frank, as his eye ran along +the array that seemed to number hundreds. "They'll do more trampling +than any herd of elephants that ever trod the earth," remarked Stone +grimly. "But come along, fellows, and let me show you my own particular +pet. It's the biggest one of the bunch, and it's a peach! We call it +Jumbo, and it carries a crew of twenty men." + +They followed him till they came to a monster tank on which Stone placed +his hand caressingly. + +"Isn't it a beauty?" he asked, as he beamed upon them. + +"I should call it a holy terror," grinned Frank. + +"What the Huns will call it won't be fit for publication," laughed +Billy. + +"I guess they've already exhausted the German vocabulary," chuckled +Stone. "But just wait until this beauty of mine goes climbing over their +trenches and smashing their pill boxes and tearing away their +entanglements. Then they'll know what they're up against." + +"I only wish we could see you while you're doing it," remarked Tom. + +"Likely enough you will," replied Stone. "From things I've picked up +here and there I think the infantry will be right alongside of us in the +next big jamboree. Don't you fellows make any mistake about it, there's +going to be one of the biggest stunts of the war pulled off in the +course of the next few days. Mithridates with his elephants won't be a +circumstance to us with our tanks. There sure is bound to be some lovely +fighting." + +"Let it come!" exclaimed Tom. + +"And come quickly," chimed in Frank. + +"The only thing I'm sorry for is that you're in the Canadian +contingent," said Bart. "I want to see you leading the way in a U. S. A. +tank." + +"You may yet," replied Stone. "Uncle Sam will soon be sending over his +tanks, and you bet when they do come they'll be lallapaloozers with all +the modern improvements, and then some! And the minute that happens I'm +going to apply to be transferred to the United States army. These +Canadians are among the finest men in the world and they're doing +magnificent fighting, but still I'll feel more natural when I'm fighting +under the Stars and Stripes." + +"Well, that won't be long now," replied Frank. "Our men and our guns and +our tanks and everything else we need to lick the Kaiser will be coming +in droves pretty soon. And then watch our smoke." + +"Right you are," agreed Stone enthusiastically. + +Then as a trumpet rang out he added: "That's the signal for a rehearsal, +fellows, and I'll have to get on the job. We're going to put our +machines through their paces. I'm mighty glad to have seen you again, +and I wish you no end of luck." + +"Come over to our line when you get a chance and see the way our boys +are shaping up," was Frank's invitation, which was echoed heartily by +the others. + +"You bet I will," responded Stone, as with a wave of his hand he went to +his work, while the boys strolled back to their quarters. + +"He's the real stuff," commented Frank. "All wool and a yard wide." + +"He'd rather fight than eat," observed Tom. + +"If the Canadians take him as a sample, no wonder they're glad to see +Uncle Sam mix in," remarked Billy. + +Some days went by, days of steady rush and preparation. It was evident +that some big operation was near at hand. Troops were moved up from +other portions of the long line that stretched from Switzerland to the +sea. There were the bronzed Tommies in khaki, the snappy, dashing poilus +in their uniforms of corn-flower blue, veterans hardened in a score of +battles from Ypres to Verdun. And right alongside of them in closest +comradeship and gallant rivalry were the stalwart sons of the United +States of America, the very flower of her youth, who had already had +their baptism of fire and who had sworn to themselves that no flag +should be further in the van than Old Glory when it came to the stern +test of battle. + +Nearer and nearer the tanks had crept to the front of the line and taken +up their places in front of great openings that had been made in the +wire entanglements and skilfully concealed from the enemy. + +A certain number of them were assigned to lead each regiment, and the +Camport boys' delight was great when they saw that Jumbo, with a squad +of assisting tanks, had been told off to lead their regiment. + +"Just what the doctor ordered," exulted Frank, when he saw Stone step +out of the door of the monster tank. + +"We'll follow you, old man, till the cows come home," called Bart, as +the boys crowded around the young operator. + +"We'll try to make a broad path for you," laughed Stone, as he returned +their greeting cordially. + +"When is the show coming off?" asked Billy. + +"Almost any time now, I guess," replied Stone. "About all we need is a +nice misty morning. It's up to the weather sharps to tip us off. Then +we'll amble over and give the Huns a little shaking up." + +Several days passed with the weather exasperatingly clear. Usually the +soldiers would have welcomed the bright sunny mornings. But now, when +they were keyed up to a high pitch, the one thing they longed for was a +dull and lowering sky that would favor the great enterprise they had on +hand. + +"You might think the boys were a lot of grangers after a dry spell, from +the way they're praying for rain," remarked Billy, as for the hundredth +time he scanned the sky. + +"Remember how different it used to be when we had a baseball game on +hand?" laughed Frank. "Then a gleam of sunshine was like money from home +after you'd been broke for a week." + +"That cloud a little while ago looked as though it might have had +thunder and lightning behind it," observed Bart, "but it was only a +false alarm." + +"Nothing but wind, like a German bulletin," grinned Billy, stretching +himself. + +"Or their U-boat prophecies," added Frank. "But cheer up, fellows, this +sunshine can't last forever." + +There came at last just the kind of weather wanted. A soft drizzle set +in at nightfall, not enough to make the ground muddy, but enough to make +the steaming and saturated air lie heavy on the earth. Everything +indicated that there would be a fog at dawn. + +"I guess to-morrow's the big day," remarked Frank, as he looked out at +the settling mists. + +"High time," grumbled Tom. "I'd grow stale if we had to wait much +longer." + +The regiments slept on their arms that night, and an hour before dawn +all were astir and in their places. There was no special artillery fire, +such as usually preceded big attacks. It was given to the tanks to level +the entanglements of the enemy and open up the gaps for the troops to +swarm through. + +The hour dragged by until within ten minutes of the time appointed for +the assault. Then a monotonous hum filled the air as the motors of the +tanks tuned up. Down through the black lines of waiting soldiers the +gray monsters slowly made their way, passed through the gaps made in the +defences and led the way into the desolate stretch of No Man's Land. + +Even to the friendly eyes that watched them there was something weird +and frightful in their aspect. It was as though the huge brutes of the +prehistoric world had taken form before them. Even those monsters had +never carried within them such death-dealing power. + +As the sea closes in the wake of a ship, the troops fell in behind the +tanks, and the silent procession took up the march toward the German +lines. + +Hardly a sound beyond the labored breathing of the tanks broke the +stillness. It might have been an army of ghosts. + +On they went, and with every step the conviction grew that the surprise +would be complete. No thunder broke from the enemy guns. No fiery +barrage swept the dense ranks, exacting its toll of wounds and death. +For once the Hun was asleep. + +Nearer and nearer. Then like so many thunderbolts at a hundred different +points they struck the German lines and the tanks went through! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +CAUGHT NAPPING + + +Nothing could stand before the terrific impact of the war tanks. + +There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, as wire entanglements +were uprooted. These had been strengthened in every way that German +cunning could invent, but they bent like straws beneath the onslaught of +the gray monsters. A cyclone could not have done the work more +thoroughly. + +There was no need now for further secrecy, and with a wild yell the +Allied troops swarmed through the gaps, sending a deadly volley before +them, supplemented by thousands of grenades. + +At the same instant, the Allied artillery opened up and laid a heavy +barrage fire over the heads of the onrushing troops. + +The blow came down on the Germans with crushing force. The surprise was +complete. Every detail of the great drive had been mapped out with the +precision of clockwork, and so nicely had it been timed that on every +part of the long line the shock came like a thunderbolt. + +A horde of Germans rushed up from the trenches and poured in a great +stream into the open. The earth seemed to disgorge itself. They came +shouting and yelling in wild consternation, their eyes heavy with sleep +and their faces pallid with fear. + +Fear not so much of the Allied troops rushing upon them. These they had +faced in many battles, and though they knew the mettle of their foes, +they were still men who could be faced on even terms. But their courage +gave way when through the spectral mists they saw the wallowing monsters +bearing down on them like so many Juggernauts, crushing, tearing, mowing +them down as though they were insects in the path of giants. + +The men fled helter-skelter in the wildest panic that had come upon them +since the outbreak of the war. In vain their officers shouted and cursed +at them. The iron bonds of discipline snapped like threads. Soldiers +rushed hither and thither like ants whose hill had been demolished by a +ruthless foot. + +Many fled back toward their second line, pursued by a withering blast of +rifle fire that reaped a terrible harvest of wounds and death. Others +rushed back into their trenches, crowding and treading upon one another. +But even here they were not safe from the great tanks, which lumbered +down into the trenches and up on the other side, leaving devastation in +their wake, spitting out flame from the guns they carried, while they +themselves in their iron armor went on uninjured. + +Not only were they frightful engines of offense, but they served as well +for defense of the troops that followed after them. + +For the first few minutes the slaughter was awful, and it looked as +though the whole German line would be forced to give way without putting +up any resistance worthy of the name. Prisoners were rounded up by the +hundreds. There was no time then to send them to the rear. So they were +gathered together in the open spaces, their suspenders were cut so that +their trousers would slip down and entangle their legs if they tried to +escape in the confusion, a small guard was put over them, and the tanks +and the troops went thundering on toward the second line. + +But here the resistance began to stiffen. The first paralysis of +surprise was past. The heavy guns of the enemy opened up, and from +scores of machine gun nests and pill boxes came a storm of bullets. The +German officers had got their troops under some semblance of control, +and heavy reinforcements were rushed up from the rear. From now on the +Allies had an awakened and powerful foe to reckon with. + +But despite the sterner opposition, the tanks were not to be denied. On +they went, as resistless as fate. Their sides were reddened now, and the +wake they left behind them was fearful to look upon. + +Through the second line entanglements they crashed as easily as through +the first, although this time they met with losses. Some had overturned +and others had been struck by heavy shells and put out of action. But +even though disabled, the guns on one side or the other were still able +to pour out their messengers of death and take savage toll of the enemy. + +Jumbo was leading, and close behind followed the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh, with Frank and his chums in the van. They were fighting +like young Vikings, their rifles empty but their bayonets and hand +grenades doing deadly work. Their arms were tired by their terrific +efforts, but their hearts were on fire. They felt as though they were +treading on air, and the blood ran through their veins like quicksilver. +Bunker Hill and Gettysburg spoke through them. The traditions of a +hundred glorious battlefields on which Americans had fought was theirs. +Now again Americans were fighting, fighting to avenge the murdered women +and babies of the Lusitania, fighting to crush the most barbarous +tyranny the modern world has known, fighting the battle of freedom and +civilization. + + +So they fought on like demons, smashing a pill box here, routing out a +machine gun nest there, until the second line was carried. Then the +conquerors paused for breath. + +On the whole German front in that region two lines deep the line had +been smashed. That crowded hour of stark fighting had cracked the +boasted invincible line of Hindenburg and sent the foe flying in +confusion toward their third and most formidable line. Thousands of +prisoners and scores of guns were among the spoils of victory. + +And the most gratifying feature of the drive was the insignificant loss +to the Allied forces. The resistance at first had been only slight, and +even in the second phase of the battle it had been so quickly overcome +that few of the attacking troops had fallen. Seldom had so great an +advance been made at so small a price. + +But modern warfare has its limits in the matter of time and speed. The +very swiftness with which they had advanced had in itself an element of +danger because it had brought them too far ahead of their supporting +guns. These had to be brought up from the rear, and the captured +positions had to be reorganized. The troops, too, had to be given a +breathing spell, for they had reached the limit of human endurance. + +So a halt was called, and the wearied men took turns in resting and +refreshing themselves for the hard work that still lay ahead of them. + +"A mighty good morning's work," panted Frank, as he threw himself down +at the roots of a giant tree which had been utterly stripped of branches +and even of bark by the tempest of fire that had raged around it. + +"Ask a German and see if he'd agree with you," said Billy with a grin. + +"We've got plenty to ask," said Tom, as his eyes roved over the throng +of prisoners. "We sure have taken a raft of them this morning. And +there's a still bigger bunch that will never answer roll call again." + +There was food in plenty, but they did not have to avail themselves of +the rations they carried in their kits. There were the camp kitchens of +the enemy that in a twinkling were set to work, and soon the savory +odors of steaming stews and fragrant coffee filled the smoke-laden air +and brought joy to the hearts of the victors. + +Frank, Bart, Billy and Tom were lucky enough to stumble on a meal that +had already been started for some German officers, and they were +surprised to find it so good and abundant. + +"The Germans may be starving, but there's no sign of it here," remarked +Frank, as he threw himself down on the ground with a sigh of relief. + +"Trust the Huns to look after their soldiers, even if the civilians +starve," replied Bart. "The people don't count in Germany. Only the +military are taken seriously. They take the middle of the sidewalk and +others are crowded to the wall." + +"Well, I'm not quarreling with them just now on that account," grinned +Billy. "I'm just glad there's plenty of grub here this morning." + +"I'm not very partial to German cooking as a rule," chuckled Tom, "but +this stew certainly smells good. How the Boche officers would grit their +teeth if they saw us wading into this." + +But his rejoicing was premature, for just at this moment a cannon shot +from the German lines tore its way through the kettle and the scalding +broth was spattered all over the group that were lying about. Luckily it +did no other damage, but the chagrin of the boys was comical to see. + +"I'd like to have hold of the gunner that fired that shot," sputtered +Tom wrathfully, as he wiped from his face some of the stew that had +fallen to his share. + +"You ought to have knocked wood when you talked of the German officers +seeing us wading into their chow," growled Bart. "There's a perfectly +good stew gone to the dogs." + +"Nothing personal in that, I hope," laughed Frank, "because most of it +came to us." + +"I like mine inside," put in Billy, as he gingerly removed a piece of +meat from his ear. "As an outside decoration I'm dead against stew." + +"Well, cheer up, fellows," remarked Frank. "The stew's past praying for, +but there's a lot of other things. And anyway we ought to be mighty +thankful that the shot didn't remove some of us from the landscape as +well as the kettle." + +"What's the big noise about?" asked a cheery voice, and they looked up +to see Will Stone regarding them with a quizzical grin. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + +The four Camport boys greeted Stone joyfully and gladly made room for +him. + +"It's another German atrocity," grinned Billy. "They were sore at us for +swiping their grub and they sent our kettle to smithereens." + +"I'm glad they don't know about it anyway," said Tom. "I don't want any +Boche to have the laugh on me." + +"I guess they're not doing much laughing this morning," remarked Will +Stone, as he dropped down on the ground beside them. "Or if they are, +it's on the wrong side of their mouths." + +"We've certainly waxed them good and plenty," said Bart +enthusiastically. + +"Jumbo was all to the good this morning," exulted Frank. "It did my +heart good to see the way he ploughed along. There was nothing to it +after he got started." + +"He certainly scattered the Huns good and plenty," chortled Billy. "They +ran like hares." + +"He does for 'em all right," agreed Stone, glad to have his pride in his +giant pet justified. "And the best of it is that, although the bullets +came against his hide like hail on a tin roof, he came through +practically without a scratch. He sure is a tough old fellow." + +"The tanks are wonders," chimed in Tom. "They've won this fight. It was +scrumptious the way they tore those entanglements up by the roots. +Without 'em we'd have lost ten times as many men as we did." + +"So far we've gotten off pretty easily," agreed Stone, "but the hardest +part of the fighting is coming. The Boches have got their second wind by +this time, and there can't be any more surprises. You fellows would +better fill up now, for you'll have to have plenty to stand up on." + +"Trust us," laughed Billy. "We may be slow in some things, but when it +comes to filling up, we're some pumpkins. But I certainly do feel sore +about that stew." + +"Billy'll never get over that," laughed Bart. "He had his mouth all +fixed for it. No other stew in all his life will ever taste so good to +him as this one that he didn't get." + +"It's always the biggest fish that gets away," laughed Stone, as he fell +to with the rest. + +While they were eating, there was a thunder of hoofs along the road. +This had been such an unusual occurrence up to date that they sprang to +their feet with eager interest. + +Then the cavalry swept by. + +Fine fellows the cavalrymen were on splendid mounts, which they bestrode +as though they had never done anything else in all their lives. For +months past they had chafed under restraint, for since the struggle had +settled down to trench warfare they had seldom seen service except on +foot. But now their turn had come, for with the broken line of the enemy +had come a call for the cavalry to pursue and complete the +demoralization of the foe. + +"Some class to that bunch," remarked Tom, as he watched the flying +column with an appraising eye. + +"A little faster than your tanks, old scout?" remarked Bart, giving +Stone a nudge in the ribs. + +"They sure are," admitted Stone. "But don't forget that though we may be +slow we get there just the same." + +After a brief resting spell the lines were reformed and the fighting was +resumed. The space between the second and the third lines was a wide +one, and the country was hilly, with numerous lanes and ravines. These +were being held in greater or less force by enemy troops posted in +advantageous positions supported by machine guns, while beyond them +their big guns kept up a heavy fire to prevent the Allied advance. + +To clean these up and get ready for an attack upon the third line was a +work of hours, as every foot of advance was bitterly contested by the +Germans, who had now recovered from their surprise and fought +desperately to stem the tide that had overwhelmed their first position. + +There were two or three villages in the fighting zone and one town of +considerable size. Not that it was a town now in any real sense of the +word. What had once been houses were now mere pitiful heaps of wood and +stone and mortar, and their inhabitants had long since been dispossessed +or slain. It stood gaunt and desolate and forbidding in its mute protest +against the pitiless storm of war to which it had fallen a victim. + +In cleaning out a particularly obnoxious nest of machine gun positions +Frank and his friends had been kept busy until nearly noon. But at last +the guns were silenced and the crews wiped out or captured. + +The boys started to regain their main force, but the country was +unfamiliar and they took a turning in the road which led toward the +German lines instead of toward their own. + +"Gee!" remarked Tom as they trudged along, "maybe I'm not tired. My feet +feel as though they weighed a ton." + +"Perhaps they do," gibed Billy unfeelingly. "Considering the size of +them, I should say a ton was just about right." + +"I notice your hoofs are not so small," retorted Tom. "But how much +longer is this hike going to take?" + +"Search me," responded Frank. "To tell the truth, I'm twisted up about +the direction. Seems to me we ought to strike some of our troops soon." + +"It would be funny if we walked straight into the German lines," +observed Billy. + +"Funny!" snorted Tom. "Yes, as funny as a funeral. Some people have a +queer sense of humor." + +They were passing a hedge that walled off an orchard from the road when +Frank, who was ahead, saw before him a great wave of gray uniforms +coming around a bend in the road. + +"Quick, fellows," he whispered. "Over the hedge and down on the ground." + +Like a flash the boys were out of sight, and not one instant too soon, +for a moment later they could see through the hedge what seemed to be an +endless line of gray uniforms going past at the double quick. They were +evidently hurrying forward to reinforce their hard-pressed comrades +farther down the road. + +The boys lay still as death until the troops had passed, and then looked +at each other ruefully. + +"We're cut off," ejaculated Frank. "Those fellows are between us and our +line." + +"Looks pretty bad," said Bart. + +"This is a pretty kettle of fish," grumbled Tom. "Let's cut across the +orchard and see if we can find some of our boys." + +They acted on the suggestion, but found to their dismay that the Germans +were everywhere. In whatever direction they looked the only uniforms +they saw were the detested field gray. The Germans had rallied and the +boys had been caught in the swirl of the returning tide. + +"We'll have to hide somewhere until our men drive back the Huns and get +as far as this orchard," said Billy. + +"We're up against it for fair," growled Tom disconsolately. + +"It's easy enough to talk of hiding, but where shall we hide?" asked +Bart. "If we stay here above ground we're bound to be spotted before +long." + +"Let's make our way toward the town," suggested Frank. "There wasn't a +soul in sight there a few minutes ago. It seemed to be wholly deserted. +There must be plenty of hiding places in those heaps of stones, or +perhaps we can stow ourselves away in a cellar. Let's get a hustle on, +too, or we'll know sooner than we want to what a prison camp looks +like." + +As quickly as they dared they crept along, using every bit of cover that +offered itself until they reached the outskirts of what had been the +town. As Frank had said, it appeared to be wholly deserted at the +moment. It was clear that all available forces had been summoned away to +stem the great drive. + +Having satisfied themselves that there was no one about they moved +cautiously from one street to another seeking some place of refuge. The +prospect was not hopeful, for there was scarcely a room in a single +house that was not gaping wide open. Doors were gone and windows had +vanished. There was hardly a place where anything as large as a cat +could be free from detection. + +"A mighty slim outlook," grumbled Tom, as they crouched close to a pile +of masonry near the corner of a street. + +"Stop grouching," counseled Frank. "We may stumble across something at +any minute." + +"Stumble is right," said Bart, as he rubbed a barked shin. "I've been +doing nothing else since we got in among these rock piles." + +"That house over the way there seems in a little better condition than +the rest of these heaps," suggested Billy, pointing a little way down +the street. + +"We'll try our luck there," said Frank, and again their cautious journey +was resumed. + +They reached the place and squeezed themselves in through a narrow +opening on a side that had faced a tiny yard bordered by a wall about +eight feet in height. + +There had been three rooms on the ground floor of the house, but all +three had been knocked into one by the visitation of shells. The boys +picked their way over the uneven masses of plaster, and Frank gave an +exclamation as he perceived an opening that seemed to lead down into a +cellar. + +"This way, fellows," he said as he looked down into the darkness. "I +don't see any stairs here but we can take a chance and drop. It doesn't +seem very deep. One of you hold this gun of mine and I'll go first." + +There was a chance of spraining an ankle if nothing worse, but luckily +he landed safely. + +"All serene," he called up in a low tone. "Hand me down your guns and +then come along." + +They did so, and the four found themselves in a cluttered cellar that by +feeling around with their hands they found to be about thirty feet long +by twenty in width. There was a furnace which had been broken into a +pile of junk and a little light filtering down showed where a pipe had +formerly gone through to the upper floor. There were a number of barrels +in one corner, but apart from these the cellar seemed to hold nothing +but rubbish. + +"It's as dark as Egypt down here," grumbled Tom. + +"So much the better," replied Bart. "There'll be that much less chance +of a Heinie seeing us if he takes the trouble to look down here." + +"So this is where we've got to hang out until our boys get here," +remarked Billy, grinning. "It reminds me of the Waldorf-Astoria--it's so +different." + +"Never mind," said Frank cheerfully, "it's a thousand per cent. better +than a Hun prison camp, and don't you forget it!" + +"You said a mouthful that time," replied the irrepressible Billy, with +more force than elegance. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + +"The first thing to do is to make a barricade of these barrels," said +Frank, when the four privates had made an inventory of what the cellar +afforded in the way of defense. + +"They will help us in putting up a fight if the Huns discover us here," +agreed Bart. + +"Let's see if there's anything in them," suggested Billy. + +"Swell chance," commented Tom. "They smell as if they'd had wine or beer +in them, and you can trust the Heinies to have drained them to the last +drop. Not that I want any of the stuff, but if they were full they'd +stop a bullet better than if they were empty." + +They tested the barrels by knocking against them with the butts of their +rifles and the hollow sound they gave back proved that Tom had +conjectured truly. + +"Dry as the Desert of Sahara," pronounced Frank. + +"And that reminds me," said Bart. "What are we going to do for water to +drink? We've got grub enough in our kits to last us a couple of days in +a pinch. But we can't hold out long without something to wash it down +with." + +"We won't worry about that yet," said Frank. "I stepped into a puddle +over in one corner while we were going round here. I suppose that came +from the rain we had last night. It doesn't fit my idea of what drinking +water ought to be, but it's a mighty sight better than dying of thirst." + +They got out their stock of food and decided that with careful rationing +they had enough for two days. + +"And that will be plenty," prophesied Billy. "Our fellows will be here +before long. Perhaps this very night we'll be with the old bunch again." + +"I wish I had your cheery disposition," growled Tom. "When any one hands +you a lemon----" + +"I make lemonade out of it," came back Billy, and there was a general +laugh. + +"That's the way to talk," said Frank. "The Huns haven't got us yet, and +even this hole is better than a German prison camp." + +"You bet!" responded Billy. "From all I hear those places are something +fierce. A fellow had better die fighting than die of abuse or +starvation." + +"That's what," agreed Bart. "And that's another thing that shows how low +the Huns have stooped in this war. Look at the way we treat them when we +take them prisoners. They live on the fat of the land. Of course the +Germans haven't as much food in their country as we have, and we don't +expect so much for our men in the matter of grub, although even at that +they don't get enough to keep body and soul together. But it's sickening +to hear of the way they torture them. One of their favorite sports is to +set dogs on 'em. If a man doesn't move quickly enough to suit 'em they +stick a bayonet into him. It's low beastly tyranny that puts them on a +level with the Turks. It's no wonder that Germany is coming to be hated +and despised by the whole world." + +"Did you hear of the fire that happened in one of their camps?" queried +Tom. "There was a hut in one corner of the camp with five men in it. It +caught fire and the men, who couldn't get out of the door because it was +locked, tried to get out of the window. The sentry thrust his bayonet +into the first man, and threw him back into the flames. The poor fellow +made another attempt and again the sentry ran the bayonet into him. And +every one of the five men burned to death, though every one of them +could have been saved. What do you think of that, fellows? Isn't it the +limit?" + +"They'll get theirs," said Frank bitterly. "They can't sow the wind +without reaping the whirlwind. They'll surely pay, soon or late, for +every bit of this brutality. + +"I hope it will be soon," said Billy. "I'm getting impatient." + +"It won't be long if we can keep up the pace we set this morning," said +Bart. "Gee, how our tanks went through those wires as though they were +rotten cord." + +"And our guns are keeping it up," said Frank. "Just listen to that roar. +What a shame it is we can't be out there doing our bit. It makes me feel +like a slacker." + +"It's the fortune of war," said Billy philosophically. "But it's might +hard luck just the same that we took the wrong direction after we +cleared up that machine gun nest so neatly. But let's have a hack at +that grub, fellows. Oh, boy, if we only had some of that stew we lost +this morning!" + + "That stew still sticks in Billy's crop," laughed Frank. + +"I only wish it did," mourned Billy. "But it never got that far." + +"Well, just remember, fellows, that we're on rations now," warned Frank +as he doled out a little portion to each from the common stock they had +pooled together. "We've got to make this last as long as we can. If we +feel hungry when we get through we'll just have to tighten our belts and +let it go at that." + +They ate sparingly, but, although they were all thirsty, especially +after the heat and excitement of the fighting, it was a long time before +they could bring themselves to drink from the pool in the corner of the +cellar. They finally had to come to it, however, though they tried to +make it less repugnant by filtering it through the only clean +handkerchief they could muster among them. + +The time dragged on interminably in their narrow quarters. They tried to +sleep, but though they were very tired after their strenuous day, the +novelty and discomfort of their position kept them on edge. + +The daylight finally vanished from the little opening in the floor above +and the darkness became absolute. They had matches in their kits, but +they feared to use them lest some prowling sentry might see the light +through some rift in the masonry. + +The roar of the heavy artillery had died down, though the guns still +gave out an occasional challenge. The fighting for the day was evidently +at an end. But there had been no clash in the streets of the ruined town +to betoken the arrival of the Allied forces. However they might have +fared in other parts of the battlefield, the town itself had not been +wrested from the Germans. In all probability the boys were still in the +midst of their enemies. + +"Another night as well as a day to stay in this shebang," remarked Tom +when the hope of immediate rescue had failed them. + +"Oh, well, to-morrow's a new day," said Frank. "A lot may happen between +now and to-morrow night. Our grub will hold out till then anyway, and if +nothing better turns up we'll make a dash and try to reach our lines." + +He had scarcely stopped speaking when there was a loud clattering in the +street as though a cavalry troop were passing through. + +"Perhaps those are our men now!" exclaimed Billy jubilantly. + +"Perhaps," assented Frank. "And they seem to be coming this way." + +The pace of the horses died down as they neared the house, and they +finally stopped just before it. The boys could hear the troopers +dismount and a moment later they heard footsteps on the floor above. + +They listened intently. Would the first words they heard be English or +German? If the first it would mean a boisterous shout to the men above +and a hasty and joyful scramble out of their prison. If the second, it +would mean that they were in imminent danger of capture or death. + +A light filtered down through the hole where the stovepipe had been. +Somebody above had struck a match. But he had evidently burned his +fingers as he did so, for the light went out and there was an impatient +exclamation. + +"_Donnerwetter_!" + +Just one word, but it made the hearts of the listening boys go down into +their boots. + +For it was a German who just then struck a second match and lighted a +candle, and it was a German cavalry troop whose horses stood before the +door. + +But for what purpose had they entered the house? Were they in search of +the boys? Had any one seen them entering the house and given +information? + +"Be ready, fellows," whispered Frank. "It looks as if we were in for a +scrap." + +They clutched their rifles firmly to be ready for whatever might happen. + +But it was not long before they realized that this sudden irruption had +nothing to do with them. What seemed to be a bench or a table was +dragged across the floor and one or more candles placed upon it. There +seemed to be half a dozen or more officers in the room, and they were +soon engaged in an earnest conversation. + +"I never thought much of the German language," whispered Bart to Billy, +"but I'd give a farm to understand it now." + +"If Frank only knew German as well as he does French," responded Billy, +"we might pick up something that our officers would give a lot to know." + +For perhaps half an hour the raucous tones above continued. The debate +was at times an angry one and was punctuated by the sound of fists +brought heavily down on a table. Just after one of these, the stovepipe +hole was dimmed by something that shut off the light from the room +above. It floated down with a slight rustle and the boys could see that +it was a paper of some kind. + +In an instant Frank had crept across and grabbed the paper, thrusting it +into the bosom of his shirt. Then he moved swiftly back to the shelter +of the barricade. + +"That was taking a chance, old boy," whispered Bart, as his friend +resumed his place among them. "If you'd knocked against anything and the +Huns had heard you, they'd have been down here in a jiffy." + +"I suppose it was a little risky," returned Frank, "but we've got to +take risks sometimes, and it struck me that there might be something in +that paper that our officers would like to know." + +Just then Billy, in trying to get in a less cramped position, knocked +against one of the rifles that had been stood in a corner. It fell +against one of the barrels with a clatter that in the confined place and +the tense state of the boys' nerves sounded to them like thunder. + +Frank grabbed it before it could fall on the cellar floor, but it seemed +as though the mischief must have been done, and their hearts were in +their mouths as they listened for anything that might indicate that the +sound had been heard on the floor above. + +But the debate had reached a lively stage just at that moment, and the +incident attracted no attention, so that after two minutes more of +strained listening the boys were assured that they had come off scot +free from what might have been a disaster. + +"This is sure no place for a man with heart disease," murmured Tom, and +his comrades unanimously agreed with him. + +The conference in the room above had come to an end, as was shown by the +shuffling of feet as the men rose from the table. There was a sound as +of a sheaf of papers being hastily gathered together. But there was no +outcry to indicate that any one of them was missing, and the boys drew a +long breath and relaxed their grasp on their rifles. There would be no +search, and for the moment they were safe. + +The lights above were extinguished and the party went out. The horses +clattered away, and once more the house and the town were as still as +the grave. + +"So near and yet so far," murmured Frank, when he was sure that the last +of the unwelcome visitors had departed. + +"That was what you might call too close for comfort," grinned Billy. + +"They wouldn't have done a thing to us if they had nabbed us," declared +Bart. "We wouldn't have had a Chinaman's chance. No prison camp for +ours! They'd have shot us down like dogs! They'd have reasoned that we +had heard their military plans, and that would have been all the excuse +they wanted." + +"Not that they would care whether they had the excuse or not," said +Billy. "The mere fact that a German wants to do anything makes it all +right to do it." + +"How they'd froth at the mouth if they knew Frank had that paper," +remarked Tom. "I wonder what it is." + +"It has a seal on it and it feels as if it were heavy and official," +replied Frank. "I don't want to strike a match now, but I'll take a +squint at it when daylight comes. Probably it's in German, and if it is +I can't read it. But they'll read it at headquarters all right, and it +may queer some of Heinie's plans." + +They conversed in whispers a little while longer, and then made ready to +go to sleep. Their preparations were not extensive, and consisted +chiefly in finding a place where no sharp edge of stone bored into the +small of their backs. But they were too tired to be critical, and after +putting away the food in a corner and arranging to stand watch turn and +turn about they soon forgot their troubles in sleep. + +When they awoke the light shining through the hole in the floor told +them that it was day. + +"Time you fellows opened your eyes," remarked Tom, who had been standing +the last watch. "If you hadn't I'd have booted you awake anyway, for you +were snoring loud enough to bring the whole German army down on you." + +"I'd hate to call you an out and out prevaricator, Tom," remarked Billy, +rubbing his eyes and running his hands through his tumbled hair, "so +I'll simply say that you use the truth with great economy. Suppose you +bring me my breakfast. I think I'll eat it in bed this morning." + +He dodged the shoe that Tom threw at his head and rose laughingly to his +feet. + +"Mighty bad manners the people have at this hotel," he remarked, "but +since you feel that way about it I'll take my grub any way I can get it. +Haul it out from that corner, Bart, and let's have a hack at it. I'm +hungry enough to eat nails this morning." + +Bart needed no second request, for he was quite as hungry as his mates. +But when he picked up the canvas wrapper in which the food had been +stored he dropped it with a startled exclamation. + +"What's the matter?" cried Frank. + +"Matter enough," replied Bart. "The bag's empty. There isn't a blessed +thing in it." + +The others rushed him under the light that came from above and examined +the wrapper with sinking hearts. What Bart had said was true. Not a +crumb was left. + +There was no mystery about it. The gnawed and tattered holes in the bag +told their own story. It was summed up in the one word that came from +their lips simultaneously. "Rats!" + +Their four-footed enemies had perhaps brought them nearer capture than +their human enemies had been able to do. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +CHASED BY CAVALRY + + +The four Army boys looked at each other in dismay. + +Nothing much worse than this could have befallen them. It brought them +close to the edge of tragedy. They would have to change their plans. +Instead of being free to choose their own time for their attempt to +escape, they were forced to act quickly no matter how much greater the +risk might be. For if they waited until they were weak from hunger they +would be in no condition to make a dash or put up a fight. + +Frank as usual was the first to recover his self-possession. + +"No use crying over spilt milk, fellows," he said, trying to infuse +cheerfulness into his tone. "We've got to try Billy's recipe and make +lemonade from the lemon that the rats have handed us." + +"It's a mighty big lemon," said Tom, "and I don't see much sugar lying +around." + +"How could the brutes have got at it without our hearing them, do you +suppose?" questioned Bart. + +"That doesn't matter much," replied Billy. "And there's no use holding +post-mortems. The thing is, what are we going to do?" + +"We're going to get out of here to-night without fail," said Frank +decidedly. "The moon won't come up till late and if the night is cloudy +it won't show up at all. At any rate we can't stay here. There isn't a +chance on earth of there being anything left in these houses, or we +might take a chance on foraging. The Huns have seen to that. The longer +we stay here the weaker we'll get. We've just got to make a break and +trust our wits and our luck to get back to the lines." + +"I guess you're right, old man," agreed Bart. "We'll just move our belts +up a hole and pretend we're not hungry. Tom here's getting too fat +anyway, and it'll do him good to give his stomach a rest. And as for +Billy, he can take a nap and dream of that stew he didn't get." + +"There's another thing, too," remarked Frank. "Those rats are likely to +come back to-night for more, and they may have spread the news and bring +a whole rat colony with them. No doubt they're famished since there's +nothing left in the town to eat, and if there are enough of them they +might go for us. Of course we could beat them off, but we'd be apt to +make a lot of noise in doing it, and that might bring the Huns down on +us. There's no use talking, we've got to skip." + +They all agreed to this, and they passed the rest of that day as best +they could until the light faded from the hole in the floor and night +settled down in a pall of velvet. They clambered out of their temporary +prison, their hearts beating with high determination. + +They ventured out at last into the darkness, slipping along from one +projection of the ruined houses to another, moving as lightly and +stealthily as cats. + +To one thing they had made up their minds. There would be no going back +to their old hiding place. That meant either starvation or surrender. +Besides, if they turned back on being discovered, the Germans would know +that they were hiding somewhere in the ruined town and they would not +leave one stone on another until they found them. But if they made a +break for the open country they would have their chance of escaping in +the darkness. On they went like so many spectres, until, on reaching a +shattered doorway, they crept close together for a whispered parley. + +"So far so good," murmured Frank. + +"Luck's been with us," agreed Bert. + +"We can stand a whole lot of luck in this business," whispered Tom. + +"It's a long, long way yet to our own lines," said Billy. "We haven't +got more than a couple of blocks away from our old hangout, and there's +no telling how much further it is before we strike the open country." + +Just then a stone toppled from a wall and fell with a crash only a few +feet away. In their tense state of alertness the unexpected sound made +them jump. + +"Just as well we weren't under that," remarked Frank, with a sigh of +relief. + +"Let's hope it won't bring some German sentry along to see what's making +the racket," responded Bart. + +"Just what it is doing," whispered Tom, as he heard a step approaching. +"Quick, fellows, get further back and lie down flat." + +They almost ceased to breathe as a dim form passed by so close that they +could almost have reached out and touched him. But the dust still rising +from the shattered stone convinced the visitor that nature and not man +was responsible for the disturbance, and, with a grunt of satisfaction +that it was nothing worse, the sentry returned to his former post. + +But the promptness with which he had appeared warned the fugitives that +the town, desolate as it was, was still under guard, and they redoubled +their precautions. However dangerous it might be, they must go on. The +moon would rise before long, and they must make the most of the pitchy +darkness that still prevailed. + +Listening with all their ears and straining their eyes until they ached, +they made their way through the littered streets until they realized +from their frequent encounters with bush and hedge that they were +getting into the open country. + +Huddled close in a thicket, they consulted the radio compass that Frank +drew from his pocket. That gave them the general direction in which they +must go. They knew that in general their course led toward the west, +but, as they could not tell what changes had taken place in the position +of the armies as the result of the two days' fighting, they had no idea +of how long it might take them to reach the American lines. + +They got their bearings due west and set off. They were making fair +progress when they were startled by hearing the clatter of hoofs a +little ahead of them. + +"Listen!" hissed Bart. + +"It's a cavalry troop," whispered Frank, as he flattened himself behind +a bush, an example that was promptly followed by the others. + +"Troop!" growled Tom. "It sounds more like a brigade." + +"Uhlans, probably," conjectured Billy. + +They peered through the bushes at the broad road not more than twenty +feet away. + +At that moment the moon showed a slender rim above the horizon and +threaded the darkness with a faint shimmer of light. + +Along the road came a force of cavalry. The guttural voices of the +riders told the concealed watchers that they belonged to the enemy. In +the dim light they could see the steam that rose from the horses' +flanks. + +Those days had been the first for a long time that cavalry could be used +on the western front. Trench fighting had put that arm of the service +almost wholly out of action. But the fact that the Allies had followed +up their tank attack with cavalry had brought forth a German response of +the same nature. + +There was no sign of elation among the riders, and the boys drew +pleasure from that. A dejected air prevailed, as though the Uhlans had +had the worst of it. + +"Guess they've had the hot end of the poker," whispered Bart. + +"Looks like it," replied Frank. + +Something just then frightened one of the horses, and he reared and +plunged into the bushes at the side of the road. The boys had all they +could do to scramble out of reach of the iron-shod hoofs. The rider was +almost unhorsed, but managed to retain his seat and quiet his trembling +mount. + +By the time he had done this, the troopers had almost passed. The boys +were rejoicing at this, but their exultation changed to uneasiness when +the soldier who had had so much trouble rode up to an officer and began +to talk volubly, at the same time pointing toward the bushes. + +"Here's where I see trouble coming," muttered Tom. + +"He's on to us," agreed Bart. + +"He must have seen us when we got out of his way," said Frank. "Let's +get out of here, quick." + +But this was not to be done so easily, for even as he spoke the officer +rapped out a command and a group of twenty horsemen began to spread out +and surround the place where the Army boys were crouching. + +To remain there would be fatal, for it was only a matter of a few +minutes before that ring would close upon them with a grip of iron. At +all hazards they must break through. + +"Stick together, fellows," murmured Frank. "Get your rifles ready. We +can't miss at this distance. When I say the word, give them a volley and +make a break for the road. It's our only chance, for they'd surely round +us up in these bushes." + +"We're with you, boy," replied Bart, and the little party crouched lower +with their fingers on trigger. + +Frank waited until the nearest horsemen were not more than ten feet +away. Then he sprang to his feet with a shout. + +"Fire!" he cried, and a stream of flame leaped from the bushes. + +Two of the riders threw up their hands and pitched from their saddles. A +third seized with his left hand the rein that dropped from his right. +There was a moment of confusion, and Frank and his comrades took instant +advantage of it. + +With a rush they reached the road and tore down it for dear life, while +behind them thundered the Uhlans in hot pursuit! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BROKEN BRIDGE + + +The Army boys had no idea where the road led to. It might be to the +American lines or to the German lines. But they knew that certain death +was behind them and possible life in front of them, and they ran as +though their feet had wings. + +But swift as they were, the horses were of course swifter, and before +long they knew that their pursuers were gaining. + +"Throw away your rifles," panted Frank. "We'll still have our knives and +grenades." + +They threw the heavy rifles aside, and, relieved of their weight, they +bounded ahead with renewed speed. + +For a short time their desperate efforts held their pursuers even, but +soon the gap again began to close. + +At a turn of the road they halted, gasping for breath. + +"Give them the grenades," ordered Frank, getting his own ready. "They +won't be expecting them and it may upset them. Throw yours at the same +time I do mine." + +They waited until the horsemen were within fifty feet. Then four +stalwart arms hurled the grenades against the front ranks. + +There was a tremendous explosion as the shells all seemed to go off at +the same instant, and the first rank of horsemen went down in a heap. + +Those behind drew their beasts back on their haunches so as not to +override their fellows, and in that moment another volley came among +them with deadly effect. + +Without waiting any longer, the boys renewed their flight. They knew +that the Germans would be mad with rage at their check by so small a +force, and they were not foolish enough to believe for a moment that the +chase would be abandoned. + +But a new exultation was in their hearts as they ran. They might be +killed, but they would at least have sold their lives dearly. There +would be little that the Uhlans would have to boast of in their story of +that night's work. + +Their breath came in short gasps and their laboring lungs felt as though +they were ready to burst. Frank, a little in the van, reached out a +warning hand and they slowed up. + +"We'll make faster time if we give ourselves a minute's rest," he +panted. "When we start in again we'll have our second wind. They haven't +got out of that mix-up yet. Besides, they'll come on more cautiously +now. They won't know how many grenades we have left." + +"I haven't any," gasped Tom. + +Billy was too far gone to speak, but he drew his last grenade from his +sack. Bart and Frank also were down to their last one, for the work on +the previous day had almost used up the stock with which they had +started out. They had a chance for one last throw, and then if it came +to a hand to hand fight they had nothing to rely on but their knives. + +They rested for a minute or two, and then again upon the wind came the +sound of hurrying hoofs. + +Instinctively the boys reached out and grasped one another's hands. +There was no need for words. They knew what it meant. To some of them +this might prove the last lap of the last race they would ever run. + +On came their pursuers, and the boys, summoning up every ounce of +strength they possessed, set out at the pace of hunted deer. + +Not two minutes had elapsed before their feet struck the boards of a +bridge. Below they saw the gleam of the moon in the dark water that ran +beneath. + +They took heart at the sight and put on a new burst of speed. Who knew +but what the American troops were camped on the further side? + +Twenty feet further they stopped abruptly. The bridge was broken. The +boards had been torn up, though the shattered timbers of the sides +projected a few feet further over the current. But fully a hundred feet +of black water stretched between them and the farther shore. + +They stopped, panting and perplexed. And just at that moment they heard +the hoofs of horses on the wood of the bridge. + +They were trapped. To turn back was certain captivity or death. To +plunge into that black current might also mean death. Their choice was +made on the instant. + +"Over we go, boys!" shouted Frank, throwing off his coat. "But we +mustn't waste those last grenades. Let them have them." + +They turned and threw, and without waiting to see the result dived +headforemost into the stream. The roar of the explosion was in their +ears as they struck the water. + +They were all good swimmers, and when they came to the surface they +found themselves within a few feet of each other. + +"To the other bank, fellows!" exclaimed Frank, as he shook the water +from his eyes. "And keep as low in the water as you can. They'll send a +volley after us." + +They struck out lustily for the farther shore while, as Frank had +predicted, bullets zipped around them. But in the darkness their foes +could take no aim and they reached the shore unscathed. + +The bank was steep, with long reeds growing down to the water's edge. +The fugitives grasped these and rested before they attempted to climb +the bank. + +"I'm all in," gasped Tom. + +Frank reached out a supporting hand. + +"I guess we all are," he replied. "It's lucky this river isn't wider. +But we're safe now." + +"I don't know about that," said Bart. "Listen!" + + There was a tramp of many feet upon the bank. + +"They've heard the shooting," whispered Billy. "If it's our boys we're +all right. If it isn't----" + +The sentence was never finished. Above the bank they saw a crowd of +helmeted figures. A light was flashed into their faces, nearly blinding +them, and a hoarse voice cried: + +"_Wer da!_" + +A score of hands reached down and grasped them. Unarmed, dripping, +utterly exhausted, they found themselves in the hands of the soldiers of +the Kaiser! + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + +With a file of soldiers on either side of them, the four boys were +marched off to a dugout near at hand. Here a German outpost had been +stationed to watch the river bank. It was not a large command, and the +lieutenant in charge, being unable to speak English and having no +interpreter at hand, after a few brusque attempts to question them gave +it up. Then, after having had them searched, he committed them to the +custody of a non-commissioned officer with directions that they were to +be fed and sent to headquarters in the morning. They ate ravenously, +and, not being permitted to talk to each other, found solace in sorely +needed sleep. + +When taken before the German officers, the friends were forced to +undergo a strict and searching examination. Their questioners tried in +every way, with pleadings alternating with threats, to get them to +divulge information that might be useful to them, but in vain. The four +Americans were absolutely uncommunicative, and at last the German who +had been doing most of the questioning was forced to acknowledge defeat. + +"_Donnerwetter!_" he growled. "Yankee pigs! It must be that they are so +stupid that they do not know anything to tell. What do you think, Herr +Lieutenant?" turning to one of his officers. + +"I think it more likely that they are just obstinate, sir, like those +cursed English," replied the officer addressed. "But perhaps a few +months in a prison camp will incline them to answer more quickly when a +German speaks to them." This was accompanied by a cruel smile, whose +significance was hot lost on the Americans. The captain glared at them, +but as they did not seem to weaken perceptibly, even under his high +displeasure, he grumbled finally: + +"Well, take them away, and we'll see how they act after a taste of +prison life." As their guards were about to take them from the room, he +continued, menacingly: "Remember, you Yankees, that the sooner you tell +me what I want to know, the easier it will be for you. And in the end +we'll make you talk. It is not well to oppose Germany's will too far." + +But as the prisoners did not appear greatly frightened by these threats, +the commander at last ordered the sergeant in charge to take the +prisoners away, and turned again to his desk. + +In spite of the critical situation in which they found themselves, Bart +could not resist a surreptitious wink at his companions as they passed +through the doorway, which was returned in kind by his graceless +companions. But, although they had had the satisfaction of balking the +German officers, they were not long in appreciating the discomforts of +their present situation. When they reached the temporary prison camp, +they were herded into a large tent, already overcrowded with French, +English, and a few American prisoners. Soon after their arrival food was +served out, although it hardly seemed worthy of the name. Watery soup, +made by boiling turnips in water, and a small chunk of some tasteless +substance supposed to be bread, constituted the meal. The boys, fresh +from the wholesome and abundant food furnished by Uncle Sam, found it +absolutely uneatable, and gave away their portions to some of the other +prisoners, who appeared glad to get it. + +"Wait until you've been here a few days," said one lanky Englishman, +with a ghastly smile, "you'll get so thoroughly famished that you'll be +able to go even that stuff," and he made a wry face. + +"Perhaps so, if we can't find some way to get out," said Frank. + +"Not as easy as it sounds," said the Englishman. "Although it has been +done, of course. But a lot more have been shot trying it than have ever +got away." + +"Might as well get shot as die of starvation," remarked Tom. + +This opinion evidently appealed to Tom's comrades, who looked +significantly at him. From that look each knew that the others were +ready to risk everything to gain their freedom. The Englishman, however, +seemed unconvinced, and presently left them. + +As night came on, they cast about for some place to sleep, but met with +little success. The only place to lie was on the ground, but by that +time the four friends were so tired that sleep, even under any hardship, +was desirable. They finally settled down in a corner that appeared a +little less crowded than the rest. However, before going to sleep they +tried to formulate some plan of escape, but with indifferent success. + +"About all we can do," said Bart finally, "is to hold ourselves in +readiness to make use of the first chance of escape that comes along. +And if these Germans are all as stupid as the ones we've seen so far, it +oughtn't to be very difficult." + +"Well, when the chance comes, we won't let any grass grow under our +feet, that's certain," said Frank. "But now, I'm dog-tired, and I'm +going to see if I can't get a little sleep. And what's more, I'd advise +you fellows to do the same." + +"He who sleeps, dines," quoted Tom, with a somewhat rueful grin. "I hope +there's more in that old saying than there is in most of them." + +"Right you are," said Bart, "but something seems to tell me I'm going to +be hungry in the morning, just the same." + +Bart was right. After a restless night, the boys woke with ravenous +appetites, and managed to eat most of the unpalatable fare that was +passed around. Not long after this they saw the sergeant who had had +charge of them the previous day picking his way through the crowd, +evidently looking for some particular object. At last he caught sight of +the Americans, and immediately headed toward them. + +"Come," he commanded, roughly, in his halting English. "Orders have come +for your removal." + +"Where to?" inquired Frank. "Silence! Do as you are told, and ask no +questions!" commanded the German. + +"For two cents I'd jump on him and choke the dog's life out of him!" +muttered Tom, but his friends laid restraining hands on him. + +"Nothing doing, Tom," warned Billy. "We'd be playing against stacked +cards in a game like that. Take it easy now, and maybe our chance will +come later." + +Meanwhile the sergeant had started off, and the friends had no choice +but to follow him. He led them out of the tent, where a squad of +soldiers was lined up. At a nod from the sergeant, these surrounded the +boys, and at a curt word of command they all started off. + +They were soon outside the confines of the camp, and marching along what +had once been a perfect road, but was now badly broken up by the +combined effects of shellfire and heavy trucking. The soldiers talked +among themselves in low gutturals, and the boys, by piecing together +words that they caught here and there, gathered that they were being +taken to some higher official for further questioning. + +"You see," said Billy, "they know we were inside their lines a +considerable time before they caught us, and so they are paying +particular attention to us. I guess they think we may know more than +we've told them so far." This with a wink at his friends. + +"We sure have told them a lot," put in Bart, grinning. "And, just to be +perfectly fair, I suggest that we tell the next Boche who questions us +just as much as we told the last one." + +"Fair enough," agreed Tom. "No favoritism has always been my motto." + +"No talking among the prisoners," commanded the sergeant, threateningly, +and the four friends, having said about all they wanted to say, anyway, +relapsed into silence. + +For several miles the little group plodded along, often meeting +detachments of German infantry, who scowled sullenly at the Americans as +they passed. + +The boys were far from happy, in spite of the light-hearted attitude +they presented to their captors. They all knew that if they could not +effect an escape their chance for life was small, as, on account of +their having been inside the German lines so long before being captured, +the Huns would seize the opportunity of calling them spies, and mete out +the quick end that is accorded to such. They were walking along, each +one immersed in his own gloomy thoughts, when suddenly a sound from +above caused them to look quickly up toward the blue sky. + +What they saw caused their hearts to beat faster and hope to spring up +again in their breasts. For, skilled as they were in such matters, they +recognized the airplane up above, whose roaring exhaust had first +attracted their attention, as one of the Allied type. + +It was coming toward them at high speed, flying low, and as it rapidly +neared them the four friends, forgetting their German captors, waved +their hands wildly to the pilot, whom they could see, as the aeroplane +came closer, peering down over the side of the body. The Germans, on +their part, were so terrified by the approach of this huge enemy +machine, that they seemed to forget all about their prisoners, and in +fact about everything except their individual safety. With wild yells of +terror they scattered this way and that, all except the sergeant. He, +seeing his men running in every direction, snarled out a curse, and +whipped out his automatic pistol. + +"I'll do for you Yankees, anyway, he hissed," and leveled the pistol at +them. But even as his finger trembled on the trigger, Frank's fist, with +the force of a sledgehammer, came with a crashing impact against the +point of the German's jaw, and the Hun went down, his pistol exploding +harmlessly toward the sky. Frank, with the light of battle in his eye, +seized the fallen man's weapon and looked around for the other Germans. +But by this time they had all gotten out of effective pistol range, and +after emptying the weapon in the direction of the fleeing figures, Frank +and the others turned their attention to the aeroplane, which by now was +manoeuvring for a landing. + +The airship came down in great spirals, and finally took the ground with +hardly a jar, running along a hundred feet or so and then coming to a +halt. + +As the boys started running toward it, Tom ejaculated: "Say, fellows, my +eyes may be playing me tricks, but if that isn't Dick Lever at the wheel +you can call me a German!" + +"I think it is Dick, myself," agreed Frank. "And if this isn't a case of +the 'friend in need,' I miss my guess." + +It was indeed as they thought. The pilot was an old friend of theirs, +but one whom they had not seen for some time. Now, as they raced toward +the airplane, he in turn recognized them, and raised a delirious shout +of joy. + +"Tumble into this bus just as fast as you can, fellows," he cried, +"we've got to get out of this mighty quick. You can explain the mystery +of your being here after we get started." + +"But can you carry the whole bunch of us?" asked Billy. + +"Easily," replied one of the two observers, who had not spoken up to +now. "We've just dropped our load of bombs on a few German supply +depots, and now we're running back light." + +"All right, then," said Billy, "in we go!" And, suiting the action to +the word, the four friends swarmed into the airplane, filling the +cramped passenger carrying space to overflowing. Meantime, the Germans, +having found cover, had opened up a brisk rifle fire against the +aeroplane, and bullets began to sing through the framework. One of the +observers leaped to the ground, gave the propeller a vigorous twist, and +as the motor began to roar clambered aboard as the big plane started +over the rough ground, bumping and jolting, but rapidly gaining speed. +The Germans broke from their shelter in pursuit, firing wildly as they +ran, but although some of their shots came close, none came near enough +to do any real damage. In a few seconds, in answer to a quick movement +from Dick Lever, the big bombing machine left the ground, and amid a +parting rain of bullets from the Germans, started to ascend in long, +sweeping spirals. + +The friends were about to congratulate themselves on their safe escape, +when suddenly one of the observers, who had been scanning the horizon +closely, pointed behind them, and exclaimed: + +"Just as I thought! Those two Boche planes that we saw getting ready to +come after us just after we dropped our last bomb are coming up fast. +Look!" + +All twisted about, and saw that it was as the observer had said. High up +in the sky two swift, darting objects were coming in pursuit. The +American machine was built more for carrying capacity than for speed, +and in addition was heavily loaded. Every advantage was with the swift +German machines. Their pilots no doubt realized this, for now they +headed directly for the Americans, descending in a long slant that gave +them tremendous speed. + +"All right," said Lever, coolly, "if they're going to come down, it may +be a good idea for us to go up," and, suiting the action to the word, he +elevated the nose of the big plane skyward, and they started to climb +steeply. The American machine was equipped with a tremendously powerful +motor, and this, combined with its great wing spread, enabled it to +climb with great rapidity, in spite of the heavy load it was carrying. +The Germans had not counted on this, and the result was that they +miscalculated their distances, passing beneath the American flyer +instead of above it, as they had intended. They both turned quickly and +started to climb, but by this time the American aviators had trained +their two machine guns on the Germans, and opened fire. + +At first this seemed to have little effect, and the Germans ascended +rapidly, while their machine gun operators, although as yet unable to +use their deadly weapons, sent a hail of revolver bullets whistling +through the wings and rigging of the American machine. But now the +concentrated fire from the American machine was beginning to have +effect. One of the German planes hesitated, quivered, and suddenly its +right wing, with its wire stays severed by the machine gun bullets, +crumpled up. The crippled aeroplane staggered wildly, suddenly turned on +its right side, and pitched steeply downward. + +The boys in the American airplane gazed at each other with white faces, +but they had little time to devote to thoughts of the fallen, for by now +the remaining German machine was on a level with them, and its machine +gunner opened fire. The Americans, crouching low to avoid the murderous +stream of bullets, returned the fire from both their machine guns, with +a deadliness of purpose and aim for which the German was no match. +Suddenly a tiny flame appeared in the body of the German machine, grew +with lightning rapidity, and in a few seconds one side of the machine +was enveloped in leaping yellow flames. + +"Punctured the gas tank!" exulted Lever. "They're done for now." + +And he was right. The machine gun fire from both fighting planes died +out, and the boys could see the Germans vainly trying to beat out the +hungry flames. Their efforts were useless, however, and in a few seconds +the German machine, a roaring mass of flame and black smoke, dropped +downward as swiftly as a stone. As it went, the boys saw two figures +hurl themselves out into space, and then everything was hidden in a haze +of billowy smoke. + +"That's awful!" exclaimed Tom, drawing in his breath with a great sigh, +while all relaxed from the terrible tension they had been under. + +"Awful, yes," said Dick Lever. "But it's only what they would have done +to us if they had been able. Instead of 'live and let live,' it's 'kill +or get killed' in this game." + +Frank nodded his head gloomily, but none of the boys felt like talking +then, and sat silent as their pilot got his bearings and then +straightened out swiftly in the direction of the American lines. + +With the roar of the motor in their ears and the rush of wind past their +faces, much of the horror of the deadly air battle was swept from their +minds, and they began to enjoy the exhilaration of their first flight. +The distant earth streamed rapidly by, like a swiftly flowing river, and +a wonderful panorama was spread out below them. It was an exceptionally +clear day, and they could see for many miles in every direction. Below +them, groups of gray clad figures, after a glance in the direction of +the soaring monster overhead, broke for cover, or, shaking impotent +fists, trudged stolidly onward, contemptuous of one more danger among +the many that daily surrounded them. + +"No prison camp for us this time," exulted Frank, as he looked down at +his enemies. + +"We wouldn't have been in a prison camp long," declared Tom. "Those +fellows had picked us out for a firing squad. They were going to get all +they could out of us, and then about six feet of earth would have been +our size." + +"I'll bet that sergeant's jaw aches yet from the clip that Frank handed +him," chuckled Billy happily. + +"I skinned my knuckles," said Frank, looking at them ruefully. + +"Never mind," laughed Bart. "You never hurt them in a better cause." + +"We can't be far from the lines now," shouted Frank, in Dick's ear. + +"Pretty close," responded the aviator. "We ought to be down fifteen +minutes from now." + +And his estimate proved very nearly correct. Soon the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh could recognize the familiar landmarks of their own +encampment, and, with one impulse, they gave three rousing cheers. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +PUTTING ONE OVER + + +It was a beautiful landing that Dick Lever made at the aviation camp, +his great machine sailing down like a swan and landing so lightly that +it would scarcely have broken a pane of glass. + +"Dick, you're a wonder!" exclaimed Frank, as he stepped out of the +machine. + +"The way you put it all over the Boche planes shows that," chimed in +Bart with equal enthusiasm. + +"I don't wonder they say you're an 'ace,'" added Billy. + +"If all aviators had your class, the Hun flyers wouldn't have a chance +on earth--I mean in the sky," said Tom. + +"Oh, it's all a matter of practice," said Dick modestly, although it was +plain to be seen that their heartfelt appreciation pleased him. "It's as +easy as running an automobile when you know how. Well, so long, fellows. +I've got to make my report," and with a gay wave of the hand he left +them and made his way to aviation headquarters. + +"Say, how does it feel to be a free man once more?" cried Frank +jubilantly, as they sought out their regiment. + +"I can't believe yet that it's anything but a dream." replied Bart with +deep feeling, as he looked around at the friendly faces and familiar +surroundings that he had feared for a time he would never see again. + +"And look at that flag!" cried Billy as he saw Old Glory flying from one +of the officers' pavilions. Like a flash their hats came off and they +saluted the glorious flag that meant to them everything in life. + +They passed the tanks, and Will Stone, who was "grooming his pet," +looked at them for a moment as though he could not believe his eyes. +Then he rushed toward them and nearly shook their hands off. + +"By all that is lucky!" he cried. "I was afraid I was never going to see +you fellows again. Where did you drop from?" + +"From the sky," laughed Frank. + +"Some little angels, you see," chuckled Billy. Then seeing Stone's +puzzled look he added: "The Huns had got their hooks on us when Dick +Lever came along in his plane, gave them a few little leaden missives, +picked us up and landed us here, right side up with care." + +Stone's eyes kindled as he heard their story, and his enthusiasm over +Lever's feat was as great as their own. + +"But how did we make out in the big drive?" asked Frank. "We kept hoping +all the time that you fellows would be along and nab us before the +Boches did." + +"We've had a big victory," explained Stone. "We put the Hindenburg line +on the blink by that smash at his center, and he's had to draw in his +wings on both sides. It's one of the biggest things that's been done on +the western front, and the Heinies will have a hard time explaining it +in Berlin." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Frank. + +"That town you fellows were hiding in didn't come into our general +plan," went on Stone, "and that's the reason you had to fight your way +out all by your lonesome." + +"It was some little fight, all right," remarked Tom. + +"And we certainly gave those Uhlans a run for their money," laughed +Billy. + +"Lucky they didn't get hold of you," said Stone. "It would have been +curtains for the whole bunch. They must have been wild at the lacing you +handed them." + +"I guess they were rather peeved," grinned Bart. + +"I'm sorry I had to throw away my rifle, though," mourned Tom. + +"Tom would find something to grouch about if he were in heaven," laughed +Frank. + +They talked for a few minutes longer and then went on, as they were +eager to be once more with their comrades of the old Thirty-seventh. + +And what a greeting they had when they walked into their old command! +They were pounded and mauled in wild enthusiasm, for they were prime +favorites in the regiment and had been sadly given up as dead or +captured. + +They had to tell again and again the story of their adventures, and it +was only by main force that they tore themselves away from their +rejoicing mates long enough to report themselves to their officers as +present for duty. + +Their captain was as delighted as his men at their safe return, although +his satisfaction was expressed in less boisterous fashion. He commended +warmly the gallant fight they had put up with the Uhlans, and he was +visibly startled as his eye glanced over the German report that had been +captured by Frank when it fluttered down into the cellar. + +"This must go to headquarters at once!" he exclaimed. "It is a matter of +the utmost importance. You men have deserved the thanks of the army," he +continued, "and I am proud that you are members of my command." + +They made their way back to their company with their leader's praise +ringing in their ears and warming their hearts. But they had scarcely +got out of the captain's presence before his chums pounced upon Frank +with the liveliest curiosity. + +"How did you keep that paper when the Germans searched you?" asked Tom. + +"Where did you hide it?" demanded Billy. + +"I never knew you were a sleight of hand performer," added Bart. + +"Easy there, fellows," laughed Frank, enjoying their mystification. "It +was the simplest thing in the world. While you fellows were sleeping in +the cellar I just loosened the sole of my shoe and slipped the paper in +between the sole and the upper and nailed the sole up again. The Heinies +didn't get next to it, and that's where I had luck. I'm mighty glad they +didn't, for the cap seems to think there's something in it that's worth +while." + +"Foxy stunt," approved Tom. + +"Some wise boy!" exclaimed Billy, giving his chum a slap on the shoulder +that made him wince. + +"You're all there when it comes to the gray matter, old man," was Bart's +tribute. + +A day later, part of their reward came in a week's furlough that was +granted them for "specially gallant conduct," as the order of the day +expressed it. The rest was welcome, for it was the first they had had +since they had landed on French soil, and they had been under a strain +of hard work and harder fighting that had taxed even their strong +vitality to the utmost. + +And that week stood out forever in their memory like an oasis in a +desert. They spent it in a little French town miles away from the firing +line and even beyond the sound of the guns. They fished and swam and +loafed and slept as though there was no such thing as war in the world. +No reveille to wake them in the morning, no taps to send them to their +beds at night. For the first time in months they were their own masters, +and they enjoyed their brief liberty to the full. + +Yet even here in this "little bit of heaven" as Tom expressed it, they +could not be wholly free from war's reminder. + +They were sprawling one day outside their cottage when an officer came +along, gorgeous in epaulets and gold lace. + +"See who's coming!" exclaimed Tom peevishly. "Now we'll have to get up +and salute." + +"I suppose so," said Billy reluctantly. + +"Can't we pretend, we don't see him?" yawned Bart sleepily, clutching at +a straw of hope. + +"Not a chance in the world," declared Frank. "He's looking right at us." + +They stood up as the officer approached and saluted respectfully. He +returned the salute snappishly and glared at them sternly. + +"Get in line there," he commanded. "Smart now. Eyes ahead." + +They resented his tone, but obeyed with military promptness. + +"Present arms." + +They hesitated and looked at each other. + +"Present arms," I said. + +"If you please, sir," said Bart, "we have no guns." + +"I know it," snapped the officer. "Go through the motions." + +So without a word they did as directed. + +"Shoulder arms." + +They did so. + +"Forward! March!" + +He set off in front with a military stride and they followed. + +"I feel like a fool," whispered Bart to Frank. + +"Same here," was the reply. "What does he mean by it?" + +"Wants to show his authority, I reckon," muttered Bart. + +Tom and Billy said nothing, but there were scowls on their faces that +spoke for them. + +They had marched for perhaps half a mile, when at a cross roads two men +appeared who were evidently looking for some one. Their eyes lighted up +when they saw the officer and they came straight toward him. He saw them +coming, and throwing his dignity to the wind started to run, but they +were quicker than he and grasped him by the collar. + +"Come back to the asylum," one of them growled. "We've had lots of +trouble to find you." + +The boys stood rooted to the spot. + +"You see," explained one of the men, touching his forehead +significantly, "he's a grocer that's got the military bug. He thinks +he's Napoleon. Come along, Napoleon." + +And "Napoleon" meekly obeyed. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SUSPICION + + +To paint the emotions that chased themselves over the features of the +four boys would have taxed the ability of an artist. For a moment no one +of them cared to look into the eyes of the others. + +Tom was the first to act. He grabbed his cap in his hands, kneaded it +into a ball, threw it on the ground and jumped up and down on it. + +The others looked at his scowling face and the sight was too much for +them. They threw themselves on the ground in convulsions of laughter. +They howled. They roared. They rolled over and over, until Tom himself +caught the contagion and joined in with the rest. It was a long time +before any one of them was able to speak. + +"Stung!" choked Bart, while tears of merriment rolled down his cheeks. + +"Forward! March!" gurgled Billy. "Pound me on the back, you fellows, or +I'll have a fit." + +"A grocer! Napoleon!" roared Frank. "Shades of Austerlitz and Waterloo!" + +"And we fell for it!" yelled Tom. "Think of it, fellows! By the great +horn spoon! We fell for it!" + +They got themselves under control at last, though not without many +interruptions, for again and again one of them would start to speak and +go off into a peal of laughter. + +"I'm as weak as a rag," gulped Billy. "I haven't laughed like this in +all my life." + +"It would make a hit in vaudeville," chuckled Bart. "Think of us sillies +stalking along and going through shadow motions for a nut like that. +We're squirrel food, all right." + +"Well, after all what could we do?" defended Frank. "We're not mind +readers." + +"Not even of a scrambled mind like that," interposed Billy. + +"And we couldn't tell that he wasn't an officer," went on Frank, not +heeding the interruption. "His uniform seemed to be all right, although +a bit gaudy." + +"That gives us a way out," said Bart. "We can say that we followed the +uniform, not the man, and let it go at that. But, oh, boy! if the +fellows of our regiment had seen us trotting along behind that lunatic, +maybe they wouldn't make our life a burden." + +"We'd never have heard the last of it," agreed Tom. "But what they don't +know won't hurt them, and it's a safe bet that none of us will ever let +out a squeak." + +"It's lucky there wasn't any moving picture man handy," laughed Frank. +"He'd have had a film that would put all the rest out of business. But +now let's get back to the cottage after this unfortunate hike of ours." + +"Say," put in Bart, as a new thought struck him, "do you think those +keepers could have caught on?" + +"I don't think they tumbled," Billy reassured them. "They were too +intent on catching Napoleon to think of anything else." + +"Poor Napoleon," chuckled Frank. "I suppose he's back on St. Helena by +this time." + +"Well, there's one comfort, anyway," declared Tom. "He doesn't know that +he put anything over on us. If he hasn't forgotten us altogether he +thinks we're part of the Old Guard." + +"They say a philosopher is one who can grin when the laugh is on +himself," laughed Billy. "If that's so we're dandy philosophers." + +All too soon that pleasant week was over, and the boys, refreshed and +rested, went away, though with many a backward glance, to the stern work +where they had already won their spurs and made their mark. + +They started in on their work again with renewed zest and with quickened +energy, for a battle was impending and they were anxious to take their +part in driving back the Hun. + +They saw Rabig frequently, and though they all disliked him heartily, he +was still a soldier like themselves in the service of Uncle Sam, and +they strove to disguise their feeling for the good of the common cause. + +"He's a bad egg, all right," declared Tom, who stuck obstinately to his +belief that Rabig had had some part in the escape of the German +corporal, "but as long as we can't prove it, we'll have to give him a +little more rope. But sooner or later he'll come to the end of that +rope, and don't you forget it!" + +Nick had come out of the court-martial that investigated the escape, not +with flying colors, but with bedraggled feathers. The cut on his head +had proved so slight as to arouse suspicion that it might have been +self-inflicted. Still the motive for this did not seem adequate, and the +upshot of the inquiry was that Rabig was confined a few days in the +guardhouse and then restored to duty. But in the private books of the +officers there was a black mark against him, and all of them would have +been better pleased not to have had him in the regiment. + +"Oh, well, don't let's talk about him," Frank summed up a discussion +about the bully. "The whole subject leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I +only hope he's the only rotten apple in the barrel." + +"That's just the trouble'," replied Tom. "If that rotten apple isn't +taken out of the barrel a good many more may be spoiled in less than no +time." + +"Sure enough," agreed Bart. "But I guess there isn't much danger in this +case. If Nick had lots of friends that he might influence it might be +different, but you notice that the fellows leave him to flock by +himself." + +"He's about as popular as the hives in summertime for a fact," commented +Tom. "He'd be a mighty sight more at home if he were in the trenches on +the other side." + +"Maybe so," admitted Frank. + +"What are you fellows chinning about?" broke in a familiar voice, and +they turned to see Dick Lever regarding them with a friendly grin. + +"Hello, Dick," came from them all at once in a roar of welcome, for it +was the first time they had seen him since he had rescued them from +their German captors, and their feelings toward him were of the warmest +nature. + +"Where have you been keeping yourself?" asked Frank. "We've been looking +for you to drop in and see us for a long time past." + +"As a matter of fact, I did get down this way about a week ago," replied +Dick, as he tried to shake hands with all four at once, "but the whole +bunch of you were off on furlough." + +"Sorry we missed you," said Frank. "Yes, we did get a few days off, and +it didn't do us a bit of harm. We've all come back feeling the best +ever." + +"Ready to take another crack at the Huns, eh?" grinned Dick. "Some +fellows never know when they have enough." + +"You needn't talk," laughed Bart. "I'll bet you've been popping away at +them every day since we saw you last." + +"Oh, they've kept me pretty busy," said Dick carelessly. "The Hun flyers +are getting pretty sassy just now, and we have to keep working hard to +drive them back." + +"I've noticed more of them flying over our lines than usual in the last +day or two," remarked Billy. + +"Say," broke in Tom, "this is sure our lucky day. Here comes Will +Stone." + +"We sure are lucky when two of the best fellows in the world drop in on +us at the same time," said Frank, as he and his mates greeted the +bronzed tank operator. "I don't know whether you two fellows know each +other, but if you don't you've both lost something." + +"Oh, we're not altogether strangers," smiled Stone, as he and Dick shook +hands heartily. "Many a time I've seen his plane flying overhead, and +it's made me feel rather comfortable to know that he was on the job, and +that no Boche flyer would have a chance to drop something that would put +Jumbo out of commission." + +"It would have to be some bomb that would make junk of that big car of +yours," said Dick. "I was flying pretty low the day we smashed the Boche +lines and I saw the way Jumbo snapped those wires as though they were so +many threads. That tank's a wonder and no mistake." + +They were having such a good time and the time flew so rapidly that they +were startled when the bugle blew and they were compelled to go to their +respective quarters. + +A few nights after his return Frank was assigned to sentry duty on an +important post on the front trenches. His beat terminated at a point +where he could see a little shack that stood on the side of a hill. + +Standing as it did in the battle zone; it had become little more than a +ruin. Most of the thatched roof had been shot away, one side had gone +altogether, and the other three sides leaned crazily toward each other. + +It was a little after midnight when Frank thought he saw a gleam of +light either in the cabin or close by it. It was very faint, scarcely +more than the glimmer of a firefly, and it vanished instantly. + +Still, it had been there. Cautiously, avoiding every twig with the +stealth of an Indian, Frank crept toward the hut. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +A FAMILIAR VOICE + + +As Frank neared the cabin he redoubled his precautions, and it was here +that his scout training stood him in good stead. + +When he was within twenty feet he went down flat on the earth and wormed +his way to one of the sides that had been left standing. He placed his +ear against a board and listened intently. + +But not a sound rewarded him. The deepest silence reigned. + +For a moment he was tempted to believe that his eyes had played a trick +on him. But they had seldom done this and he had learned to trust them. + +The light could not have come from a firefly, for it was too late in the +season for them. What then had caused it? + +He worked his way around to the shattered doorway and inch by inch +lifted his head until his eyes were on a level with the floor. Quickly +they swept the room, which was so small that the faint light that came +from the stars enabled him to see that it was empty. + +When he was fully assured of this, he crept into the room and with his +fingers explored every inch of the floor. The apartment was so small +that this was not much of a task, and before long his hand came in +contact with a match. It had been lighted and the softness of the +charred end told him that this had been done recently. + +This then was the "firefly"! + +He continued his search with renewed caution and soon found a cartridge. +He knew from the feel of it that it was of the kind used in the rifles +with which the American troops were equipped. It was still warm, as +though it had been recently in a belt close to a man's body. + +But what was a man doing in that lonely spot at that hour of the night? + +Was he a prowling spy from the German camp who had made a daring +incursion into the American lines? + +He must solve the mystery. With every faculty at its highest pitch, he +moved out into the open. + +A slight rustling in the forest near by fell on his ears. It might have +been made by some woodland creature, but to his strained senses every +sound, however slight, suggested a possible clue. + +He listened intently and heard it again, but this time it was a trifle +louder than before. + +He rose to his feet and with catlike tread moved in the direction of the +sound. As he drew hearer he heard it more plainly. And now his patience +was rewarded, for he distinctly heard the low tone of a human voice. + +And if it was a human voice it must of necessity be an enemy voice, for +no friend of his or of Uncle Sam's could be in that place at that hour +on a legitimate errand. + +A moment later he detected another voice in a different key yet pitched +hardly above a whisper. So it was a conference! A conference of whom and +about what? + +He crept still farther forward. + +Right before him stretched a little glade full of small trees and +undergrowth with a scarcely visible path leading downward. + +To press too far between the bushes would have inevitably betrayed him. +He halted with his rifle ready for action and listened. + +The conversation seemed to be an earnest one and in their earnestness +the conferees at times forgot caution, for, as one of the men raised his +voice in expostulation, Frank could note that he was talking German. But +it was not that which made him start suddenly and clutch his rifle more +tightly. + +He had heard that voice before. + +Where and when? + +He cudgeled his brain and then it came to him. + +It was Nick Rabig's voice! + +That is, he thought it was. But at that distance he could not be +perfectly sure. At any rate it was time to act. + +With a bound he leaped forward. + +"Halt!" he cried. "Halt or I fire." + +There were startled exclamations from both men, and then a prodigious +scrambling in the bushes as they tried to escape. + +Bang! went Frank's rifle, and there was a scream followed by a heavy +fall. + +Frank rushed forward, but caught his foot in a tangled root and fell. +His gun flew from his hand and his head came in contact with a stump. +The jagged edges cut a gash in his forehead, and for a moment he was +utterly dazed. + +He strove desperately to retain his senses and in a minute or two his +brain ceased to whirl. He staggered drunkenly to his rifle and picked it +up. And at this moment there was a sound of hurrying feet, and Wilson, +the corporal of the guard, came running up, accompanied by Fred Anderson +who had been on duty near by. + +"What is it, Sheldon?" asked the corporal "What were you shooting at?" + +Frank tried to speak, but his tongue was thick and the words would not +come." + +"He's wounded!" exclaimed Anderson, as he saw with alarm the blood +flowing freely from Frank's forehead. + +They deftly bound up his head, and by this time Frank had found his +voice. + +"It's nothing," he managed to say. "I fell and cut my head. It's only a +scratch. I heard two men talking German here in the bushes and I started +in to get them. They wouldn't stop when I ordered them to, and I fired, +I don't know whether I got them or not." + +"We'll see," said the corporal, and led the way into the bushes while +Frank and Fred followed close on his heels. + +From one side to the other the corporal flashed his light, and before +long he uttered an exclamation. + +"You got one of them anyway," he said, as the light fell on the dead +body of a German whose uniform showed that he belonged to the Eighth +Bavarian Regiment, which they knew was stationed opposite them at that +part of the line. + +The corporal blew his whistle and other men of his squad came running in +answer to the call. He ordered them to carry the body into camp where it +could be searched for papers. Then he turned to Frank. + +"You've done well, Sheldon," he said, "and I'm sorry that you were hurt. +You're relieved from duty for the rest of your watch. I'll put another +man in your place. You'd better see the surgeons and have them wash out +that cut of yours and bind it up again. Then tumble in and go to sleep. +I hope you'll be all right in the morning." + +Frank did as he was directed, and after the surgeon had dressed his +wound and pronounced it not serious made his way to his bunk. He had to +pass Rabig's bunk in reaching his own and he stopped there for a moment. + +The place was dark, but he could see that the bunk was occupied, and +from the snoring that arose from it the inmate seemed to be sleeping +soundly. + +Had he been mistaken? + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE SHADOW OF TREASON + + +When the soldiers jumped from their bunks the next morning at the call +of the bugle Frank's comrades saw his bandaged head and they surrounded +him at once with expressions of solicitude and alarm. + +"What's the matter, old man?" asked Bart anxiously. + +"Don't say you're badly hurt!" exclaimed Tom. + +"You look all in," said Billy. "You're as pale as a ghost." + +"I'm a long way from being a ghost yet," smiled Frank, as he drew on his +clothes. "Wait till you see me tuck away the grub at breakfast. I butted +my head against a stump last night to find out which was the harder, and +the stump won." + +"Stop your kidding and tell us about it," commanded Bart. + +Frank told them the main features of his encounter of the night before, +but it was only after mess when he had them by themselves that he voiced +his suspicions of Rabig. + +Tom gave a long whistle. + +"That fellow will queer this whole outfit yet," he blurted out. "He's a +sneak and a traitor. If he had his deserts he'd be up against the firing +squad within twenty-four hours." + +"Easy there, Tom," counseled Frank, looking around him, for in his +excitement Tom had raised his voice. "Remember I'm not dead sure. I +wouldn't swear to it in a court of law." + +"Here comes Nick himself," remarked Bart. + +"The Old Nick," growled Tom. + +"Hello, Rabig," said Frank, as the former Camport bully came along. + +Rabig grunted a surly "Hello" in reply, and was passing on when Billy +hailed him. + +"Sleep well, last night, Rabig?" he asked carelessly. + +Rabig's face flushed and a frightened look came into his eyes. + +"Sure I did," he snapped. "Why shouldn't I?" + +"No reason in the world," replied Billy. + +"These cool nights are fine for sleeping," remarked Tom. "A little too +cool to be out in the woods, but just right for the trench." + +Rabig seemed to be trying to think up a reply, but nothing came to him +and he simply stood still and glowered at them. He appeared to be +speculating. What significance was there in these apparently careless +questions? Why should they be asked at all? How much did these cordially +hated acquaintances of his really know? + +"I hear that one of the Germans was killed close to our lines last +night," said Billy, shifting the attack. + +"Right inside our lines," corrected Tom. "And here's the fellow who shot +him," pointing to Frank. + +"Frank has nerve," drawled Billy. + +Rabig shot a glare of hate that was not lost by the onlookers, who kept +their eyes steadily on his face. + +"He nearly got another one, too," observed Bart. "And the funny thing +about it was that he thought he knew the fellow's voice." + +This was coming too near for Rabig to pretend that he did not know what +they were driving at. He turned upon them in desperation. + +"Look here," he snarled viciously. "What do you fellows mean? If you +mean that I'm mixed up in this thing you lie. Now don't you speak to me +again or I'll make you sorry for it." + +Without waiting for a reply he hurried off, and the four Camport chums +looked after him with speculation in their eyes until he was lost to +view at a turn of the trench. + +"He's guilty all right," declared Tom with conviction. + +"If ever guilt looked out of a man's eyes they looked out of his," +agreed Bart. + +"It seems so," admitted Frank with reluctance, "and yet he was in his +bunk when I went through last night." "How do you know it was Rabig?" +Tom retorted. "Are you such a cute detective that you can tell one man's +snore from another?" + +"Who else could it have been?" asked Frank. "If it was some one else, +that some one else must have been in cahoots with Rabig and agreed to +make him seem to be in his bunk. I'd hate to think that there was more +than one traitor in the regiment. + +"One's more than enough," agreed Bart. + +"What do you think we ought to do about it?" asked Billy. + +"I don't know," replied Frank, with a worried look on his face. "It +would be a terrible thing to accuse a man wrongfully of such a thing as +treason. Rabig would simply deny it and put it up to us to prove it. +Then, too, every one knows that there's no love lost between us and +Nick, and they might think we were too ready to believe evil of him +without real proof." + +"On the other hand," replied Tom, "if we let him go on, we may wake up +some time to find that Rabig has done the regiment more harm than a +German battery could do." + +"We'll simply have to keep our eyes peeled," was Billy's solution of the +problem, "and watch that fellow like hawks. But if he makes one more bad +break I don't think we ought to keep silent any longer. Let's hope that +next time, if there is any next time, we'll have the goods on him so +that there can't be any denying it." + +But pleasanter thoughts diverted their attention just then, for the camp +postman came into view and the boys rose with a whoop and pounced upon +their letters. And all their spare time that morning was spent in +reading and rereading the precious missives from their friends so many +thousand miles away. + +Frank was poring over a letter from his mother for the tenth time when +he heard his name spoken and looked up to see Colonel Pavet, who was +passing along in the company of another officer. + +He had only a moment to spare, but that moment was given to Frank, who +had risen and greeted him with a welcome as warm as his own. + +"Ah, Monsieur Sheldon, letters from home, I see," he remarked. "I hope +your mother is well." + +"Very well, thank you," responded Frank. "And very grateful to you, +Colonel Pavet, for the interest you have taken in her behalf and mine." + +The colonel courteously waved the thanks aside. + +He replied. "But you can tell Madame Sheldon that her affairs are +progressing finely, though not as rapidly as they would if it were not +for the distracted state of France. For instance, my brother André has +been trying to get a furlough for a man who was formerly a butler in the +De Latour family, and whose evidence he thinks will be most important in +establishing your mother's right. It is only with the greatest +difficulty that I have been able to bring this about, but I have +succeeded at last, and the man will go to Auvergne next week to give his +testimony. Let us hope that it will be as valuable as André thinks." + +Again Frank expressed his thanks, and after a few more words they +parted. + +_"Vive la France!"_ exclaimed Frank, as he saluted. + +_"Vive l'Amerique!"_ returned the colonel. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A HAIL OF LEAD + + +"It's coming," declared Tom a few days later, as the boys were getting +ready to go to mess. + +"Listen to the oracle," mocked Bart. + +"What's coming? Christmas?" inquired Billy. + +"The big fight," replied Tom. + +"Hear the general," gibed Bart. + +"I've understood that Tom was General Pershing's right bower," put in +Billy. + +"They say he doesn't do a thing without him," said Bart. + +"It's a pity that Tom didn't live in Napoleon's time," laughed Frank. +"He'd have been a marshal sure." + +"Napoleon," repeated Billy, with a faraway look in his eyes. "Where have +I heard that name before?" + +The four friends laughed as the comical scene in the little French +village rose up before them. + +But with all their jesting they felt as sure as Tom that a big battle +was impending. One did not have to be an officer to know that. The rank +and file could tell it just as unerringly as their superiors. + +For many days past all arms of the service had been working at top +speed. Regiments and divisions had been reorganized and brought up to +their full strength. Reserves had been brought from distant portions of +the line and were massed heavily in the rear of the positions. + +Raiding parties were active on both sides, as each was eager to get +prisoners and information, and scarcely a night passed without heavy +skirmishes between patrols that in former days would have risen to the +dignity of battles. + +Overhead the sky was dotted with the planes of the rival forces and the +hum of the motors of the giant birds of prey was continuous. They fought +not only in single combat but in sauacfrons, and the sight of one or +more whirling down in flames was so common that it scarcely attracted +attention. + +And most ominous of all, the medical service was organizing gigantic +units close to the front, in anticipation of the harvest of blood and +wounds that was so close at hand. + +Yes, a battle was coming. The grim reaper was sharpening his scythe and +the watching world was waiting for the outcome in an agony of +expectation. + +The forces as far as known were evenly balanced, though it was rumored +that the Germans were drawing large reserves temporarily from the +eastern front, and color was lent to this by the fact that the Swiss +frontier had been closed for a month to conceal the movement of troops. + +It was not yet certain which side would make the first move. Each army +was drawn up in a strong natural position with ranges of hills behind in +the event of having to fall back. + +"I hope we get in the first blow," remarked Frank, as he discussed the +question with his chums. + +"So do I," agreed Bart. "You know then where you're going to strike. +This matter of fighting behind entanglements doesn't make a hit with me +at all." + +"There's more of a swing and rush to it when you attack," commented +Billy. "Do you remember how it was, fellows, in that last big scrap when +we were sprinting over No Man's Land? You're so eager to get at the Huns +that you don't have time to think of danger." + +But one foggy morning not long after, the German leaders settled the +matter for the Camport strategists and struck with tremendous force at +the Allied lines. + +Two hours before dawn the German guns opened up with a roar that shook +the earth. The air was full of flying shells; tear shells to blind the +eyes of the Allied gunners so that they could not see to serve their +pieces; mustard shells that bit into the lungs like a consuming fire; +chlorine gas shells, with a deadly poison, to cause such agony that even +surgeons, hardened in the exercise of their profession, turned away +their faces from the writhings of the victims. Then, following these, a +storm of leaden hail, withering, searing, blasting, before which it +seemed no living thing could stand. + +Crouched low in their trenches, massed line behind line, the Allied +forces bent their heads to the storm, and waited in grim fury for the +infantry attack that they knew would surely follow. + +And it was not long in coming. The fog had risen by this time, and over +the fields, rank upon rank, marching at the double quick, came masses of +gray figures that seemed as endless as the waves of the sea. + +The Allied artillery tore wide gaps in the dense masses, but they closed +up instantly and continued their advance. Machine guns poured thousands +of bullets into the living target, and the gunners served their pieces +again and again until they were so hot that they burned the hand. + +But true to their theory of warfare, the German leaders fed their men +into the jaws of Moloch with cynical indifference. They had counted on +paying a certain price, and they were willing to pay it. + +But flesh and blood has its limitations, and before that murderous fire +the ranks at last faltered. + +Then from the trenches poured the Allied hosts in a fierce counter +attack, and before their resistless charge the enemy wavered and at last +broke. The gray lines melted away, and the ground, strewn with their +dead and dying, was held by the Allied forces, which swiftly organized +for the second attack, that they knew would not be long in coming. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A DEED OF DARING + + +"We got them!" cried Bart, exultingly, as the boys worked feverishly at +the preparations to meet the new attack. + +"Right between the eyes," cried Billy. + +"We drew first blood, all right," agreed Frank, "but they'll come again +for more." + +The prophecy was speedily realized, for again the enemy came forward, +with undiminished ardor, protected this time by a deadly barrage fire +behind which they marched with confidence. It was evident that this time +the enemy, having tested the Allied mettle and found it excellent, had +determined to place its chief reliance upon their big gun fire. And for +a time it seemed as though their confidence was justified. The barrage +fire swept the ground so completely that the Allies were forced to +abandon their hastily seized positions in the open and retreat once more +to the shelter of their trenches. But all the attacks of the German +hordes, repeated again and again, were not able to get possession of +those first line trenches, to which the Allies held with the fury of +desperation. They were manned chiefly by the American troops, although +certain units of French and English held either end of the line. Again +and again the storm broke, and again and again it was beaten back. The +Germans had massed at that portion of the line numbers many times +greater than those possessed by the defenders. By all the theories of +war they ought to have been successful, but, like the old guard at +Waterloo, the Americans might die, but would not surrender. + +Yet after a while the very stubbornness of this resistance proved in +itself a danger. On the right and the left the line, though not broken, +was bent back. In this way the American position formed a salient in the +German line, and was subjected to attack not only in front, but on the +flanks. It became imperative that the line should draw back so that it +might be in keeping with the position now held by the wings. + +So, after hours of sanguinary fighting, the orders came to fall back, +and the Americans, who had been standing like the army of Thomas at +Chickamauga, fifty years previous, reluctantly obeyed, and fell slowly +back to new positions, their faces always toward the foe. + +"What kind of a fool stunt is this?" growled Tom, who, with his +comrades, had been in the thick of the fight. "We had it all over those +fellows, even if they were two or three times as many, and here we are +retreating, when we ought to go ahead and lick the tar out of them." +"Don't growl and complain, Tom," soothed Frank, whose left hand was +bleeding where a bullet had zipped its way across it. "They'll get the +licking all right when the time comes." + +"It's good dope to give back a little sometimes," added Bart. "It's like +boxing. When a blow comes straight at your stomach you bend back and +that takes half the force away from the blow. Don't worry the least +little bit about this fight. We may be bending a little, but we're not +breaking, and before many hours we'll be standing the Heinies on their +heads." + +But the promise was not fulfilled that day, and when, night came after +hours of tremendous struggle, the Allied forces had not regained their +lost ground. + +As darkness fell the combat lessened, and finally ceased altogether, as +far as infantry attacks were concerned, although all through the night +the artillery kept up a fire of greater or less intensity. + +The boys of the regiment to which the Camport boys belonged were in +rather a sober mood when they gathered around their field kitchens that +night and partook of the food that was served out to them. They had not +lost a gun, but they had yielded ground, and a great many of their +comrades would never again answer the roll call. But their fighting +spirit was at as high a pitch as ever, and they could scarcely wait till +the morrow to get their revenge. + +Frank and his chums had come through the day unscathed, except for the +injury to Frank's hand and a mark across Billy's temple where a bullet +had ridged the skin. Perhaps it was due to the fortune that is said to +attend the brave, for they had borne themselves like heroes and had been +stationed at one of the most fiercely battered portions of the line. + +"I suppose they're gloating over this in Berlin to-night," said Tom +gloomily, as they sat at the roots of a great tree whose bark and +branches had been stripped from it by a storm of shells. + +"And groaning over it in New York," added Billy. + +"He laughs best who laughs last," said Bart. "To-morrow's a new day. +Just watch our smoke." + +"We'll eat 'em alive," prophesied Frank confidently, as he nursed his +wounded hand. "Like John Paul Jones, we've just begun to fight." + +"Do you fellows remember what General Corse said one time when Sherman +asked him if he could hold out?" asked Bart. + +"What was it?" asked Billy. + +"He said: 'I've lost one eye and a piece of an ear, but I can lick a +brigade or two yet,'" answered Bart. + +"Good old scout," approved Billy, while the boys laughed. + +"Well, we're not as badly off as that yet," said Frank, "although this +hand of mine is smarting to beat the band." + +"And my head is aching ready to split," added Billy. "One inch to the +left and it would have been all up with your uncle Billy." + +The fighting was resumed at dawn, and again it was the Germans who +attacked. They had counted on their advantage of the day before to break +the morale of their enemies and hoped by pressure to turn the withdrawal +into a rout. + +But like so many German calculations since the beginning of the war, +they had figured badly. The Allies, stung by their discomfiture of the +day before, fought like tigers. They beat the Germans back and took the +offensive in their own hands. + +The Germans retreated, though staunchly contesting every foot of ground. +In the front of Frank's company the enemy had established a machine gun +nest that was particularly effective. Again and again the Americans +sought to clean them out, but were met with such a galling fire that +they lost heavily, and at last the captain decided that the guns were +not worth the price he was paying to get possession of them. Yet the +position would be of so much advantage, if captured, that he hesitated +at changing his course and choosing another line of advance. + +In the litter and wreck of the field, Frank's keen eye had caught sight +of two big barrels filled with clothing for the troops. The barrels had +been dropped from a wrecked motor lorry of a supply train. Like a flash +an inspiration came to him. + +He consulted a moment with Bart, whose eye lighted up as he nodded +assent. Then he stepped up to his captain and saluted. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +STORMING THE RIDGE + + +"What is it, Sheldon?" + +"I think I can silence those guns, sir," Frank said. + +A light came into the captain's eyes. + +"How?" he asked. + +In a few brief words Frank described his plan. + +"But it's suicide," protested the captain. "There isn't one chance in a +thousand that you'll come out alive." + +"I know," said Frank. "But Raymond and I are willing to risk it if you +give the word." + +The captain pondered for a moment. It was a forlorn hope, but forlorn +hopes sometimes won out. + +"Go ahead," he said. + +Frank nodded to Bart, and in a twinkling they had turned the big barrels +over on their sides. + +Then each lay on the ground behind his barrel and began to push it +toward the enemy. + +The men of their company had watched them wonderingly while they made +their preparations, and when they realized what the boys had in mind +they raised a thundering cheer that rose above the din of battle. + +The crews of the two enemy machine guns looked with stupefaction at the +big barrels coming toward them. Then they woke from their trance and a +storm of bullets beat upon the barrels. + +If they had been empty the bullets would have gone through and killed +the boys behind them. But they were filled with woolen clothing, which +while light enough to enable the boys to push the barrels with +comparative ease was just the thing to stop the bullets. The whizzing +missiles thudded into the clothing and there they stopped. It was on the +same basis as the sandbag which stops a cannon ball that would go +through an iron plate. + +Steadily the boys kept on, pushing the barrels before them. They did not +go on hands and knees, for then they would be exposed to the enemy +bullets. It was a caterpillar motion, drawing their bodies along the +ground, and was a tremendous tax on their muscles, for they could get no +purchase. + +One thing in their favor was that the ground sloped a trifle toward the +enemy position and this made the barrels roll more easily. + +By this time the enemy was growing frantic at this novel method of +attack. They could not see their enemy, and they could not kill him. And +the sight of those barrels coming toward them, as inexorably as fate, +got on their nerves, already tense with the fury of the combat. + +Nearer and nearer came the barrels to the guns until they were not more +than twenty feet away. Then they stopped. + +The German gunners drew fresh hope from this. Had their bullets found +their mark in the bodies of their daring enemies? + +But there were two very live boys behind those motionless barrels. + +Frank and Bart had drawn a handful of grenades from their sacks. At a +given signal they drew back their arms and hurled them over the barrels +in quick succession. + +They fell right in the midst of the machine guns. There was a tremendous +explosion that killed some of the gunners and threw the rest into wild +confusion. + +"Now!" shouted Frank, and he and Bart leaped to their feet and rushed +toward the guns. + +There was a wild mêlée for a moment, and then the surviving Germans +turned and ran in panic down the slope. + +The boys slued the captured guns around and sent a stream of bullets +after their wildly fleeing enemies. + +The rout was complete, and the next minute the whole company, that had +charged the instant the grenades were thrown, came tearing up, and there +was a scene of hilarity and enthusiasm that passed description. + +"The finest thing I ever saw!" declared the captain. "You boys are the +stuff of which heroes are made." + +But there was no time then to dwell on the exploit. The enemy was on the +run and they must keep him going. + +And they did, so well and so thoroughly, that when the day was over they +had swept the whole ridge that had been their objective in the fight and +planted Old Glory on its highest crest. And their victory was shared by +the rest of the Allied line, who not only regained all the losses of the +day before, but swept the Germans out of their first and second lines on +a five-mile front, inflicting on them a defeat which they were long to +remember. + +And how the lesson that the Germans learned that day was repeated later +on will be told in the next book of this series, entitled: "Army Boys on +the Firing Line; Or, Holding Back the German Drive." + +Not but what the victory had cost the Americans dearly. Every regiment +engaged had its own long list of killed and wounded. + +"Poor old Fred," said Frank, referring to Anderson. "His right arm was +badly shattered and I'm afraid he may lose it." + +"Fred is playing in hard luck," returned Bart. "That's twice he's been +wounded. Remember the night down at the old mill when the bomb got his +leg?" + +"He's having more than his share," agreed Billy. + +"There's Wilson, too," said Bart. "He's been in the thick of it all day, +but he went down with a bullet in his shoulder just as we got to the top +of the ridge." + +"The corp certainly fought like a tiger," said Tom. "But he's worth a +dozen dead men yet. A month in the hospital will fix him up all right, I +hope." + +"There's one good thing anyway," pat in Billy. "The Huns haven't taken +many of our boys prisoners." + +"And we've got more of their men than we know what to do with," exulted +Frank. + +"I know what I'd do with them," said Tom. "I'd send them to America to +be imprisoned there and I'd put a bunch of them on every transport that +sailed to the other side." + +"That wouldn't be a bad stunt," agreed Bart. "Then if a submarine sank +the ship it would carry a lot of their own people down to Davy Jones." + +Among the missing was one whose loss did not greatly grieve the boys of +the old Thirty-seventh. Nick Rabig did not answer to his name when the +roll was called. They did not find his body on the field, nor was he +among the wounded that were brought in and tenderly cared for in the +hospitals. + +"I see Nick is missing," remarked Frank to Bart later in the evening, as +they were resting and rejoicing over the victory. + +"Missing but not missed," put in the implacable Tom. + +"If the Huns have got him, he'll feel more at home than he ever felt +with us," remarked Bart. + +"Maybe he was captured against his will," said Tom, "and then again +_maybe_--" + +"What do you suppose they'll say in Camport when they hear of this day's +work, fellows?" asked Billy. + +"Oh," answered Frank with a laugh, "they'll only say: 'It's nothing more +than we expected.'" + +"They know us, don't they?" + +"Of course they do," broke in Tom. "We came to France to do our duty as +American citizens, as well as soldiers." + +"I wonder how long it will be before this war is over and we start for +home?" came from Frank. + +"Not tired of the game yet, are you?" quizzed Billy, quickly. + +"Do I look as if I was tired of it?" was the counter-question. + +"We are all going to stay over here until the Huns are licked good and +proper!" burst cut Bart. "There is no use in stopping while the job is +only half finished." + +"Just you wait until Uncle Sam has a lot of men over here," put in +Billy. "Then we'll show those Huns what's what and don't you forget it! +We'll wallop them so thoroughly they'll be getting down on their knees +yelling for mercy." + +"Now you've said something!" came in a chorus from the others. + +And here let us say good-bye to the Army Boys. + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Army Boys in the French Trenches, by Homer Randall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + +***** This file should be named 9789-8.txt or 9789-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/9/7/8/9789/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 + + +Title: Army Boys in the French Trenches + +Author: Homer Randall + +Posting Date: November 3, 2011 [EBook #9789] +Release Date: January, 2006 +First Posted: October 17, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + + + +ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES + +OR + +HAND TO HAND FIGHTING WITH THE ENEMY + +BY + +HOMER RANDALL + +AUTHOR OF +"Army Boys in France" and "Army Boys on the Firing Line" + +Illustrated by ROBERT GASTON HERBERT + +1919 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, +as wire entanglements were uprooted.] + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I A SLASHING ATTACK + + II THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + III TAKING CHANCES + + IV BETWEEN THE LINES + + V THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + VI A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + VII NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + VIII COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + IX THE ESCAPE + + X A GHASTLY BURDEN + + XI WITH THE TANKS + + XII BREAKING THROUGH + + XIII CAUGHT NAPPING + + XIV IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + XV THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + + XVI CHASED BY CAVALRY + + XVII THE BROKEN BRIDGE + +XVIII RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + XIX PUTTING ONE OVER + + XX SUSPICION + + XXI A FAMILIAR VOICE + + XXII THE SHADOW OF TREASON + +XXIII A HAIL OF LEAD + + XXIV A DEED OF DARING + + XXV STORMING THE RIDGE + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A SLASHING ATTACK + + +"Stand ready, boys. We attack at dawn!" + +The word passed in a whisper down the long line of the trench, where the +American army boys crouched like so many khaki-clad ghosts, awaiting the +command to go "over the top." + +"That will be in about fifteen minutes from now, I figure," murmured +Frank Sheldon to his friend and comrade, Bart Raymond, as he glanced at +the hands of his radio watch and then put it up to his ear to make sure +that it had not stopped. + +"It'll seem more like fifteen hours," muttered Tom Bradford, who was on +the other side of Sheldon. + +"Tom's in a hurry to get at the Huns," chuckled Billy Waldon. "He wants +to show them where they get off." + +"I saw him putting a razor edge on his bayonet last night," added Bart. +"Now he's anxious to see how it works." + +"He'll have plenty of chances to find out," said Frank. "This is going +to be a hot scrap, or I miss my guess. I heard the captain tell the +lieutenant that the Germans had their heaviest force right in front of +our part of the line." + +"So much the better," asserted Billy stoutly. "They can't come too thick +or too fast. They've been sneering at what the Yankees were going to do +in this war, and it's about time they got punctures in their tires." + +At this moment the mess helpers passed along the line with buckets of +steaming hot coffee, and the men welcomed it eagerly, for it was late in +the autumn and the night air was chill and penetrating. "Come, little +cup, to one who loves thee well," murmured Tom, as he swallowed his +portion in one gulp. + +The others were not slow in following his example, and the buckets were +emptied in a twinkling. + +Then the stern vigil was renewed. + +From the opposing lines a star shell rose and exploded, casting a +greenish radiance over the barren stretch of No Man's Land that +separated the hostile forces. + +"Fritz isn't asleep," muttered Frank. + +"He's right on the job with his fireworks," agreed Bart. + +"Maybe he has his suspicions that we're going to give him a little +surprise party," remarked Billy, "and that's his way of telling us that +he's ready to welcome us with open arms." + +"Fix bayonets!" came the command from the officer in charge, and there +was a faint clink as the order was obeyed. + +"It won't be long now," murmured Tom. "But why don't the guns open up?" + +"They always do before it's time to charge," commented Billy, as he +shifted his position a little. "I suppose they will now almost any +minute." + +"I don't think there'll be any gun fire this time before we go over the +top," ventured Frank. + +"What do you mean?" asked Bart in surprise, as he turned his head toward +his chum. + +"Do you know anything?" queried Tom. + +"Not exactly know, but I've heard enough to make a guess," replied +Frank. "I think we're going to play the game a little differently this +time. Unless I'm mistaken, the Huns are going to get the surprise of +their lives." + +"Put on gas masks!" came another order, and in the six seconds allowed +for this operation the masks were donned, making the men in the long +line look like so many goblins. + +It was light enough for them to see each other now, for the gray fingers +of the dawn were already drawing the curtain of darkness aside from the +eastern sky. + +One minute more passed--a minute of tense, fierce expectation, while the +boys gripped their rifles until it seemed that their fingers would bury +themselves in the stocks. + +Crash! + +With a roar louder than a thousand guns the earth under the German +first-line trenches split asunder, and tons of rock and mud and guns and +men were hurled toward the sky. + +The din was terrific, the sight appalling, and the shock for an instant +was almost as great to the Americans as to their opponents, though far +less tragic. + +"Now, men," shouted their lieutenant, "over with you!" and with a wild +yell of exultation the boys clambered over the edge of the trench and +started toward the German lines. + +"We're off!" panted Frank, as, with eyes blazing and bayonet ready for +instant use, he rushed forward in the front rank. + +"To a flying start!" gasped Bart, and then because breath was precious +they said no more, but raced on like greyhounds freed from the leash. + +On, on they went, with the wind whipping their faces! On, still on, to +the red ruin wrought by the explosion of the mine. + +For the first fifty yards the going was easy except for the craters and +shell holes into which some of the boys slid and tumbled. The enemy had +been so numbed and paralyzed by the overwhelming explosion that they +seemed to be unable to make any resistance. + +But the officers knew, and the men as well, that this was only the lull +before the storm. Their enemy was desperate and resourceful, and though +the cleverness of the American engineers had carried through the mine +operation without detection, it was certain that the foe would rally. + +Fifty yards from the first-line trench--forty--thirty--and then the +German guns spoke. + +A long line of flame flared up crimson in the pallid dawn. + +"Down, men, down!" shouted their officers, and the Yankee lads threw +themselves flat on the ground while a leaden hail swept furiously over +them. + +"Are you hurt, Bart?" cried Frank anxiously, as he heard a sharp +exclamation from his comrade. + +"Not by a bullet," growled Bart. "Took some of the skin off my knee +though when I went down." + +A second time the murderous fire came hurtling over them, but the +officers noted with satisfaction that the enemy were shooting high. + +"They haven't got the range yet," observed Billy. + +"Up!" came the word of command, and again the men were on their feet and +racing like mad toward the trench. + +They came at last to where it had been. For it was no longer a trench! + +Gone was the zigzag line that the boys knew by heart from having faced +and fought against it for weeks. The mine had done its work thoroughly. + +Everywhere was a welter of hideous confusion. Barbed wire entanglements +with their supporting posts had been rooted from the ground. Guns had +been torn from their carriages. "Pill boxes" had been smashed to bits. +Horses and men and wagons and camp kitchens were mingled together in +wildest chaos. + +Parts of the trench had been filled to the surface with earth, while +huge boulders blocked the entrance to some of the communicating +passages. + +There were a few sharp fights with scattered units of the enemy that had +retained their senses and were trying to get their machine guns into +action. But these detachments were soon cut down or captured. The great +majority of the survivors were so dazed that they surrendered with +scarcely a show of resistance and were rounded up in squads to be sent +to the rear. + +The first trench had been won, and it was almost a bloodless victory, +only a few of the American troops having fallen in the sudden rush. + +But sterner work lay ahead, for the second and third German lines were +still intact, bristling with men and supported heavily by their guns. + +"This was easy," grinned Billy. + +"Like taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten," chuckled Tom, as he +wiped the grime and perspiration from his face. + +"Don't fool yourselves," warned Frank, as a shell came whining over +their heads. "This was only a skirmish. The real fight is coming, and +coming mighty quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + +Even while Frank Sheldon spoke, the artillery of the enemy took on a +deeper note until it reached the intensity of drumfire. + +But now the American gunners took a hand, and the shells came pouring +over the heads of the boys, searching out the line of the second enemy +trench and preparing the way for the advance. + +In obedience to commands, the American soldiers had sought shelter +wherever they could find it, while they were recovering their wind. + +Only a moment could be granted for this, however, for time was +everything just now. They had caught the enemy off his guard and must +take advantage of the opportunity. + +"Line up, men!" cried the leader of Frank's detachment, and the high +state of discipline that the American forces had reached was shown by +the promptness with which the order was obeyed. + +A signal was sent back to the supporting guns, and they opened up a +deadly barrage fire over the heads of Frank and his comrades, clearing +the ground before them of everything that dared to show itself in the +open. + +Behind this curtain of fire, the boys advanced, slowly at first, but +gathering speed at every stride, until they were running at the double +quick. + +Bullets rained about them from the machine guns of the enemy and great +shells tore gaps in the ranks. At Frank's left, a soldier suddenly +wavered and then pitched headlong into a shell hole and lay still. +Another toppled over with a bullet in his shoulder. But the lanes that +were made closed almost instantly. + +Now they had reached the wire entanglements that had been battered by +the artillery until they hung in festoons around their posts, leaving +paths through which the American lads poured. + +Then like a great tidal wave they struck the trench! + +The Germans had clambered out to meet them, and when the two forces met +the shock was terrific. Back and forth the battle surged and swayed, +each side fighting with the fury of desperation. The cannon had ceased +now, for in that locked mass the shells were as likely to kill friends +as foes. It was man against man, bayonet against bayonet, each combatant +obeying the primitive law of "kill or be killed." + +The opposing forces at this part of the line were nearly equal, with the +Germans having a slight advantage in numbers. But to make up for this, +the Americans had the advantage of the attack and the tremendous +momentum with which they had struck the enemy's line. + +For a time victory hung in the balance, but then Yankee determination +and superior skill in bayonet work began to tell. The Americans would +not be denied. The German line was pierced, and the forces broke up into +a number of battling groups. + +Frank and Bart, Billy and Tom, who all through the fight had managed to +keep together, found themselves engaged with a squad of Germans double +their number, two of whom were frantically trying to bring a machine gun +to bear upon them. + +With a bound Frank was upon them. He toppled one over with his bayonet, +but while he was doing this the other fired at him point-blank with a +revolver. At such a close range he could not have missed, had not Bart, +quick as a flash, clubbed him over the arm with his rifle, making the +bullet go wild. + +"Quick, Bart!" panted Frank, as with his comrade's help he slued the +machine gun around, gripped the trigger, and sent a stream of bullets +into a group of the enemy charging down upon him. + +Before that withering fire they dissolved like mist, and a circle was +cleared as though by magic. + +What Germans were left in that immediate vicinity leaped back into the +trench on the edge of which they had been fighting. + +"Now we've got them!" cried Frank, as with his friends' assistance he +quickly wheeled the gun to the brink of the trench and depressed the +muzzle so that it commanded the huddled bunch below. "Come out of that, +you fellows. Hands up, quick!" + +They may not have understood his words, but there was no +misunderstanding the meaning of that black sinister muzzle of the +machine gun with a hundred deaths behind it. They were trapped, and +their hands went up with cries of "_Kamerad!_" in token of surrender. + +On that part of the line the battle was over, for the plan did not +contemplate going beyond the second trench at that time. The American +boys had won and won gloriously. From all parts of the trench, on a +two-mile front, groups of captives were coming sullenly out with uplifted +hands, to be herded into groups by their captors and sent to the rear. + +"Glory hallelujah!" cried Bart, as he removed his mask and wiped his +streaming face. "And no gas, either." + +"Some scrap!" gasped Billy, as he sank exhausted to the ground. + +"Did them up to the Queen's taste," chuckled Tom. + +"We certainly put one over on the Huns that time," grinned Frank +happily. + +And while they stand there, breathless and exulting, it may be well for +the benefit of those who have not previously made the acquaintance of +the American Army Boys to sketch briefly their adventures up to the time +this story opens. + +Frank Sheldon, Bart Raymond, Tom Bradford and Billy Waldon had all been +born and brought up in Camport, a thriving American city of about +twenty-five thousand people. They had known each other from boyhood, +attended the same school, played on the same baseball nine and were warm +friends. + +Frank was the natural leader of the group. He was a tall, muscular young +fellow, quick to think and quick to act, always at the front in sports +as well as in the more serious events of life. + +His father had died some years before, leaving only a modest home as a +legacy, and Frank was the sole support of his mother. The latter had +been born in France, where Mr. Sheldon had married her and brought her +to America. + +Later, Mrs. Sheldon's father had died, leaving her a considerable +property in Auvergne, her native province. This estate, however, had +been tied up in a lawsuit, and she had not come into possession of it. +She had been planning to go to France to look after her interests, but +her husband's death and, later on, the breaking out of the European war, +had made this impossible. + +She was a charming woman, with all the French sparkle and vivacity, and +she and her son were bound together in ties of the strongest affection. +Naturally her ardent sympathy had been with France in the great war +raging in Europe. But when it became evident that America soon would +take part, although she welcomed the aid this would bring to her native +country, her mother heart was torn with anguish at the thought that her +only son would probably join in the fighting across the sea. + +But Frank, though he dreaded the separation, felt that he must join the +Camport regiment that was getting ready to fight the Huns. The deciding +moment came when a German tore down the American flag from a neighbor's +porch. Frank knocked the fellow down and in the presence of an excited +throng made him kiss the flag that he had insulted. From that moment his +resolution was taken, and his mother, who had witnessed the scene, gave +her consent to his joining the old Thirty-seventh regiment, made up +chiefly of Camport boys, including Billy Waldon, who had seen service on +the Mexican border. + +Bart Raymond, Frank's special chum, a sturdy, vigorous young fellow, was +equally patriotic, and joined the regiment with Frank as soon as war was +declared. Tom Bradford, a fellow employee in the firm of Moore & Thomas, +a thriving hardware house, wanted to enlist, but was rejected on account +of his teeth, although he wrathfully declared that "he wanted to shoot +the Germans, not to bite them." In fact, almost all the young fellows +employed by the firm, except "Reddy," the office boy, who wanted to go +badly enough, but who was too young, tried to get into some branch of +the army or navy. + +A marked exception was Nick Rabig, the foreman of the shipping +department, who, although born in the United States, came of German +parents and lost no opportunity of "boosting" Germany and "knocking" +America. He was the bully of the place and universally disliked. He +hated Frank, especially after the flag incident, and only the thought of +his mother had prevented Frank more than once from giving Rabig the +thrashing he deserved. + +Frank's regiment was sent to Camp Boone for their preliminary training, +and here the young recruits were put through their paces in rifle +shooting, grenade throwing, bayonet practice and all the other exercises +by which Uncle Sam turns his boys into soldiers. There was plenty of fun +mixed in with the hard work, and they had many stirring experiences. A +pleasant feature was the coming of Tom, who although rejected when he +tried to enlist had been accepted in the draft. Not so pleasant, though +somewhat amusing, was the fact that Nick Rabig also had been drafted and +had to go to Camp Boone, though most unwillingly. + +How the regiment sailed to France for intensive training behind the +firing lines; how their transport narrowly escaped being sunk by a +submarine and how the tables were turned; the singular chance by which +Frank met a French colonel and heard encouraging news about his mother's +property; how he thoroughly "trimmed" Rabig in a boxing bout; how the +Camport boys took part in the capture of a Zeppelin; how the old +Thirty-seventh finally reached the trenches; Frank's daring exploit when +caught in the swirl of a German charge; these and other exciting +adventures are told in the first book of this Series, entitled: "Army +Boys in France; Or, From Training Camp to the Trenches." + + + +"Do you remember what that airship captain said the day we bagged him?" +chuckled Billy. + +"About it being impossible for Americans to get to France?" asked Bart. +"You bet I do. I'll never forget that boob. I wonder if he still +believes it." + +"He'd sing a different tune if he were here to-day," observed Tom. + +"I don't know," laughed Frank. "The German skull is pretty thick. Still +you can get something through it once in a while if you keep on +hammering." + +"I guess these fellows haven't any doubts about our being here," +observed Billy. + +"They've had pretty good evidence of it," confirmed Tom, as he watched +the enemy captives standing about in dejected groups, waiting to be sent +to the rear. + +One thing that struck the boys forcibly was the disparity of age between +the prisoners. There was an unusual proportion of men beyond middle life +and of youngsters still in their teens. + +"Grandpas and kids," blurted out Tom. + +"The Kaiser's robbing the cradle and the grave," commented Billy. +"Germany's getting pretty near to the limit of her man power, I guess." + +"That's true of France and England, too," observed Frank thoughtfully. +"They lost the flower of their troops in the early fighting and they all +have to do a great deal of combing to keep their ranks full." + +"And that's where America has the Indian sign on the Huns," jubilated +Bart "We'll have our best against her second best." + +"We'll trim her good and proper," predicted Frank. "Even at her best, +we'd down her in the end. But don't let's kid ourselves. She's full of +fight yet, and will take a lot of beating. And there are plenty of +huskies in her ranks yet. Look at that big brute over there. He looks as +though he could lift an ox." + +He pointed to a massively built German corporal, who was evidently mad +with rage at his capture. He was gesticulating wildly to his fellow +prisoners and fairly sputtering in the attempt to relieve his feelings. + +"Seems to be rather peeved," grinned Tom. + +"I can't catch on to what he's saying," laughed Bart. "But I'll bet he +could give points to a New York truckman or the mate of a Mississippi +steamboat. They'd turn green with envy if they could understand him." + +"He's frothing at the mouth," chuckled Billy. "I'd hate to have him bite +me just now. I'd get hydrophobia sure." + +There was no time for further comment. The officers had had to give the +men a short breathing spell, for all were spent with their tremendous +exertions. But now after the brief rest, all was bustle and hurry. + +"The Huns will be back for more," predicted Frank, as he and his friends +were set to work changing the sandbags from the side of the trench that +had faced the Americans to the other side that looked toward the German +third line. + +"They must be hard to please if they haven't had enough for one +morning," growled Tom. + +"They're gluttons for punishment," remarked Bart. "The first-line trench +is junk from the mine explosion, but they won't give this second one up +without making one mighty effort to get it back." + +The young soldiers were working feverishly to organize the captured +position, when their corporal, Wilson, summoned them out and they +scrambled forth promptly and stood at attention. + +"Fall in to take back the prisoners," he ordered. + +A look of disappointment came over their faces and Wilson's eyes +twinkled when he saw it. + +"Haven't you had enough fighting yet?" he demanded. "Well, I feel that +way myself, but orders are orders. Come along." + +"Hard luck," muttered Frank in a low tone to Bart, as they obeyed the +command. + +"We'll miss some lovely fighting," agreed Bart. + +"I was just getting warmed up," mourned Billy. + +"Don't worry," advised Tom. "We'll be sent back after we get these +fellows to headquarters, and we'll have a chance to get another crack at +them." + +The prisoners, having been searched, were placed in double file between +the members of the guarding squad, who walked at a few paces interval on +either side of them. + +"Fall in!" came the corporal's order. "Shoulder arms. March!" + +They started out briskly. + +Frank and Bart happened to be close beside the big German corporal whom +they had before observed. His wrath was not yet abated, and he kept up a +volley of epithets as he sullenly marched along. + +"He's making as much fuss as though he were the Kaiser," chuckled Tom, +who was vastly amused at the prisoner's antics. + +"Slap him on the wrist and tell him to be nice," counseled Billy with a +grin. + +The captive glared at them with insane rage in his eyes. + +"I think he's going nutty," remarked Bart. "It's lucky for him there +aren't any squirrels around." + +"You want to keep your eye peeled for him," warned Frank. "He's bad +medicine." + +"He's safe enough," replied Bart, carelessly. "He hasn't any weapon, and +if he started to run he wouldn't get far. He isn't cut out for a +sprinter." + +"Even if he were, a bullet would catch him," chimed in Billy. "He'd make +a big target and it would be a pretty bad shot that would miss him." + +When they reached the blown-up first trench they found it difficult to +keep in line, and had to pick their way over the heaped-up ruin that had +been made by the mine explosion. + +Bart tripped over a strand of broken wire, and in trying to save himself +from falling, his rifle slipped from his hand. + +The German corporal was within a foot of him and saw his opportunity. + +Quick as a flash he drew from his clothing a trench knife that the +searchers had overlooked. The murderous blade gleamed in the air as the +corporal brought it down toward the neck of Bart, who had stooped to +pick up his rifle. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +TAKING CHANCES + + +"Look out, Bart!" yelled Billy, while Tom made a desperate leap to his +comrade's rescue. + +But Frank was quicker than either. + +Like lightning he lunged with his bayonet and caught the German in the +wrist, just as the knife was about to bury itself in Bart's neck. + +With a howl of rage and pain, as his arm was forced upward, the +prisoner's hand lost its grip on the weapon and it clattered harmlessly +to the ground. + +In an instant the German was overpowered and his arms tied behind him +with his own belt. Then his wounded wrist was bound up with a surgical +dressing, and under a special guard he was urged forward in no gentle +manner, for all were at a white heat at his treacherous attempt. + +By the laws of war his life was forfeited, and he seemed to realize +this, for all his bravado vanished and from time to time he looked +fearfully at his captors. He saw little there to encourage him, for Bart +was a great favorite with his company and the attack had stirred them to +the depths. + +"A close call, old man." said Frank, affectionately tapping his friend +on the shoulder. "It would have been taps for me, all right, if you +hadn't acted as quickly as you did," responded Bart gratefully. + +"Frank was Johnny-on-the-spot," said Billy admiringly. "My heart was in +my mouth when I saw that knife coming down." + +"It was a waste of time to tie up that fellow's arm," remarked Tom, as +he glowered at the miscreant. "He'll soon be where he won't need any +bandages." + +"I guess it's a case for a firing squad," judged Billy. "But it serves +him right, for it was up to him to play the game." + +Before long they reached headquarters and delivered up their prisoners. +If they had expected to be sent back immediately to the firing line, +they were disappointed, for the examination of the prisoners began at +once, without the squad receiving notice of dismissal. + +This had its compensations, however, for although they had captured +prisoners before, they had never been present at their examination, and +they were curious to see the turn the questioning would take. + +Captain Baker, of the old Thirty-seventh, was detailed to do the +examining, and because time was precious and it was most important to +learn just what enemy units were opposed to the American forces, he got +to work at once, an interpreter standing at his side while a +stenographer made note of the replies. + +The captain signaled to one of the most intelligent looking of the +prisoners, and the latter stepped out, clicked his heels together +smartly and saluted. + +"What is your name?" asked the captain. + +"Rudolph Schmidt." + +"Your regiment?" + +"The Seventy-ninth Bavarian." + +"Who is your colonel?" + +"Von Armin." + +"Who commands your division?" + +"General Hofer." + +"Who is your corps commander?" + +"Prince Lichtenstein." + +"How many men have you lost in the last few days' fighting?" + +Obstinate silence. + +The captain repeated the question. + +"I do not know," the prisoner answered evasively. + +"Well, were your losses heavy or light?" pursued the captain patiently. + +"I cannot tell." + +The captain switched to another line. + +"Do you know who have captured you?" he asked. + +"The English," was the prompt answer. + +"No," replied the captain. "We are Americans." + +The prisoner permitted himself an incredulous smile. + +"Can't you see these are American uniforms?" asked the captain, with a +sweep of his arm. + +"Yes," was the reply. "But our captain tells us that the English wear +that uniform to make us think that the Americans have arrived in +France." + +A grin went around the circle of listeners. + +"You blawsted, bloody Britisher," chuckled Bart, giving Frank a poke in +the ribs. + +"Where's my bally monocle, old top?" whispered Frank, while Billy and +Tom grew red in the face from trying to control their merriment. + +The captain himself had all he could do to maintain his gravity. + +"Do you believe your captain when he tells you that?" he inquired. + +"I must believe him," answered the prisoner simply. + +"There's discipline for you," muttered Billy. + +"Such childlike faith," murmured Tom. + +"But even if the Americans are not already here," persisted the captain, +"don't you believe they are coming?" + +"They may try to come," answered the captive doubtfully; "but if they +do, they will never get here." + +"Why not." + +"Our U-boats will stop them." + +"That settles it," whispered Bart. "We think we're here, but we're only +kidding ourselves. We _can't_ be here. Heinie says so and, of course, he +knows." + +"What a come-on he'd be for the confidence men," gurgled Billy. "They'd +sell him the Brooklyn Bridge before he'd been on shore for an hour." + +Questioned as to food supplies, the German admitted that their rations, +although fairly good, were not so abundant as at the beginning of the +war. Then with characteristic arrogance he added: + +"But we will have plenty to eat and drink too when we get to Paris." + +"I suppose your captain tells you that too," remarked the inquisitor. + +"Yes," was the reply. + +"That eternal captain again," murmured Bart. + +"He must be a wonder," chuckled Tom. + +"You've been rather a long time on the road to Paris, haven't you?" +asked the captain, with a tinge of sarcasm. "Seems to me I've heard +something about a banquet that was to celebrate the Crown Prince's entry +into Paris a month after the war was started." + +A discomfited look stole over the prisoner's face. + +"That was Von Kluck's fault," he said sullenly. + +"Seems to me the French army had something to do with it too," whispered +Frank to Bart. "What does your captain tell you your armies are fighting +for?" continued the questioner. + +"To give Germany her place in the sun," answered the prisoner without +hesitation. + +"That seems to be a stock phrase of the Huns," whispered Billy. "I'll +bet it's part of the lesson taught in every German school." + +A few more questions followed, but failed to elicit any information of +special importance, and the prisoner was dismissed, to have his place +taken by some of his comrades. + +But what they told the boys never knew, for just then Corporal Wilson, +who had been in close conference with his lieutenant, beckoned to them +and they filed silently out of the quarters. + +"Back to the firing line for us," remarked Frank. + +"About time too," replied Bart, as he shouldered his rifle. "We've been +missing all the fun." + +But the first words of the corporal showed them that they were mistaken. + +"You lads are out of it for the rest of the day," he remarked. "Go back +to your old trench now, get some grub and tumble into your bunks." + +They looked at each other in surprise, for the sun had not much more +than risen. + +"You heard what I said," reiterated the corporal. "Get all the sleep you +can to-day, for you won't do any sleeping to-night!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +BETWEEN THE LINES + + +The Army boys looked at each other in blank inquiry, but the corporal +did not offer to enlighten them, and they were too good soldiers to ask +questions when orders were given. + +"What do you suppose is in the wind now?" asked Bart, as they made their +way to their sleeping quarters. + +"Search me," replied Frank. + +"Aeroplanes," chirped Billy. + +Bart made a thrust at him which Billy dodged. + +"I guess we're picked for a scouting party," remarked Tom. "The captain +may want to confirm some of the information he's getting from those +chaps." + +"Information!" snorted Bart. "More likely misinformation. Those fellows +struck me as being dandy liars." + +"They wouldn't be Huns if they weren't," remarked Billy. "You know Baron +Munchausen came from over the Rhine, so they come rightly by their +talent in that line. But what's the matter with Tony here?" he added, as +they passed by one of the field kitchens in a protected nook, where one +of the bakers was kneading away desperately at some dough and muttering +volubly to himself. + +"He seems all riled up about something, for a fact," commented Frank. + +"What's the matter, Tony?" inquired Bart of the perspiring baker, an +Italian who had spent some years in the United States and who was +generally liked by the boys of the old Thirty-seventh because of his +customary good nature and his skill in compounding their favorite +dishes. + +Tony looked up in despair. + +"I can't maka de dough," he complained. "I worka more dan hour. It lika +de sand. It getta my goat." + +The boys laughed at his woe-begone face. + +"Put some more water with it," suggested Billy at a venture. + +Tony looked at him with such a glare of contempt that the amateur baker +wilted. + +"I usa de water!" he exclaimed. "Plent water! No maka de stick." + +"It looks all right," remarked Frank, as he picked up some of the +substance on the kneading board and let it dribble through his fingers, +"but as Tony says, it's like so much sand." + +"And it tastes queer," said Billy, putting a bit of it on his tongue. + +"Looks as though some of the food profiteers were trying to put +something over on us," observed Tom. + +Just then one of the commissary men came along, evidently looking for +something. + +"There's a bag of trench foot powder missing," he said. "Have any of you +chaps seen anything of it?" + +"Not guilty," returned Bart. "Though the way my feet feel it wouldn't do +them a bit of harm to have some of that powder on them right now." + +A sudden light dawned upon Frank. + +"Say, Tony!" he exclaimed, "let's see the bag you got that flour from." + +Tony complied and brought forth from one of his receptacles a large +paper bag which was two thirds full. + +Frank seized it and turned it around to see what was stamped on the +other side. Then he almost dropped the bag in a wild fit of hilarity. + +"No wonder Tony couldn't make his dough!" he exclaimed, when he could +speak. "Some chump in the supply department has handed him out a bag of +foot powder when he asked for flour." + +He showed the others the marking on the bag, and their merriment equaled +his own, while Tony alternately glowered and grinned. He had begun to +think that somebody had cast on him the "evil eye," so dreaded by his +countrymen, and he was relieved to find that his plight was due to +natural causes. Yet the thought of all that wasted effort stirred him to +resentment. + +"That's one on you, Tony, old boy!" chuckled Billy, with a poke in the +ribs. + +"It's lucky the dough wouldn't stick," laughed Frank. "There wouldn't +have been much nourishment in that kind of bread." + +"Dat guy a bonehead," asserted Tony, as he scraped his board with vigor. +"A vera beeg bonehead." + +The boys assented and passed on laughing. + +"And now for grub!" exclaimed Billy. "Oh, boy, maybe it won't taste +good!" + +"I guess we've earned our breakfast, all right," said Bart. + +"I can stand a whole lot of filling up," observed Tom. "Talk about +exercise before breakfast to get you an appetite. We've sure had enough +of it this morning." + +"I never ran so fast in my life," declared Billy. "A Marathon runner +would have had nothing on me." + +"We must have covered the space between those trenches in about twenty +seconds," agreed Bart. + +"Well, as long as we weren't running in the wrong direction it was all +right," grinned Tom. + +"The Boches haven't seen our backs yet, and here's hoping it will be +some time before they'll have that treat," said Frank with a laugh. + +They ate like famished wolves and then threw themselves on their bunks +to get a long sleep in preparation for the strenuous night that lay +before them. And so used had they already become to roaring of cannon +and whining of bullets and shrieking of shells, that, although the din +was almost incessant all through that day, it bothered them not at all. + +It was nearly dusk when the corporal passed along, giving them a shake +that roused them from their slumbers and brought them out of their bunks +in a hurry. + +"Time to get up, boys," said the corporal. "Not that we're going to +start out right away. But we've got quite a job before us and I want you +to have plenty of time to think over your instructions and have them +sink in." + +They dressed quickly and after a hearty supper reported to Wilson at +their company headquarters. + +They found the corporal grave and preoccupied. + +"As I suppose you fellows have already guessed," he began, "we're going +to-night on a scouting party. We're to find out the condition of the +wire in front of that third trench that the Huns still hold, and we want +to get more exact information about the location of the enemy's machine +guns. Anything else we find out will be welcome, but those are the main +things. + +"It's going to be pretty risky work," he continued. "Not but what +there's always plenty of risk about a job of this kind, but to-night +there's more than usual. The fierce fighting to-day has got the enemy +all stirred up and he'll be on the alert. Likely enough he'll have +scouting parties of his own out, and we may run across them in the dark. +Then it will be a question of who is the quicker with knife or bayonet. +Now you boys scatter and get your crawling suits and hoods and masks, +and we'll be ready for business. + +"I can see that there'll be no monotony in our young lives to-night," +observed Frank to Bart, as they obeyed instructions. + +"Not that you can notice," agreed Bart. "The corp has quite a little +program marked out for us." + +"So it seems." + +"And No Man's Land is going to be a little rougher land to-night than it +ever was before," predicted Tom. "That mine explosion hasn't done a +thing to it." + +"All the better," chimed in Billy. "There'll be better places to hide in +when Fritz throws up his star shells. But let's get a hustle on or the +corp will be after us." + +They got into their "crawling suits," so named because they were used +only on scouting duty, when it was necessary to move over the earth on +their stomachs or at best on hands and knees. They were a dead black in +color, and in addition to the suit itself comprised a black mask and +hood. The hood was loose and shapeless, so as to avoid the sharp outline +that would have been afforded if it were tight-fitting. + +Dressed in this fashion and lying prone and motionless on the ground +whenever a star shell threw its greenish radiance over the field, the +scouts were reasonably safe from detection and sniping. They would seem, +if seen at all, to be just so many more objects added to the hundreds +that littered up the ground between the two armies. + +Since they had been in France, the boys had had special training in +scouting duty, and the one thing that had been drilled into them perhaps +more than anything else was the necessity for "playing dead," as Tom +expressed it. One of their exercises compelled them to lie on the ground +absolutely motionless for an hour. Not even a muscle could twitch +without bringing a reprimand from their keen-eyed instructor. Another +part of the drill made them take half an hour merely to rise to their +feet from a prostrate position, each move in the process being marked by +the utmost caution. It was hard drill, but necessary, and in time the +boys had gained a control over their muscles that would have done credit +to an Apache Indian. + +In a few minutes they were fully arrayed in their crawling suits and +reported to Corporal Wilson. He looked them over carefully and noted +with satisfaction that nothing that was essential to the success of +their night foray was lacking. + +"With a fair share of luck we'll bring home the bacon," he remarked, as +he led the way from the trench. + +At the start there was no special caution necessary, as would have been +the case the day before. For the two trenches in front of them that had +been occupied by the enemy were now in the possession of the United +States troops. + +All that day, since the mine explosion had given the signal for attack +and storm, the Germans who had been driven from their first two lines of +trenches had made desperate efforts to get them back. There had been +fierce counter attacks, many times repeated, but through them all the +Americans had stood like a rock and thrown the enemy back without +yielding a foot of the conquered ground. + +At nightfall the enemy had ceased his infantry attacks, although the big +guns on both sides, like angry mastiffs, kept growling at each other. + +"It's been a great day for our fellows," exulted Frank, as they picked +their way through the welter of debris that bore testimony to the +violence of the fighting. + +"It sure has," agreed Bart. + +"We've got there with both feet," remarked Tom. + +"And in both trenches," chimed in Billy. + +"Yes," said Frank. "I'm glad we didn't stop at the first one. The mine +caught the Boches napping there and stood them on their heads. But in +the second it was an out and out stand up fight, man to man, and we +licked them." + +"And licked them good," asserted Billy. "I guess they won't do any more +sneering at the Yankees after this day's work." + +They passed the place where Bart had so nearly met his death through the +treacherous attack of his captive. + +"Here's where you nearly went West," remarked Tom. + +"Don't talk of it," objected Bart with a grimace. "It makes the chills +creep over me to think of it. I could stand being knifed in a square +fight, but I'd hate to get it the way that fellow meant that I should." + +"One of the Frenchmen was telling me of something like that that +happened at Verdun," said Frank. 'Two Frenchmen were carrying a wounded +German officer on a stretcher to the hospital. The officer got out his +revolver and shot the first stretcher bearer dead." + +"That's gratitude for you," remarked Bart. "Something like another +German in a hospital, who pretended he wanted to shake hands with the +Red Cross nurse who was tending him, and then with a sudden snap broke +her wrist." + +"You hear it said sometimes," said Billy, "that 'the only good Indian is +a dead Indian.' That's always sounded a little tough on poor Lo. But if +the Huns keep on the way they are going, it won't be long before all the +world will be saying that the only good German is a dead one." + +"I'm beginning to say it already," replied Tom. + +They passed stretcher bearers carrying away the wounded, and burial +parties engaged in a business still more sad. There was plenty for them +to do, for death and wounds had come to many that day, which had been +the most strenuous for the United States troops since they had come to +the fighting line. + +That many of their regiment had fallen and still more been wounded the +boys knew well, although the full toll of their losses would not be +known until the next day. But the enemy had lost still more, and a large +number of prisoners were in American hands. They had taken two trenches +on a wide front, and that night American boys were eating their suppers +in the dugouts where Germans had breakfasted in the morning. It had been +a dashing attack with a successful result, and Uncle Sam had reason to +be proud of his nephews. + +"One more step on the road to the Rhine," exulted Frank, voicing the +thought that stirred them all. + +"Right you are," replied Bart "It's a long, long road, but we'll get +there." + +"Do you remember what old Peterson said just before we left for France?" +queried Tom. "'The United States has put her hand to the plow and she +won't turn back.'" + +"Good old Peterson!" remarked Billy. "He was a dandy scrapper himself in +the old days when he wore the blue. I'll bet he's rooting for us every +day." + +"Sure he is," agreed Frank. "Everybody in the old firm is." + +"Reddy's rooting the hardest of them all," laughed Bart, referring to +the red-headed office boy. "Do you remember how excited the little +rascal got when the old Thirty-seventh went past? He almost tumbled out +of the window. And how he cheered!" + +"He's got the right stuff in him," said Tom. "Do you know, I shouldn't +be a bit surprised to see that kid turn up here some time." + +"You're dreaming," replied Bart. + +"You wait and see," prophesied Tom. "When any one wants a thing hard +enough he usually gets it. He'll ship as cabin boy or something of the +kind and some day, when we're least expecting it, Reddy will pop up +here. Watch my hunch." + +"How scared the Huns would be if they knew that Reddy was coming to +clean them up," mocked Tom. + +"He might account for some of them at that," remarked Billy. "A bullet +from Reddy's gun would go as fast and hit as hard as any other. You know +what David did to Goliath." + +By this time they had passed the second captured trench and were facing +the enemy's trench about three hundred yards away. Their talk ceased or +died down to whispers. + +Before them stretched the desolate waste of No Man's Land, pitted with +shell holes, blasted and seared by the pitiless storm of fire that had +swept it all that day. + +Once it had been fertile and beautiful. Now it was withered and hideous. +It was a grim commentary on the war that had been as ruthless toward +nature as it had been toward man. + +"Now, boys," said the corporal in a low voice, "you know what we've got +to do. Keep together as much as you can and--Drop!" + +The last command came out like a shot, and was caused by a star shell +that rose from the opposing trench and burst in a flood of greenish +light. + +Had they been standing, it would have revealed them clearly, but at +their leader's word they had dropped instantly to the ground, where they +lay motionless until the light died away. + +Then they rose and like so many shadows moved cautiously forward, with a +motion more like drifting than walking, their ears alert, their eyes +strained, their hearts beating fast with excitement. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + +The night was as black as pitch, which, while an advantage in one way, +was a disadvantage in another. For though it lessened their chance of +detection, it also made it more difficult to get the lay of the land and +keep their sense of direction. + +But here again their training came into play, for they had been +specially drilled to be blindfolded and remain in that condition for +hours at a time. In that way they had developed their sense of feeling +just as a blind man does and had acquired an almost uncanny ability to +avoid obstacles and steer a course without the aid of their eyes. + +"Gee!" whispered Bart to Frank, as the two comrades moved along side by +side, "I never saw a night so dark." + +"Yes," replied his comrade, "it's as black as velvet. You could almost +cut it with a knife." + +"Lucky if that's the only cutting we'll have to do before the night is +over," murmured Tom. + +Soon they reached a little patch of woodland that stood almost halfway +between the lines. Only a few gaunt trees had been left standing, mere +skeletons of what they had been, every branch and twig swept away by +shells and bullets and even the bark stripped off, leaving the trunks in +ghastly nakedness. + +But they still afforded shelter from bursting shrapnel or a sniper's +bullet, and the boys stood behind them for a few moments while they +listened intently for any sound that might betray the presence of an +enemy patrol, prowling about on an errand similar to their own. + +But nothing suspicious developed, and, reassured, they again, at a +signal from their leader, moved forward. But new they were no longer on +their feet. They were too close to the German line for that. + +Down on hands and knees they wormed their way along inch by inch, +reaching out their hand cautiously for each fresh grip on the uneven +ground. Sometimes their hands encountered emptiness and they were warned +that they were on the edge of a shell hole. At other times they drew +back in instinctive repulsion, as they felt the rigid outlines of a dead +body. But whatever detours they had to make, they managed by touch or +whisper to keep together, and although their progress was slow it was +still progress, and they knew that they were steadily nearing the German +lines. + +Suddenly Frank's extended hand came in contact with a sharp object that +he recognized on the instant. It was the barb on a broken strand of +wire. + +They had reached the entanglement protecting a segment of the German +trench. + +Frank had been a trifle in advance of his comrades, and he softly +signaled his discovery to the others. In an instant they had stiffened +out and lay as rigid as statues. + +For five minutes not one of them stirred, while they listened for the +tread of the sentry who might be stationed behind the wires. + +Some distance off they could hear the sound of voices in guttural tones, +the occasional click of a bayonet as it was slipped into place, the low +rumble of what might have been field pieces being moved into position. + +Now too their eyes came into play, for ahead of them the darkness was +threaded with a faint ray of light that rose above the trench, and while +it did little more than make darkness visible, it was still sufficient +to form a background against which they could have detected the figure +of a sentinel. + +But they drew no false assurance from that fact, for the enemy's patrol +might be lying on the ground, as silent as themselves and as watchful, +ready to fire in the direction of the slightest sound. + +It was a nerve-trying situation, but life or death might depend on their +self-control, and they stood the test successfully, although poor Tom +had an almost irrepressible desire to sneeze, in conquering which he +almost broke a blood vessel. + +Convinced at last that it was safe to move, they commenced to crawl +along the outside of the wire, trying by the sense of touch to find out +what havoc had been made in it by the American artillery fire and where +it would be easiest to break through. + +They had drawn on rubber gloves, for they knew that the Germans +sometimes charged the wires with electricity, and a touch with the bare +hand would mean instant death. + +But that day the fighting had been so fierce and the enemy had been kept +so busy in resisting the American onslaught that no such precaution had +been taken. And this better than anything else told the boys how badly +the enemy had been shaken. + +At several places they found gaps that had been made by the Yankee guns, +and these they widened by the use of the wire cutters that they carried +in their belts. + +At each such breach the boys tied small pieces of white rag, so that on +the next day these fluttering bits of white could be seen through field +glasses by the American officers, and the full force of guns and men +could be brought to bear against these weakened portions of the line. + +They worked rapidly and silently, timing their cutting with the roar of +the guns that still kept up the artillery duel, so that the click of the +nippers would be drowned in the heavier sound. + +Little by little in the course of the work, the members of the patrol +had drawn apart, depending upon their ability to rejoin each other by +following the line of the wire. + +Frank found himself working on a specially tangled bit of wire that was +made still more difficult of handling because it was intertwisted with +the stalks of a thick hedge. He had just nipped a piece of wire in two, +when his quick ear detected a sound on the other side of the hedge. + +Instantly he stiffened. Every muscle became as taut as tempered steel. +He scarcely seemed to breathe while his unwinking eyes tried to bore +through the mass of tangled brush and wire to see what was on the other +side. + +There too the rustling sound had ceased and a silence prevailed as deep +as his own. + +For minutes that seemed ages this condition persisted. Then slowly, so +slowly that Frank at first was not sure that he saw aright, a slender +spear-like point broke the outline of the top of the hedge. Only the +fact that it stood out against the dim light that came from the enemy +trench enabled Frank to see it at all. + +Gradually the object rose higher until it seemed to broaden out at the +base; and then with a quickening of the pulse Frank realized that what +he saw was the spike of a German helmet! + +He had won in the duel of silence. The other, unable to stand the +strain, had risen first. Would he win in the grimmer duel that seemed to +be impending? + +Frank's fingers stole toward his revolver, but stopped before they +reached it. There must be no shooting so near the enemy trench. A horde +of Germans would be upon him in a twinkling. + +His rifle lay beside him where he had placed it while working on the +wire. His fingers closed upon the stock. Here was a weapon that he might +use at either end with deadly effect. The butt could serve as a club, +while the bayonet, painted black like the rest of his accoutrements so +that no glimmer of steel should betray it, carried death on its point. + +Now beneath the helmet the head of a man appeared, then the shoulders, +and finally the sentry, evidently satisfied that his suspicion had been +without foundation, straightened out to his full length. He stood for +another minute or two peering into the darkness. But Frank's black-clad +form merged so perfectly into its surroundings and he remained so +motionless that the German at last was convinced. + +With a grunt of satisfaction he stooped to pick up his rifle. + +Lithe as a panther, Frank sprang to his feet, leaped over the hedge and +landed heavily on the stooping form, knocking the breath out of the +German's body. + +In a flash Frank's sinewy hands were upon the sentry's throat, stifling +the cry that sought to issue from his lips. + +There was a brief struggle, but the attack had been so sudden and +tremendous that it was soon over, and the German lay limp and +unconscious. + +The instant Frank realized this, he relaxed his hold. He tore open the +man's coat, felt for his heart and found that it was still beating. + +What his foe would have done if the case had been reversed, Frank knew +perfectly well. A dagger point would have pierced his heart and stilled +its beating forever. More than once he had looked on the bodies of +comrades who had been butchered while lying wounded and helpless on the +battlefield, and had been stirred by a wild desire to take similar +vengeance on those who had violated all the laws of war. + +But he was an American, with all the proud traditions of honor and +chivalry that had come down to him through generations. He could not +slaughter a helpless foe. He had the man a prisoner. It was enough. + +Quickly he tied the sentry's hands, using the German's own belt as a +strap. Then he tore some strips from the white cloth he had been +carrying to fasten on the bushes and made a gag, in case the man should +recover his senses and try to give the alarm. + +He dragged the man through a gap in the hedge so that he would not be +found by any of his comrades who might come that way. Then he crept down +to where the corporal and the other members of the patrol were still +busy on the wires and in a whisper told what had happened. + +Wilson was quick to see the opportunity that the capture had afforded. + +"Good work, Sheldon," he commended. "Here's where we get through the +wires. And we've got to do it quickly, for we don't know at what time +that fellow's relief may be coming along." + +His prophecy seemed about to be fulfilled with startling suddenness, +for, even while he spoke, a group of several figures, topped by helmets, +was revealed by the action of one of them in striking a match. It flared +up brightly for a second, but luckily the boys were outside the zone of +light that it formed. + +They lay perfectly still, although each of them took a tighter grasp on +his rifle. + +The men conversed in guttural tones for several minutes, that seemed as +many ages to the watchers in the shadows. + +Would the Germans come toward them or walk away from them? Their lives, +or at the least their liberty, might depend upon the answer. + +One of the men pointed in their direction and even took a step forward, +but his comrades stopped him and an animated discussion ensued, which +finally resulted in their retracing their steps in the direction from +which they had come. + +A sigh of relief went up from the boys and their grip on their weapons +relaxed. + +"A mighty close shave," whispered Billy. + +"It was all of that," agreed Bart. + +"As close for them as it was for us," said Tom grimly. "I had that big +fellow picked out and I'd have dropped him sure." + +Like so many ghosts, the party drifted along in Corporal Wilson's wake +until they came to the gap. A glance at the motionless sentry showed +that he had not yet returned to consciousness. + +"That was a knockout for fair," murmured Billy admiringly. + +"He must have thought a house was falling on him," whispered Bart with a +low chuckle. + +"Frank's no featherweight," agreed Tom. "I'd hate to have those trench +clogs of his come down on my back with him inside of them." + +A warning "s--sh" from the corporal brought them back to the grim +business still before them, and they crept along behind him as he wormed +his way through the breach. + +Camp utensils were scattered upon the ground and indicated that a field +kitchen had stood there recently, an impression that became a conviction +when Bart burned his hand by bringing it down upon some smoldering +embers covered with ashes. + +He bit his tongue trying to repress the exclamation that leaped to his +lips, but he succeeded, although his fingers were badly blistered. + +Little by little, with many pauses, they reached the edge of a small +section of the first trench. Nothing hindered them, no one challenged +them. In fact their progress was so free from obstacles that the +corporal, a wily veteran who had had long experience among the savage +Moros while serving in the Philippines, became uneasy, fearing an +ambush. + +Still, that was one of the chances that the party had to take, and there +was nothing to do but to keep on. But they redoubled their precautions, +every sense tingling with watchfulness against a sudden surprise. + +They worked their way along the trench until they reached the entrance. +No sound came from the interior. They listened for the murmur of +conversation, the scraping of feet, the clank of a weapon. They looked +down its length for a ray of light. Not a gleam or a sound rewarded +them. + +As far as they could judge, it was absolutely deserted. But on the other +hand it might be bristling with armed men, waiting in a stillness as +deathlike as their own the command to fire. + +For fully ten minutes their watch continued. Then the corporal gathered +them close around him and gave his commands in a whisper. + +"We'll raid it," he decided. "There are only a few of us, but we'll have +the advantage of surprise. That is, if they're not waiting to surprise +us. But we'll have to gamble on that. It's only a connecting trench, and +there won't be more than a dozen men or thereabouts in it. If we could +bag them and take them back to camp it would be a good night's work. +Have your guns ready and be prepared to slip them a few grenades if we +have to. I'll lead the way and when the time comes I'll flash my light. +Come along now and be right on your toes when I give the word." + +Corporal Wilson went first and his scouting party followed close on his +heels. It was like going into the jaws of death. It would have taken +less nerve to face a charge, for then their blood would have been up and +they would have been fired by the sight of their enemy. There would have +been nothing of this eerie stillness, this vault-like chill. Yet not one +of them hesitated or lagged behind. + +Twenty paces had been covered when the corporal stopped, drew out his +flashlight and sent out a stream of radiance that illumined every nook +and cranny of the trench. + +On the instant the boys had their rifles at their shoulders with their +fingers on the triggers, ready for a volley. + +But their precaution was needless. The trench was empty! + +Empty as far as men were concerned. But it was full of other things that +made their hair stand up with horror as their meaning swept in upon +them! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + +Planted at intervals in the trench were rows of iron stakes, coming to a +sharp point at the top and cunningly camouflaged so that they would not +be detected by any one looking over the edge. The Army boys were not +slow in seeing the meaning of the trap and the fiendish ingenuity that +had conceived it. + +"It's a dummy trench!" murmured Corporal Wilson. "The idea is to have +their men seem to retreat into it when the fighting takes place on this +part of the line. Our boys come on in pursuit, jump over the edge, come +down on these sharp stakes and are spitted like larks. Nice way to wage +war, that!" + +"It's worthy of the Hun," growled Tom. + +"And when you've said that you've reached the limit," observed Bart. + +"The Turks are pretty good at torture," murmured Frank bitterly, "but +they must feel like thirty cents when they compare themselves with their +German masters." + +"Let's get these things out of the way," said Billy wrathfully, as he +grasped one of the spikes. + +But the corporal stopped him instantly. "Don't dig them out!" he cried. +"There's no knowing but what you may cause an explosion. Or they may +have some electric connection that will give warning to the Boches. +We've spotted the location of this infernal trap and that's enough. Our +officers will see that our men steer clear of it." + +"Of course," remarked Bart, "all the value to the Huns of this trap +depends upon our boys jumping in from the top of the trench. If they +came in from the entrance to the dugout, all the trouble of planting +these spikes would be thrown away." + +"It would be a trap just the same, only in a different way," replied the +corporal. "It's a safe bet that the Germans have machine guns planted +where they can sweep the whole length of this part of the trench. They'd +wait until our boys were all crowded in here and then the machine guns +would start spitting and wipe every last one of them out. There'd be no +way to get put except the way they had come in, and no one could get +through that storm of bullets. But now let's get out of this while the +going's good." + +The conversation had been carried on in the faintest whispers, and after +the first hurried examination of the dummy trench there had been no +light. But they all felt better when they had passed out of the trench +without mishap and lay on the ground above. Here they were at least in +the open, and if death came to them they would not be slaughtered like +rats in a trap. + +The corporal consulted his radio watch and found that it wanted but two +hours to dawn. + +"Not much time left, boys," he murmured. "And unless we get back to our +lines before daylight, we'll stand a good chance of losing the number of +our mess. But if we don't do anything else, we've done a pretty fair +night's work. The finding of this dummy trench will put a crimp in the +Heinies' plans. I'd like to have some prisoners to take along just for +luck but all we've bagged is that sentry." + +"Perhaps we haven't even got him," suggested Frank. "Some of his +comrades may have found him by this time." + +"Not likely," replied Bart. "He couldn't make a noise, and as we left +him outside the wire they wouldn't be likely to stumble over him." + +"All the same, we'd better get a hustle on," replied the corporal, and +they started on their homeward journey as stealthily as they had come. + +They had some difficulty in finding the breach in the wire through which +they had entered, but at last they succeeded and wormed their way out. +Then they felt around for the sentry and found him in the place they had +left him. He had returned to consciousness, for when the corporal risked +a ray of his flashlight on the upturned face, they could see that his +eyes were open and looking at them intelligently. + +The corporal placed the muzzle of his revolver against the man's neck as +a gentle reminder of what would happen to him if he should make a sound, +and they proceeded to untie his hands. Then they motioned to him that he +was to get on his hands and knees and go before them, which, with +muffled grunts, and after two or three attempts, he succeeded in doing. +He was evidently dazed yet and stiff from the cramped attitude in which +he had been lying, but stern necessity was on him and he finally wobbled +and staggered on before them. + +They had got some little distance away from the wires when Frank +suddenly came to a dead stop. His comrades halted instantly. + +"What is it?" whispered Wilson, who was nearest to him. + +"That blur ahead of us," returned Frank. "It looks a little more solid +than the rest of the darkness." + +He pointed ahead and a little to the right. + +"I don't see anything," remarked Tom. + +"Neither do I," affirmed Billy. + +"I think I see a little blacker patch than usual," declared Bart. "And +it seems to be moving." + +The corporal put his ear to the ground. + +"I think Sheldon is right," he said, after a moment of intense +listening. "At any rate we'll take no chances. Slip into some of these +shell holes and lie low. If it should be an enemy patrol and there are +too many to tackle we'll let them go by. But if there aren't more than +double our number we'll take a crack at them. Keep your weapons ready +and let fly when I give the word." + +The ground was so pitted with craters from the heavy artillery duel that +had been raging all the day before that they had no difficulty in +finding shelter. Their prisoner, who judged by the preparations that +some of his own comrades were approaching, was inclined to balk a little +and delay matters, but a vigorous push of Bart's boot hastened his +movements and he was tumbled in unceremoniously. And they blessed the +precaution that had still left the gag in his mouth when they had +unfastened his hands. + +More and more the blur ahead of them detached itself from the +surrounding darkness, until even skeptical Tom and Billy knew that what +they saw was a body of men bearing down steadily in their direction. + +Of course there was a chance that it was an American patrol out on an +errand similar to their own, but it was unlikely, if that were so, that +they would be going in the direction of the enemy's lines when the night +was so far spent. + +Nearer and nearer came the party until not more than thirty feet lay +between them and the American boys who knelt in the shell holes, with +faces stern and set and fingers on the triggers of their rifles awaiting +the word of command. + +But for some unknown reason the blur became motionless and remained so +for several minutes. Then it receded, as though the party had changed +its plan. + +"What do you suppose is the matter with them?" whispered Tom. "Do you +think they've tumbled to our being here?" + +"How could they?" returned Frank. "They'd have to have the eyes of cats +to see us in these holes." + +"I hope the corp will let us go after them," murmured Billy. "I'm all +tuned up for a scrap." + +Wilson hesitated. If he went after the supposed enemy, they would +probably hear him and he would lose the advantage of the surprise. On +the other hand, that they now seemed to be going in the direction of the +American lines might indicate that, after all, they were a patrol of his +own comrades. But while he weighed the chances, the question was solved +for him by the fact that the blur again became distinct. And this time +it grew larger very rapidly, indicating that the party had at last +reached a definite decision. On they came until only a few paces +separated them from the Army boys. + +Just then a star shell rose from the German lines and sent a flare of +light stabbing the darkness and clearly revealing a dozen or more +Germans. As they were facing the glare they were momentarily dazzled by +it, and the Americans peering beneath their black hoods on a level with +the ground could have easily escaped detection had they been so +inclined. + +But that instantaneous flash had decided the corporal. The odds were +more than two to one, but such odds as that was only a challenge to +Yankee fighting blood. + +"Fire!" he shouted, and five rifles spoke as one. Three of the enemy +went down as though stricken by an axe, and another staggered and his +rifle clattered to the ground. + +But the enemy rallied almost instantly, and at a hoarse command there +was a return volley. This proved harmless, however, for the boys knew +that it would come and bent beneath the edge of the craters until the +iron storm had swept over them. + +"Now, boys, at them with your bayonets!" shouted Corporal Wilson, as +soon as he had drawn the enemy's fire. + +With a leap the American squad was on the level ground and rushing with +leveled bayonets at the foe. + +The Americans had the advantage of the surprise, and their headlong +charge would have won instantly if the forces had been equal. But +although two went down at once, the others, after yielding ground +somewhat, closed in a death grip with their assailants, and there was a +furious combat at close quarters. + +There was no more shooting. It was a matter now of clubbed rifles and +bayonet thrusts. + +Frank found himself engaged in a bayonet duel with a massive German who +towered above him in height and probably outweighed him by twenty +pounds. He was well trained too in bayonet work and was a most +formidable opponent. + +But he met his master when he crossed bayonets with Frank. The latter +had made himself expert by long training under skilful French +instructors, and, besides, was the most finished boxer in the regiment. +At thrust and parry, feint and riposte, advance and retreat, he stood +first among his comrades. + +Against the furious bull-like rushes of his opponent, he opposed a +quickness and agility that more than counterbalanced his enemy's weight +It was a contest of a bull against a panther, and the panther won. + +For perhaps two minutes the fight continued. Then with a lightning +thrust Frank's bayonet found its mark, and the German staggered for a +moment, fell headlong and lay still. + +His fall seemed to take the heart out of the others who were being +outfought and pressed back. They wavered, broke and started to flee, but +the sharp crack of the corporal's revolver brought one of them to the +ground, and the others halted. + +Up went their hands and from the lips of each came the cry "_Kamerad_!" +in token of surrender. + +The American boys rounded them up and disarmed them. Then the corporal +took account of stock. + +Bart was there panting and flushed with nothing worse than a scalp wound +where a rifle butt had glanced from his head. Wilson himself was unhurt. +Billy also had come through unscathed, but Tom was nowhere to be seen. + +An awful fear, a fear that they had never felt in the fighting itself, +clutched the hearts of his comrades. Good old Tom, bound to them by a +thousand ties of friendship and comradeship--had he met his fate in this +desolate stretch of No Man's Land? + +Frantically they searched among the bodies for one that wore a suit +similar to their own. Frank found it first. His hand went to the heart +and to his joy found that it was beating. + +He lifted Tom's head and rested it on his knee. + +"Tom! Tom!" he called, as he chafed his chum's hands and loosened his +suit at the throat. + +Tom's eyes slowly opened, and, recognizing his friend, a faint smile +came to his lips. But he did not speak, and Bart, who was the only other +one who could be spared from guarding the prisoners, joined Frank in +redoubled efforts to bring Tom back to full consciousness. + +"He doesn't seem to have any bones broken," said Frank after a hurried +examination. + +"And he isn't bleeding," replied Bart. "But he has a lump on his head as +big as an egg." + +At last Tom's full consciousness returned, and with his chums' +assistance he got slowly and painfully to his feet. + +"Guess they haven't got my number yet, but they came mighty near it," he +said, trying to grin. "I'd just run one of the Huns through the arm when +I saw another out of the tail of my eye swinging for my head with his +rifle. I tried to dodge, but he must have been too quick for me, for +that's the last I remember." + +"Thank heaven it was no worse!" ejaculated Frank fervently. + +"It would have been a mighty bad thing for us if you had cashed in, old +boy," said Bart with feeling. "How did the scrap turn out?" asked Tom. + +"Though I suppose there's no use in asking, or you wouldn't be here +taking care of me." + +"We trimmed them good and proper," said Frank, from whom a ton's weight +had been lifted by finding that his friend had escaped serious injury. + +"A lovely scrap," added Bart. "I wouldn't have missed it for a farm. +We've wiped out five and rounded out the rest. Let's go over and see how +many there are." + +"Eight," announced the corporal, as he counted the prisoners who stood +in a group sullen and morose. "There must have been a baker's dozen in +the party." + +"I don't know how superstitious they may be," chuckled Billy, "but I'll +bet that from now on they'll agree that thirteen is an unlucky number!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + +"Well," remarked Corporal Wilson, who was relieved beyond measure to +find that his own little force was practically intact, "eight is a +pretty good bag for one night's work, not to speak of five more who +won't do any more strafing for the Kaiser." + +"Nine," corrected Bart. "Don't forget our speechless friend in the shell +hole." + +"No doubt he'd be perfectly willing to be forgotten," grinned Billy. +"But we'd better take him along just for luck. That'll be nearly two +prisoners apiece for each of the bunch. Pretty fair work if you ask me." + +There was no further time for talking, for it would soon be dawn and +they were eager to get back to their own lines. They had been under a +terrible strain through all the long hours of the night and were +beginning to feel the reaction. And they were not at all averse to +showing their comrades in the regiment how well they had fared and how +stoutly they had held up the colors of the old Thirty-seventh. + +"Who goes there?" came the sharp challenge of the sentry, as they drew +near the American trench, and they knew that a score of rifles was +trained upon them to back up the sentry's demand if the answer were +halting or suspicious. + +"Friends," replied the corporal. + +"Advance and give the countersign," was the next requirement. + +Corporal Wilson complied, and he and his squad were joyfully welcomed. + +"I said 'friends'" added the corporal with a grin, as the party made +their way through the opening in the wire defences, "but perhaps that +doesn't go for all this crowd. Some of them didn't want to come, but we +told them they'd better, and here they are." + +"A bunch of huskies," remarked the sentry, as he surveyed the prisoners +critically. "You don't mean to say that just you five rounded up that +gang?" + +The four privates merely grinned. + +"Looks like it, doesn't it?" answered the corporal with keen relish of +the sentry's surprise. "Counting those we brought down, there are just +fourteen that will turn up missing when the Boches call the roll this +morning." + +"That's going some," said the sentry admiringly. "I only wish I'd been +along with you. Some fellows have all the luck." + +The prisoners were turned over to the officer in charge, and the +corporal made his way to headquarters to make his report of the night's +work. + +Bart and Tom went under the hands of the surgeons to have their wounds +and bruises treated, and were assured that with a little rest they would +be as well as ever in a day or two. Then the boys, "dog-tired," as Bart +expressed it, but happy and exultant that they had done their work well +and were back safe once more, tumbled into their bunks to enjoy the rest +they had so richly earned. + +"Never was so tired in my life," murmured Frank, drowsily, as he fell +rather than climbed into his bunk. + +"Same here," chimed in Billy. + +"Rip Van Winkle won't have anything on me," drawled Tom. "What's twenty +years of sleep? I'm going to take forty." + +As for Bart, he started to say something but dropped off to sleep while +saying it. + +None of the quartette woke until late in the afternoon. Then they found +that their exploit had made a stir in the regiment. Their fight against +twice their number was the most interesting feature to their comrades of +the rank and file. But still more important in the view of their +officers was the discovery of the dummy trench, which might have been +turned into a shambles for the American troops if they had rushed into +the trap so cunningly and so fiendishly set for them. + +"It was fine work, Corporal," the captain said warmly, when Wilson +finished his report. "You deserve credit for having brought your squad +back without the loss of a man." + +"They mostly brought themselves back, sir," replied Wilson with a smile. +"It's a pleasure to command such a nervy crowd as that. You don't need +to use the spur. I'm mostly busy putting on the brakes. It would have +done your heart good if you could have seen the way they waded into the +Huns. That fellow Sheldon particularly is a crackerjack when it comes to +a scrap. He's as strong as an ox and as quick as a cat." + +"I've had my eye on him," replied the officer. "He'll go far before the +war is over. You can go now, Corporal. I'll have your work mentioned in +the order of the day." + +He was as good as his word, for when the regiment was drawn up for +inspection the order of the day commended each man of the squad by name +for their gallant exploit that, as the order ran, "reflected credit on +the regiment." + +"How's your head feeling now, old man?" Frank asked of Tom, as they +rejoined each other at mess. + +"Pretty groggy," responded Tom. "But I'm not kicking. I'm lucky to be +alive at all. That fellow made an awful swipe at me, and if it had hit +me fair it would have been all over." + +"A miss is as good as a mile," put in Bart. "I had a pretty close shave +myself. Seemed as though twenty star shells were going off at once." + +"Yesterday was your lucky day," remarked Billy. "You had two narrow +escapes." + +"Let's hope it won't be three times and out," responded Bart lightly." +By the way, I wonder what they did with that corporal who tried to do me +up?" + +"Most likely he's shot by this time," observed Tom. "If he isn't, he +ought to be." + +"He isn't shot yet at any rate," remarked Fred Andon, who sat near by. +"I guess the fighting was so hot all day yesterday that they didn't have +time to attend to him. Likely enough he's down in the prisoners' pen +waiting for the court-martial." + +"Let's go down and see after we've finished our chow," suggested Billy. +"That is if you fellows ever get through eating. Look at Tom stowing it +away. He'd eat his way through the whole quartermaster's department if +he was let." + +"And he's the fellow that they wouldn't let enlist because of his +teeth," gibed Bart. "They didn't know Tom." + +"I'm not the only one that got a raw deal," replied Tom, with whom it +was always a sore point that he had been refused when he wanted to +enlist, but had been accepted in the draft. "There's a drafted man here +who was telling me the other day that he walked ninety miles to enlist. +And do you know what the enlistment board did to him?" + +"What?" was the query. + +"Turned him down because he had flat feet," responded Tom. "Told him he +wouldn't be able to stand a five-mile hike." + +There was a roar of laughter. + +"I heard another good one," chimed in Billy. "A fellow wanted to enlist, +and the examining board wanted to reject him because he had a cast in +his eye. 'Oh, that's all right,' he drawled, 'I allus shets that eye +anyway when I shoot.' That made them laugh and he got by." + +In high spirits they finished their meal, and as they were off duty for +the next hour or two, made their way down to that quarter of the field +where the prisoners' camp was placed. + +Behind the barrier at the point nearest them they saw one bulky captive, +who was munching contentedly the food that had been given him, and who +had none of the woe-begone expression that a man in his position is +commonly expected to show. + +"See him shovel it in," laughed Billy. + +"He doesn't seem to have a care in the world," remarked Bart. + +"Probably glad to be behind our machine guns instead of in front of +them," conjectured Tom. + +"Hello, Heinie!" said Frank good-naturedly. + +"Hello yourself," came the answer. + +"Do you speak English?" asked Frank in surprise. + +"A little," replied the German, and proceeded to prove it by answering, +although in rather a halting manner, the questions they put to him. + +No, he at any rate had not wanted the war. He was a skilled mechanic in +one of the munition factories. There had been a strike on account of bad +conditions and he had been one of the leaders. The Government had seized +him and bundled him off to the front. He was glad to be captured. After +the war the Kaiser would see that men were born to be something else +than cannon fodder. + +"Well," remarked Frank as they moved along, "there's one fellow at least +that doesn't cry: '_Hoch the Kaiser_.'" + +"Seems good to see it so full," remarked Bart with great satisfaction, +as he saw the large number of Germans who had been captured in the +fierce fighting of the day before. + +"If only the Kaiser and the Crown Prince were in that bunch," sighed +Tom. + +"That's a pleasure still to come," replied Frank. "But where's the +fellow that tried to stab Bart? I don't see him anywhere. Seems as +though the party isn't complete without him." + +They made inquiry of one of the guards. + +"Oh, that one," replied the guard. "They've roped him out from the rest +of these mavericks and given him a hut all by himself. I guess he's +thinking of making his will. I hear they're going to have him out before +a drumhead in the morning." + +"Which hut is it?" asked Frank, as his eye took in a little group of +shacks at the further end of the field. + +"That end one down by the big tree." The guard pointed it out with the +point of his bayonet. + +They went down in that direction, and as they neared the hut saw that it +was guarded by a single sentry. + +"Who's that fellow on guard?" asked Tom. "My head's so dizzy yet that +I'm seeing things double." + +"Looks rather familiar for a fact," said Bart. "Wait till he turns his +head this way." + +The next instant the sentry turned, and there was a whistle of surprise +from Billy. "By the great horn spoon!" he ejaculated. "It's Nick Rabig!" + +"Set a Hun to watch a Hun," remarked Tom bitingly. + +"Oh, come, Tom," remonstrated Frank, "that's going a little too far. +I've no reason to like the fellow, and we know he had to be dragged into +the army, but that doesn't say he's a Hun." + +"All except the uniform," persisted Tom. "He'd rather be fighting for +the Kaiser this minute than for Uncle Sam." + +"Shouldn't wonder if Tom's more than half right," assented Billy. "You +know the way he" used to talk in Camport." + +"You notice that we've never seen him volunteering for any of the +raiding parties," said Billy. + +"But that may only mean that Rabig has a yellow streak in him. It +doesn't say that he's a traitor," returned Frank. + +"Well, maybe he isn't," conceded Tom. "But all the same it seems rather +queer that he should have been picked out to guard this Heinie. They +could talk together in German through that closed door and nobody be +wise to what they were saying." + +"I don't suppose the officers know Rabig as well as the rest of us do," +said Billy. "But say, fellows, look at that bit of white under the door +of the hut. What do you suppose it is?" + +"Oh, just a scrap of paper," laughed Bart. "Just like the Belgian +treaty." + +"Something the wind's blown up against the door, I guess," conjectured +Tom. + +"Wind nothing!" exclaimed Frank, whose vision was keener than that of +any of the others. "It's under the door and it's getting bigger and +bigger all the time. I tell you what it is, fellows," he went on +excitedly, "it's a note that's being pushed out by the fellow inside." + +"Let's get behind these trees and see what's going on," suggested Bart, +indicating a clump of trees near which they happened to be standing. + +In a moment they were screened from observation. Then they watched with +the keenest interest what would follow. + +That Rabig had caught sight of the paper was evident, for he stopped his +pacing and turned his eyes on the door. Then he looked stealthily about +him. The nearest sentry was some distance away, and the boys were well +hidden by the trees. + +Then Rabig made a complete circuit of the little hut, as though to make +sure that no one was lurking about. Having apparently satisfied himself +on that point, he returned and resumed his pacing until he was directly +in front of the door. + +Here he paused and drew out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead. But +as he went to put it back, it dropped from his hand so that it lay close +by and almost upon the protruding piece of paper. + +He was stooping to pick it up, when he caught sight of a sergeant coming +in his direction. Instantly he straightened up, and as he did so the +butt of his rifle knocked against the door. + +The paper disappeared as though it had been drawn swiftly back from the +inside, just as the sergeant came up. + +"Gee!" gasped Tom. + +"Prisoner all right, Rabig?" inquired the sergeant. + +"Yes, sir," replied Rabig. "He seems to be keeping pretty quiet. I +looked in a little while ago and he was lying asleep on the bench." + +"Keep a close watch on him," counseled the sergeant. "What he tried to +do to Raymond yesterday shows that he's a desperate character. But I +guess that by this time to-morrow he won't need any one to watch him." + +The sergeant passed on and the boys looked at each other with +speculation in their eyes. + +"What do you think of it?" asked Frank thoughtfully. + +"Think?" snorted Tom. "I think that Rabig is a bad egg. What else is +there for any one to think?" + +"It certainly looks suspicious," said Bart with a little wrinkle of +anxiety creasing his brow. + +"One thing is sure," declared Billy. "It was a note that was being +pushed outside that door. The fellow inside was trying to get into +communication with Rabig." + +"True," assented Frank. "But that in itself doesn't prove anything. You +or I might be on sentry duty and a prisoner might try to do the same +thing to us." + +"Yes," agreed Billy. "But we wouldn't act the way Rabig did. We'd have +picked up the note and given it to the sergeant of the guard." + +"And we wouldn't have sneaked around the hut to see if any one was near +by," said Tom. "Why did he drop his handkerchief, except to have an +excuse for picking it up and copping the note at the same time?" + +"And his rifle butt didn't hit the door by accident," put in Billy. +"That was a tip to the prisoner that some one was coming. Did you see +how quickly the note disappeared?" + +"I hate to think that there's a single man in the regiment who's a +disgrace to his uniform," remarked Frank, "but it certainly looks bad. +That fellow Rabig will bear watching." + +"I told you he was a Hun," declared Tom. "His body's in France, but his +heart's in Germany." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + +The Army boys thought over the situation in some perplexity. + +"What do you suppose we ought to do?" asked Bart. + +"We ought to go hotfoot to the captain and tell him what we've seen," +declared Tom with emphasis. + +"I hardly like to do that," objected Billy. "At least not at this stage +of the game. After all, we haven't any positive proof against Nick. His +handkerchief might have dropped accidentally. And the knocking of the +butt of his gun against the door could have happened without his meaning +anything by it. He could explain his going around the hut by saying he +wanted to be especially vigilant in guarding the prisoner." + +"Yes," agreed Frank, "we haven't proof enough against Rabig to hang a +yellow dog. And I wouldn't want to get him in bad with his officers on +mere suspicion." + +"That note might be proof if we could only get hold of it," suggested +Tom. + +"Swell chance!" returned Bart. "You can bet that note is chewed up and +swallowed by this time. The first thing the Hun thought of, when he was +tipped off that some one was coming, was to get rid of the evidence that +might queer his chance of escape." + +"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Frank. "We'll just go down and see +Rabig and ask him casually about the prisoner. That may make him think +that we're on to something, and if he's planning to do anything crooked +it may scare him off. It won't do any harm anyway, and we'll take a +chance." + +They left the clump of trees and strolled down carelessly in the +direction of the hut. + +Rabig saw them coming, and the surly look that was habitual with him +became more pronounced than usual. There was no love lost between him +and any of them. He had been thoroughly unpopular in Camport because of +his bullying nature even before the outbreak of the war, and his evident +leaning toward Germany had deepened this feeling. + +Since he had been drafted, he had of course kept his pro-German views to +himself, for he valued his skin and had no desire to face a firing +squad. But his work had been done grudgingly, and his disposition to +shirk had more than once gained him short terms in the guardhouse. + +Of all the group approaching him he most heartily disliked Frank. In the +first place, Frank had never permitted him to bully him when they were +with Moore & Thomas, and the two had been more than once on the brink of +a fight. And since the boxing bout in the camp, when he had tried foul +tactics and Frank had thrashed him thoroughly, his venom toward his +conqueror had been more bitter than ever. + +The boys stopped when they reached the front of the hut. + +"Hello, Rabig!" they greeted him. + +"Hello!" responded Rabig, still keeping up his pacing. + +"Right on the job, I see," remarked Bart, pleasantly enough. + +"Your eyesight's mighty good," replied Nick sullenly. + +"Yes," Bart came back at him, "I can see a bit of white paper from quite +a distance." + +Rabig gave a sudden start. + +"What do you mean by that?" he demanded. + +"Nothing special," replied Bart carelessly. "What should I mean?" + +"By the way," put in Tom, "you'd better tuck your handkerchief in a +little more tightly or you'll lose it. It looks as though it were almost +ready to drop out." + +"What if it does?" snarled Rabig. "I could pick it up again, couldn't +I?" + +"Of course you could," said Tom, "but you might pick up something else +with it. Dust, or a bit of paper, or something like that." + +"Say, what's the matter with you guys anyway?" demanded Rabig, glowering +at them. + +"That looks like quite a solid door," remarked Frank, inspecting it +critically. + +"Oh, I don't know," responded Billy. "It's got dents in it. Here's one +that looks as though it were made by a rifle butt." + +Rabig looked at them angrily, and yet furtively, evidently seeking to +find out how much their remarks meant. + +"You fellows had better get along," he snapped. "You're interfering with +discipline by talking to a sentry on guard." + +Rabig's newborn reverence for discipline amused the boys so that they +had hard work to repress a laugh. + +"You're right," responded Frank. "We'll mosey along." + +"Ta-ta, Rabig," said Bart. "Keep your eye peeled for any Hun trick. That +fellow nearly got me yesterday with his knife, and he might try to play +the same game on you." + +"Don't you worry," growled Rabig. "I can take care of myself." + +The chums passed on, laughing and talking about indifferent things, +until they were out of ear shot. + +"We've got him guessing," remarked Billy with a grin. + +"We managed to put a flea in his ear," agreed Tom. + +"Did you see how red he got?" questioned Bart. + +"He sure is wondering how much we know," summed up Frank. "Whether it +will make him go straight or not is another question. What we fellows +ought to do is to take turns keeping tab on him, so that he can't act +crooked even if he wants to." "It's a pity there should be any men in +the American army whom we have to watch," said Tom bitterly. + +"Yes, but that's to be expected," returned Frank. "There's never been an +army in the history of the world that hasn't been infected with traitors +more or less." + +"Look at Benedict Arnold," remarked Billy. + +"To my mind, it's surprising that there aren't more," said Frank. +"That's what the Kaiser was counting on. He thought that the German +element in America was so strong that we wouldn't dare to go to war with +him. Do you remember what he told Gerard? That 'there were five hundred +thousand Germans in America who would revolt'?" + +"Yes," grinned Billy, "and I remember how Gerard came back at him with +the 'five hundred thousand lamp-posts on which we'd hang them if they +did.'" + +They were out on the main road by this time, and they stepped to one +side and saluted, as an officer in French uniform, accompanied by an +orderly, came galloping along. + +The officer's eye swept the group as he returned the salute, and when it +rested on Frank he drew up his horse so suddenly that the beast sat back +on its haunches. + +The officer threw himself from the horse's back, cast the reins to his +orderly, and came impetuously toward the astonished Army boys with his +hand extended to Frank. + +"Monsieur Sheldon!" he exclaimed, his face beaming. "_Mon brave +Americain. Le sauveur de ma vie._" + +"Colonel Pavet!" cried Frank with equal pleasure, as he took the +extended hand. + +"Yes," replied the newcomer, "Colonel Pavet, alive and well, thanks to +you. Ah, I shall never forget the night when I lay wounded on the +battlefield and you climbed out of the trench and made your way through +a storm of bullets and shells to my side and carried me back to safety. +It was the deed of a hero, a modern d'Artagnan! How glad I am to see you +again!" + +"And I to see you" responded Frank warmly. "You were so dreadfully +wounded that I feared you might not recover." + +They were talking in French, which Frank spoke like a native, thanks to +his French mother, and the other boys saluted and passed on, leaving the +two together. + +"If we had not met, I would have searched you out," went on the colonel, +"for I have some news for you. News that both you and your mother will +be glad to hear." + +"My mother," repeated Frank, his eyes kindling and his heart responding, +as it never failed to do at the mention of that dear mother of his, who +in her lonely home across the sea was waiting and praying for him. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ESCAPE + + +"Yes," replied Colonel Pavet, "your mother, Madame Sheldon,--it seems +strange for me to name her thus, for I never think of her except as +Lucie De Latour, as I knew her in her girlhood--has a very excellent +prospect of coming into the property that was willed to her." + +"I'm very glad to hear that!" exclaimed Frank. "And I know that my +mother will be pleased too. I have told her in my letters about my +meeting with you, and I gave her the remembrances that you were kind +enough to send her. She was delighted to know that I had met one of her +old neighbors in Auvergne, and she asked me to thank you most heartily +for your kindness in promising to look after her interests." + +The colonel smiled genially. + +"She is too good," he responded. "The obligation is all on my side. My +humble services would have been at her disposal in any event simply for +the sake of old friendship. But how much more ought they to be wholly +hers, now that her son has saved my life." + +"I am afraid you put too much value on what I did, Colonel," said Frank +deprecatingly. + +"It was something that not one in ten thousand would have done," replied +the colonel warmly. "When I found myself helpless and wounded on that +field of death I thought my life was over, and I had commended my soul +to God." + +"I'm glad that you have lived to strike another blow for France," said +Frank. + +"Ah, for France!" repeated the colonel fervently, as he lifted his cap +reverently. + +"As I started to say," he resumed after a moment, "your mother's +prospects for coming into her own are excellent. After my wound I was +sent home, and for some time it was doubtful whether I would live or +die. But God was good and I recovered. While I was gradually mending I +had ample time to look into that matter of the contested will. And, +fortunately, just at that time my brother Andre, who is one of the +leading lawyers of Paris, came to the chateau to see and cheer me up +while I was convalescing. I laid the whole matter before him, and he +went into it thoroughly. He has gone over all the proceedings in the +case, and he tells me that there is no doubt that your mother has the +law as well as right--unfortunately they are not always the same thing-- +on her side. He says that the testimony of those who are contesting the +will smacks strongly of perjury. It is too bad that your mother cannot +be here, for then Andre thinks the whole thing could be straightened out +at once." + +"It is too bad," agreed Frank; "but in the present state of things, and +the danger on the Atlantic from submarines, I would not want her to take +the risk. But what you say delights me, as I am sure it will her, and I +can't thank you enough for all the trouble you have taken." + +"Not trouble, but pleasure," corrected the colonel. "And you can be +assured that the matter will not be allowed to lag now that Andre has +taken it up. When he starts a case he can be depended on to carry it +through to a finish. I will keep in close touch with him and will let +you know from time to time how the matter is progressing. But now tell +me about yourself." + +"There's not much to tell," replied Frank. "I'm well and have been lucky +enough so far not to have stopped a bullet." + +The colonel's eyes twinkled. + +"Not much to tell," he repeated. "No, not if Monsieur Sheldon does the +telling. But there are others who speak more freely. Your captain, for +instance." + +Frank flushed uncomfortably and Colonel Pavet laughed outright. + +"Bravery and modesty usually go together," he went on. "How about that +machine gun episode yesterday, when an American soldier cut down its +crew, turned it on the enemy trench and compelled the men in it to +surrender? How about the raiding party where five men accounted for +fourteen of the Huns? You see, _mon ami_, that I have a good memory for +details. Ah, you are blushing. I wonder if you, too, could recall these +things if you tried." + +"There were a lot of us in on them," parried Frank, "and one did as much +as another." + +"Well," rejoined the colonel, "I'm proud that a French woman is your +mother. You have a glorious heritage in the traditions of two gallant +countries. And I rejoice to see the way you Americans are throwing +yourselves into the fighting. We were sorely pressed by the Hun hordes +and were fighting with our backs against the wall." + +"And such fighting!" returned Frank enthusiastically. "The world has +never seen anything finer. The spirit of France is unconquerable." + +"Yes," replied the colonel proudly. "As one of our great orators has +said: 'If the men are all killed the women will rise up; if the women +are killed the children will rise; if the children are killed the very +dead will rise and fight--fight for France." + +"But I must go on," he continued, motioning to his orderly to bring up +his horse. "I have a long journey yet before I reach the headquarters of +my division. I am more delighted than I can tell that I met you as I +did. May we meet again soon." + +"In Berlin, if not sooner," interjected Frank with a smile. + +"Ah, that is it," said the colonel delightedly. "In Berlin! That is the +way to speak. It may be a long time, but sooner or later the Stars and +Stripes and the Tricolor will wave together _Unter den Linden_. May +Heaven speed the day!" + +The French officer wrung Frank's hand warmly, sprang into the saddle, +and with Frank's "_bon voyage_" ringing in his ears, galloped rapidly +away. + +Twilight was coming on as Frank set out to rejoin his comrades, who were +waiting for him at a little distance down the road. His heart was light, +for he had news to write his mother that he knew would bring her +pleasure. + +"Some swell," chaffed Tom, as Frank came up to his friends. "Talking to +a colonel as though he were a pal. I wonder that you condescend to talk +to us common privates." + +"It is a comedown," grinned Frank; "but I'll try to tolerate you for a +while longer. But say, fellows, that colonel is a brick! Not a bit of +side about him. And he's doing a lot for us in the matter of my mother's +property that I've told you about." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Bart heartily. + +"I'll forgive him," conceded Tom magnanimously, "even if he does talk in +a lingo that I can't understand." + +"Why, I thought you were a finished French scholar by this time," +chaffed Bart. + +"Do you remember the day Tom tried to ask for soup and got his tongue +twisted around 'bouillon'?" gibed Billy, with a broad grin. + +"Well, I got the soup anyway, didn't I?" defended Tom. + +"Sure you got it," agreed Billy. "I could hear you getting it." + +Tom made a pass at him that Billy ducked. + +"Talking about soup makes me hungry," remarked Bart. "If you fellows +stand talking here much longer we'll be late at chow." + +"I'd like to have one more look at that hut Rabig's guarding," said +Frank a little uneasily. + +"We might stroll down this way again after supper if you like," +suggested Billy, "but just at present a little knife and fork exercise +seems the most pressing business I have to attend to." + +Just then their talk was interrupted by a single shot, followed by a +volley of them, and looking back in the direction from which they had +come, they saw men running in the direction of the hut that Rabig had +been guarding. + +They turned and ran at full speed and were soon in the midst of an +excited group gathered about the hut. + +"What's up?" asked Frank of one of the soldiers. + +"Prisoner escaped," replied the other briefly. + +"What prisoner?" + +"The fellow that Rabig was guarding. Some way or other he got out, +managed to strike Rabig down and skipped. Poor Rabig's pretty badly +messed up." + +The boys looked at each other. + +"_Poor_ Rabig," repeated Tom, and there was a world of meaning in his +tone. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A GHASTLY BURDEN + + +The sergeant of the guard came running up quickly, followed by two other +officers of higher rank, and a hurried inquiry took place on the spot. + +Rabig had been lifted to his feet from where he had been lying, and +stood supported by two comrades. Blood was running down his face from a +wound in his head. He seemed weak and dazed, although a surgeon who had +been hastily summoned pronounced the wound not dangerous. He seemed to +have been dealt a glancing blow, and, as in the case of all scalp +wounds, the blood had flowed freely. + +"Bring a seat for him," commanded the lieutenant in charge, and the +order was promptly obeyed. + +"Now, Rabig," proceeded the officer, not unkindly, "tell me about this. +How did you come to lose your prisoner?" + +Rabig looked about him in a helpless sort of way. + +"I don't know," he mumbled. "My head is swimming so that I can't +remember." + +"Try to think," said the officer patiently. Rabig seemed to make an +effort, but did not succeed and fell back in a swoon that put an end for +the present to the questioning. + +"Who saw anything of this?" queried the lieutenant, looking about him. +"Does any one know in what direction the prisoner went?" + +"If you please, sir," said one of the sentries who had been guarding an +adjacent hut, "I saw a man jump on a horse and go through the woods +there, but it was getting dark and I didn't know but what it might be +one of our own men. But I ran up here and found Rabig lying on the +ground, and the door of the hut was open. I sent a shot after the man on +horseback and so did some of the other men, but we couldn't take aim and +I don't know whether we hit him or not." + +"Look alive there," commanded the officer. "Sergeant, take a squad of +men and beat up these woods. The fellow may be hiding there. Take him +dead or alive." + +"Yes, sir," replied the sergeant, saluting. + +The soldiers standing by were hastily sent into the woods and others +were summoned to join them. The prisoner had got a good start, but by +this time the field telephones were busy all along the line and his +chance of ultimate escape was by no means bright. But he was a powerful +and desperate man, and if he had any weapons at all he would probably +make his capture a costly one. + +"He'll reason that he's a dead man if we get him and he might as well +die fighting," remarked Frank, as with his comrades he picked his way +through the woods. + +"Righto," agreed Tom. "And even if he didn't have a weapon when he +escaped, there are lots of them lying around and he won't have any +trouble in picking one up." + +"I wonder if he'll stick to the horse," mused Bart. + +"I hardly think so," replied Billy. "He knows from the shots that were +sent after him that we know he used a horse in escaping and will be +looking for a man on horseback. So he'll try to deceive us by going on +foot." + +"He'll probably hang about in the woods until it's pitch dark and then +try to get through the lines," said Frank. "He may be behind any tree or +bush, and we want to be mighty careful to examine each one as we go past +it." + +"Maybe he'll climb a tree," suggested Tom, looking up to the branches of +one he happened to be under at the moment. + +"Not a chance at this time of the year," objected Billy. "There aren't +any leaves to hide him, and even in the darkness we could probably see +his outline against the sky. Then, too, if he were seen he could be +potted too easily. No, he's not up a tree." + +"Queer that he should have got away so soon after we'd been down to the +hut," remarked Frank. + +"Queer!" snorted Tom. "It isn't queer at all to my way of thinking. The +whole thing was cut and dried." + +"Then you think that Rabig was in cahoots with him?" asked Bart +dubiously. + +"I'm sure of it," responded Tom. "Use your common sense, fellows. We see +half a dozen suspicious things that look as if Rabig and the prisoner +had some understanding. A little while after the prisoner escapes. +What's the answer?" + +"The answer might be several things," replied Frank, who hated to +believe evil of even his worst enemy. "A lot of things are due to +coincidence. It may be perfectly true that Rabig was in sympathy with +the German, but that doesn't say that he'd go so far as to let him +actually escape. He was taking big chances with his own skin in doing +it." + +"Besides, there's no doubt that Rabig was wounded," remarked Bart. "That +fellow seems to have given him an awful knock. He was bleeding like +fury." + +"Oh, it was easy enough to arrange that," answered Tom, unconvinced. "It +would have been too raw to have Rabig let the fellow go and still be +safe and sound. How could he explain it? He'd be brought up for +court-martial. But a scalp wound could be easily made where it would +produce the most blood and do the least harm." + + +"But what object would Rabig have in taking such chances?" asked Billy. +"The fellow had been searched and couldn't have had any money with him." + +"No, but he could have promised plenty," argued Tom. "Perhaps he's told +Rabig that the grateful Kaiser would make him rich. How do we know that +Rabig wouldn't fall for that? He's got an ivory dome anyway. If there +were more than two ideas in his head at one time they'd be arrested for +unlawful assemblage." + +The boys laughed and Tom went on: + +"Besides, how do we know but what Rabig is planning to desert and wants +to pave the way for a warm welcome on the other side? It would be easy +enough to slip across while the lines are so near each other." + +"But Rabig seemed to be pretty badly hurt," said Billy. "You saw him +faint." + +"Which only proves that he is a good actor," retorted Tom dryly. "Don't +think me hardhearted, fellows, because I'm not. I'm always ready to give +everybody his due. But I feel sure down in my heart that this thing was +all fixed up beforehand, and some day you'll find that I'm right." + +For more than two hours they kept up the search without result, and the +fact that they had not had their supper was forced upon them with +growing insistency. + +"Isn't there any time limit to this?" grumbled Bart. "I'll be hunting +for acorns instead of a prisoner before long." + +"I've got a vacuum where my stomach ought to be," moaned Billy. "Gee, +wouldn't I like to be streaking it for the mess room." + +"Cork up, you fellows," commanded Frank. "Listen! I thought I heard +something just then." + +The talking ceased instantly, and all stood as rigid as statues. + +"It's a horse coming this way," whispered Frank, after a moment of +strained attention. "Quick, fellows, get behind these bushes and have +your rifles ready!" + +They crouched low and peered up a little glade that ran through the +forest. + +But the noise ceased as suddenly as it had begun and they began to think +that their comrade had been mistaken. + +"Guess Frank's been stringing us," chaffed Billy. + +"He's the only one who seems to have heard anything," said Tom. + +"Don't you worry about my hearing," said Frank. "I tell you I heard a +horse's hoofs. Perhaps the rider suspects something and is trying to get +a line on us, just as we're trying to get one on him." + +"It may have been a horse all right," said Billy, "but that doesn't say +he had any rider. He may be rambling around all by his lonesome, and +perhaps he's stopped to graze somewhere." + +"There he goes again!" exclaimed Frank, and this time every one of them +heard what was undeniably the thud of a horse's hoofs. + +But there was a hesitation, an uncertainty about the animal's movements +that seemed unusual. It moved as though it had no purpose in view no +guiding hand on the reins. At times the canter seemed to subside into a +walk. There was something about this unseen steed, at large in the dim +forest, that gave the boys a most uncomfortable feeling. + +Then suddenly a more resolute note in the sound and an increase in its +volume told the listening boys that the horse was coming straight toward +them. + +The clatter of hoofs drew nearer, and they clutched their guns more +tightly. + +Soon they were able to distinguish in the gloom the outline of a horse +and rider. The man's figure loomed up huge and threatening, and they +felt sure that it was the big German corporal for whom they were +searching. + +The boys waited until the horse was almost upon them and then rushed out +into the road. + +"Halt!" cried Frank. He seized the horse's rein while the others leveled +their rifles at the rider. + +The horse reared in fright, but the rider made no answer nor did he +attempt to draw a weapon. + +"Get down!" commanded Frank. "We've got you covered. Surrender." + +Still the rider remained silent. + +Frank having quieted the horse went alongside and put his hand on the +man's arm. + +"Come----" he began, then stopped suddenly. + +There was a moment of utter silence, and Frank for the first time in his +life could feel the hair rising on his head. Then he controlled himself. + +"Put up your rifles boys," he commanded. "The man is dead!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +WITH THE TANKS + + +"Dead!" exclaimed Frank's comrades in voices that shook with surprise +and horror. + +"That's what I said," replied Frank. "Touch him and see for yourselves." + +All did so and found that the body was rigid. How long the horse had +borne his lifeless burden they could not tell. The legs were set stiffly +in the stirrups and the hands had a death grip on the reins. + +The boys had seen death in many forms. Scarcely a day had passed since +their arrival at the front without that sad experience. But it had never +seemed so ghastly or uncanny as at this moment. That silent, colossal +figure, seated bolt upright, worked fearfully on their imaginations and +seemed far more formidable than any living enemy would have seemed. + +"One of those bullets that the sentries sent after him must have reached +him," said Bart in an awed voice. + +"I suppose so," replied Frank. "But it doesn't matter now. Our search is +over." + +"What are we going to do with the body?" asked Billy soberly. + +"I guess we can't do anything just now," replied Frank. "I don't think +we could get those reins out of his hands anyway, and I for one don't +want to try. Besides, this is the proof for the officers that the +prisoner hasn't escaped. They're anxious, because they don't know what +information he might have been carrying back to the German lines. The +only thing to do is for one of us to lead the horse--with its rider-- +back to camp." + +This seemed to the others the solution of the problem, although the task +was a gruesome one and they would have gladly evaded it if they could. +It made chills run down the spine to trudge along leading the horse with +that huge figure towering behind them in the darkness, mocking at them +because he had escaped to the silent land from which they could never +bring him back. + +But there was comfort in numbers, and what no one of them could perhaps +have done singly they finally accomplished by taking turns, keeping +close together all the while as the ghostly cavalcade wound its way +through the woods. + +It was with a sigh of heartfelt relief that they finally drew up before +the friendly lights of the regimental headquarters that had never before +seemed so welcome. + +Their coming caused a great sensation, and there was soon a dense crowd +around them, for the uncanny circumstances of their return spread +through the camp like wildfire. The reins were cut from the dead hands +and the body lifted to the ground. Then after making a full report the +boys went to their quarters. They were besieged with inquiries by +curious comrades, but they shook them off as soon as possible. Their +experience had been one that they were only too anxious to forget. + +"I don't think I want any supper, after all," remarked Tom to his +friends. + +"Same here," responded Bart. "I don't feel as though I'd ever be hungry +again." + +"All I want to do is to get to sleep and forget it," said Billy. "That +is, if I _can_ get to sleep." + +"You'll sleep all right," observed Frank, "but I wouldn't guarantee you +against nightmare." + +But harrowed as their nerves had been, they were too young and healthy +to stand out against the sleep they needed, and when they woke the next +morning both their spirits and their appetites were as good as usual. +Life at the front was too full of work and rush for any one experience +to leave its imprint long. + +Their first inquiry after breakfast was for Rabig. + +"How's Rabig getting along?" Frank asked of Fred Anderson. + +"Oh, he's all right, I guess," answered Fred carelessly. "When the +doctors came to examine him they found that the wound didn't amount to +much. Said he'd be all right in a day or two." + +"Is he under arrest?" asked Tom. + +"Why, yes, I suppose he is," answered Fred. "But I guess it's a mere +form. The fact that the prisoner didn't finally get away will count in +his favor. It's like baseball. An error is an error, but if the man who +ought to be out at first gets put out when he tries to steal second the +error is harmless. It's no credit to Rabig that a bullet got the man he +let escape, but it's lucky for him just the same." + +It was evident that Anderson had no suspicion that Rabig had been guilty +of anything but carelessness, and the boys carefully refrained from +saying anything about what they had gathered from their observation the +day before. But when they were alone together they had no hesitation +about speaking their minds. + +"Some fellows could commit murder and get away with it," grumbled Tom. + +"Cheer up, you old grouch," chaffed Billy. "At any rate the prisoner +didn't escape, and so there's no harm done." + +"And if Rabig is guilty he's got nothing from it but a sore head," put +in Bart. + +"I don't feel dead sure that Rabig helped him," said Frank, "and yet the +more I think it over, the more I'm inclined to think that Tom is right +about it. Still, Rabig's entitled to the benefit of the doubt. I know +how the Scotch jury felt when they brought in the verdict: 'Not guilty, +but don't do it again.'" + +"That's just what I'm afraid Rabig will do," said Tom. "This time +luckily it didn't matter. The prisoner didn't escape. But if Rabig is a +traitor, how do we know but what the next time he might do something +that might cause a defeat?" + +"It does make one uneasy," agreed Bart. "Nick in the regiment is like a +splinter in the finger. It makes you sore. But we'll keep our eyes open +and the very next crooked move he makes it will be curtains for him." + +"Or taps," added Billy. + +The fighting now had lost the first intensity that had signalized the +day of the mine explosion. The Germans had been strongly reinforced, and +had held their third line, which had now become their first. + +"And they've got plenty of other lines behind that one," commented Tom, +as he sat on a trench step cleaning and oiling his rifle. + +"Slathers of them," assented Billy. "I suppose they stretch all the way +back to the Rhine." + +"It will be some job to root them out of them if we have to storm each +one of them in turn," remarked Bart. + +"We don't have to count on that," said Frank confidently. "The Allies +gained twenty-five miles at a clip when they drove Hindenburg back from +the Somme. The Huns may stand out a long while, but when the time comes +they may collapse all at once like the deacon's 'one-hoss shay.'" + +The Americans in the meantime had thoroughly reorganized the captured +positions and had held them against a number of strong counter-attacks. +But these became fewer as they failed to produce results, and although +the artillery still kept on growling and barking, the wearied infantry +had a chance to get some of the rest they so sorely needed after their +herculean efforts. + +"Nothing to do till to-morrow," yawned Billy, as after performing their +turn of trench duty they found themselves with an hour or two on their +hands. + +"Let's take a little hike back of the lines and see what's doing," +suggested Bart. + +"I think there's something in the wind connected with the tanks," +remarked Frank. "They say there's a bunch of them coming up from all +parts of the front and getting together just back of our division." + +"They're hot playthings, all right," commented Tom. "They certainly keep +the Huns on the jump. If we only had enough of them we might roll right +into Berlin." + +They passed some of the field batteries where the men, stripped to the +waist, were serving the guns, running the shells in and discharging +their weapons with marvelous smoothness, speed and precision. + +"This is the life," chaffed Tom. "You fellows have a picnic here away +back of the lines, while we chaps in the front line do all the work and +stop all the bullets." + +"G'wan, you doughboys," retorted a gunner good-naturedly. "If we're +alive here after eight days, the orders are to shoot us for loafing." + +A little further on, they came upon a myriad of tanks of all +descriptions. There were "baby" tanks, "whippets," "male" and "female," +all with different functions to perform during a battle. Just as in the +navy there are vessels of all sizes from a light scout to a +super-dreadnought, so already this arm of the service was developing +various grades, each to do some special work for which the others were +not so well adapted. + + +"See how they're hidden," said Frank, as he pointed to a very forest of +bushes and branches that extended above the array of tanks. + +"That's to keep the Boche aviators guessing," observed Bart. "They'd +give their eyes if they could only spy out where these fellows are being +massed." + +"I heard one of the fellows say that the tanks travel only at night so +that the Boches can't track them," said Tom. + +"And see what a raft of them have been got together here," said Billy. +"I tell you, fellows, there's something big going to be pulled off +before long." + +"Say, boys, see who's here!" exclaimed Frank, and they turned to see +Will Stone coming toward them with a broad smile of welcome on his +bronzed face. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BREAKING THROUGH + + +There was a rush toward Will Stone, and in a moment the Army boys were +shaking hands with a vigor that showed the pleasure they felt at again +meeting their acquaintance, who belonged to the tank division. + +"Say, fellows, have a heart," Will grinned. "I need these hands in my +business. But it sure does me good to see you again. And all of you +alive and kicking! I'll bet that's more than some of the Huns are that +you've run up against." + +"Oh, we're still able to sit up and take nourishment," laughed Frank. +"But tell us about yourself, old man. You look like ready money." + +"I see you have a marking different from what you had when we saw you +last," remarked Bart, looking at the insignia that proclaimed Will an +officer. + +"And look at that war cross!" cried Tom. "I guess you've been some busy +little bee to get that. Shake again, old scout." + +Stone flushed and looked a little embarrassed. + +"Only a few little skirmishes here and there," he said deprecatingly. +"But the real big thing is yet to come. Look at this army of tanks. +We've never had so many in one place since the war began." + +"Looks like a herd of elephants," commented Frank, as his eye ran along +the array that seemed to number hundreds. "They'll do more trampling +than any herd of elephants that ever trod the earth," remarked Stone +grimly. "But come along, fellows, and let me show you my own particular +pet. It's the biggest one of the bunch, and it's a peach! We call it +Jumbo, and it carries a crew of twenty men." + +They followed him till they came to a monster tank on which Stone placed +his hand caressingly. + +"Isn't it a beauty?" he asked, as he beamed upon them. + +"I should call it a holy terror," grinned Frank. + +"What the Huns will call it won't be fit for publication," laughed +Billy. + +"I guess they've already exhausted the German vocabulary," chuckled +Stone. "But just wait until this beauty of mine goes climbing over their +trenches and smashing their pill boxes and tearing away their +entanglements. Then they'll know what they're up against." + +"I only wish we could see you while you're doing it," remarked Tom. + +"Likely enough you will," replied Stone. "From things I've picked up +here and there I think the infantry will be right alongside of us in the +next big jamboree. Don't you fellows make any mistake about it, there's +going to be one of the biggest stunts of the war pulled off in the +course of the next few days. Mithridates with his elephants won't be a +circumstance to us with our tanks. There sure is bound to be some lovely +fighting." + +"Let it come!" exclaimed Tom. + +"And come quickly," chimed in Frank. + +"The only thing I'm sorry for is that you're in the Canadian +contingent," said Bart. "I want to see you leading the way in a U. S. A. +tank." + +"You may yet," replied Stone. "Uncle Sam will soon be sending over his +tanks, and you bet when they do come they'll be lallapaloozers with all +the modern improvements, and then some! And the minute that happens I'm +going to apply to be transferred to the United States army. These +Canadians are among the finest men in the world and they're doing +magnificent fighting, but still I'll feel more natural when I'm fighting +under the Stars and Stripes." + +"Well, that won't be long now," replied Frank. "Our men and our guns and +our tanks and everything else we need to lick the Kaiser will be coming +in droves pretty soon. And then watch our smoke." + +"Right you are," agreed Stone enthusiastically. + +Then as a trumpet rang out he added: "That's the signal for a rehearsal, +fellows, and I'll have to get on the job. We're going to put our +machines through their paces. I'm mighty glad to have seen you again, +and I wish you no end of luck." + +"Come over to our line when you get a chance and see the way our boys +are shaping up," was Frank's invitation, which was echoed heartily by +the others. + +"You bet I will," responded Stone, as with a wave of his hand he went to +his work, while the boys strolled back to their quarters. + +"He's the real stuff," commented Frank. "All wool and a yard wide." + +"He'd rather fight than eat," observed Tom. + +"If the Canadians take him as a sample, no wonder they're glad to see +Uncle Sam mix in," remarked Billy. + +Some days went by, days of steady rush and preparation. It was evident +that some big operation was near at hand. Troops were moved up from +other portions of the long line that stretched from Switzerland to the +sea. There were the bronzed Tommies in khaki, the snappy, dashing poilus +in their uniforms of corn-flower blue, veterans hardened in a score of +battles from Ypres to Verdun. And right alongside of them in closest +comradeship and gallant rivalry were the stalwart sons of the United +States of America, the very flower of her youth, who had already had +their baptism of fire and who had sworn to themselves that no flag +should be further in the van than Old Glory when it came to the stern +test of battle. + +Nearer and nearer the tanks had crept to the front of the line and taken +up their places in front of great openings that had been made in the +wire entanglements and skilfully concealed from the enemy. + +A certain number of them were assigned to lead each regiment, and the +Camport boys' delight was great when they saw that Jumbo, with a squad +of assisting tanks, had been told off to lead their regiment. + +"Just what the doctor ordered," exulted Frank, when he saw Stone step +out of the door of the monster tank. + +"We'll follow you, old man, till the cows come home," called Bart, as +the boys crowded around the young operator. + +"We'll try to make a broad path for you," laughed Stone, as he returned +their greeting cordially. + +"When is the show coming off?" asked Billy. + +"Almost any time now, I guess," replied Stone. "About all we need is a +nice misty morning. It's up to the weather sharps to tip us off. Then +we'll amble over and give the Huns a little shaking up." + +Several days passed with the weather exasperatingly clear. Usually the +soldiers would have welcomed the bright sunny mornings. But now, when +they were keyed up to a high pitch, the one thing they longed for was a +dull and lowering sky that would favor the great enterprise they had on +hand. + +"You might think the boys were a lot of grangers after a dry spell, from +the way they're praying for rain," remarked Billy, as for the hundredth +time he scanned the sky. + +"Remember how different it used to be when we had a baseball game on +hand?" laughed Frank. "Then a gleam of sunshine was like money from home +after you'd been broke for a week." + +"That cloud a little while ago looked as though it might have had +thunder and lightning behind it," observed Bart, "but it was only a +false alarm." + +"Nothing but wind, like a German bulletin," grinned Billy, stretching +himself. + +"Or their U-boat prophecies," added Frank. "But cheer up, fellows, this +sunshine can't last forever." + +There came at last just the kind of weather wanted. A soft drizzle set +in at nightfall, not enough to make the ground muddy, but enough to make +the steaming and saturated air lie heavy on the earth. Everything +indicated that there would be a fog at dawn. + +"I guess to-morrow's the big day," remarked Frank, as he looked out at +the settling mists. + +"High time," grumbled Tom. "I'd grow stale if we had to wait much +longer." + +The regiments slept on their arms that night, and an hour before dawn +all were astir and in their places. There was no special artillery fire, +such as usually preceded big attacks. It was given to the tanks to level +the entanglements of the enemy and open up the gaps for the troops to +swarm through. + +The hour dragged by until within ten minutes of the time appointed for +the assault. Then a monotonous hum filled the air as the motors of the +tanks tuned up. Down through the black lines of waiting soldiers the +gray monsters slowly made their way, passed through the gaps made in the +defences and led the way into the desolate stretch of No Man's Land. + +Even to the friendly eyes that watched them there was something weird +and frightful in their aspect. It was as though the huge brutes of the +prehistoric world had taken form before them. Even those monsters had +never carried within them such death-dealing power. + +As the sea closes in the wake of a ship, the troops fell in behind the +tanks, and the silent procession took up the march toward the German +lines. + +Hardly a sound beyond the labored breathing of the tanks broke the +stillness. It might have been an army of ghosts. + +On they went, and with every step the conviction grew that the surprise +would be complete. No thunder broke from the enemy guns. No fiery +barrage swept the dense ranks, exacting its toll of wounds and death. +For once the Hun was asleep. + +Nearer and nearer. Then like so many thunderbolts at a hundred different +points they struck the German lines and the tanks went through! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +CAUGHT NAPPING + + +Nothing could stand before the terrific impact of the war tanks. + +There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, as wire entanglements +were uprooted. These had been strengthened in every way that German +cunning could invent, but they bent like straws beneath the onslaught of +the gray monsters. A cyclone could not have done the work more +thoroughly. + +There was no need now for further secrecy, and with a wild yell the +Allied troops swarmed through the gaps, sending a deadly volley before +them, supplemented by thousands of grenades. + +At the same instant, the Allied artillery opened up and laid a heavy +barrage fire over the heads of the onrushing troops. + +The blow came down on the Germans with crushing force. The surprise was +complete. Every detail of the great drive had been mapped out with the +precision of clockwork, and so nicely had it been timed that on every +part of the long line the shock came like a thunderbolt. + +A horde of Germans rushed up from the trenches and poured in a great +stream into the open. The earth seemed to disgorge itself. They came +shouting and yelling in wild consternation, their eyes heavy with sleep +and their faces pallid with fear. + +Fear not so much of the Allied troops rushing upon them. These they had +faced in many battles, and though they knew the mettle of their foes, +they were still men who could be faced on even terms. But their courage +gave way when through the spectral mists they saw the wallowing monsters +bearing down on them like so many Juggernauts, crushing, tearing, mowing +them down as though they were insects in the path of giants. + +The men fled helter-skelter in the wildest panic that had come upon them +since the outbreak of the war. In vain their officers shouted and cursed +at them. The iron bonds of discipline snapped like threads. Soldiers +rushed hither and thither like ants whose hill had been demolished by a +ruthless foot. + +Many fled back toward their second line, pursued by a withering blast of +rifle fire that reaped a terrible harvest of wounds and death. Others +rushed back into their trenches, crowding and treading upon one another. +But even here they were not safe from the great tanks, which lumbered +down into the trenches and up on the other side, leaving devastation in +their wake, spitting out flame from the guns they carried, while they +themselves in their iron armor went on uninjured. + +Not only were they frightful engines of offense, but they served as well +for defense of the troops that followed after them. + +For the first few minutes the slaughter was awful, and it looked as +though the whole German line would be forced to give way without putting +up any resistance worthy of the name. Prisoners were rounded up by the +hundreds. There was no time then to send them to the rear. So they were +gathered together in the open spaces, their suspenders were cut so that +their trousers would slip down and entangle their legs if they tried to +escape in the confusion, a small guard was put over them, and the tanks +and the troops went thundering on toward the second line. + +But here the resistance began to stiffen. The first paralysis of +surprise was past. The heavy guns of the enemy opened up, and from +scores of machine gun nests and pill boxes came a storm of bullets. The +German officers had got their troops under some semblance of control, +and heavy reinforcements were rushed up from the rear. From now on the +Allies had an awakened and powerful foe to reckon with. + +But despite the sterner opposition, the tanks were not to be denied. On +they went, as resistless as fate. Their sides were reddened now, and the +wake they left behind them was fearful to look upon. + +Through the second line entanglements they crashed as easily as through +the first, although this time they met with losses. Some had overturned +and others had been struck by heavy shells and put out of action. But +even though disabled, the guns on one side or the other were still able +to pour out their messengers of death and take savage toll of the enemy. + +Jumbo was leading, and close behind followed the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh, with Frank and his chums in the van. They were fighting +like young Vikings, their rifles empty but their bayonets and hand +grenades doing deadly work. Their arms were tired by their terrific +efforts, but their hearts were on fire. They felt as though they were +treading on air, and the blood ran through their veins like quicksilver. +Bunker Hill and Gettysburg spoke through them. The traditions of a +hundred glorious battlefields on which Americans had fought was theirs. +Now again Americans were fighting, fighting to avenge the murdered women +and babies of the Lusitania, fighting to crush the most barbarous +tyranny the modern world has known, fighting the battle of freedom and +civilization. + + +So they fought on like demons, smashing a pill box here, routing out a +machine gun nest there, until the second line was carried. Then the +conquerors paused for breath. + +On the whole German front in that region two lines deep the line had +been smashed. That crowded hour of stark fighting had cracked the +boasted invincible line of Hindenburg and sent the foe flying in +confusion toward their third and most formidable line. Thousands of +prisoners and scores of guns were among the spoils of victory. + +And the most gratifying feature of the drive was the insignificant loss +to the Allied forces. The resistance at first had been only slight, and +even in the second phase of the battle it had been so quickly overcome +that few of the attacking troops had fallen. Seldom had so great an +advance been made at so small a price. + +But modern warfare has its limits in the matter of time and speed. The +very swiftness with which they had advanced had in itself an element of +danger because it had brought them too far ahead of their supporting +guns. These had to be brought up from the rear, and the captured +positions had to be reorganized. The troops, too, had to be given a +breathing spell, for they had reached the limit of human endurance. + +So a halt was called, and the wearied men took turns in resting and +refreshing themselves for the hard work that still lay ahead of them. + +"A mighty good morning's work," panted Frank, as he threw himself down +at the roots of a giant tree which had been utterly stripped of branches +and even of bark by the tempest of fire that had raged around it. + +"Ask a German and see if he'd agree with you," said Billy with a grin. + +"We've got plenty to ask," said Tom, as his eyes roved over the throng +of prisoners. "We sure have taken a raft of them this morning. And +there's a still bigger bunch that will never answer roll call again." + +There was food in plenty, but they did not have to avail themselves of +the rations they carried in their kits. There were the camp kitchens of +the enemy that in a twinkling were set to work, and soon the savory +odors of steaming stews and fragrant coffee filled the smoke-laden air +and brought joy to the hearts of the victors. + +Frank, Bart, Billy and Tom were lucky enough to stumble on a meal that +had already been started for some German officers, and they were +surprised to find it so good and abundant. + +"The Germans may be starving, but there's no sign of it here," remarked +Frank, as he threw himself down on the ground with a sigh of relief. + +"Trust the Huns to look after their soldiers, even if the civilians +starve," replied Bart. "The people don't count in Germany. Only the +military are taken seriously. They take the middle of the sidewalk and +others are crowded to the wall." + +"Well, I'm not quarreling with them just now on that account," grinned +Billy. "I'm just glad there's plenty of grub here this morning." + +"I'm not very partial to German cooking as a rule," chuckled Tom, "but +this stew certainly smells good. How the Boche officers would grit their +teeth if they saw us wading into this." + +But his rejoicing was premature, for just at this moment a cannon shot +from the German lines tore its way through the kettle and the scalding +broth was spattered all over the group that were lying about. Luckily it +did no other damage, but the chagrin of the boys was comical to see. + +"I'd like to have hold of the gunner that fired that shot," sputtered +Tom wrathfully, as he wiped from his face some of the stew that had +fallen to his share. + +"You ought to have knocked wood when you talked of the German officers +seeing us wading into their chow," growled Bart. "There's a perfectly +good stew gone to the dogs." + +"Nothing personal in that, I hope," laughed Frank, "because most of it +came to us." + +"I like mine inside," put in Billy, as he gingerly removed a piece of +meat from his ear. "As an outside decoration I'm dead against stew." + +"Well, cheer up, fellows," remarked Frank. "The stew's past praying for, +but there's a lot of other things. And anyway we ought to be mighty +thankful that the shot didn't remove some of us from the landscape as +well as the kettle." + +"What's the big noise about?" asked a cheery voice, and they looked up +to see Will Stone regarding them with a quizzical grin. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + +The four Camport boys greeted Stone joyfully and gladly made room for +him. + +"It's another German atrocity," grinned Billy. "They were sore at us for +swiping their grub and they sent our kettle to smithereens." + +"I'm glad they don't know about it anyway," said Tom. "I don't want any +Boche to have the laugh on me." + +"I guess they're not doing much laughing this morning," remarked Will +Stone, as he dropped down on the ground beside them. "Or if they are, +it's on the wrong side of their mouths." + +"We've certainly waxed them good and plenty," said Bart +enthusiastically. + +"Jumbo was all to the good this morning," exulted Frank. "It did my +heart good to see the way he ploughed along. There was nothing to it +after he got started." + +"He certainly scattered the Huns good and plenty," chortled Billy. "They +ran like hares." + +"He does for 'em all right," agreed Stone, glad to have his pride in his +giant pet justified. "And the best of it is that, although the bullets +came against his hide like hail on a tin roof, he came through +practically without a scratch. He sure is a tough old fellow." + +"The tanks are wonders," chimed in Tom. "They've won this fight. It was +scrumptious the way they tore those entanglements up by the roots. +Without 'em we'd have lost ten times as many men as we did." + +"So far we've gotten off pretty easily," agreed Stone, "but the hardest +part of the fighting is coming. The Boches have got their second wind by +this time, and there can't be any more surprises. You fellows would +better fill up now, for you'll have to have plenty to stand up on." + +"Trust us," laughed Billy. "We may be slow in some things, but when it +comes to filling up, we're some pumpkins. But I certainly do feel sore +about that stew." + +"Billy'll never get over that," laughed Bart. "He had his mouth all +fixed for it. No other stew in all his life will ever taste so good to +him as this one that he didn't get." + +"It's always the biggest fish that gets away," laughed Stone, as he fell +to with the rest. + +While they were eating, there was a thunder of hoofs along the road. +This had been such an unusual occurrence up to date that they sprang to +their feet with eager interest. + +Then the cavalry swept by. + +Fine fellows the cavalrymen were on splendid mounts, which they bestrode +as though they had never done anything else in all their lives. For +months past they had chafed under restraint, for since the struggle had +settled down to trench warfare they had seldom seen service except on +foot. But now their turn had come, for with the broken line of the enemy +had come a call for the cavalry to pursue and complete the +demoralization of the foe. + +"Some class to that bunch," remarked Tom, as he watched the flying +column with an appraising eye. + +"A little faster than your tanks, old scout?" remarked Bart, giving +Stone a nudge in the ribs. + +"They sure are," admitted Stone. "But don't forget that though we may be +slow we get there just the same." + +After a brief resting spell the lines were reformed and the fighting was +resumed. The space between the second and the third lines was a wide +one, and the country was hilly, with numerous lanes and ravines. These +were being held in greater or less force by enemy troops posted in +advantageous positions supported by machine guns, while beyond them +their big guns kept up a heavy fire to prevent the Allied advance. + +To clean these up and get ready for an attack upon the third line was a +work of hours, as every foot of advance was bitterly contested by the +Germans, who had now recovered from their surprise and fought +desperately to stem the tide that had overwhelmed their first position. + +There were two or three villages in the fighting zone and one town of +considerable size. Not that it was a town now in any real sense of the +word. What had once been houses were now mere pitiful heaps of wood and +stone and mortar, and their inhabitants had long since been dispossessed +or slain. It stood gaunt and desolate and forbidding in its mute protest +against the pitiless storm of war to which it had fallen a victim. + +In cleaning out a particularly obnoxious nest of machine gun positions +Frank and his friends had been kept busy until nearly noon. But at last +the guns were silenced and the crews wiped out or captured. + +The boys started to regain their main force, but the country was +unfamiliar and they took a turning in the road which led toward the +German lines instead of toward their own. + +"Gee!" remarked Tom as they trudged along, "maybe I'm not tired. My feet +feel as though they weighed a ton." + +"Perhaps they do," gibed Billy unfeelingly. "Considering the size of +them, I should say a ton was just about right." + +"I notice your hoofs are not so small," retorted Tom. "But how much +longer is this hike going to take?" + +"Search me," responded Frank. "To tell the truth, I'm twisted up about +the direction. Seems to me we ought to strike some of our troops soon." + +"It would be funny if we walked straight into the German lines," +observed Billy. + +"Funny!" snorted Tom. "Yes, as funny as a funeral. Some people have a +queer sense of humor." + +They were passing a hedge that walled off an orchard from the road when +Frank, who was ahead, saw before him a great wave of gray uniforms +coming around a bend in the road. + +"Quick, fellows," he whispered. "Over the hedge and down on the ground." + +Like a flash the boys were out of sight, and not one instant too soon, +for a moment later they could see through the hedge what seemed to be an +endless line of gray uniforms going past at the double quick. They were +evidently hurrying forward to reinforce their hard-pressed comrades +farther down the road. + +The boys lay still as death until the troops had passed, and then looked +at each other ruefully. + +"We're cut off," ejaculated Frank. "Those fellows are between us and our +line." + +"Looks pretty bad," said Bart. + +"This is a pretty kettle of fish," grumbled Tom. "Let's cut across the +orchard and see if we can find some of our boys." + +They acted on the suggestion, but found to their dismay that the Germans +were everywhere. In whatever direction they looked the only uniforms +they saw were the detested field gray. The Germans had rallied and the +boys had been caught in the swirl of the returning tide. + +"We'll have to hide somewhere until our men drive back the Huns and get +as far as this orchard," said Billy. + +"We're up against it for fair," growled Tom disconsolately. + +"It's easy enough to talk of hiding, but where shall we hide?" asked +Bart. "If we stay here above ground we're bound to be spotted before +long." + +"Let's make our way toward the town," suggested Frank. "There wasn't a +soul in sight there a few minutes ago. It seemed to be wholly deserted. +There must be plenty of hiding places in those heaps of stones, or +perhaps we can stow ourselves away in a cellar. Let's get a hustle on, +too, or we'll know sooner than we want to what a prison camp looks +like." + +As quickly as they dared they crept along, using every bit of cover that +offered itself until they reached the outskirts of what had been the +town. As Frank had said, it appeared to be wholly deserted at the +moment. It was clear that all available forces had been summoned away to +stem the great drive. + +Having satisfied themselves that there was no one about they moved +cautiously from one street to another seeking some place of refuge. The +prospect was not hopeful, for there was scarcely a room in a single +house that was not gaping wide open. Doors were gone and windows had +vanished. There was hardly a place where anything as large as a cat +could be free from detection. + +"A mighty slim outlook," grumbled Tom, as they crouched close to a pile +of masonry near the corner of a street. + +"Stop grouching," counseled Frank. "We may stumble across something at +any minute." + +"Stumble is right," said Bart, as he rubbed a barked shin. "I've been +doing nothing else since we got in among these rock piles." + +"That house over the way there seems in a little better condition than +the rest of these heaps," suggested Billy, pointing a little way down +the street. + +"We'll try our luck there," said Frank, and again their cautious journey +was resumed. + +They reached the place and squeezed themselves in through a narrow +opening on a side that had faced a tiny yard bordered by a wall about +eight feet in height. + +There had been three rooms on the ground floor of the house, but all +three had been knocked into one by the visitation of shells. The boys +picked their way over the uneven masses of plaster, and Frank gave an +exclamation as he perceived an opening that seemed to lead down into a +cellar. + +"This way, fellows," he said as he looked down into the darkness. "I +don't see any stairs here but we can take a chance and drop. It doesn't +seem very deep. One of you hold this gun of mine and I'll go first." + +There was a chance of spraining an ankle if nothing worse, but luckily +he landed safely. + +"All serene," he called up in a low tone. "Hand me down your guns and +then come along." + +They did so, and the four found themselves in a cluttered cellar that by +feeling around with their hands they found to be about thirty feet long +by twenty in width. There was a furnace which had been broken into a +pile of junk and a little light filtering down showed where a pipe had +formerly gone through to the upper floor. There were a number of barrels +in one corner, but apart from these the cellar seemed to hold nothing +but rubbish. + +"It's as dark as Egypt down here," grumbled Tom. + +"So much the better," replied Bart. "There'll be that much less chance +of a Heinie seeing us if he takes the trouble to look down here." + +"So this is where we've got to hang out until our boys get here," +remarked Billy, grinning. "It reminds me of the Waldorf-Astoria--it's so +different." + +"Never mind," said Frank cheerfully, "it's a thousand per cent. better +than a Hun prison camp, and don't you forget it!" + +"You said a mouthful that time," replied the irrepressible Billy, with +more force than elegance. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + +"The first thing to do is to make a barricade of these barrels," said +Frank, when the four privates had made an inventory of what the cellar +afforded in the way of defense. + +"They will help us in putting up a fight if the Huns discover us here," +agreed Bart. + +"Let's see if there's anything in them," suggested Billy. + +"Swell chance," commented Tom. "They smell as if they'd had wine or beer +in them, and you can trust the Heinies to have drained them to the last +drop. Not that I want any of the stuff, but if they were full they'd +stop a bullet better than if they were empty." + +They tested the barrels by knocking against them with the butts of their +rifles and the hollow sound they gave back proved that Tom had +conjectured truly. + +"Dry as the Desert of Sahara," pronounced Frank. + +"And that reminds me," said Bart. "What are we going to do for water to +drink? We've got grub enough in our kits to last us a couple of days in +a pinch. But we can't hold out long without something to wash it down +with." + +"We won't worry about that yet," said Frank. "I stepped into a puddle +over in one corner while we were going round here. I suppose that came +from the rain we had last night. It doesn't fit my idea of what drinking +water ought to be, but it's a mighty sight better than dying of thirst." + +They got out their stock of food and decided that with careful rationing +they had enough for two days. + +"And that will be plenty," prophesied Billy. "Our fellows will be here +before long. Perhaps this very night we'll be with the old bunch again." + +"I wish I had your cheery disposition," growled Tom. "When any one hands +you a lemon----" + +"I make lemonade out of it," came back Billy, and there was a general +laugh. + +"That's the way to talk," said Frank. "The Huns haven't got us yet, and +even this hole is better than a German prison camp." + +"You bet!" responded Billy. "From all I hear those places are something +fierce. A fellow had better die fighting than die of abuse or +starvation." + +"That's what," agreed Bart. "And that's another thing that shows how low +the Huns have stooped in this war. Look at the way we treat them when we +take them prisoners. They live on the fat of the land. Of course the +Germans haven't as much food in their country as we have, and we don't +expect so much for our men in the matter of grub, although even at that +they don't get enough to keep body and soul together. But it's sickening +to hear of the way they torture them. One of their favorite sports is to +set dogs on 'em. If a man doesn't move quickly enough to suit 'em they +stick a bayonet into him. It's low beastly tyranny that puts them on a +level with the Turks. It's no wonder that Germany is coming to be hated +and despised by the whole world." + +"Did you hear of the fire that happened in one of their camps?" queried +Tom. "There was a hut in one corner of the camp with five men in it. It +caught fire and the men, who couldn't get out of the door because it was +locked, tried to get out of the window. The sentry thrust his bayonet +into the first man, and threw him back into the flames. The poor fellow +made another attempt and again the sentry ran the bayonet into him. And +every one of the five men burned to death, though every one of them +could have been saved. What do you think of that, fellows? Isn't it the +limit?" + +"They'll get theirs," said Frank bitterly. "They can't sow the wind +without reaping the whirlwind. They'll surely pay, soon or late, for +every bit of this brutality. + +"I hope it will be soon," said Billy. "I'm getting impatient." + +"It won't be long if we can keep up the pace we set this morning," said +Bart. "Gee, how our tanks went through those wires as though they were +rotten cord." + +"And our guns are keeping it up," said Frank. "Just listen to that roar. +What a shame it is we can't be out there doing our bit. It makes me feel +like a slacker." + +"It's the fortune of war," said Billy philosophically. "But it's might +hard luck just the same that we took the wrong direction after we +cleared up that machine gun nest so neatly. But let's have a hack at +that grub, fellows. Oh, boy, if we only had some of that stew we lost +this morning!" + + "That stew still sticks in Billy's crop," laughed Frank. + +"I only wish it did," mourned Billy. "But it never got that far." + +"Well, just remember, fellows, that we're on rations now," warned Frank +as he doled out a little portion to each from the common stock they had +pooled together. "We've got to make this last as long as we can. If we +feel hungry when we get through we'll just have to tighten our belts and +let it go at that." + +They ate sparingly, but, although they were all thirsty, especially +after the heat and excitement of the fighting, it was a long time before +they could bring themselves to drink from the pool in the corner of the +cellar. They finally had to come to it, however, though they tried to +make it less repugnant by filtering it through the only clean +handkerchief they could muster among them. + +The time dragged on interminably in their narrow quarters. They tried to +sleep, but though they were very tired after their strenuous day, the +novelty and discomfort of their position kept them on edge. + +The daylight finally vanished from the little opening in the floor above +and the darkness became absolute. They had matches in their kits, but +they feared to use them lest some prowling sentry might see the light +through some rift in the masonry. + +The roar of the heavy artillery had died down, though the guns still +gave out an occasional challenge. The fighting for the day was evidently +at an end. But there had been no clash in the streets of the ruined town +to betoken the arrival of the Allied forces. However they might have +fared in other parts of the battlefield, the town itself had not been +wrested from the Germans. In all probability the boys were still in the +midst of their enemies. + +"Another night as well as a day to stay in this shebang," remarked Tom +when the hope of immediate rescue had failed them. + +"Oh, well, to-morrow's a new day," said Frank. "A lot may happen between +now and to-morrow night. Our grub will hold out till then anyway, and if +nothing better turns up we'll make a dash and try to reach our lines." + +He had scarcely stopped speaking when there was a loud clattering in the +street as though a cavalry troop were passing through. + +"Perhaps those are our men now!" exclaimed Billy jubilantly. + +"Perhaps," assented Frank. "And they seem to be coming this way." + +The pace of the horses died down as they neared the house, and they +finally stopped just before it. The boys could hear the troopers +dismount and a moment later they heard footsteps on the floor above. + +They listened intently. Would the first words they heard be English or +German? If the first it would mean a boisterous shout to the men above +and a hasty and joyful scramble out of their prison. If the second, it +would mean that they were in imminent danger of capture or death. + +A light filtered down through the hole where the stovepipe had been. +Somebody above had struck a match. But he had evidently burned his +fingers as he did so, for the light went out and there was an impatient +exclamation. + +"_Donnerwetter_!" + +Just one word, but it made the hearts of the listening boys go down into +their boots. + +For it was a German who just then struck a second match and lighted a +candle, and it was a German cavalry troop whose horses stood before the +door. + +But for what purpose had they entered the house? Were they in search of +the boys? Had any one seen them entering the house and given +information? + +"Be ready, fellows," whispered Frank. "It looks as if we were in for a +scrap." + +They clutched their rifles firmly to be ready for whatever might happen. + +But it was not long before they realized that this sudden irruption had +nothing to do with them. What seemed to be a bench or a table was +dragged across the floor and one or more candles placed upon it. There +seemed to be half a dozen or more officers in the room, and they were +soon engaged in an earnest conversation. + +"I never thought much of the German language," whispered Bart to Billy, +"but I'd give a farm to understand it now." + +"If Frank only knew German as well as he does French," responded Billy, +"we might pick up something that our officers would give a lot to know." + +For perhaps half an hour the raucous tones above continued. The debate +was at times an angry one and was punctuated by the sound of fists +brought heavily down on a table. Just after one of these, the stovepipe +hole was dimmed by something that shut off the light from the room +above. It floated down with a slight rustle and the boys could see that +it was a paper of some kind. + +In an instant Frank had crept across and grabbed the paper, thrusting it +into the bosom of his shirt. Then he moved swiftly back to the shelter +of the barricade. + +"That was taking a chance, old boy," whispered Bart, as his friend +resumed his place among them. "If you'd knocked against anything and the +Huns had heard you, they'd have been down here in a jiffy." + +"I suppose it was a little risky," returned Frank, "but we've got to +take risks sometimes, and it struck me that there might be something in +that paper that our officers would like to know." + +Just then Billy, in trying to get in a less cramped position, knocked +against one of the rifles that had been stood in a corner. It fell +against one of the barrels with a clatter that in the confined place and +the tense state of the boys' nerves sounded to them like thunder. + +Frank grabbed it before it could fall on the cellar floor, but it seemed +as though the mischief must have been done, and their hearts were in +their mouths as they listened for anything that might indicate that the +sound had been heard on the floor above. + +But the debate had reached a lively stage just at that moment, and the +incident attracted no attention, so that after two minutes more of +strained listening the boys were assured that they had come off scot +free from what might have been a disaster. + +"This is sure no place for a man with heart disease," murmured Tom, and +his comrades unanimously agreed with him. + +The conference in the room above had come to an end, as was shown by the +shuffling of feet as the men rose from the table. There was a sound as +of a sheaf of papers being hastily gathered together. But there was no +outcry to indicate that any one of them was missing, and the boys drew a +long breath and relaxed their grasp on their rifles. There would be no +search, and for the moment they were safe. + +The lights above were extinguished and the party went out. The horses +clattered away, and once more the house and the town were as still as +the grave. + +"So near and yet so far," murmured Frank, when he was sure that the last +of the unwelcome visitors had departed. + +"That was what you might call too close for comfort," grinned Billy. + +"They wouldn't have done a thing to us if they had nabbed us," declared +Bart. "We wouldn't have had a Chinaman's chance. No prison camp for +ours! They'd have shot us down like dogs! They'd have reasoned that we +had heard their military plans, and that would have been all the excuse +they wanted." + +"Not that they would care whether they had the excuse or not," said +Billy. "The mere fact that a German wants to do anything makes it all +right to do it." + +"How they'd froth at the mouth if they knew Frank had that paper," +remarked Tom. "I wonder what it is." + +"It has a seal on it and it feels as if it were heavy and official," +replied Frank. "I don't want to strike a match now, but I'll take a +squint at it when daylight comes. Probably it's in German, and if it is +I can't read it. But they'll read it at headquarters all right, and it +may queer some of Heinie's plans." + +They conversed in whispers a little while longer, and then made ready to +go to sleep. Their preparations were not extensive, and consisted +chiefly in finding a place where no sharp edge of stone bored into the +small of their backs. But they were too tired to be critical, and after +putting away the food in a corner and arranging to stand watch turn and +turn about they soon forgot their troubles in sleep. + +When they awoke the light shining through the hole in the floor told +them that it was day. + +"Time you fellows opened your eyes," remarked Tom, who had been standing +the last watch. "If you hadn't I'd have booted you awake anyway, for you +were snoring loud enough to bring the whole German army down on you." + +"I'd hate to call you an out and out prevaricator, Tom," remarked Billy, +rubbing his eyes and running his hands through his tumbled hair, "so +I'll simply say that you use the truth with great economy. Suppose you +bring me my breakfast. I think I'll eat it in bed this morning." + +He dodged the shoe that Tom threw at his head and rose laughingly to his +feet. + +"Mighty bad manners the people have at this hotel," he remarked, "but +since you feel that way about it I'll take my grub any way I can get it. +Haul it out from that corner, Bart, and let's have a hack at it. I'm +hungry enough to eat nails this morning." + +Bart needed no second request, for he was quite as hungry as his mates. +But when he picked up the canvas wrapper in which the food had been +stored he dropped it with a startled exclamation. + +"What's the matter?" cried Frank. + +"Matter enough," replied Bart. "The bag's empty. There isn't a blessed +thing in it." + +The others rushed him under the light that came from above and examined +the wrapper with sinking hearts. What Bart had said was true. Not a +crumb was left. + +There was no mystery about it. The gnawed and tattered holes in the bag +told their own story. It was summed up in the one word that came from +their lips simultaneously. "Rats!" + +Their four-footed enemies had perhaps brought them nearer capture than +their human enemies had been able to do. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +CHASED BY CAVALRY + + +The four Army boys looked at each other in dismay. + +Nothing much worse than this could have befallen them. It brought them +close to the edge of tragedy. They would have to change their plans. +Instead of being free to choose their own time for their attempt to +escape, they were forced to act quickly no matter how much greater the +risk might be. For if they waited until they were weak from hunger they +would be in no condition to make a dash or put up a fight. + +Frank as usual was the first to recover his self-possession. + +"No use crying over spilt milk, fellows," he said, trying to infuse +cheerfulness into his tone. "We've got to try Billy's recipe and make +lemonade from the lemon that the rats have handed us." + +"It's a mighty big lemon," said Tom, "and I don't see much sugar lying +around." + +"How could the brutes have got at it without our hearing them, do you +suppose?" questioned Bart. + +"That doesn't matter much," replied Billy. "And there's no use holding +post-mortems. The thing is, what are we going to do?" + +"We're going to get out of here to-night without fail," said Frank +decidedly. "The moon won't come up till late and if the night is cloudy +it won't show up at all. At any rate we can't stay here. There isn't a +chance on earth of there being anything left in these houses, or we +might take a chance on foraging. The Huns have seen to that. The longer +we stay here the weaker we'll get. We've just got to make a break and +trust our wits and our luck to get back to the lines." + +"I guess you're right, old man," agreed Bart. "We'll just move our belts +up a hole and pretend we're not hungry. Tom here's getting too fat +anyway, and it'll do him good to give his stomach a rest. And as for +Billy, he can take a nap and dream of that stew he didn't get." + +"There's another thing, too," remarked Frank. "Those rats are likely to +come back to-night for more, and they may have spread the news and bring +a whole rat colony with them. No doubt they're famished since there's +nothing left in the town to eat, and if there are enough of them they +might go for us. Of course we could beat them off, but we'd be apt to +make a lot of noise in doing it, and that might bring the Huns down on +us. There's no use talking, we've got to skip." + +They all agreed to this, and they passed the rest of that day as best +they could until the light faded from the hole in the floor and night +settled down in a pall of velvet. They clambered out of their temporary +prison, their hearts beating with high determination. + +They ventured out at last into the darkness, slipping along from one +projection of the ruined houses to another, moving as lightly and +stealthily as cats. + +To one thing they had made up their minds. There would be no going back +to their old hiding place. That meant either starvation or surrender. +Besides, if they turned back on being discovered, the Germans would know +that they were hiding somewhere in the ruined town and they would not +leave one stone on another until they found them. But if they made a +break for the open country they would have their chance of escaping in +the darkness. On they went like so many spectres, until, on reaching a +shattered doorway, they crept close together for a whispered parley. + +"So far so good," murmured Frank. + +"Luck's been with us," agreed Bert. + +"We can stand a whole lot of luck in this business," whispered Tom. + +"It's a long, long way yet to our own lines," said Billy. "We haven't +got more than a couple of blocks away from our old hangout, and there's +no telling how much further it is before we strike the open country." + +Just then a stone toppled from a wall and fell with a crash only a few +feet away. In their tense state of alertness the unexpected sound made +them jump. + +"Just as well we weren't under that," remarked Frank, with a sigh of +relief. + +"Let's hope it won't bring some German sentry along to see what's making +the racket," responded Bart. + +"Just what it is doing," whispered Tom, as he heard a step approaching. +"Quick, fellows, get further back and lie down flat." + +They almost ceased to breathe as a dim form passed by so close that they +could almost have reached out and touched him. But the dust still rising +from the shattered stone convinced the visitor that nature and not man +was responsible for the disturbance, and, with a grunt of satisfaction +that it was nothing worse, the sentry returned to his former post. + +But the promptness with which he had appeared warned the fugitives that +the town, desolate as it was, was still under guard, and they redoubled +their precautions. However dangerous it might be, they must go on. The +moon would rise before long, and they must make the most of the pitchy +darkness that still prevailed. + +Listening with all their ears and straining their eyes until they ached, +they made their way through the littered streets until they realized +from their frequent encounters with bush and hedge that they were +getting into the open country. + +Huddled close in a thicket, they consulted the radio compass that Frank +drew from his pocket. That gave them the general direction in which they +must go. They knew that in general their course led toward the west, +but, as they could not tell what changes had taken place in the position +of the armies as the result of the two days' fighting, they had no idea +of how long it might take them to reach the American lines. + +They got their bearings due west and set off. They were making fair +progress when they were startled by hearing the clatter of hoofs a +little ahead of them. + +"Listen!" hissed Bart. + +"It's a cavalry troop," whispered Frank, as he flattened himself behind +a bush, an example that was promptly followed by the others. + +"Troop!" growled Tom. "It sounds more like a brigade." + +"Uhlans, probably," conjectured Billy. + +They peered through the bushes at the broad road not more than twenty +feet away. + +At that moment the moon showed a slender rim above the horizon and +threaded the darkness with a faint shimmer of light. + +Along the road came a force of cavalry. The guttural voices of the +riders told the concealed watchers that they belonged to the enemy. In +the dim light they could see the steam that rose from the horses' +flanks. + +Those days had been the first for a long time that cavalry could be used +on the western front. Trench fighting had put that arm of the service +almost wholly out of action. But the fact that the Allies had followed +up their tank attack with cavalry had brought forth a German response of +the same nature. + +There was no sign of elation among the riders, and the boys drew +pleasure from that. A dejected air prevailed, as though the Uhlans had +had the worst of it. + +"Guess they've had the hot end of the poker," whispered Bart. + +"Looks like it," replied Frank. + +Something just then frightened one of the horses, and he reared and +plunged into the bushes at the side of the road. The boys had all they +could do to scramble out of reach of the iron-shod hoofs. The rider was +almost unhorsed, but managed to retain his seat and quiet his trembling +mount. + +By the time he had done this, the troopers had almost passed. The boys +were rejoicing at this, but their exultation changed to uneasiness when +the soldier who had had so much trouble rode up to an officer and began +to talk volubly, at the same time pointing toward the bushes. + +"Here's where I see trouble coming," muttered Tom. + +"He's on to us," agreed Bart. + +"He must have seen us when we got out of his way," said Frank. "Let's +get out of here, quick." + +But this was not to be done so easily, for even as he spoke the officer +rapped out a command and a group of twenty horsemen began to spread out +and surround the place where the Army boys were crouching. + +To remain there would be fatal, for it was only a matter of a few +minutes before that ring would close upon them with a grip of iron. At +all hazards they must break through. + +"Stick together, fellows," murmured Frank. "Get your rifles ready. We +can't miss at this distance. When I say the word, give them a volley and +make a break for the road. It's our only chance, for they'd surely round +us up in these bushes." + +"We're with you, boy," replied Bart, and the little party crouched lower +with their fingers on trigger. + +Frank waited until the nearest horsemen were not more than ten feet +away. Then he sprang to his feet with a shout. + +"Fire!" he cried, and a stream of flame leaped from the bushes. + +Two of the riders threw up their hands and pitched from their saddles. A +third seized with his left hand the rein that dropped from his right. +There was a moment of confusion, and Frank and his comrades took instant +advantage of it. + +With a rush they reached the road and tore down it for dear life, while +behind them thundered the Uhlans in hot pursuit! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BROKEN BRIDGE + + +The Army boys had no idea where the road led to. It might be to the +American lines or to the German lines. But they knew that certain death +was behind them and possible life in front of them, and they ran as +though their feet had wings. + +But swift as they were, the horses were of course swifter, and before +long they knew that their pursuers were gaining. + +"Throw away your rifles," panted Frank. "We'll still have our knives and +grenades." + +They threw the heavy rifles aside, and, relieved of their weight, they +bounded ahead with renewed speed. + +For a short time their desperate efforts held their pursuers even, but +soon the gap again began to close. + +At a turn of the road they halted, gasping for breath. + +"Give them the grenades," ordered Frank, getting his own ready. "They +won't be expecting them and it may upset them. Throw yours at the same +time I do mine." + +They waited until the horsemen were within fifty feet. Then four +stalwart arms hurled the grenades against the front ranks. + +There was a tremendous explosion as the shells all seemed to go off at +the same instant, and the first rank of horsemen went down in a heap. + +Those behind drew their beasts back on their haunches so as not to +override their fellows, and in that moment another volley came among +them with deadly effect. + +Without waiting any longer, the boys renewed their flight. They knew +that the Germans would be mad with rage at their check by so small a +force, and they were not foolish enough to believe for a moment that the +chase would be abandoned. + +But a new exultation was in their hearts as they ran. They might be +killed, but they would at least have sold their lives dearly. There +would be little that the Uhlans would have to boast of in their story of +that night's work. + +Their breath came in short gasps and their laboring lungs felt as though +they were ready to burst. Frank, a little in the van, reached out a +warning hand and they slowed up. + +"We'll make faster time if we give ourselves a minute's rest," he +panted. "When we start in again we'll have our second wind. They haven't +got out of that mix-up yet. Besides, they'll come on more cautiously +now. They won't know how many grenades we have left." + +"I haven't any," gasped Tom. + +Billy was too far gone to speak, but he drew his last grenade from his +sack. Bart and Frank also were down to their last one, for the work on +the previous day had almost used up the stock with which they had +started out. They had a chance for one last throw, and then if it came +to a hand to hand fight they had nothing to rely on but their knives. + +They rested for a minute or two, and then again upon the wind came the +sound of hurrying hoofs. + +Instinctively the boys reached out and grasped one another's hands. +There was no need for words. They knew what it meant. To some of them +this might prove the last lap of the last race they would ever run. + +On came their pursuers, and the boys, summoning up every ounce of +strength they possessed, set out at the pace of hunted deer. + +Not two minutes had elapsed before their feet struck the boards of a +bridge. Below they saw the gleam of the moon in the dark water that ran +beneath. + +They took heart at the sight and put on a new burst of speed. Who knew +but what the American troops were camped on the further side? + +Twenty feet further they stopped abruptly. The bridge was broken. The +boards had been torn up, though the shattered timbers of the sides +projected a few feet further over the current. But fully a hundred feet +of black water stretched between them and the farther shore. + +They stopped, panting and perplexed. And just at that moment they heard +the hoofs of horses on the wood of the bridge. + +They were trapped. To turn back was certain captivity or death. To +plunge into that black current might also mean death. Their choice was +made on the instant. + +"Over we go, boys!" shouted Frank, throwing off his coat. "But we +mustn't waste those last grenades. Let them have them." + +They turned and threw, and without waiting to see the result dived +headforemost into the stream. The roar of the explosion was in their +ears as they struck the water. + +They were all good swimmers, and when they came to the surface they +found themselves within a few feet of each other. + +"To the other bank, fellows!" exclaimed Frank, as he shook the water +from his eyes. "And keep as low in the water as you can. They'll send a +volley after us." + +They struck out lustily for the farther shore while, as Frank had +predicted, bullets zipped around them. But in the darkness their foes +could take no aim and they reached the shore unscathed. + +The bank was steep, with long reeds growing down to the water's edge. +The fugitives grasped these and rested before they attempted to climb +the bank. + +"I'm all in," gasped Tom. + +Frank reached out a supporting hand. + +"I guess we all are," he replied. "It's lucky this river isn't wider. +But we're safe now." + +"I don't know about that," said Bart. "Listen!" + + There was a tramp of many feet upon the bank. + +"They've heard the shooting," whispered Billy. "If it's our boys we're +all right. If it isn't----" + +The sentence was never finished. Above the bank they saw a crowd of +helmeted figures. A light was flashed into their faces, nearly blinding +them, and a hoarse voice cried: + +"_Wer da!_" + +A score of hands reached down and grasped them. Unarmed, dripping, +utterly exhausted, they found themselves in the hands of the soldiers of +the Kaiser! + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + +With a file of soldiers on either side of them, the four boys were +marched off to a dugout near at hand. Here a German outpost had been +stationed to watch the river bank. It was not a large command, and the +lieutenant in charge, being unable to speak English and having no +interpreter at hand, after a few brusque attempts to question them gave +it up. Then, after having had them searched, he committed them to the +custody of a non-commissioned officer with directions that they were to +be fed and sent to headquarters in the morning. They ate ravenously, +and, not being permitted to talk to each other, found solace in sorely +needed sleep. + +When taken before the German officers, the friends were forced to +undergo a strict and searching examination. Their questioners tried in +every way, with pleadings alternating with threats, to get them to +divulge information that might be useful to them, but in vain. The four +Americans were absolutely uncommunicative, and at last the German who +had been doing most of the questioning was forced to acknowledge defeat. + +"_Donnerwetter!_" he growled. "Yankee pigs! It must be that they are so +stupid that they do not know anything to tell. What do you think, Herr +Lieutenant?" turning to one of his officers. + +"I think it more likely that they are just obstinate, sir, like those +cursed English," replied the officer addressed. "But perhaps a few +months in a prison camp will incline them to answer more quickly when a +German speaks to them." This was accompanied by a cruel smile, whose +significance was hot lost on the Americans. The captain glared at them, +but as they did not seem to weaken perceptibly, even under his high +displeasure, he grumbled finally: + +"Well, take them away, and we'll see how they act after a taste of +prison life." As their guards were about to take them from the room, he +continued, menacingly: "Remember, you Yankees, that the sooner you tell +me what I want to know, the easier it will be for you. And in the end +we'll make you talk. It is not well to oppose Germany's will too far." + +But as the prisoners did not appear greatly frightened by these threats, +the commander at last ordered the sergeant in charge to take the +prisoners away, and turned again to his desk. + +In spite of the critical situation in which they found themselves, Bart +could not resist a surreptitious wink at his companions as they passed +through the doorway, which was returned in kind by his graceless +companions. But, although they had had the satisfaction of balking the +German officers, they were not long in appreciating the discomforts of +their present situation. When they reached the temporary prison camp, +they were herded into a large tent, already overcrowded with French, +English, and a few American prisoners. Soon after their arrival food was +served out, although it hardly seemed worthy of the name. Watery soup, +made by boiling turnips in water, and a small chunk of some tasteless +substance supposed to be bread, constituted the meal. The boys, fresh +from the wholesome and abundant food furnished by Uncle Sam, found it +absolutely uneatable, and gave away their portions to some of the other +prisoners, who appeared glad to get it. + +"Wait until you've been here a few days," said one lanky Englishman, +with a ghastly smile, "you'll get so thoroughly famished that you'll be +able to go even that stuff," and he made a wry face. + +"Perhaps so, if we can't find some way to get out," said Frank. + +"Not as easy as it sounds," said the Englishman. "Although it has been +done, of course. But a lot more have been shot trying it than have ever +got away." + +"Might as well get shot as die of starvation," remarked Tom. + +This opinion evidently appealed to Tom's comrades, who looked +significantly at him. From that look each knew that the others were +ready to risk everything to gain their freedom. The Englishman, however, +seemed unconvinced, and presently left them. + +As night came on, they cast about for some place to sleep, but met with +little success. The only place to lie was on the ground, but by that +time the four friends were so tired that sleep, even under any hardship, +was desirable. They finally settled down in a corner that appeared a +little less crowded than the rest. However, before going to sleep they +tried to formulate some plan of escape, but with indifferent success. + +"About all we can do," said Bart finally, "is to hold ourselves in +readiness to make use of the first chance of escape that comes along. +And if these Germans are all as stupid as the ones we've seen so far, it +oughtn't to be very difficult." + +"Well, when the chance comes, we won't let any grass grow under our +feet, that's certain," said Frank. "But now, I'm dog-tired, and I'm +going to see if I can't get a little sleep. And what's more, I'd advise +you fellows to do the same." + +"He who sleeps, dines," quoted Tom, with a somewhat rueful grin. "I hope +there's more in that old saying than there is in most of them." + +"Right you are," said Bart, "but something seems to tell me I'm going to +be hungry in the morning, just the same." + +Bart was right. After a restless night, the boys woke with ravenous +appetites, and managed to eat most of the unpalatable fare that was +passed around. Not long after this they saw the sergeant who had had +charge of them the previous day picking his way through the crowd, +evidently looking for some particular object. At last he caught sight of +the Americans, and immediately headed toward them. + +"Come," he commanded, roughly, in his halting English. "Orders have come +for your removal." + +"Where to?" inquired Frank. "Silence! Do as you are told, and ask no +questions!" commanded the German. + +"For two cents I'd jump on him and choke the dog's life out of him!" +muttered Tom, but his friends laid restraining hands on him. + +"Nothing doing, Tom," warned Billy. "We'd be playing against stacked +cards in a game like that. Take it easy now, and maybe our chance will +come later." + +Meanwhile the sergeant had started off, and the friends had no choice +but to follow him. He led them out of the tent, where a squad of +soldiers was lined up. At a nod from the sergeant, these surrounded the +boys, and at a curt word of command they all started off. + +They were soon outside the confines of the camp, and marching along what +had once been a perfect road, but was now badly broken up by the +combined effects of shellfire and heavy trucking. The soldiers talked +among themselves in low gutturals, and the boys, by piecing together +words that they caught here and there, gathered that they were being +taken to some higher official for further questioning. + +"You see," said Billy, "they know we were inside their lines a +considerable time before they caught us, and so they are paying +particular attention to us. I guess they think we may know more than +we've told them so far." This with a wink at his friends. + +"We sure have told them a lot," put in Bart, grinning. "And, just to be +perfectly fair, I suggest that we tell the next Boche who questions us +just as much as we told the last one." + +"Fair enough," agreed Tom. "No favoritism has always been my motto." + +"No talking among the prisoners," commanded the sergeant, threateningly, +and the four friends, having said about all they wanted to say, anyway, +relapsed into silence. + +For several miles the little group plodded along, often meeting +detachments of German infantry, who scowled sullenly at the Americans as +they passed. + +The boys were far from happy, in spite of the light-hearted attitude +they presented to their captors. They all knew that if they could not +effect an escape their chance for life was small, as, on account of +their having been inside the German lines so long before being captured, +the Huns would seize the opportunity of calling them spies, and mete out +the quick end that is accorded to such. They were walking along, each +one immersed in his own gloomy thoughts, when suddenly a sound from +above caused them to look quickly up toward the blue sky. + +What they saw caused their hearts to beat faster and hope to spring up +again in their breasts. For, skilled as they were in such matters, they +recognized the airplane up above, whose roaring exhaust had first +attracted their attention, as one of the Allied type. + +It was coming toward them at high speed, flying low, and as it rapidly +neared them the four friends, forgetting their German captors, waved +their hands wildly to the pilot, whom they could see, as the aeroplane +came closer, peering down over the side of the body. The Germans, on +their part, were so terrified by the approach of this huge enemy +machine, that they seemed to forget all about their prisoners, and in +fact about everything except their individual safety. With wild yells of +terror they scattered this way and that, all except the sergeant. He, +seeing his men running in every direction, snarled out a curse, and +whipped out his automatic pistol. + +"I'll do for you Yankees, anyway, he hissed," and leveled the pistol at +them. But even as his finger trembled on the trigger, Frank's fist, with +the force of a sledgehammer, came with a crashing impact against the +point of the German's jaw, and the Hun went down, his pistol exploding +harmlessly toward the sky. Frank, with the light of battle in his eye, +seized the fallen man's weapon and looked around for the other Germans. +But by this time they had all gotten out of effective pistol range, and +after emptying the weapon in the direction of the fleeing figures, Frank +and the others turned their attention to the aeroplane, which by now was +manoeuvring for a landing. + +The airship came down in great spirals, and finally took the ground with +hardly a jar, running along a hundred feet or so and then coming to a +halt. + +As the boys started running toward it, Tom ejaculated: "Say, fellows, my +eyes may be playing me tricks, but if that isn't Dick Lever at the wheel +you can call me a German!" + +"I think it is Dick, myself," agreed Frank. "And if this isn't a case of +the 'friend in need,' I miss my guess." + +It was indeed as they thought. The pilot was an old friend of theirs, +but one whom they had not seen for some time. Now, as they raced toward +the airplane, he in turn recognized them, and raised a delirious shout +of joy. + +"Tumble into this bus just as fast as you can, fellows," he cried, +"we've got to get out of this mighty quick. You can explain the mystery +of your being here after we get started." + +"But can you carry the whole bunch of us?" asked Billy. + +"Easily," replied one of the two observers, who had not spoken up to +now. "We've just dropped our load of bombs on a few German supply +depots, and now we're running back light." + +"All right, then," said Billy, "in we go!" And, suiting the action to +the word, the four friends swarmed into the airplane, filling the +cramped passenger carrying space to overflowing. Meantime, the Germans, +having found cover, had opened up a brisk rifle fire against the +aeroplane, and bullets began to sing through the framework. One of the +observers leaped to the ground, gave the propeller a vigorous twist, and +as the motor began to roar clambered aboard as the big plane started +over the rough ground, bumping and jolting, but rapidly gaining speed. +The Germans broke from their shelter in pursuit, firing wildly as they +ran, but although some of their shots came close, none came near enough +to do any real damage. In a few seconds, in answer to a quick movement +from Dick Lever, the big bombing machine left the ground, and amid a +parting rain of bullets from the Germans, started to ascend in long, +sweeping spirals. + +The friends were about to congratulate themselves on their safe escape, +when suddenly one of the observers, who had been scanning the horizon +closely, pointed behind them, and exclaimed: + +"Just as I thought! Those two Boche planes that we saw getting ready to +come after us just after we dropped our last bomb are coming up fast. +Look!" + +All twisted about, and saw that it was as the observer had said. High up +in the sky two swift, darting objects were coming in pursuit. The +American machine was built more for carrying capacity than for speed, +and in addition was heavily loaded. Every advantage was with the swift +German machines. Their pilots no doubt realized this, for now they +headed directly for the Americans, descending in a long slant that gave +them tremendous speed. + +"All right," said Lever, coolly, "if they're going to come down, it may +be a good idea for us to go up," and, suiting the action to the word, he +elevated the nose of the big plane skyward, and they started to climb +steeply. The American machine was equipped with a tremendously powerful +motor, and this, combined with its great wing spread, enabled it to +climb with great rapidity, in spite of the heavy load it was carrying. +The Germans had not counted on this, and the result was that they +miscalculated their distances, passing beneath the American flyer +instead of above it, as they had intended. They both turned quickly and +started to climb, but by this time the American aviators had trained +their two machine guns on the Germans, and opened fire. + +At first this seemed to have little effect, and the Germans ascended +rapidly, while their machine gun operators, although as yet unable to +use their deadly weapons, sent a hail of revolver bullets whistling +through the wings and rigging of the American machine. But now the +concentrated fire from the American machine was beginning to have +effect. One of the German planes hesitated, quivered, and suddenly its +right wing, with its wire stays severed by the machine gun bullets, +crumpled up. The crippled aeroplane staggered wildly, suddenly turned on +its right side, and pitched steeply downward. + +The boys in the American airplane gazed at each other with white faces, +but they had little time to devote to thoughts of the fallen, for by now +the remaining German machine was on a level with them, and its machine +gunner opened fire. The Americans, crouching low to avoid the murderous +stream of bullets, returned the fire from both their machine guns, with +a deadliness of purpose and aim for which the German was no match. +Suddenly a tiny flame appeared in the body of the German machine, grew +with lightning rapidity, and in a few seconds one side of the machine +was enveloped in leaping yellow flames. + +"Punctured the gas tank!" exulted Lever. "They're done for now." + +And he was right. The machine gun fire from both fighting planes died +out, and the boys could see the Germans vainly trying to beat out the +hungry flames. Their efforts were useless, however, and in a few seconds +the German machine, a roaring mass of flame and black smoke, dropped +downward as swiftly as a stone. As it went, the boys saw two figures +hurl themselves out into space, and then everything was hidden in a haze +of billowy smoke. + +"That's awful!" exclaimed Tom, drawing in his breath with a great sigh, +while all relaxed from the terrible tension they had been under. + +"Awful, yes," said Dick Lever. "But it's only what they would have done +to us if they had been able. Instead of 'live and let live,' it's 'kill +or get killed' in this game." + +Frank nodded his head gloomily, but none of the boys felt like talking +then, and sat silent as their pilot got his bearings and then +straightened out swiftly in the direction of the American lines. + +With the roar of the motor in their ears and the rush of wind past their +faces, much of the horror of the deadly air battle was swept from their +minds, and they began to enjoy the exhilaration of their first flight. +The distant earth streamed rapidly by, like a swiftly flowing river, and +a wonderful panorama was spread out below them. It was an exceptionally +clear day, and they could see for many miles in every direction. Below +them, groups of gray clad figures, after a glance in the direction of +the soaring monster overhead, broke for cover, or, shaking impotent +fists, trudged stolidly onward, contemptuous of one more danger among +the many that daily surrounded them. + +"No prison camp for us this time," exulted Frank, as he looked down at +his enemies. + +"We wouldn't have been in a prison camp long," declared Tom. "Those +fellows had picked us out for a firing squad. They were going to get all +they could out of us, and then about six feet of earth would have been +our size." + +"I'll bet that sergeant's jaw aches yet from the clip that Frank handed +him," chuckled Billy happily. + +"I skinned my knuckles," said Frank, looking at them ruefully. + +"Never mind," laughed Bart. "You never hurt them in a better cause." + +"We can't be far from the lines now," shouted Frank, in Dick's ear. + +"Pretty close," responded the aviator. "We ought to be down fifteen +minutes from now." + +And his estimate proved very nearly correct. Soon the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh could recognize the familiar landmarks of their own +encampment, and, with one impulse, they gave three rousing cheers. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +PUTTING ONE OVER + + +It was a beautiful landing that Dick Lever made at the aviation camp, +his great machine sailing down like a swan and landing so lightly that +it would scarcely have broken a pane of glass. + +"Dick, you're a wonder!" exclaimed Frank, as he stepped out of the +machine. + +"The way you put it all over the Boche planes shows that," chimed in +Bart with equal enthusiasm. + +"I don't wonder they say you're an 'ace,'" added Billy. + +"If all aviators had your class, the Hun flyers wouldn't have a chance +on earth--I mean in the sky," said Tom. + +"Oh, it's all a matter of practice," said Dick modestly, although it was +plain to be seen that their heartfelt appreciation pleased him. "It's as +easy as running an automobile when you know how. Well, so long, fellows. +I've got to make my report," and with a gay wave of the hand he left +them and made his way to aviation headquarters. + +"Say, how does it feel to be a free man once more?" cried Frank +jubilantly, as they sought out their regiment. + +"I can't believe yet that it's anything but a dream." replied Bart with +deep feeling, as he looked around at the friendly faces and familiar +surroundings that he had feared for a time he would never see again. + +"And look at that flag!" cried Billy as he saw Old Glory flying from one +of the officers' pavilions. Like a flash their hats came off and they +saluted the glorious flag that meant to them everything in life. + +They passed the tanks, and Will Stone, who was "grooming his pet," +looked at them for a moment as though he could not believe his eyes. +Then he rushed toward them and nearly shook their hands off. + +"By all that is lucky!" he cried. "I was afraid I was never going to see +you fellows again. Where did you drop from?" + +"From the sky," laughed Frank. + +"Some little angels, you see," chuckled Billy. Then seeing Stone's +puzzled look he added: "The Huns had got their hooks on us when Dick +Lever came along in his plane, gave them a few little leaden missives, +picked us up and landed us here, right side up with care." + +Stone's eyes kindled as he heard their story, and his enthusiasm over +Lever's feat was as great as their own. + +"But how did we make out in the big drive?" asked Frank. "We kept hoping +all the time that you fellows would be along and nab us before the +Boches did." + +"We've had a big victory," explained Stone. "We put the Hindenburg line +on the blink by that smash at his center, and he's had to draw in his +wings on both sides. It's one of the biggest things that's been done on +the western front, and the Heinies will have a hard time explaining it +in Berlin." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Frank. + +"That town you fellows were hiding in didn't come into our general +plan," went on Stone, "and that's the reason you had to fight your way +out all by your lonesome." + +"It was some little fight, all right," remarked Tom. + +"And we certainly gave those Uhlans a run for their money," laughed +Billy. + +"Lucky they didn't get hold of you," said Stone. "It would have been +curtains for the whole bunch. They must have been wild at the lacing you +handed them." + +"I guess they were rather peeved," grinned Bart. + +"I'm sorry I had to throw away my rifle, though," mourned Tom. + +"Tom would find something to grouch about if he were in heaven," laughed +Frank. + +They talked for a few minutes longer and then went on, as they were +eager to be once more with their comrades of the old Thirty-seventh. + +And what a greeting they had when they walked into their old command! +They were pounded and mauled in wild enthusiasm, for they were prime +favorites in the regiment and had been sadly given up as dead or +captured. + +They had to tell again and again the story of their adventures, and it +was only by main force that they tore themselves away from their +rejoicing mates long enough to report themselves to their officers as +present for duty. + +Their captain was as delighted as his men at their safe return, although +his satisfaction was expressed in less boisterous fashion. He commended +warmly the gallant fight they had put up with the Uhlans, and he was +visibly startled as his eye glanced over the German report that had been +captured by Frank when it fluttered down into the cellar. + +"This must go to headquarters at once!" he exclaimed. "It is a matter of +the utmost importance. You men have deserved the thanks of the army," he +continued, "and I am proud that you are members of my command." + +They made their way back to their company with their leader's praise +ringing in their ears and warming their hearts. But they had scarcely +got out of the captain's presence before his chums pounced upon Frank +with the liveliest curiosity. + +"How did you keep that paper when the Germans searched you?" asked Tom. + +"Where did you hide it?" demanded Billy. + +"I never knew you were a sleight of hand performer," added Bart. + +"Easy there, fellows," laughed Frank, enjoying their mystification. "It +was the simplest thing in the world. While you fellows were sleeping in +the cellar I just loosened the sole of my shoe and slipped the paper in +between the sole and the upper and nailed the sole up again. The Heinies +didn't get next to it, and that's where I had luck. I'm mighty glad they +didn't, for the cap seems to think there's something in it that's worth +while." + +"Foxy stunt," approved Tom. + +"Some wise boy!" exclaimed Billy, giving his chum a slap on the shoulder +that made him wince. + +"You're all there when it comes to the gray matter, old man," was Bart's +tribute. + +A day later, part of their reward came in a week's furlough that was +granted them for "specially gallant conduct," as the order of the day +expressed it. The rest was welcome, for it was the first they had had +since they had landed on French soil, and they had been under a strain +of hard work and harder fighting that had taxed even their strong +vitality to the utmost. + +And that week stood out forever in their memory like an oasis in a +desert. They spent it in a little French town miles away from the firing +line and even beyond the sound of the guns. They fished and swam and +loafed and slept as though there was no such thing as war in the world. +No reveille to wake them in the morning, no taps to send them to their +beds at night. For the first time in months they were their own masters, +and they enjoyed their brief liberty to the full. + +Yet even here in this "little bit of heaven" as Tom expressed it, they +could not be wholly free from war's reminder. + +They were sprawling one day outside their cottage when an officer came +along, gorgeous in epaulets and gold lace. + +"See who's coming!" exclaimed Tom peevishly. "Now we'll have to get up +and salute." + +"I suppose so," said Billy reluctantly. + +"Can't we pretend, we don't see him?" yawned Bart sleepily, clutching at +a straw of hope. + +"Not a chance in the world," declared Frank. "He's looking right at us." + +They stood up as the officer approached and saluted respectfully. He +returned the salute snappishly and glared at them sternly. + +"Get in line there," he commanded. "Smart now. Eyes ahead." + +They resented his tone, but obeyed with military promptness. + +"Present arms." + +They hesitated and looked at each other. + +"Present arms," I said. + +"If you please, sir," said Bart, "we have no guns." + +"I know it," snapped the officer. "Go through the motions." + +So without a word they did as directed. + +"Shoulder arms." + +They did so. + +"Forward! March!" + +He set off in front with a military stride and they followed. + +"I feel like a fool," whispered Bart to Frank. + +"Same here," was the reply. "What does he mean by it?" + +"Wants to show his authority, I reckon," muttered Bart. + +Tom and Billy said nothing, but there were scowls on their faces that +spoke for them. + +They had marched for perhaps half a mile, when at a cross roads two men +appeared who were evidently looking for some one. Their eyes lighted up +when they saw the officer and they came straight toward him. He saw them +coming, and throwing his dignity to the wind started to run, but they +were quicker than he and grasped him by the collar. + +"Come back to the asylum," one of them growled. "We've had lots of +trouble to find you." + +The boys stood rooted to the spot. + +"You see," explained one of the men, touching his forehead +significantly, "he's a grocer that's got the military bug. He thinks +he's Napoleon. Come along, Napoleon." + +And "Napoleon" meekly obeyed. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SUSPICION + + +To paint the emotions that chased themselves over the features of the +four boys would have taxed the ability of an artist. For a moment no one +of them cared to look into the eyes of the others. + +Tom was the first to act. He grabbed his cap in his hands, kneaded it +into a ball, threw it on the ground and jumped up and down on it. + +The others looked at his scowling face and the sight was too much for +them. They threw themselves on the ground in convulsions of laughter. +They howled. They roared. They rolled over and over, until Tom himself +caught the contagion and joined in with the rest. It was a long time +before any one of them was able to speak. + +"Stung!" choked Bart, while tears of merriment rolled down his cheeks. + +"Forward! March!" gurgled Billy. "Pound me on the back, you fellows, or +I'll have a fit." + +"A grocer! Napoleon!" roared Frank. "Shades of Austerlitz and Waterloo!" + +"And we fell for it!" yelled Tom. "Think of it, fellows! By the great +horn spoon! We fell for it!" + +They got themselves under control at last, though not without many +interruptions, for again and again one of them would start to speak and +go off into a peal of laughter. + +"I'm as weak as a rag," gulped Billy. "I haven't laughed like this in +all my life." + +"It would make a hit in vaudeville," chuckled Bart. "Think of us sillies +stalking along and going through shadow motions for a nut like that. +We're squirrel food, all right." + +"Well, after all what could we do?" defended Frank. "We're not mind +readers." + +"Not even of a scrambled mind like that," interposed Billy. + +"And we couldn't tell that he wasn't an officer," went on Frank, not +heeding the interruption. "His uniform seemed to be all right, although +a bit gaudy." + +"That gives us a way out," said Bart. "We can say that we followed the +uniform, not the man, and let it go at that. But, oh, boy! if the +fellows of our regiment had seen us trotting along behind that lunatic, +maybe they wouldn't make our life a burden." + +"We'd never have heard the last of it," agreed Tom. "But what they don't +know won't hurt them, and it's a safe bet that none of us will ever let +out a squeak." + +"It's lucky there wasn't any moving picture man handy," laughed Frank. +"He'd have had a film that would put all the rest out of business. But +now let's get back to the cottage after this unfortunate hike of ours." + +"Say," put in Bart, as a new thought struck him, "do you think those +keepers could have caught on?" + +"I don't think they tumbled," Billy reassured them. "They were too +intent on catching Napoleon to think of anything else." + +"Poor Napoleon," chuckled Frank. "I suppose he's back on St. Helena by +this time." + +"Well, there's one comfort, anyway," declared Tom. "He doesn't know that +he put anything over on us. If he hasn't forgotten us altogether he +thinks we're part of the Old Guard." + +"They say a philosopher is one who can grin when the laugh is on +himself," laughed Billy. "If that's so we're dandy philosophers." + +All too soon that pleasant week was over, and the boys, refreshed and +rested, went away, though with many a backward glance, to the stern work +where they had already won their spurs and made their mark. + +They started in on their work again with renewed zest and with quickened +energy, for a battle was impending and they were anxious to take their +part in driving back the Hun. + +They saw Rabig frequently, and though they all disliked him heartily, he +was still a soldier like themselves in the service of Uncle Sam, and +they strove to disguise their feeling for the good of the common cause. + +"He's a bad egg, all right," declared Tom, who stuck obstinately to his +belief that Rabig had had some part in the escape of the German +corporal, "but as long as we can't prove it, we'll have to give him a +little more rope. But sooner or later he'll come to the end of that +rope, and don't you forget it!" + +Nick had come out of the court-martial that investigated the escape, not +with flying colors, but with bedraggled feathers. The cut on his head +had proved so slight as to arouse suspicion that it might have been +self-inflicted. Still the motive for this did not seem adequate, and the +upshot of the inquiry was that Rabig was confined a few days in the +guardhouse and then restored to duty. But in the private books of the +officers there was a black mark against him, and all of them would have +been better pleased not to have had him in the regiment. + +"Oh, well, don't let's talk about him," Frank summed up a discussion +about the bully. "The whole subject leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I +only hope he's the only rotten apple in the barrel." + +"That's just the trouble'," replied Tom. "If that rotten apple isn't +taken out of the barrel a good many more may be spoiled in less than no +time." + +"Sure enough," agreed Bart. "But I guess there isn't much danger in this +case. If Nick had lots of friends that he might influence it might be +different, but you notice that the fellows leave him to flock by +himself." + +"He's about as popular as the hives in summertime for a fact," commented +Tom. "He'd be a mighty sight more at home if he were in the trenches on +the other side." + +"Maybe so," admitted Frank. + +"What are you fellows chinning about?" broke in a familiar voice, and +they turned to see Dick Lever regarding them with a friendly grin. + +"Hello, Dick," came from them all at once in a roar of welcome, for it +was the first time they had seen him since he had rescued them from +their German captors, and their feelings toward him were of the warmest +nature. + +"Where have you been keeping yourself?" asked Frank. "We've been looking +for you to drop in and see us for a long time past." + +"As a matter of fact, I did get down this way about a week ago," replied +Dick, as he tried to shake hands with all four at once, "but the whole +bunch of you were off on furlough." + +"Sorry we missed you," said Frank. "Yes, we did get a few days off, and +it didn't do us a bit of harm. We've all come back feeling the best +ever." + +"Ready to take another crack at the Huns, eh?" grinned Dick. "Some +fellows never know when they have enough." + +"You needn't talk," laughed Bart. "I'll bet you've been popping away at +them every day since we saw you last." + +"Oh, they've kept me pretty busy," said Dick carelessly. "The Hun flyers +are getting pretty sassy just now, and we have to keep working hard to +drive them back." + +"I've noticed more of them flying over our lines than usual in the last +day or two," remarked Billy. + +"Say," broke in Tom, "this is sure our lucky day. Here comes Will +Stone." + +"We sure are lucky when two of the best fellows in the world drop in on +us at the same time," said Frank, as he and his mates greeted the +bronzed tank operator. "I don't know whether you two fellows know each +other, but if you don't you've both lost something." + +"Oh, we're not altogether strangers," smiled Stone, as he and Dick shook +hands heartily. "Many a time I've seen his plane flying overhead, and +it's made me feel rather comfortable to know that he was on the job, and +that no Boche flyer would have a chance to drop something that would put +Jumbo out of commission." + +"It would have to be some bomb that would make junk of that big car of +yours," said Dick. "I was flying pretty low the day we smashed the Boche +lines and I saw the way Jumbo snapped those wires as though they were so +many threads. That tank's a wonder and no mistake." + +They were having such a good time and the time flew so rapidly that they +were startled when the bugle blew and they were compelled to go to their +respective quarters. + +A few nights after his return Frank was assigned to sentry duty on an +important post on the front trenches. His beat terminated at a point +where he could see a little shack that stood on the side of a hill. + +Standing as it did in the battle zone; it had become little more than a +ruin. Most of the thatched roof had been shot away, one side had gone +altogether, and the other three sides leaned crazily toward each other. + +It was a little after midnight when Frank thought he saw a gleam of +light either in the cabin or close by it. It was very faint, scarcely +more than the glimmer of a firefly, and it vanished instantly. + +Still, it had been there. Cautiously, avoiding every twig with the +stealth of an Indian, Frank crept toward the hut. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +A FAMILIAR VOICE + + +As Frank neared the cabin he redoubled his precautions, and it was here +that his scout training stood him in good stead. + +When he was within twenty feet he went down flat on the earth and wormed +his way to one of the sides that had been left standing. He placed his +ear against a board and listened intently. + +But not a sound rewarded him. The deepest silence reigned. + +For a moment he was tempted to believe that his eyes had played a trick +on him. But they had seldom done this and he had learned to trust them. + +The light could not have come from a firefly, for it was too late in the +season for them. What then had caused it? + +He worked his way around to the shattered doorway and inch by inch +lifted his head until his eyes were on a level with the floor. Quickly +they swept the room, which was so small that the faint light that came +from the stars enabled him to see that it was empty. + +When he was fully assured of this, he crept into the room and with his +fingers explored every inch of the floor. The apartment was so small +that this was not much of a task, and before long his hand came in +contact with a match. It had been lighted and the softness of the +charred end told him that this had been done recently. + +This then was the "firefly"! + +He continued his search with renewed caution and soon found a cartridge. +He knew from the feel of it that it was of the kind used in the rifles +with which the American troops were equipped. It was still warm, as +though it had been recently in a belt close to a man's body. + +But what was a man doing in that lonely spot at that hour of the night? + +Was he a prowling spy from the German camp who had made a daring +incursion into the American lines? + +He must solve the mystery. With every faculty at its highest pitch, he +moved out into the open. + +A slight rustling in the forest near by fell on his ears. It might have +been made by some woodland creature, but to his strained senses every +sound, however slight, suggested a possible clue. + +He listened intently and heard it again, but this time it was a trifle +louder than before. + +He rose to his feet and with catlike tread moved in the direction of the +sound. As he drew hearer he heard it more plainly. And now his patience +was rewarded, for he distinctly heard the low tone of a human voice. + +And if it was a human voice it must of necessity be an enemy voice, for +no friend of his or of Uncle Sam's could be in that place at that hour +on a legitimate errand. + +A moment later he detected another voice in a different key yet pitched +hardly above a whisper. So it was a conference! A conference of whom and +about what? + +He crept still farther forward. + +Right before him stretched a little glade full of small trees and +undergrowth with a scarcely visible path leading downward. + +To press too far between the bushes would have inevitably betrayed him. +He halted with his rifle ready for action and listened. + +The conversation seemed to be an earnest one and in their earnestness +the conferees at times forgot caution, for, as one of the men raised his +voice in expostulation, Frank could note that he was talking German. But +it was not that which made him start suddenly and clutch his rifle more +tightly. + +He had heard that voice before. + +Where and when? + +He cudgeled his brain and then it came to him. + +It was Nick Rabig's voice! + +That is, he thought it was. But at that distance he could not be +perfectly sure. At any rate it was time to act. + +With a bound he leaped forward. + +"Halt!" he cried. "Halt or I fire." + +There were startled exclamations from both men, and then a prodigious +scrambling in the bushes as they tried to escape. + +Bang! went Frank's rifle, and there was a scream followed by a heavy +fall. + +Frank rushed forward, but caught his foot in a tangled root and fell. +His gun flew from his hand and his head came in contact with a stump. +The jagged edges cut a gash in his forehead, and for a moment he was +utterly dazed. + +He strove desperately to retain his senses and in a minute or two his +brain ceased to whirl. He staggered drunkenly to his rifle and picked it +up. And at this moment there was a sound of hurrying feet, and Wilson, +the corporal of the guard, came running up, accompanied by Fred Anderson +who had been on duty near by. + +"What is it, Sheldon?" asked the corporal "What were you shooting at?" + +Frank tried to speak, but his tongue was thick and the words would not +come." + +"He's wounded!" exclaimed Anderson, as he saw with alarm the blood +flowing freely from Frank's forehead. + +They deftly bound up his head, and by this time Frank had found his +voice. + +"It's nothing," he managed to say. "I fell and cut my head. It's only a +scratch. I heard two men talking German here in the bushes and I started +in to get them. They wouldn't stop when I ordered them to, and I fired, +I don't know whether I got them or not." + +"We'll see," said the corporal, and led the way into the bushes while +Frank and Fred followed close on his heels. + +From one side to the other the corporal flashed his light, and before +long he uttered an exclamation. + +"You got one of them anyway," he said, as the light fell on the dead +body of a German whose uniform showed that he belonged to the Eighth +Bavarian Regiment, which they knew was stationed opposite them at that +part of the line. + +The corporal blew his whistle and other men of his squad came running in +answer to the call. He ordered them to carry the body into camp where it +could be searched for papers. Then he turned to Frank. + +"You've done well, Sheldon," he said, "and I'm sorry that you were hurt. +You're relieved from duty for the rest of your watch. I'll put another +man in your place. You'd better see the surgeons and have them wash out +that cut of yours and bind it up again. Then tumble in and go to sleep. +I hope you'll be all right in the morning." + +Frank did as he was directed, and after the surgeon had dressed his +wound and pronounced it not serious made his way to his bunk. He had to +pass Rabig's bunk in reaching his own and he stopped there for a moment. + +The place was dark, but he could see that the bunk was occupied, and +from the snoring that arose from it the inmate seemed to be sleeping +soundly. + +Had he been mistaken? + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE SHADOW OF TREASON + + +When the soldiers jumped from their bunks the next morning at the call +of the bugle Frank's comrades saw his bandaged head and they surrounded +him at once with expressions of solicitude and alarm. + +"What's the matter, old man?" asked Bart anxiously. + +"Don't say you're badly hurt!" exclaimed Tom. + +"You look all in," said Billy. "You're as pale as a ghost." + +"I'm a long way from being a ghost yet," smiled Frank, as he drew on his +clothes. "Wait till you see me tuck away the grub at breakfast. I butted +my head against a stump last night to find out which was the harder, and +the stump won." + +"Stop your kidding and tell us about it," commanded Bart. + +Frank told them the main features of his encounter of the night before, +but it was only after mess when he had them by themselves that he voiced +his suspicions of Rabig. + +Tom gave a long whistle. + +"That fellow will queer this whole outfit yet," he blurted out. "He's a +sneak and a traitor. If he had his deserts he'd be up against the firing +squad within twenty-four hours." + +"Easy there, Tom," counseled Frank, looking around him, for in his +excitement Tom had raised his voice. "Remember I'm not dead sure. I +wouldn't swear to it in a court of law." + +"Here comes Nick himself," remarked Bart. + +"The Old Nick," growled Tom. + +"Hello, Rabig," said Frank, as the former Camport bully came along. + +Rabig grunted a surly "Hello" in reply, and was passing on when Billy +hailed him. + +"Sleep well, last night, Rabig?" he asked carelessly. + +Rabig's face flushed and a frightened look came into his eyes. + +"Sure I did," he snapped. "Why shouldn't I?" + +"No reason in the world," replied Billy. + +"These cool nights are fine for sleeping," remarked Tom. "A little too +cool to be out in the woods, but just right for the trench." + +Rabig seemed to be trying to think up a reply, but nothing came to him +and he simply stood still and glowered at them. He appeared to be +speculating. What significance was there in these apparently careless +questions? Why should they be asked at all? How much did these cordially +hated acquaintances of his really know? + +"I hear that one of the Germans was killed close to our lines last +night," said Billy, shifting the attack. + +"Right inside our lines," corrected Tom. "And here's the fellow who shot +him," pointing to Frank. + +"Frank has nerve," drawled Billy. + +Rabig shot a glare of hate that was not lost by the onlookers, who kept +their eyes steadily on his face. + +"He nearly got another one, too," observed Bart. "And the funny thing +about it was that he thought he knew the fellow's voice." + +This was coming too near for Rabig to pretend that he did not know what +they were driving at. He turned upon them in desperation. + +"Look here," he snarled viciously. "What do you fellows mean? If you +mean that I'm mixed up in this thing you lie. Now don't you speak to me +again or I'll make you sorry for it." + +Without waiting for a reply he hurried off, and the four Camport chums +looked after him with speculation in their eyes until he was lost to +view at a turn of the trench. + +"He's guilty all right," declared Tom with conviction. + +"If ever guilt looked out of a man's eyes they looked out of his," +agreed Bart. + +"It seems so," admitted Frank with reluctance, "and yet he was in his +bunk when I went through last night." "How do you know it was Rabig?" +Tom retorted. "Are you such a cute detective that you can tell one man's +snore from another?" + +"Who else could it have been?" asked Frank. "If it was some one else, +that some one else must have been in cahoots with Rabig and agreed to +make him seem to be in his bunk. I'd hate to think that there was more +than one traitor in the regiment. + +"One's more than enough," agreed Bart. + +"What do you think we ought to do about it?" asked Billy. + +"I don't know," replied Frank, with a worried look on his face. "It +would be a terrible thing to accuse a man wrongfully of such a thing as +treason. Rabig would simply deny it and put it up to us to prove it. +Then, too, every one knows that there's no love lost between us and +Nick, and they might think we were too ready to believe evil of him +without real proof." + +"On the other hand," replied Tom, "if we let him go on, we may wake up +some time to find that Rabig has done the regiment more harm than a +German battery could do." + +"We'll simply have to keep our eyes peeled," was Billy's solution of the +problem, "and watch that fellow like hawks. But if he makes one more bad +break I don't think we ought to keep silent any longer. Let's hope that +next time, if there is any next time, we'll have the goods on him so +that there can't be any denying it." + +But pleasanter thoughts diverted their attention just then, for the camp +postman came into view and the boys rose with a whoop and pounced upon +their letters. And all their spare time that morning was spent in +reading and rereading the precious missives from their friends so many +thousand miles away. + +Frank was poring over a letter from his mother for the tenth time when +he heard his name spoken and looked up to see Colonel Pavet, who was +passing along in the company of another officer. + +He had only a moment to spare, but that moment was given to Frank, who +had risen and greeted him with a welcome as warm as his own. + +"Ah, Monsieur Sheldon, letters from home, I see," he remarked. "I hope +your mother is well." + +"Very well, thank you," responded Frank. "And very grateful to you, +Colonel Pavet, for the interest you have taken in her behalf and mine." + +The colonel courteously waved the thanks aside. + +He replied. "But you can tell Madame Sheldon that her affairs are +progressing finely, though not as rapidly as they would if it were not +for the distracted state of France. For instance, my brother Andre has +been trying to get a furlough for a man who was formerly a butler in the +De Latour family, and whose evidence he thinks will be most important in +establishing your mother's right. It is only with the greatest +difficulty that I have been able to bring this about, but I have +succeeded at last, and the man will go to Auvergne next week to give his +testimony. Let us hope that it will be as valuable as Andre thinks." + +Again Frank expressed his thanks, and after a few more words they +parted. + +_"Vive la France!"_ exclaimed Frank, as he saluted. + +_"Vive l'Amerique!"_ returned the colonel. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A HAIL OF LEAD + + +"It's coming," declared Tom a few days later, as the boys were getting +ready to go to mess. + +"Listen to the oracle," mocked Bart. + +"What's coming? Christmas?" inquired Billy. + +"The big fight," replied Tom. + +"Hear the general," gibed Bart. + +"I've understood that Tom was General Pershing's right bower," put in +Billy. + +"They say he doesn't do a thing without him," said Bart. + +"It's a pity that Tom didn't live in Napoleon's time," laughed Frank. +"He'd have been a marshal sure." + +"Napoleon," repeated Billy, with a faraway look in his eyes. "Where have +I heard that name before?" + +The four friends laughed as the comical scene in the little French +village rose up before them. + +But with all their jesting they felt as sure as Tom that a big battle +was impending. One did not have to be an officer to know that. The rank +and file could tell it just as unerringly as their superiors. + +For many days past all arms of the service had been working at top +speed. Regiments and divisions had been reorganized and brought up to +their full strength. Reserves had been brought from distant portions of +the line and were massed heavily in the rear of the positions. + +Raiding parties were active on both sides, as each was eager to get +prisoners and information, and scarcely a night passed without heavy +skirmishes between patrols that in former days would have risen to the +dignity of battles. + +Overhead the sky was dotted with the planes of the rival forces and the +hum of the motors of the giant birds of prey was continuous. They fought +not only in single combat but in sauacfrons, and the sight of one or +more whirling down in flames was so common that it scarcely attracted +attention. + +And most ominous of all, the medical service was organizing gigantic +units close to the front, in anticipation of the harvest of blood and +wounds that was so close at hand. + +Yes, a battle was coming. The grim reaper was sharpening his scythe and +the watching world was waiting for the outcome in an agony of +expectation. + +The forces as far as known were evenly balanced, though it was rumored +that the Germans were drawing large reserves temporarily from the +eastern front, and color was lent to this by the fact that the Swiss +frontier had been closed for a month to conceal the movement of troops. + +It was not yet certain which side would make the first move. Each army +was drawn up in a strong natural position with ranges of hills behind in +the event of having to fall back. + +"I hope we get in the first blow," remarked Frank, as he discussed the +question with his chums. + +"So do I," agreed Bart. "You know then where you're going to strike. +This matter of fighting behind entanglements doesn't make a hit with me +at all." + +"There's more of a swing and rush to it when you attack," commented +Billy. "Do you remember how it was, fellows, in that last big scrap when +we were sprinting over No Man's Land? You're so eager to get at the Huns +that you don't have time to think of danger." + +But one foggy morning not long after, the German leaders settled the +matter for the Camport strategists and struck with tremendous force at +the Allied lines. + +Two hours before dawn the German guns opened up with a roar that shook +the earth. The air was full of flying shells; tear shells to blind the +eyes of the Allied gunners so that they could not see to serve their +pieces; mustard shells that bit into the lungs like a consuming fire; +chlorine gas shells, with a deadly poison, to cause such agony that even +surgeons, hardened in the exercise of their profession, turned away +their faces from the writhings of the victims. Then, following these, a +storm of leaden hail, withering, searing, blasting, before which it +seemed no living thing could stand. + +Crouched low in their trenches, massed line behind line, the Allied +forces bent their heads to the storm, and waited in grim fury for the +infantry attack that they knew would surely follow. + +And it was not long in coming. The fog had risen by this time, and over +the fields, rank upon rank, marching at the double quick, came masses of +gray figures that seemed as endless as the waves of the sea. + +The Allied artillery tore wide gaps in the dense masses, but they closed +up instantly and continued their advance. Machine guns poured thousands +of bullets into the living target, and the gunners served their pieces +again and again until they were so hot that they burned the hand. + +But true to their theory of warfare, the German leaders fed their men +into the jaws of Moloch with cynical indifference. They had counted on +paying a certain price, and they were willing to pay it. + +But flesh and blood has its limitations, and before that murderous fire +the ranks at last faltered. + +Then from the trenches poured the Allied hosts in a fierce counter +attack, and before their resistless charge the enemy wavered and at last +broke. The gray lines melted away, and the ground, strewn with their +dead and dying, was held by the Allied forces, which swiftly organized +for the second attack, that they knew would not be long in coming. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A DEED OF DARING + + +"We got them!" cried Bart, exultingly, as the boys worked feverishly at +the preparations to meet the new attack. + +"Right between the eyes," cried Billy. + +"We drew first blood, all right," agreed Frank, "but they'll come again +for more." + +The prophecy was speedily realized, for again the enemy came forward, +with undiminished ardor, protected this time by a deadly barrage fire +behind which they marched with confidence. It was evident that this time +the enemy, having tested the Allied mettle and found it excellent, had +determined to place its chief reliance upon their big gun fire. And for +a time it seemed as though their confidence was justified. The barrage +fire swept the ground so completely that the Allies were forced to +abandon their hastily seized positions in the open and retreat once more +to the shelter of their trenches. But all the attacks of the German +hordes, repeated again and again, were not able to get possession of +those first line trenches, to which the Allies held with the fury of +desperation. They were manned chiefly by the American troops, although +certain units of French and English held either end of the line. Again +and again the storm broke, and again and again it was beaten back. The +Germans had massed at that portion of the line numbers many times +greater than those possessed by the defenders. By all the theories of +war they ought to have been successful, but, like the old guard at +Waterloo, the Americans might die, but would not surrender. + +Yet after a while the very stubbornness of this resistance proved in +itself a danger. On the right and the left the line, though not broken, +was bent back. In this way the American position formed a salient in the +German line, and was subjected to attack not only in front, but on the +flanks. It became imperative that the line should draw back so that it +might be in keeping with the position now held by the wings. + +So, after hours of sanguinary fighting, the orders came to fall back, +and the Americans, who had been standing like the army of Thomas at +Chickamauga, fifty years previous, reluctantly obeyed, and fell slowly +back to new positions, their faces always toward the foe. + +"What kind of a fool stunt is this?" growled Tom, who, with his +comrades, had been in the thick of the fight. "We had it all over those +fellows, even if they were two or three times as many, and here we are +retreating, when we ought to go ahead and lick the tar out of them." +"Don't growl and complain, Tom," soothed Frank, whose left hand was +bleeding where a bullet had zipped its way across it. "They'll get the +licking all right when the time comes." + +"It's good dope to give back a little sometimes," added Bart. "It's like +boxing. When a blow comes straight at your stomach you bend back and +that takes half the force away from the blow. Don't worry the least +little bit about this fight. We may be bending a little, but we're not +breaking, and before many hours we'll be standing the Heinies on their +heads." + +But the promise was not fulfilled that day, and when, night came after +hours of tremendous struggle, the Allied forces had not regained their +lost ground. + +As darkness fell the combat lessened, and finally ceased altogether, as +far as infantry attacks were concerned, although all through the night +the artillery kept up a fire of greater or less intensity. + +The boys of the regiment to which the Camport boys belonged were in +rather a sober mood when they gathered around their field kitchens that +night and partook of the food that was served out to them. They had not +lost a gun, but they had yielded ground, and a great many of their +comrades would never again answer the roll call. But their fighting +spirit was at as high a pitch as ever, and they could scarcely wait till +the morrow to get their revenge. + +Frank and his chums had come through the day unscathed, except for the +injury to Frank's hand and a mark across Billy's temple where a bullet +had ridged the skin. Perhaps it was due to the fortune that is said to +attend the brave, for they had borne themselves like heroes and had been +stationed at one of the most fiercely battered portions of the line. + +"I suppose they're gloating over this in Berlin to-night," said Tom +gloomily, as they sat at the roots of a great tree whose bark and +branches had been stripped from it by a storm of shells. + +"And groaning over it in New York," added Billy. + +"He laughs best who laughs last," said Bart. "To-morrow's a new day. +Just watch our smoke." + +"We'll eat 'em alive," prophesied Frank confidently, as he nursed his +wounded hand. "Like John Paul Jones, we've just begun to fight." + +"Do you fellows remember what General Corse said one time when Sherman +asked him if he could hold out?" asked Bart. + +"What was it?" asked Billy. + +"He said: 'I've lost one eye and a piece of an ear, but I can lick a +brigade or two yet,'" answered Bart. + +"Good old scout," approved Billy, while the boys laughed. + +"Well, we're not as badly off as that yet," said Frank, "although this +hand of mine is smarting to beat the band." + +"And my head is aching ready to split," added Billy. "One inch to the +left and it would have been all up with your uncle Billy." + +The fighting was resumed at dawn, and again it was the Germans who +attacked. They had counted on their advantage of the day before to break +the morale of their enemies and hoped by pressure to turn the withdrawal +into a rout. + +But like so many German calculations since the beginning of the war, +they had figured badly. The Allies, stung by their discomfiture of the +day before, fought like tigers. They beat the Germans back and took the +offensive in their own hands. + +The Germans retreated, though staunchly contesting every foot of ground. +In the front of Frank's company the enemy had established a machine gun +nest that was particularly effective. Again and again the Americans +sought to clean them out, but were met with such a galling fire that +they lost heavily, and at last the captain decided that the guns were +not worth the price he was paying to get possession of them. Yet the +position would be of so much advantage, if captured, that he hesitated +at changing his course and choosing another line of advance. + +In the litter and wreck of the field, Frank's keen eye had caught sight +of two big barrels filled with clothing for the troops. The barrels had +been dropped from a wrecked motor lorry of a supply train. Like a flash +an inspiration came to him. + +He consulted a moment with Bart, whose eye lighted up as he nodded +assent. Then he stepped up to his captain and saluted. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +STORMING THE RIDGE + + +"What is it, Sheldon?" + +"I think I can silence those guns, sir," Frank said. + +A light came into the captain's eyes. + +"How?" he asked. + +In a few brief words Frank described his plan. + +"But it's suicide," protested the captain. "There isn't one chance in a +thousand that you'll come out alive." + +"I know," said Frank. "But Raymond and I are willing to risk it if you +give the word." + +The captain pondered for a moment. It was a forlorn hope, but forlorn +hopes sometimes won out. + +"Go ahead," he said. + +Frank nodded to Bart, and in a twinkling they had turned the big barrels +over on their sides. + +Then each lay on the ground behind his barrel and began to push it +toward the enemy. + +The men of their company had watched them wonderingly while they made +their preparations, and when they realized what the boys had in mind +they raised a thundering cheer that rose above the din of battle. + +The crews of the two enemy machine guns looked with stupefaction at the +big barrels coming toward them. Then they woke from their trance and a +storm of bullets beat upon the barrels. + +If they had been empty the bullets would have gone through and killed +the boys behind them. But they were filled with woolen clothing, which +while light enough to enable the boys to push the barrels with +comparative ease was just the thing to stop the bullets. The whizzing +missiles thudded into the clothing and there they stopped. It was on the +same basis as the sandbag which stops a cannon ball that would go +through an iron plate. + +Steadily the boys kept on, pushing the barrels before them. They did not +go on hands and knees, for then they would be exposed to the enemy +bullets. It was a caterpillar motion, drawing their bodies along the +ground, and was a tremendous tax on their muscles, for they could get no +purchase. + +One thing in their favor was that the ground sloped a trifle toward the +enemy position and this made the barrels roll more easily. + +By this time the enemy was growing frantic at this novel method of +attack. They could not see their enemy, and they could not kill him. And +the sight of those barrels coming toward them, as inexorably as fate, +got on their nerves, already tense with the fury of the combat. + +Nearer and nearer came the barrels to the guns until they were not more +than twenty feet away. Then they stopped. + +The German gunners drew fresh hope from this. Had their bullets found +their mark in the bodies of their daring enemies? + +But there were two very live boys behind those motionless barrels. + +Frank and Bart had drawn a handful of grenades from their sacks. At a +given signal they drew back their arms and hurled them over the barrels +in quick succession. + +They fell right in the midst of the machine guns. There was a tremendous +explosion that killed some of the gunners and threw the rest into wild +confusion. + +"Now!" shouted Frank, and he and Bart leaped to their feet and rushed +toward the guns. + +There was a wild melee for a moment, and then the surviving Germans +turned and ran in panic down the slope. + +The boys slued the captured guns around and sent a stream of bullets +after their wildly fleeing enemies. + +The rout was complete, and the next minute the whole company, that had +charged the instant the grenades were thrown, came tearing up, and there +was a scene of hilarity and enthusiasm that passed description. + +"The finest thing I ever saw!" declared the captain. "You boys are the +stuff of which heroes are made." + +But there was no time then to dwell on the exploit. The enemy was on the +run and they must keep him going. + +And they did, so well and so thoroughly, that when the day was over they +had swept the whole ridge that had been their objective in the fight and +planted Old Glory on its highest crest. And their victory was shared by +the rest of the Allied line, who not only regained all the losses of the +day before, but swept the Germans out of their first and second lines on +a five-mile front, inflicting on them a defeat which they were long to +remember. + +And how the lesson that the Germans learned that day was repeated later +on will be told in the next book of this series, entitled: "Army Boys on +the Firing Line; Or, Holding Back the German Drive." + +Not but what the victory had cost the Americans dearly. Every regiment +engaged had its own long list of killed and wounded. + +"Poor old Fred," said Frank, referring to Anderson. "His right arm was +badly shattered and I'm afraid he may lose it." + +"Fred is playing in hard luck," returned Bart. "That's twice he's been +wounded. Remember the night down at the old mill when the bomb got his +leg?" + +"He's having more than his share," agreed Billy. + +"There's Wilson, too," said Bart. "He's been in the thick of it all day, +but he went down with a bullet in his shoulder just as we got to the top +of the ridge." + +"The corp certainly fought like a tiger," said Tom. "But he's worth a +dozen dead men yet. A month in the hospital will fix him up all right, I +hope." + +"There's one good thing anyway," pat in Billy. "The Huns haven't taken +many of our boys prisoners." + +"And we've got more of their men than we know what to do with," exulted +Frank. + +"I know what I'd do with them," said Tom. "I'd send them to America to +be imprisoned there and I'd put a bunch of them on every transport that +sailed to the other side." + +"That wouldn't be a bad stunt," agreed Bart. "Then if a submarine sank +the ship it would carry a lot of their own people down to Davy Jones." + +Among the missing was one whose loss did not greatly grieve the boys of +the old Thirty-seventh. Nick Rabig did not answer to his name when the +roll was called. They did not find his body on the field, nor was he +among the wounded that were brought in and tenderly cared for in the +hospitals. + +"I see Nick is missing," remarked Frank to Bart later in the evening, as +they were resting and rejoicing over the victory. + +"Missing but not missed," put in the implacable Tom. + +"If the Huns have got him, he'll feel more at home than he ever felt +with us," remarked Bart. + +"Maybe he was captured against his will," said Tom, "and then again +_maybe_--" + +"What do you suppose they'll say in Camport when they hear of this day's +work, fellows?" asked Billy. + +"Oh," answered Frank with a laugh, "they'll only say: 'It's nothing more +than we expected.'" + +"They know us, don't they?" + +"Of course they do," broke in Tom. "We came to France to do our duty as +American citizens, as well as soldiers." + +"I wonder how long it will be before this war is over and we start for +home?" came from Frank. + +"Not tired of the game yet, are you?" quizzed Billy, quickly. + +"Do I look as if I was tired of it?" was the counter-question. + +"We are all going to stay over here until the Huns are licked good and +proper!" burst cut Bart. "There is no use in stopping while the job is +only half finished." + +"Just you wait until Uncle Sam has a lot of men over here," put in +Billy. "Then we'll show those Huns what's what and don't you forget it! +We'll wallop them so thoroughly they'll be getting down on their knees +yelling for mercy." + +"Now you've said something!" came in a chorus from the others. + +And here let us say good-bye to the Army Boys. + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Army Boys in the French Trenches, by Homer Randall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + +***** This file should be named 9789.txt or 9789.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/9/7/8/9789/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Army Boys in the French Trenches + +Author: Homer Randall + +Release Date: January, 2006 [EBook #9789] +[This file was first posted on October 17, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + + + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + + + + + +ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES + +OR + +HAND TO HAND FIGHTING WITH THE ENEMY + +BY + +HOMER RANDALL + +AUTHOR OF +"Army Boys in France" and "Army Boys on the Firing Line" + +Illustrated by ROBERT GASTON HERBERT + +1919 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, +as wire entanglements were uprooted.] + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I A SLASHING ATTACK + + II THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + III TAKING CHANCES + + IV BETWEEN THE LINES + + V THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + VI A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + VII NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + VIII COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + IX THE ESCAPE + + X A GHASTLY BURDEN + + XI WITH THE TANKS + + XII BREAKING THROUGH + + XIII CAUGHT NAPPING + + XIV IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + XV THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + + XVI CHASED BY CAVALRY + + XVII THE BROKEN BRIDGE + +XVIII RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + XIX PUTTING ONE OVER + + XX SUSPICION + + XXI A FAMILIAR VOICE + + XXII THE SHADOW OF TREASON + +XXIII A HAIL OF LEAD + + XXIV A DEED OF DARING + + XXV STORMING THE RIDGE + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A SLASHING ATTACK + + +"Stand ready, boys. We attack at dawn!" + +The word passed in a whisper down the long line of the trench, where the +American army boys crouched like so many khaki-clad ghosts, awaiting the +command to go "over the top." + +"That will be in about fifteen minutes from now, I figure," murmured +Frank Sheldon to his friend and comrade, Bart Raymond, as he glanced at +the hands of his radio watch and then put it up to his ear to make sure +that it had not stopped. + +"It'll seem more like fifteen hours," muttered Tom Bradford, who was on +the other side of Sheldon. + +"Tom's in a hurry to get at the Huns," chuckled Billy Waldon. "He wants +to show them where they get off." + +"I saw him putting a razor edge on his bayonet last night," added Bart. +"Now he's anxious to see how it works." + +"He'll have plenty of chances to find out," said Frank. "This is going +to be a hot scrap, or I miss my guess. I heard the captain tell the +lieutenant that the Germans had their heaviest force right in front of +our part of the line." + +"So much the better," asserted Billy stoutly. "They can't come too thick +or too fast. They've been sneering at what the Yankees were going to do +in this war, and it's about time they got punctures in their tires." + +At this moment the mess helpers passed along the line with buckets of +steaming hot coffee, and the men welcomed it eagerly, for it was late in +the autumn and the night air was chill and penetrating. "Come, little +cup, to one who loves thee well," murmured Tom, as he swallowed his +portion in one gulp. + +The others were not slow in following his example, and the buckets were +emptied in a twinkling. + +Then the stern vigil was renewed. + +From the opposing lines a star shell rose and exploded, casting a +greenish radiance over the barren stretch of No Man's Land that +separated the hostile forces. + +"Fritz isn't asleep," muttered Frank. + +"He's right on the job with his fireworks," agreed Bart. + +"Maybe he has his suspicions that we're going to give him a little +surprise party," remarked Billy, "and that's his way of telling us that +he's ready to welcome us with open arms." + +"Fix bayonets!" came the command from the officer in charge, and there +was a faint clink as the order was obeyed. + +"It won't be long now," murmured Tom. "But why don't the guns open up?" + +"They always do before it's time to charge," commented Billy, as he +shifted his position a little. "I suppose they will now almost any +minute." + +"I don't think there'll be any gun fire this time before we go over the +top," ventured Frank. + +"What do you mean?" asked Bart in surprise, as he turned his head toward +his chum. + +"Do you know anything?" queried Tom. + +"Not exactly know, but I've heard enough to make a guess," replied +Frank. "I think we're going to play the game a little differently this +time. Unless I'm mistaken, the Huns are going to get the surprise of +their lives." + +"Put on gas masks!" came another order, and in the six seconds allowed +for this operation the masks were donned, making the men in the long +line look like so many goblins. + +It was light enough for them to see each other now, for the gray fingers +of the dawn were already drawing the curtain of darkness aside from the +eastern sky. + +One minute more passed--a minute of tense, fierce expectation, while the +boys gripped their rifles until it seemed that their fingers would bury +themselves in the stocks. + +Crash! + +With a roar louder than a thousand guns the earth under the German +first-line trenches split asunder, and tons of rock and mud and guns and +men were hurled toward the sky. + +The din was terrific, the sight appalling, and the shock for an instant +was almost as great to the Americans as to their opponents, though far +less tragic. + +"Now, men," shouted their lieutenant, "over with you!" and with a wild +yell of exultation the boys clambered over the edge of the trench and +started toward the German lines. + +"We're off!" panted Frank, as, with eyes blazing and bayonet ready for +instant use, he rushed forward in the front rank. + +"To a flying start!" gasped Bart, and then because breath was precious +they said no more, but raced on like greyhounds freed from the leash. + +On, on they went, with the wind whipping their faces! On, still on, to +the red ruin wrought by the explosion of the mine. + +For the first fifty yards the going was easy except for the craters and +shell holes into which some of the boys slid and tumbled. The enemy had +been so numbed and paralyzed by the overwhelming explosion that they +seemed to be unable to make any resistance. + +But the officers knew, and the men as well, that this was only the lull +before the storm. Their enemy was desperate and resourceful, and though +the cleverness of the American engineers had carried through the mine +operation without detection, it was certain that the foe would rally. + +Fifty yards from the first-line trench--forty--thirty--and then the +German guns spoke. + +A long line of flame flared up crimson in the pallid dawn. + +"Down, men, down!" shouted their officers, and the Yankee lads threw +themselves flat on the ground while a leaden hail swept furiously over +them. + +"Are you hurt, Bart?" cried Frank anxiously, as he heard a sharp +exclamation from his comrade. + +"Not by a bullet," growled Bart. "Took some of the skin off my knee +though when I went down." + +A second time the murderous fire came hurtling over them, but the +officers noted with satisfaction that the enemy were shooting high. + +"They haven't got the range yet," observed Billy. + +"Up!" came the word of command, and again the men were on their feet and +racing like mad toward the trench. + +They came at last to where it had been. For it was no longer a trench! + +Gone was the zigzag line that the boys knew by heart from having faced +and fought against it for weeks. The mine had done its work thoroughly. + +Everywhere was a welter of hideous confusion. Barbed wire entanglements +with their supporting posts had been rooted from the ground. Guns had +been torn from their carriages. "Pill boxes" had been smashed to bits. +Horses and men and wagons and camp kitchens were mingled together in +wildest chaos. + +Parts of the trench had been filled to the surface with earth, while +huge boulders blocked the entrance to some of the communicating +passages. + +There were a few sharp fights with scattered units of the enemy that had +retained their senses and were trying to get their machine guns into +action. But these detachments were soon cut down or captured. The great +majority of the survivors were so dazed that they surrendered with +scarcely a show of resistance and were rounded up in squads to be sent +to the rear. + +The first trench had been won, and it was almost a bloodless victory, +only a few of the American troops having fallen in the sudden rush. + +But sterner work lay ahead, for the second and third German lines were +still intact, bristling with men and supported heavily by their guns. + +"This was easy," grinned Billy. + +"Like taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten," chuckled Tom, as he +wiped the grime and perspiration from his face. + +"Don't fool yourselves," warned Frank, as a shell came whining over +their heads. "This was only a skirmish. The real fight is coming, and +coming mighty quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + +Even while Frank Sheldon spoke, the artillery of the enemy took on a +deeper note until it reached the intensity of drumfire. + +But now the American gunners took a hand, and the shells came pouring +over the heads of the boys, searching out the line of the second enemy +trench and preparing the way for the advance. + +In obedience to commands, the American soldiers had sought shelter +wherever they could find it, while they were recovering their wind. + +Only a moment could be granted for this, however, for time was +everything just now. They had caught the enemy off his guard and must +take advantage of the opportunity. + +"Line up, men!" cried the leader of Frank's detachment, and the high +state of discipline that the American forces had reached was shown by +the promptness with which the order was obeyed. + +A signal was sent back to the supporting guns, and they opened up a +deadly barrage fire over the heads of Frank and his comrades, clearing +the ground before them of everything that dared to show itself in the +open. + +Behind this curtain of fire, the boys advanced, slowly at first, but +gathering speed at every stride, until they were running at the double +quick. + +Bullets rained about them from the machine guns of the enemy and great +shells tore gaps in the ranks. At Frank's left, a soldier suddenly +wavered and then pitched headlong into a shell hole and lay still. +Another toppled over with a bullet in his shoulder. But the lanes that +were made closed almost instantly. + +Now they had reached the wire entanglements that had been battered by +the artillery until they hung in festoons around their posts, leaving +paths through which the American lads poured. + +Then like a great tidal wave they struck the trench! + +The Germans had clambered out to meet them, and when the two forces met +the shock was terrific. Back and forth the battle surged and swayed, +each side fighting with the fury of desperation. The cannon had ceased +now, for in that locked mass the shells were as likely to kill friends +as foes. It was man against man, bayonet against bayonet, each combatant +obeying the primitive law of "kill or be killed." + +The opposing forces at this part of the line were nearly equal, with the +Germans having a slight advantage in numbers. But to make up for this, +the Americans had the advantage of the attack and the tremendous +momentum with which they had struck the enemy's line. + +For a time victory hung in the balance, but then Yankee determination +and superior skill in bayonet work began to tell. The Americans would +not be denied. The German line was pierced, and the forces broke up into +a number of battling groups. + +Frank and Bart, Billy and Tom, who all through the fight had managed to +keep together, found themselves engaged with a squad of Germans double +their number, two of whom were frantically trying to bring a machine gun +to bear upon them. + +With a bound Frank was upon them. He toppled one over with his bayonet, +but while he was doing this the other fired at him point-blank with a +revolver. At such a close range he could not have missed, had not Bart, +quick as a flash, clubbed him over the arm with his rifle, making the +bullet go wild. + +"Quick, Bart!" panted Frank, as with his comrade's help he slued the +machine gun around, gripped the trigger, and sent a stream of bullets +into a group of the enemy charging down upon him. + +Before that withering fire they dissolved like mist, and a circle was +cleared as though by magic. + +What Germans were left in that immediate vicinity leaped back into the +trench on the edge of which they had been fighting. + +"Now we've got them!" cried Frank, as with his friends' assistance he +quickly wheeled the gun to the brink of the trench and depressed the +muzzle so that it commanded the huddled bunch below. "Come out of that, +you fellows. Hands up, quick!" + +They may not have understood his words, but there was no +misunderstanding the meaning of that black sinister muzzle of the +machine gun with a hundred deaths behind it. They were trapped, and +their hands went up with cries of "_Kamerad!_" in token of surrender. + +On that part of the line the battle was over, for the plan did not +contemplate going beyond the second trench at that time. The American +boys had won and won gloriously. From all parts of the trench, on a +two-mile front, groups of captives were coming sullenly out with uplifted +hands, to be herded into groups by their captors and sent to the rear. + +"Glory hallelujah!" cried Bart, as he removed his mask and wiped his +streaming face. "And no gas, either." + +"Some scrap!" gasped Billy, as he sank exhausted to the ground. + +"Did them up to the Queen's taste," chuckled Tom. + +"We certainly put one over on the Huns that time," grinned Frank +happily. + +And while they stand there, breathless and exulting, it may be well for +the benefit of those who have not previously made the acquaintance of +the American Army Boys to sketch briefly their adventures up to the time +this story opens. + +Frank Sheldon, Bart Raymond, Tom Bradford and Billy Waldon had all been +born and brought up in Camport, a thriving American city of about +twenty-five thousand people. They had known each other from boyhood, +attended the same school, played on the same baseball nine and were warm +friends. + +Frank was the natural leader of the group. He was a tall, muscular young +fellow, quick to think and quick to act, always at the front in sports +as well as in the more serious events of life. + +His father had died some years before, leaving only a modest home as a +legacy, and Frank was the sole support of his mother. The latter had +been born in France, where Mr. Sheldon had married her and brought her +to America. + +Later, Mrs. Sheldon's father had died, leaving her a considerable +property in Auvergne, her native province. This estate, however, had +been tied up in a lawsuit, and she had not come into possession of it. +She had been planning to go to France to look after her interests, but +her husband's death and, later on, the breaking out of the European war, +had made this impossible. + +She was a charming woman, with all the French sparkle and vivacity, and +she and her son were bound together in ties of the strongest affection. +Naturally her ardent sympathy had been with France in the great war +raging in Europe. But when it became evident that America soon would +take part, although she welcomed the aid this would bring to her native +country, her mother heart was torn with anguish at the thought that her +only son would probably join in the fighting across the sea. + +But Frank, though he dreaded the separation, felt that he must join the +Camport regiment that was getting ready to fight the Huns. The deciding +moment came when a German tore down the American flag from a neighbor's +porch. Frank knocked the fellow down and in the presence of an excited +throng made him kiss the flag that he had insulted. From that moment his +resolution was taken, and his mother, who had witnessed the scene, gave +her consent to his joining the old Thirty-seventh regiment, made up +chiefly of Camport boys, including Billy Waldon, who had seen service on +the Mexican border. + +Bart Raymond, Frank's special chum, a sturdy, vigorous young fellow, was +equally patriotic, and joined the regiment with Frank as soon as war was +declared. Tom Bradford, a fellow employee in the firm of Moore & Thomas, +a thriving hardware house, wanted to enlist, but was rejected on account +of his teeth, although he wrathfully declared that "he wanted to shoot +the Germans, not to bite them." In fact, almost all the young fellows +employed by the firm, except "Reddy," the office boy, who wanted to go +badly enough, but who was too young, tried to get into some branch of +the army or navy. + +A marked exception was Nick Rabig, the foreman of the shipping +department, who, although born in the United States, came of German +parents and lost no opportunity of "boosting" Germany and "knocking" +America. He was the bully of the place and universally disliked. He +hated Frank, especially after the flag incident, and only the thought of +his mother had prevented Frank more than once from giving Rabig the +thrashing he deserved. + +Frank's regiment was sent to Camp Boone for their preliminary training, +and here the young recruits were put through their paces in rifle +shooting, grenade throwing, bayonet practice and all the other exercises +by which Uncle Sam turns his boys into soldiers. There was plenty of fun +mixed in with the hard work, and they had many stirring experiences. A +pleasant feature was the coming of Tom, who although rejected when he +tried to enlist had been accepted in the draft. Not so pleasant, though +somewhat amusing, was the fact that Nick Rabig also had been drafted and +had to go to Camp Boone, though most unwillingly. + +How the regiment sailed to France for intensive training behind the +firing lines; how their transport narrowly escaped being sunk by a +submarine and how the tables were turned; the singular chance by which +Frank met a French colonel and heard encouraging news about his mother's +property; how he thoroughly "trimmed" Rabig in a boxing bout; how the +Camport boys took part in the capture of a Zeppelin; how the old +Thirty-seventh finally reached the trenches; Frank's daring exploit when +caught in the swirl of a German charge; these and other exciting +adventures are told in the first book of this Series, entitled: "Army +Boys in France; Or, From Training Camp to the Trenches." + + + +"Do you remember what that airship captain said the day we bagged him?" +chuckled Billy. + +"About it being impossible for Americans to get to France?" asked Bart. +"You bet I do. I'll never forget that boob. I wonder if he still +believes it." + +"He'd sing a different tune if he were here to-day," observed Tom. + +"I don't know," laughed Frank. "The German skull is pretty thick. Still +you can get something through it once in a while if you keep on +hammering." + +"I guess these fellows haven't any doubts about our being here," +observed Billy. + +"They've had pretty good evidence of it," confirmed Tom, as he watched +the enemy captives standing about in dejected groups, waiting to be sent +to the rear. + +One thing that struck the boys forcibly was the disparity of age between +the prisoners. There was an unusual proportion of men beyond middle life +and of youngsters still in their teens. + +"Grandpas and kids," blurted out Tom. + +"The Kaiser's robbing the cradle and the grave," commented Billy. +"Germany's getting pretty near to the limit of her man power, I guess." + +"That's true of France and England, too," observed Frank thoughtfully. +"They lost the flower of their troops in the early fighting and they all +have to do a great deal of combing to keep their ranks full." + +"And that's where America has the Indian sign on the Huns," jubilated +Bart "We'll have our best against her second best." + +"We'll trim her good and proper," predicted Frank. "Even at her best, +we'd down her in the end. But don't let's kid ourselves. She's full of +fight yet, and will take a lot of beating. And there are plenty of +huskies in her ranks yet. Look at that big brute over there. He looks as +though he could lift an ox." + +He pointed to a massively built German corporal, who was evidently mad +with rage at his capture. He was gesticulating wildly to his fellow +prisoners and fairly sputtering in the attempt to relieve his feelings. + +"Seems to be rather peeved," grinned Tom. + +"I can't catch on to what he's saying," laughed Bart. "But I'll bet he +could give points to a New York truckman or the mate of a Mississippi +steamboat. They'd turn green with envy if they could understand him." + +"He's frothing at the mouth," chuckled Billy. "I'd hate to have him bite +me just now. I'd get hydrophobia sure." + +There was no time for further comment. The officers had had to give the +men a short breathing spell, for all were spent with their tremendous +exertions. But now after the brief rest, all was bustle and hurry. + +"The Huns will be back for more," predicted Frank, as he and his friends +were set to work changing the sandbags from the side of the trench that +had faced the Americans to the other side that looked toward the German +third line. + +"They must be hard to please if they haven't had enough for one +morning," growled Tom. + +"They're gluttons for punishment," remarked Bart. "The first-line trench +is junk from the mine explosion, but they won't give this second one up +without making one mighty effort to get it back." + +The young soldiers were working feverishly to organize the captured +position, when their corporal, Wilson, summoned them out and they +scrambled forth promptly and stood at attention. + +"Fall in to take back the prisoners," he ordered. + +A look of disappointment came over their faces and Wilson's eyes +twinkled when he saw it. + +"Haven't you had enough fighting yet?" he demanded. "Well, I feel that +way myself, but orders are orders. Come along." + +"Hard luck," muttered Frank in a low tone to Bart, as they obeyed the +command. + +"We'll miss some lovely fighting," agreed Bart. + +"I was just getting warmed up," mourned Billy. + +"Don't worry," advised Tom. "We'll be sent back after we get these +fellows to headquarters, and we'll have a chance to get another crack at +them." + +The prisoners, having been searched, were placed in double file between +the members of the guarding squad, who walked at a few paces interval on +either side of them. + +"Fall in!" came the corporal's order. "Shoulder arms. March!" + +They started out briskly. + +Frank and Bart happened to be close beside the big German corporal whom +they had before observed. His wrath was not yet abated, and he kept up a +volley of epithets as he sullenly marched along. + +"He's making as much fuss as though he were the Kaiser," chuckled Tom, +who was vastly amused at the prisoner's antics. + +"Slap him on the wrist and tell him to be nice," counseled Billy with a +grin. + +The captive glared at them with insane rage in his eyes. + +"I think he's going nutty," remarked Bart. "It's lucky for him there +aren't any squirrels around." + +"You want to keep your eye peeled for him," warned Frank. "He's bad +medicine." + +"He's safe enough," replied Bart, carelessly. "He hasn't any weapon, and +if he started to run he wouldn't get far. He isn't cut out for a +sprinter." + +"Even if he were, a bullet would catch him," chimed in Billy. "He'd make +a big target and it would be a pretty bad shot that would miss him." + +When they reached the blown-up first trench they found it difficult to +keep in line, and had to pick their way over the heaped-up ruin that had +been made by the mine explosion. + +Bart tripped over a strand of broken wire, and in trying to save himself +from falling, his rifle slipped from his hand. + +The German corporal was within a foot of him and saw his opportunity. + +Quick as a flash he drew from his clothing a trench knife that the +searchers had overlooked. The murderous blade gleamed in the air as the +corporal brought it down toward the neck of Bart, who had stooped to +pick up his rifle. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +TAKING CHANCES + + +"Look out, Bart!" yelled Billy, while Tom made a desperate leap to his +comrade's rescue. + +But Frank was quicker than either. + +Like lightning he lunged with his bayonet and caught the German in the +wrist, just as the knife was about to bury itself in Bart's neck. + +With a howl of rage and pain, as his arm was forced upward, the +prisoner's hand lost its grip on the weapon and it clattered harmlessly +to the ground. + +In an instant the German was overpowered and his arms tied behind him +with his own belt. Then his wounded wrist was bound up with a surgical +dressing, and under a special guard he was urged forward in no gentle +manner, for all were at a white heat at his treacherous attempt. + +By the laws of war his life was forfeited, and he seemed to realize +this, for all his bravado vanished and from time to time he looked +fearfully at his captors. He saw little there to encourage him, for Bart +was a great favorite with his company and the attack had stirred them to +the depths. + +"A close call, old man." said Frank, affectionately tapping his friend +on the shoulder. "It would have been taps for me, all right, if you +hadn't acted as quickly as you did," responded Bart gratefully. + +"Frank was Johnny-on-the-spot," said Billy admiringly. "My heart was in +my mouth when I saw that knife coming down." + +"It was a waste of time to tie up that fellow's arm," remarked Tom, as +he glowered at the miscreant. "He'll soon be where he won't need any +bandages." + +"I guess it's a case for a firing squad," judged Billy. "But it serves +him right, for it was up to him to play the game." + +Before long they reached headquarters and delivered up their prisoners. +If they had expected to be sent back immediately to the firing line, +they were disappointed, for the examination of the prisoners began at +once, without the squad receiving notice of dismissal. + +This had its compensations, however, for although they had captured +prisoners before, they had never been present at their examination, and +they were curious to see the turn the questioning would take. + +Captain Baker, of the old Thirty-seventh, was detailed to do the +examining, and because time was precious and it was most important to +learn just what enemy units were opposed to the American forces, he got +to work at once, an interpreter standing at his side while a +stenographer made note of the replies. + +The captain signaled to one of the most intelligent looking of the +prisoners, and the latter stepped out, clicked his heels together +smartly and saluted. + +"What is your name?" asked the captain. + +"Rudolph Schmidt." + +"Your regiment?" + +"The Seventy-ninth Bavarian." + +"Who is your colonel?" + +"Von Armin." + +"Who commands your division?" + +"General Hofer." + +"Who is your corps commander?" + +"Prince Lichtenstein." + +"How many men have you lost in the last few days' fighting?" + +Obstinate silence. + +The captain repeated the question. + +"I do not know," the prisoner answered evasively. + +"Well, were your losses heavy or light?" pursued the captain patiently. + +"I cannot tell." + +The captain switched to another line. + +"Do you know who have captured you?" he asked. + +"The English," was the prompt answer. + +"No," replied the captain. "We are Americans." + +The prisoner permitted himself an incredulous smile. + +"Can't you see these are American uniforms?" asked the captain, with a +sweep of his arm. + +"Yes," was the reply. "But our captain tells us that the English wear +that uniform to make us think that the Americans have arrived in +France." + +A grin went around the circle of listeners. + +"You blawsted, bloody Britisher," chuckled Bart, giving Frank a poke in +the ribs. + +"Where's my bally monocle, old top?" whispered Frank, while Billy and +Tom grew red in the face from trying to control their merriment. + +The captain himself had all he could do to maintain his gravity. + +"Do you believe your captain when he tells you that?" he inquired. + +"I must believe him," answered the prisoner simply. + +"There's discipline for you," muttered Billy. + +"Such childlike faith," murmured Tom. + +"But even if the Americans are not already here," persisted the captain, +"don't you believe they are coming?" + +"They may try to come," answered the captive doubtfully; "but if they +do, they will never get here." + +"Why not." + +"Our U-boats will stop them." + +"That settles it," whispered Bart. "We think we're here, but we're only +kidding ourselves. We _can't_ be here. Heinie says so and, of course, he +knows." + +"What a come-on he'd be for the confidence men," gurgled Billy. "They'd +sell him the Brooklyn Bridge before he'd been on shore for an hour." + +Questioned as to food supplies, the German admitted that their rations, +although fairly good, were not so abundant as at the beginning of the +war. Then with characteristic arrogance he added: + +"But we will have plenty to eat and drink too when we get to Paris." + +"I suppose your captain tells you that too," remarked the inquisitor. + +"Yes," was the reply. + +"That eternal captain again," murmured Bart. + +"He must be a wonder," chuckled Tom. + +"You've been rather a long time on the road to Paris, haven't you?" +asked the captain, with a tinge of sarcasm. "Seems to me I've heard +something about a banquet that was to celebrate the Crown Prince's entry +into Paris a month after the war was started." + +A discomfited look stole over the prisoner's face. + +"That was Von Kluck's fault," he said sullenly. + +"Seems to me the French army had something to do with it too," whispered +Frank to Bart. "What does your captain tell you your armies are fighting +for?" continued the questioner. + +"To give Germany her place in the sun," answered the prisoner without +hesitation. + +"That seems to be a stock phrase of the Huns," whispered Billy. "I'll +bet it's part of the lesson taught in every German school." + +A few more questions followed, but failed to elicit any information of +special importance, and the prisoner was dismissed, to have his place +taken by some of his comrades. + +But what they told the boys never knew, for just then Corporal Wilson, +who had been in close conference with his lieutenant, beckoned to them +and they filed silently out of the quarters. + +"Back to the firing line for us," remarked Frank. + +"About time too," replied Bart, as he shouldered his rifle. "We've been +missing all the fun." + +But the first words of the corporal showed them that they were mistaken. + +"You lads are out of it for the rest of the day," he remarked. "Go back +to your old trench now, get some grub and tumble into your bunks." + +They looked at each other in surprise, for the sun had not much more +than risen. + +"You heard what I said," reiterated the corporal. "Get all the sleep you +can to-day, for you won't do any sleeping to-night!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +BETWEEN THE LINES + + +The Army boys looked at each other in blank inquiry, but the corporal +did not offer to enlighten them, and they were too good soldiers to ask +questions when orders were given. + +"What do you suppose is in the wind now?" asked Bart, as they made their +way to their sleeping quarters. + +"Search me," replied Frank. + +"Aeroplanes," chirped Billy. + +Bart made a thrust at him which Billy dodged. + +"I guess we're picked for a scouting party," remarked Tom. "The captain +may want to confirm some of the information he's getting from those +chaps." + +"Information!" snorted Bart. "More likely misinformation. Those fellows +struck me as being dandy liars." + +"They wouldn't be Huns if they weren't," remarked Billy. "You know Baron +Munchausen came from over the Rhine, so they come rightly by their +talent in that line. But what's the matter with Tony here?" he added, as +they passed by one of the field kitchens in a protected nook, where one +of the bakers was kneading away desperately at some dough and muttering +volubly to himself. + +"He seems all riled up about something, for a fact," commented Frank. + +"What's the matter, Tony?" inquired Bart of the perspiring baker, an +Italian who had spent some years in the United States and who was +generally liked by the boys of the old Thirty-seventh because of his +customary good nature and his skill in compounding their favorite +dishes. + +Tony looked up in despair. + +"I can't maka de dough," he complained. "I worka more dan hour. It lika +de sand. It getta my goat." + +The boys laughed at his woe-begone face. + +"Put some more water with it," suggested Billy at a venture. + +Tony looked at him with such a glare of contempt that the amateur baker +wilted. + +"I usa de water!" he exclaimed. "Plent water! No maka de stick." + +"It looks all right," remarked Frank, as he picked up some of the +substance on the kneading board and let it dribble through his fingers, +"but as Tony says, it's like so much sand." + +"And it tastes queer," said Billy, putting a bit of it on his tongue. + +"Looks as though some of the food profiteers were trying to put +something over on us," observed Tom. + +Just then one of the commissary men came along, evidently looking for +something. + +"There's a bag of trench foot powder missing," he said. "Have any of you +chaps seen anything of it?" + +"Not guilty," returned Bart. "Though the way my feet feel it wouldn't do +them a bit of harm to have some of that powder on them right now." + +A sudden light dawned upon Frank. + +"Say, Tony!" he exclaimed, "let's see the bag you got that flour from." + +Tony complied and brought forth from one of his receptacles a large +paper bag which was two thirds full. + +Frank seized it and turned it around to see what was stamped on the +other side. Then he almost dropped the bag in a wild fit of hilarity. + +"No wonder Tony couldn't make his dough!" he exclaimed, when he could +speak. "Some chump in the supply department has handed him out a bag of +foot powder when he asked for flour." + +He showed the others the marking on the bag, and their merriment equaled +his own, while Tony alternately glowered and grinned. He had begun to +think that somebody had cast on him the "evil eye," so dreaded by his +countrymen, and he was relieved to find that his plight was due to +natural causes. Yet the thought of all that wasted effort stirred him to +resentment. + +"That's one on you, Tony, old boy!" chuckled Billy, with a poke in the +ribs. + +"It's lucky the dough wouldn't stick," laughed Frank. "There wouldn't +have been much nourishment in that kind of bread." + +"Dat guy a bonehead," asserted Tony, as he scraped his board with vigor. +"A vera beeg bonehead." + +The boys assented and passed on laughing. + +"And now for grub!" exclaimed Billy. "Oh, boy, maybe it won't taste +good!" + +"I guess we've earned our breakfast, all right," said Bart. + +"I can stand a whole lot of filling up," observed Tom. "Talk about +exercise before breakfast to get you an appetite. We've sure had enough +of it this morning." + +"I never ran so fast in my life," declared Billy. "A Marathon runner +would have had nothing on me." + +"We must have covered the space between those trenches in about twenty +seconds," agreed Bart. + +"Well, as long as we weren't running in the wrong direction it was all +right," grinned Tom. + +"The Boches haven't seen our backs yet, and here's hoping it will be +some time before they'll have that treat," said Frank with a laugh. + +They ate like famished wolves and then threw themselves on their bunks +to get a long sleep in preparation for the strenuous night that lay +before them. And so used had they already become to roaring of cannon +and whining of bullets and shrieking of shells, that, although the din +was almost incessant all through that day, it bothered them not at all. + +It was nearly dusk when the corporal passed along, giving them a shake +that roused them from their slumbers and brought them out of their bunks +in a hurry. + +"Time to get up, boys," said the corporal. "Not that we're going to +start out right away. But we've got quite a job before us and I want you +to have plenty of time to think over your instructions and have them +sink in." + +They dressed quickly and after a hearty supper reported to Wilson at +their company headquarters. + +They found the corporal grave and preoccupied. + +"As I suppose you fellows have already guessed," he began, "we're going +to-night on a scouting party. We're to find out the condition of the +wire in front of that third trench that the Huns still hold, and we want +to get more exact information about the location of the enemy's machine +guns. Anything else we find out will be welcome, but those are the main +things. + +"It's going to be pretty risky work," he continued. "Not but what +there's always plenty of risk about a job of this kind, but to-night +there's more than usual. The fierce fighting to-day has got the enemy +all stirred up and he'll be on the alert. Likely enough he'll have +scouting parties of his own out, and we may run across them in the dark. +Then it will be a question of who is the quicker with knife or bayonet. +Now you boys scatter and get your crawling suits and hoods and masks, +and we'll be ready for business. + +"I can see that there'll be no monotony in our young lives to-night," +observed Frank to Bart, as they obeyed instructions. + +"Not that you can notice," agreed Bart. "The corp has quite a little +program marked out for us." + +"So it seems." + +"And No Man's Land is going to be a little rougher land to-night than it +ever was before," predicted Tom. "That mine explosion hasn't done a +thing to it." + +"All the better," chimed in Billy. "There'll be better places to hide in +when Fritz throws up his star shells. But let's get a hustle on or the +corp will be after us." + +They got into their "crawling suits," so named because they were used +only on scouting duty, when it was necessary to move over the earth on +their stomachs or at best on hands and knees. They were a dead black in +color, and in addition to the suit itself comprised a black mask and +hood. The hood was loose and shapeless, so as to avoid the sharp outline +that would have been afforded if it were tight-fitting. + +Dressed in this fashion and lying prone and motionless on the ground +whenever a star shell threw its greenish radiance over the field, the +scouts were reasonably safe from detection and sniping. They would seem, +if seen at all, to be just so many more objects added to the hundreds +that littered up the ground between the two armies. + +Since they had been in France, the boys had had special training in +scouting duty, and the one thing that had been drilled into them perhaps +more than anything else was the necessity for "playing dead," as Tom +expressed it. One of their exercises compelled them to lie on the ground +absolutely motionless for an hour. Not even a muscle could twitch +without bringing a reprimand from their keen-eyed instructor. Another +part of the drill made them take half an hour merely to rise to their +feet from a prostrate position, each move in the process being marked by +the utmost caution. It was hard drill, but necessary, and in time the +boys had gained a control over their muscles that would have done credit +to an Apache Indian. + +In a few minutes they were fully arrayed in their crawling suits and +reported to Corporal Wilson. He looked them over carefully and noted +with satisfaction that nothing that was essential to the success of +their night foray was lacking. + +"With a fair share of luck we'll bring home the bacon," he remarked, as +he led the way from the trench. + +At the start there was no special caution necessary, as would have been +the case the day before. For the two trenches in front of them that had +been occupied by the enemy were now in the possession of the United +States troops. + +All that day, since the mine explosion had given the signal for attack +and storm, the Germans who had been driven from their first two lines of +trenches had made desperate efforts to get them back. There had been +fierce counter attacks, many times repeated, but through them all the +Americans had stood like a rock and thrown the enemy back without +yielding a foot of the conquered ground. + +At nightfall the enemy had ceased his infantry attacks, although the big +guns on both sides, like angry mastiffs, kept growling at each other. + +"It's been a great day for our fellows," exulted Frank, as they picked +their way through the welter of debris that bore testimony to the +violence of the fighting. + +"It sure has," agreed Bart. + +"We've got there with both feet," remarked Tom. + +"And in both trenches," chimed in Billy. + +"Yes," said Frank. "I'm glad we didn't stop at the first one. The mine +caught the Boches napping there and stood them on their heads. But in +the second it was an out and out stand up fight, man to man, and we +licked them." + +"And licked them good," asserted Billy. "I guess they won't do any more +sneering at the Yankees after this day's work." + +They passed the place where Bart had so nearly met his death through the +treacherous attack of his captive. + +"Here's where you nearly went West," remarked Tom. + +"Don't talk of it," objected Bart with a grimace. "It makes the chills +creep over me to think of it. I could stand being knifed in a square +fight, but I'd hate to get it the way that fellow meant that I should." + +"One of the Frenchmen was telling me of something like that that +happened at Verdun," said Frank. 'Two Frenchmen were carrying a wounded +German officer on a stretcher to the hospital. The officer got out his +revolver and shot the first stretcher bearer dead." + +"That's gratitude for you," remarked Bart. "Something like another +German in a hospital, who pretended he wanted to shake hands with the +Red Cross nurse who was tending him, and then with a sudden snap broke +her wrist." + +"You hear it said sometimes," said Billy, "that 'the only good Indian is +a dead Indian.' That's always sounded a little tough on poor Lo. But if +the Huns keep on the way they are going, it won't be long before all the +world will be saying that the only good German is a dead one." + +"I'm beginning to say it already," replied Tom. + +They passed stretcher bearers carrying away the wounded, and burial +parties engaged in a business still more sad. There was plenty for them +to do, for death and wounds had come to many that day, which had been +the most strenuous for the United States troops since they had come to +the fighting line. + +That many of their regiment had fallen and still more been wounded the +boys knew well, although the full toll of their losses would not be +known until the next day. But the enemy had lost still more, and a large +number of prisoners were in American hands. They had taken two trenches +on a wide front, and that night American boys were eating their suppers +in the dugouts where Germans had breakfasted in the morning. It had been +a dashing attack with a successful result, and Uncle Sam had reason to +be proud of his nephews. + +"One more step on the road to the Rhine," exulted Frank, voicing the +thought that stirred them all. + +"Right you are," replied Bart "It's a long, long road, but we'll get +there." + +"Do you remember what old Peterson said just before we left for France?" +queried Tom. "'The United States has put her hand to the plow and she +won't turn back.'" + +"Good old Peterson!" remarked Billy. "He was a dandy scrapper himself in +the old days when he wore the blue. I'll bet he's rooting for us every +day." + +"Sure he is," agreed Frank. "Everybody in the old firm is." + +"Reddy's rooting the hardest of them all," laughed Bart, referring to +the red-headed office boy. "Do you remember how excited the little +rascal got when the old Thirty-seventh went past? He almost tumbled out +of the window. And how he cheered!" + +"He's got the right stuff in him," said Tom. "Do you know, I shouldn't +be a bit surprised to see that kid turn up here some time." + +"You're dreaming," replied Bart. + +"You wait and see," prophesied Tom. "When any one wants a thing hard +enough he usually gets it. He'll ship as cabin boy or something of the +kind and some day, when we're least expecting it, Reddy will pop up +here. Watch my hunch." + +"How scared the Huns would be if they knew that Reddy was coming to +clean them up," mocked Tom. + +"He might account for some of them at that," remarked Billy. "A bullet +from Reddy's gun would go as fast and hit as hard as any other. You know +what David did to Goliath." + +By this time they had passed the second captured trench and were facing +the enemy's trench about three hundred yards away. Their talk ceased or +died down to whispers. + +Before them stretched the desolate waste of No Man's Land, pitted with +shell holes, blasted and seared by the pitiless storm of fire that had +swept it all that day. + +Once it had been fertile and beautiful. Now it was withered and hideous. +It was a grim commentary on the war that had been as ruthless toward +nature as it had been toward man. + +"Now, boys," said the corporal in a low voice, "you know what we've got +to do. Keep together as much as you can and--Drop!" + +The last command came out like a shot, and was caused by a star shell +that rose from the opposing trench and burst in a flood of greenish +light. + +Had they been standing, it would have revealed them clearly, but at +their leader's word they had dropped instantly to the ground, where they +lay motionless until the light died away. + +Then they rose and like so many shadows moved cautiously forward, with a +motion more like drifting than walking, their ears alert, their eyes +strained, their hearts beating fast with excitement. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + +The night was as black as pitch, which, while an advantage in one way, +was a disadvantage in another. For though it lessened their chance of +detection, it also made it more difficult to get the lay of the land and +keep their sense of direction. + +But here again their training came into play, for they had been +specially drilled to be blindfolded and remain in that condition for +hours at a time. In that way they had developed their sense of feeling +just as a blind man does and had acquired an almost uncanny ability to +avoid obstacles and steer a course without the aid of their eyes. + +"Gee!" whispered Bart to Frank, as the two comrades moved along side by +side, "I never saw a night so dark." + +"Yes," replied his comrade, "it's as black as velvet. You could almost +cut it with a knife." + +"Lucky if that's the only cutting we'll have to do before the night is +over," murmured Tom. + +Soon they reached a little patch of woodland that stood almost halfway +between the lines. Only a few gaunt trees had been left standing, mere +skeletons of what they had been, every branch and twig swept away by +shells and bullets and even the bark stripped off, leaving the trunks in +ghastly nakedness. + +But they still afforded shelter from bursting shrapnel or a sniper's +bullet, and the boys stood behind them for a few moments while they +listened intently for any sound that might betray the presence of an +enemy patrol, prowling about on an errand similar to their own. + +But nothing suspicious developed, and, reassured, they again, at a +signal from their leader, moved forward. But new they were no longer on +their feet. They were too close to the German line for that. + +Down on hands and knees they wormed their way along inch by inch, +reaching out their hand cautiously for each fresh grip on the uneven +ground. Sometimes their hands encountered emptiness and they were warned +that they were on the edge of a shell hole. At other times they drew +back in instinctive repulsion, as they felt the rigid outlines of a dead +body. But whatever detours they had to make, they managed by touch or +whisper to keep together, and although their progress was slow it was +still progress, and they knew that they were steadily nearing the German +lines. + +Suddenly Frank's extended hand came in contact with a sharp object that +he recognized on the instant. It was the barb on a broken strand of +wire. + +They had reached the entanglement protecting a segment of the German +trench. + +Frank had been a trifle in advance of his comrades, and he softly +signaled his discovery to the others. In an instant they had stiffened +out and lay as rigid as statues. + +For five minutes not one of them stirred, while they listened for the +tread of the sentry who might be stationed behind the wires. + +Some distance off they could hear the sound of voices in guttural tones, +the occasional click of a bayonet as it was slipped into place, the low +rumble of what might have been field pieces being moved into position. + +Now too their eyes came into play, for ahead of them the darkness was +threaded with a faint ray of light that rose above the trench, and while +it did little more than make darkness visible, it was still sufficient +to form a background against which they could have detected the figure +of a sentinel. + +But they drew no false assurance from that fact, for the enemy's patrol +might be lying on the ground, as silent as themselves and as watchful, +ready to fire in the direction of the slightest sound. + +It was a nerve-trying situation, but life or death might depend on their +self-control, and they stood the test successfully, although poor Tom +had an almost irrepressible desire to sneeze, in conquering which he +almost broke a blood vessel. + +Convinced at last that it was safe to move, they commenced to crawl +along the outside of the wire, trying by the sense of touch to find out +what havoc had been made in it by the American artillery fire and where +it would be easiest to break through. + +They had drawn on rubber gloves, for they knew that the Germans +sometimes charged the wires with electricity, and a touch with the bare +hand would mean instant death. + +But that day the fighting had been so fierce and the enemy had been kept +so busy in resisting the American onslaught that no such precaution had +been taken. And this better than anything else told the boys how badly +the enemy had been shaken. + +At several places they found gaps that had been made by the Yankee guns, +and these they widened by the use of the wire cutters that they carried +in their belts. + +At each such breach the boys tied small pieces of white rag, so that on +the next day these fluttering bits of white could be seen through field +glasses by the American officers, and the full force of guns and men +could be brought to bear against these weakened portions of the line. + +They worked rapidly and silently, timing their cutting with the roar of +the guns that still kept up the artillery duel, so that the click of the +nippers would be drowned in the heavier sound. + +Little by little in the course of the work, the members of the patrol +had drawn apart, depending upon their ability to rejoin each other by +following the line of the wire. + +Frank found himself working on a specially tangled bit of wire that was +made still more difficult of handling because it was intertwisted with +the stalks of a thick hedge. He had just nipped a piece of wire in two, +when his quick ear detected a sound on the other side of the hedge. + +Instantly he stiffened. Every muscle became as taut as tempered steel. +He scarcely seemed to breathe while his unwinking eyes tried to bore +through the mass of tangled brush and wire to see what was on the other +side. + +There too the rustling sound had ceased and a silence prevailed as deep +as his own. + +For minutes that seemed ages this condition persisted. Then slowly, so +slowly that Frank at first was not sure that he saw aright, a slender +spear-like point broke the outline of the top of the hedge. Only the +fact that it stood out against the dim light that came from the enemy +trench enabled Frank to see it at all. + +Gradually the object rose higher until it seemed to broaden out at the +base; and then with a quickening of the pulse Frank realized that what +he saw was the spike of a German helmet! + +He had won in the duel of silence. The other, unable to stand the +strain, had risen first. Would he win in the grimmer duel that seemed to +be impending? + +Frank's fingers stole toward his revolver, but stopped before they +reached it. There must be no shooting so near the enemy trench. A horde +of Germans would be upon him in a twinkling. + +His rifle lay beside him where he had placed it while working on the +wire. His fingers closed upon the stock. Here was a weapon that he might +use at either end with deadly effect. The butt could serve as a club, +while the bayonet, painted black like the rest of his accoutrements so +that no glimmer of steel should betray it, carried death on its point. + +Now beneath the helmet the head of a man appeared, then the shoulders, +and finally the sentry, evidently satisfied that his suspicion had been +without foundation, straightened out to his full length. He stood for +another minute or two peering into the darkness. But Frank's black-clad +form merged so perfectly into its surroundings and he remained so +motionless that the German at last was convinced. + +With a grunt of satisfaction he stooped to pick up his rifle. + +Lithe as a panther, Frank sprang to his feet, leaped over the hedge and +landed heavily on the stooping form, knocking the breath out of the +German's body. + +In a flash Frank's sinewy hands were upon the sentry's throat, stifling +the cry that sought to issue from his lips. + +There was a brief struggle, but the attack had been so sudden and +tremendous that it was soon over, and the German lay limp and +unconscious. + +The instant Frank realized this, he relaxed his hold. He tore open the +man's coat, felt for his heart and found that it was still beating. + +What his foe would have done if the case had been reversed, Frank knew +perfectly well. A dagger point would have pierced his heart and stilled +its beating forever. More than once he had looked on the bodies of +comrades who had been butchered while lying wounded and helpless on the +battlefield, and had been stirred by a wild desire to take similar +vengeance on those who had violated all the laws of war. + +But he was an American, with all the proud traditions of honor and +chivalry that had come down to him through generations. He could not +slaughter a helpless foe. He had the man a prisoner. It was enough. + +Quickly he tied the sentry's hands, using the German's own belt as a +strap. Then he tore some strips from the white cloth he had been +carrying to fasten on the bushes and made a gag, in case the man should +recover his senses and try to give the alarm. + +He dragged the man through a gap in the hedge so that he would not be +found by any of his comrades who might come that way. Then he crept down +to where the corporal and the other members of the patrol were still +busy on the wires and in a whisper told what had happened. + +Wilson was quick to see the opportunity that the capture had afforded. + +"Good work, Sheldon," he commended. "Here's where we get through the +wires. And we've got to do it quickly, for we don't know at what time +that fellow's relief may be coming along." + +His prophecy seemed about to be fulfilled with startling suddenness, +for, even while he spoke, a group of several figures, topped by helmets, +was revealed by the action of one of them in striking a match. It flared +up brightly for a second, but luckily the boys were outside the zone of +light that it formed. + +They lay perfectly still, although each of them took a tighter grasp on +his rifle. + +The men conversed in guttural tones for several minutes, that seemed as +many ages to the watchers in the shadows. + +Would the Germans come toward them or walk away from them? Their lives, +or at the least their liberty, might depend upon the answer. + +One of the men pointed in their direction and even took a step forward, +but his comrades stopped him and an animated discussion ensued, which +finally resulted in their retracing their steps in the direction from +which they had come. + +A sigh of relief went up from the boys and their grip on their weapons +relaxed. + +"A mighty close shave," whispered Billy. + +"It was all of that," agreed Bart. + +"As close for them as it was for us," said Tom grimly. "I had that big +fellow picked out and I'd have dropped him sure." + +Like so many ghosts, the party drifted along in Corporal Wilson's wake +until they came to the gap. A glance at the motionless sentry showed +that he had not yet returned to consciousness. + +"That was a knockout for fair," murmured Billy admiringly. + +"He must have thought a house was falling on him," whispered Bart with a +low chuckle. + +"Frank's no featherweight," agreed Tom. "I'd hate to have those trench +clogs of his come down on my back with him inside of them." + +A warning "s--sh" from the corporal brought them back to the grim +business still before them, and they crept along behind him as he wormed +his way through the breach. + +Camp utensils were scattered upon the ground and indicated that a field +kitchen had stood there recently, an impression that became a conviction +when Bart burned his hand by bringing it down upon some smoldering +embers covered with ashes. + +He bit his tongue trying to repress the exclamation that leaped to his +lips, but he succeeded, although his fingers were badly blistered. + +Little by little, with many pauses, they reached the edge of a small +section of the first trench. Nothing hindered them, no one challenged +them. In fact their progress was so free from obstacles that the +corporal, a wily veteran who had had long experience among the savage +Moros while serving in the Philippines, became uneasy, fearing an +ambush. + +Still, that was one of the chances that the party had to take, and there +was nothing to do but to keep on. But they redoubled their precautions, +every sense tingling with watchfulness against a sudden surprise. + +They worked their way along the trench until they reached the entrance. +No sound came from the interior. They listened for the murmur of +conversation, the scraping of feet, the clank of a weapon. They looked +down its length for a ray of light. Not a gleam or a sound rewarded +them. + +As far as they could judge, it was absolutely deserted. But on the other +hand it might be bristling with armed men, waiting in a stillness as +deathlike as their own the command to fire. + +For fully ten minutes their watch continued. Then the corporal gathered +them close around him and gave his commands in a whisper. + +"We'll raid it," he decided. "There are only a few of us, but we'll have +the advantage of surprise. That is, if they're not waiting to surprise +us. But we'll have to gamble on that. It's only a connecting trench, and +there won't be more than a dozen men or thereabouts in it. If we could +bag them and take them back to camp it would be a good night's work. +Have your guns ready and be prepared to slip them a few grenades if we +have to. I'll lead the way and when the time comes I'll flash my light. +Come along now and be right on your toes when I give the word." + +Corporal Wilson went first and his scouting party followed close on his +heels. It was like going into the jaws of death. It would have taken +less nerve to face a charge, for then their blood would have been up and +they would have been fired by the sight of their enemy. There would have +been nothing of this eerie stillness, this vault-like chill. Yet not one +of them hesitated or lagged behind. + +Twenty paces had been covered when the corporal stopped, drew out his +flashlight and sent out a stream of radiance that illumined every nook +and cranny of the trench. + +On the instant the boys had their rifles at their shoulders with their +fingers on the triggers, ready for a volley. + +But their precaution was needless. The trench was empty! + +Empty as far as men were concerned. But it was full of other things that +made their hair stand up with horror as their meaning swept in upon +them! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + +Planted at intervals in the trench were rows of iron stakes, coming to a +sharp point at the top and cunningly camouflaged so that they would not +be detected by any one looking over the edge. The Army boys were not +slow in seeing the meaning of the trap and the fiendish ingenuity that +had conceived it. + +"It's a dummy trench!" murmured Corporal Wilson. "The idea is to have +their men seem to retreat into it when the fighting takes place on this +part of the line. Our boys come on in pursuit, jump over the edge, come +down on these sharp stakes and are spitted like larks. Nice way to wage +war, that!" + +"It's worthy of the Hun," growled Tom. + +"And when you've said that you've reached the limit," observed Bart. + +"The Turks are pretty good at torture," murmured Frank bitterly, "but +they must feel like thirty cents when they compare themselves with their +German masters." + +"Let's get these things out of the way," said Billy wrathfully, as he +grasped one of the spikes. + +But the corporal stopped him instantly. "Don't dig them out!" he cried. +"There's no knowing but what you may cause an explosion. Or they may +have some electric connection that will give warning to the Boches. +We've spotted the location of this infernal trap and that's enough. Our +officers will see that our men steer clear of it." + +"Of course," remarked Bart, "all the value to the Huns of this trap +depends upon our boys jumping in from the top of the trench. If they +came in from the entrance to the dugout, all the trouble of planting +these spikes would be thrown away." + +"It would be a trap just the same, only in a different way," replied the +corporal. "It's a safe bet that the Germans have machine guns planted +where they can sweep the whole length of this part of the trench. They'd +wait until our boys were all crowded in here and then the machine guns +would start spitting and wipe every last one of them out. There'd be no +way to get put except the way they had come in, and no one could get +through that storm of bullets. But now let's get out of this while the +going's good." + +The conversation had been carried on in the faintest whispers, and after +the first hurried examination of the dummy trench there had been no +light. But they all felt better when they had passed out of the trench +without mishap and lay on the ground above. Here they were at least in +the open, and if death came to them they would not be slaughtered like +rats in a trap. + +The corporal consulted his radio watch and found that it wanted but two +hours to dawn. + +"Not much time left, boys," he murmured. "And unless we get back to our +lines before daylight, we'll stand a good chance of losing the number of +our mess. But if we don't do anything else, we've done a pretty fair +night's work. The finding of this dummy trench will put a crimp in the +Heinies' plans. I'd like to have some prisoners to take along just for +luck but all we've bagged is that sentry." + +"Perhaps we haven't even got him," suggested Frank. "Some of his +comrades may have found him by this time." + +"Not likely," replied Bart. "He couldn't make a noise, and as we left +him outside the wire they wouldn't be likely to stumble over him." + +"All the same, we'd better get a hustle on," replied the corporal, and +they started on their homeward journey as stealthily as they had come. + +They had some difficulty in finding the breach in the wire through which +they had entered, but at last they succeeded and wormed their way out. +Then they felt around for the sentry and found him in the place they had +left him. He had returned to consciousness, for when the corporal risked +a ray of his flashlight on the upturned face, they could see that his +eyes were open and looking at them intelligently. + +The corporal placed the muzzle of his revolver against the man's neck as +a gentle reminder of what would happen to him if he should make a sound, +and they proceeded to untie his hands. Then they motioned to him that he +was to get on his hands and knees and go before them, which, with +muffled grunts, and after two or three attempts, he succeeded in doing. +He was evidently dazed yet and stiff from the cramped attitude in which +he had been lying, but stern necessity was on him and he finally wobbled +and staggered on before them. + +They had got some little distance away from the wires when Frank +suddenly came to a dead stop. His comrades halted instantly. + +"What is it?" whispered Wilson, who was nearest to him. + +"That blur ahead of us," returned Frank. "It looks a little more solid +than the rest of the darkness." + +He pointed ahead and a little to the right. + +"I don't see anything," remarked Tom. + +"Neither do I," affirmed Billy. + +"I think I see a little blacker patch than usual," declared Bart. "And +it seems to be moving." + +The corporal put his ear to the ground. + +"I think Sheldon is right," he said, after a moment of intense +listening. "At any rate we'll take no chances. Slip into some of these +shell holes and lie low. If it should be an enemy patrol and there are +too many to tackle we'll let them go by. But if there aren't more than +double our number we'll take a crack at them. Keep your weapons ready +and let fly when I give the word." + +The ground was so pitted with craters from the heavy artillery duel that +had been raging all the day before that they had no difficulty in +finding shelter. Their prisoner, who judged by the preparations that +some of his own comrades were approaching, was inclined to balk a little +and delay matters, but a vigorous push of Bart's boot hastened his +movements and he was tumbled in unceremoniously. And they blessed the +precaution that had still left the gag in his mouth when they had +unfastened his hands. + +More and more the blur ahead of them detached itself from the +surrounding darkness, until even skeptical Tom and Billy knew that what +they saw was a body of men bearing down steadily in their direction. + +Of course there was a chance that it was an American patrol out on an +errand similar to their own, but it was unlikely, if that were so, that +they would be going in the direction of the enemy's lines when the night +was so far spent. + +Nearer and nearer came the party until not more than thirty feet lay +between them and the American boys who knelt in the shell holes, with +faces stern and set and fingers on the triggers of their rifles awaiting +the word of command. + +But for some unknown reason the blur became motionless and remained so +for several minutes. Then it receded, as though the party had changed +its plan. + +"What do you suppose is the matter with them?" whispered Tom. "Do you +think they've tumbled to our being here?" + +"How could they?" returned Frank. "They'd have to have the eyes of cats +to see us in these holes." + +"I hope the corp will let us go after them," murmured Billy. "I'm all +tuned up for a scrap." + +Wilson hesitated. If he went after the supposed enemy, they would +probably hear him and he would lose the advantage of the surprise. On +the other hand, that they now seemed to be going in the direction of the +American lines might indicate that, after all, they were a patrol of his +own comrades. But while he weighed the chances, the question was solved +for him by the fact that the blur again became distinct. And this time +it grew larger very rapidly, indicating that the party had at last +reached a definite decision. On they came until only a few paces +separated them from the Army boys. + +Just then a star shell rose from the German lines and sent a flare of +light stabbing the darkness and clearly revealing a dozen or more +Germans. As they were facing the glare they were momentarily dazzled by +it, and the Americans peering beneath their black hoods on a level with +the ground could have easily escaped detection had they been so +inclined. + +But that instantaneous flash had decided the corporal. The odds were +more than two to one, but such odds as that was only a challenge to +Yankee fighting blood. + +"Fire!" he shouted, and five rifles spoke as one. Three of the enemy +went down as though stricken by an axe, and another staggered and his +rifle clattered to the ground. + +But the enemy rallied almost instantly, and at a hoarse command there +was a return volley. This proved harmless, however, for the boys knew +that it would come and bent beneath the edge of the craters until the +iron storm had swept over them. + +"Now, boys, at them with your bayonets!" shouted Corporal Wilson, as +soon as he had drawn the enemy's fire. + +With a leap the American squad was on the level ground and rushing with +leveled bayonets at the foe. + +The Americans had the advantage of the surprise, and their headlong +charge would have won instantly if the forces had been equal. But +although two went down at once, the others, after yielding ground +somewhat, closed in a death grip with their assailants, and there was a +furious combat at close quarters. + +There was no more shooting. It was a matter now of clubbed rifles and +bayonet thrusts. + +Frank found himself engaged in a bayonet duel with a massive German who +towered above him in height and probably outweighed him by twenty +pounds. He was well trained too in bayonet work and was a most +formidable opponent. + +But he met his master when he crossed bayonets with Frank. The latter +had made himself expert by long training under skilful French +instructors, and, besides, was the most finished boxer in the regiment. +At thrust and parry, feint and riposte, advance and retreat, he stood +first among his comrades. + +Against the furious bull-like rushes of his opponent, he opposed a +quickness and agility that more than counterbalanced his enemy's weight +It was a contest of a bull against a panther, and the panther won. + +For perhaps two minutes the fight continued. Then with a lightning +thrust Frank's bayonet found its mark, and the German staggered for a +moment, fell headlong and lay still. + +His fall seemed to take the heart out of the others who were being +outfought and pressed back. They wavered, broke and started to flee, but +the sharp crack of the corporal's revolver brought one of them to the +ground, and the others halted. + +Up went their hands and from the lips of each came the cry "_Kamerad_!" +in token of surrender. + +The American boys rounded them up and disarmed them. Then the corporal +took account of stock. + +Bart was there panting and flushed with nothing worse than a scalp wound +where a rifle butt had glanced from his head. Wilson himself was unhurt. +Billy also had come through unscathed, but Tom was nowhere to be seen. + +An awful fear, a fear that they had never felt in the fighting itself, +clutched the hearts of his comrades. Good old Tom, bound to them by a +thousand ties of friendship and comradeship--had he met his fate in this +desolate stretch of No Man's Land? + +Frantically they searched among the bodies for one that wore a suit +similar to their own. Frank found it first. His hand went to the heart +and to his joy found that it was beating. + +He lifted Tom's head and rested it on his knee. + +"Tom! Tom!" he called, as he chafed his chum's hands and loosened his +suit at the throat. + +Tom's eyes slowly opened, and, recognizing his friend, a faint smile +came to his lips. But he did not speak, and Bart, who was the only other +one who could be spared from guarding the prisoners, joined Frank in +redoubled efforts to bring Tom back to full consciousness. + +"He doesn't seem to have any bones broken," said Frank after a hurried +examination. + +"And he isn't bleeding," replied Bart. "But he has a lump on his head as +big as an egg." + +At last Tom's full consciousness returned, and with his chums' +assistance he got slowly and painfully to his feet. + +"Guess they haven't got my number yet, but they came mighty near it," he +said, trying to grin. "I'd just run one of the Huns through the arm when +I saw another out of the tail of my eye swinging for my head with his +rifle. I tried to dodge, but he must have been too quick for me, for +that's the last I remember." + +"Thank heaven it was no worse!" ejaculated Frank fervently. + +"It would have been a mighty bad thing for us if you had cashed in, old +boy," said Bart with feeling. "How did the scrap turn out?" asked Tom. + +"Though I suppose there's no use in asking, or you wouldn't be here +taking care of me." + +"We trimmed them good and proper," said Frank, from whom a ton's weight +had been lifted by finding that his friend had escaped serious injury. + +"A lovely scrap," added Bart. "I wouldn't have missed it for a farm. +We've wiped out five and rounded out the rest. Let's go over and see how +many there are." + +"Eight," announced the corporal, as he counted the prisoners who stood +in a group sullen and morose. "There must have been a baker's dozen in +the party." + +"I don't know how superstitious they may be," chuckled Billy, "but I'll +bet that from now on they'll agree that thirteen is an unlucky number!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + +"Well," remarked Corporal Wilson, who was relieved beyond measure to +find that his own little force was practically intact, "eight is a +pretty good bag for one night's work, not to speak of five more who +won't do any more strafing for the Kaiser." + +"Nine," corrected Bart. "Don't forget our speechless friend in the shell +hole." + +"No doubt he'd be perfectly willing to be forgotten," grinned Billy. +"But we'd better take him along just for luck. That'll be nearly two +prisoners apiece for each of the bunch. Pretty fair work if you ask me." + +There was no further time for talking, for it would soon be dawn and +they were eager to get back to their own lines. They had been under a +terrible strain through all the long hours of the night and were +beginning to feel the reaction. And they were not at all averse to +showing their comrades in the regiment how well they had fared and how +stoutly they had held up the colors of the old Thirty-seventh. + +"Who goes there?" came the sharp challenge of the sentry, as they drew +near the American trench, and they knew that a score of rifles was +trained upon them to back up the sentry's demand if the answer were +halting or suspicious. + +"Friends," replied the corporal. + +"Advance and give the countersign," was the next requirement. + +Corporal Wilson complied, and he and his squad were joyfully welcomed. + +"I said 'friends'" added the corporal with a grin, as the party made +their way through the opening in the wire defences, "but perhaps that +doesn't go for all this crowd. Some of them didn't want to come, but we +told them they'd better, and here they are." + +"A bunch of huskies," remarked the sentry, as he surveyed the prisoners +critically. "You don't mean to say that just you five rounded up that +gang?" + +The four privates merely grinned. + +"Looks like it, doesn't it?" answered the corporal with keen relish of +the sentry's surprise. "Counting those we brought down, there are just +fourteen that will turn up missing when the Boches call the roll this +morning." + +"That's going some," said the sentry admiringly. "I only wish I'd been +along with you. Some fellows have all the luck." + +The prisoners were turned over to the officer in charge, and the +corporal made his way to headquarters to make his report of the night's +work. + +Bart and Tom went under the hands of the surgeons to have their wounds +and bruises treated, and were assured that with a little rest they would +be as well as ever in a day or two. Then the boys, "dog-tired," as Bart +expressed it, but happy and exultant that they had done their work well +and were back safe once more, tumbled into their bunks to enjoy the rest +they had so richly earned. + +"Never was so tired in my life," murmured Frank, drowsily, as he fell +rather than climbed into his bunk. + +"Same here," chimed in Billy. + +"Rip Van Winkle won't have anything on me," drawled Tom. "What's twenty +years of sleep? I'm going to take forty." + +As for Bart, he started to say something but dropped off to sleep while +saying it. + +None of the quartette woke until late in the afternoon. Then they found +that their exploit had made a stir in the regiment. Their fight against +twice their number was the most interesting feature to their comrades of +the rank and file. But still more important in the view of their +officers was the discovery of the dummy trench, which might have been +turned into a shambles for the American troops if they had rushed into +the trap so cunningly and so fiendishly set for them. + +"It was fine work, Corporal," the captain said warmly, when Wilson +finished his report. "You deserve credit for having brought your squad +back without the loss of a man." + +"They mostly brought themselves back, sir," replied Wilson with a smile. +"It's a pleasure to command such a nervy crowd as that. You don't need +to use the spur. I'm mostly busy putting on the brakes. It would have +done your heart good if you could have seen the way they waded into the +Huns. That fellow Sheldon particularly is a crackerjack when it comes to +a scrap. He's as strong as an ox and as quick as a cat." + +"I've had my eye on him," replied the officer. "He'll go far before the +war is over. You can go now, Corporal. I'll have your work mentioned in +the order of the day." + +He was as good as his word, for when the regiment was drawn up for +inspection the order of the day commended each man of the squad by name +for their gallant exploit that, as the order ran, "reflected credit on +the regiment." + +"How's your head feeling now, old man?" Frank asked of Tom, as they +rejoined each other at mess. + +"Pretty groggy," responded Tom. "But I'm not kicking. I'm lucky to be +alive at all. That fellow made an awful swipe at me, and if it had hit +me fair it would have been all over." + +"A miss is as good as a mile," put in Bart. "I had a pretty close shave +myself. Seemed as though twenty star shells were going off at once." + +"Yesterday was your lucky day," remarked Billy. "You had two narrow +escapes." + +"Let's hope it won't be three times and out," responded Bart lightly." +By the way, I wonder what they did with that corporal who tried to do me +up?" + +"Most likely he's shot by this time," observed Tom. "If he isn't, he +ought to be." + +"He isn't shot yet at any rate," remarked Fred Andon, who sat near by. +"I guess the fighting was so hot all day yesterday that they didn't have +time to attend to him. Likely enough he's down in the prisoners' pen +waiting for the court-martial." + +"Let's go down and see after we've finished our chow," suggested Billy. +"That is if you fellows ever get through eating. Look at Tom stowing it +away. He'd eat his way through the whole quartermaster's department if +he was let." + +"And he's the fellow that they wouldn't let enlist because of his +teeth," gibed Bart. "They didn't know Tom." + +"I'm not the only one that got a raw deal," replied Tom, with whom it +was always a sore point that he had been refused when he wanted to +enlist, but had been accepted in the draft. "There's a drafted man here +who was telling me the other day that he walked ninety miles to enlist. +And do you know what the enlistment board did to him?" + +"What?" was the query. + +"Turned him down because he had flat feet," responded Tom. "Told him he +wouldn't be able to stand a five-mile hike." + +There was a roar of laughter. + +"I heard another good one," chimed in Billy. "A fellow wanted to enlist, +and the examining board wanted to reject him because he had a cast in +his eye. 'Oh, that's all right,' he drawled, 'I allus shets that eye +anyway when I shoot.' That made them laugh and he got by." + +In high spirits they finished their meal, and as they were off duty for +the next hour or two, made their way down to that quarter of the field +where the prisoners' camp was placed. + +Behind the barrier at the point nearest them they saw one bulky captive, +who was munching contentedly the food that had been given him, and who +had none of the woe-begone expression that a man in his position is +commonly expected to show. + +"See him shovel it in," laughed Billy. + +"He doesn't seem to have a care in the world," remarked Bart. + +"Probably glad to be behind our machine guns instead of in front of +them," conjectured Tom. + +"Hello, Heinie!" said Frank good-naturedly. + +"Hello yourself," came the answer. + +"Do you speak English?" asked Frank in surprise. + +"A little," replied the German, and proceeded to prove it by answering, +although in rather a halting manner, the questions they put to him. + +No, he at any rate had not wanted the war. He was a skilled mechanic in +one of the munition factories. There had been a strike on account of bad +conditions and he had been one of the leaders. The Government had seized +him and bundled him off to the front. He was glad to be captured. After +the war the Kaiser would see that men were born to be something else +than cannon fodder. + +"Well," remarked Frank as they moved along, "there's one fellow at least +that doesn't cry: '_Hoch the Kaiser_.'" + +"Seems good to see it so full," remarked Bart with great satisfaction, +as he saw the large number of Germans who had been captured in the +fierce fighting of the day before. + +"If only the Kaiser and the Crown Prince were in that bunch," sighed +Tom. + +"That's a pleasure still to come," replied Frank. "But where's the +fellow that tried to stab Bart? I don't see him anywhere. Seems as +though the party isn't complete without him." + +They made inquiry of one of the guards. + +"Oh, that one," replied the guard. "They've roped him out from the rest +of these mavericks and given him a hut all by himself. I guess he's +thinking of making his will. I hear they're going to have him out before +a drumhead in the morning." + +"Which hut is it?" asked Frank, as his eye took in a little group of +shacks at the further end of the field. + +"That end one down by the big tree." The guard pointed it out with the +point of his bayonet. + +They went down in that direction, and as they neared the hut saw that it +was guarded by a single sentry. + +"Who's that fellow on guard?" asked Tom. "My head's so dizzy yet that +I'm seeing things double." + +"Looks rather familiar for a fact," said Bart. "Wait till he turns his +head this way." + +The next instant the sentry turned, and there was a whistle of surprise +from Billy. "By the great horn spoon!" he ejaculated. "It's Nick Rabig!" + +"Set a Hun to watch a Hun," remarked Tom bitingly. + +"Oh, come, Tom," remonstrated Frank, "that's going a little too far. +I've no reason to like the fellow, and we know he had to be dragged into +the army, but that doesn't say he's a Hun." + +"All except the uniform," persisted Tom. "He'd rather be fighting for +the Kaiser this minute than for Uncle Sam." + +"Shouldn't wonder if Tom's more than half right," assented Billy. "You +know the way he" used to talk in Camport." + +"You notice that we've never seen him volunteering for any of the +raiding parties," said Billy. + +"But that may only mean that Rabig has a yellow streak in him. It +doesn't say that he's a traitor," returned Frank. + +"Well, maybe he isn't," conceded Tom. "But all the same it seems rather +queer that he should have been picked out to guard this Heinie. They +could talk together in German through that closed door and nobody be +wise to what they were saying." + +"I don't suppose the officers know Rabig as well as the rest of us do," +said Billy. "But say, fellows, look at that bit of white under the door +of the hut. What do you suppose it is?" + +"Oh, just a scrap of paper," laughed Bart. "Just like the Belgian +treaty." + +"Something the wind's blown up against the door, I guess," conjectured +Tom. + +"Wind nothing!" exclaimed Frank, whose vision was keener than that of +any of the others. "It's under the door and it's getting bigger and +bigger all the time. I tell you what it is, fellows," he went on +excitedly, "it's a note that's being pushed out by the fellow inside." + +"Let's get behind these trees and see what's going on," suggested Bart, +indicating a clump of trees near which they happened to be standing. + +In a moment they were screened from observation. Then they watched with +the keenest interest what would follow. + +That Rabig had caught sight of the paper was evident, for he stopped his +pacing and turned his eyes on the door. Then he looked stealthily about +him. The nearest sentry was some distance away, and the boys were well +hidden by the trees. + +Then Rabig made a complete circuit of the little hut, as though to make +sure that no one was lurking about. Having apparently satisfied himself +on that point, he returned and resumed his pacing until he was directly +in front of the door. + +Here he paused and drew out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead. But +as he went to put it back, it dropped from his hand so that it lay close +by and almost upon the protruding piece of paper. + +He was stooping to pick it up, when he caught sight of a sergeant coming +in his direction. Instantly he straightened up, and as he did so the +butt of his rifle knocked against the door. + +The paper disappeared as though it had been drawn swiftly back from the +inside, just as the sergeant came up. + +"Gee!" gasped Tom. + +"Prisoner all right, Rabig?" inquired the sergeant. + +"Yes, sir," replied Rabig. "He seems to be keeping pretty quiet. I +looked in a little while ago and he was lying asleep on the bench." + +"Keep a close watch on him," counseled the sergeant. "What he tried to +do to Raymond yesterday shows that he's a desperate character. But I +guess that by this time to-morrow he won't need any one to watch him." + +The sergeant passed on and the boys looked at each other with +speculation in their eyes. + +"What do you think of it?" asked Frank thoughtfully. + +"Think?" snorted Tom. "I think that Rabig is a bad egg. What else is +there for any one to think?" + +"It certainly looks suspicious," said Bart with a little wrinkle of +anxiety creasing his brow. + +"One thing is sure," declared Billy. "It was a note that was being +pushed outside that door. The fellow inside was trying to get into +communication with Rabig." + +"True," assented Frank. "But that in itself doesn't prove anything. You +or I might be on sentry duty and a prisoner might try to do the same +thing to us." + +"Yes," agreed Billy. "But we wouldn't act the way Rabig did. We'd have +picked up the note and given it to the sergeant of the guard." + +"And we wouldn't have sneaked around the hut to see if any one was near +by," said Tom. "Why did he drop his handkerchief, except to have an +excuse for picking it up and copping the note at the same time?" + +"And his rifle butt didn't hit the door by accident," put in Billy. +"That was a tip to the prisoner that some one was coming. Did you see +how quickly the note disappeared?" + +"I hate to think that there's a single man in the regiment who's a +disgrace to his uniform," remarked Frank, "but it certainly looks bad. +That fellow Rabig will bear watching." + +"I told you he was a Hun," declared Tom. "His body's in France, but his +heart's in Germany." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + +The Army boys thought over the situation in some perplexity. + +"What do you suppose we ought to do?" asked Bart. + +"We ought to go hotfoot to the captain and tell him what we've seen," +declared Tom with emphasis. + +"I hardly like to do that," objected Billy. "At least not at this stage +of the game. After all, we haven't any positive proof against Nick. His +handkerchief might have dropped accidentally. And the knocking of the +butt of his gun against the door could have happened without his meaning +anything by it. He could explain his going around the hut by saying he +wanted to be especially vigilant in guarding the prisoner." + +"Yes," agreed Frank, "we haven't proof enough against Rabig to hang a +yellow dog. And I wouldn't want to get him in bad with his officers on +mere suspicion." + +"That note might be proof if we could only get hold of it," suggested +Tom. + +"Swell chance!" returned Bart. "You can bet that note is chewed up and +swallowed by this time. The first thing the Hun thought of, when he was +tipped off that some one was coming, was to get rid of the evidence that +might queer his chance of escape." + +"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Frank. "We'll just go down and see +Rabig and ask him casually about the prisoner. That may make him think +that we're on to something, and if he's planning to do anything crooked +it may scare him off. It won't do any harm anyway, and we'll take a +chance." + +They left the clump of trees and strolled down carelessly in the +direction of the hut. + +Rabig saw them coming, and the surly look that was habitual with him +became more pronounced than usual. There was no love lost between him +and any of them. He had been thoroughly unpopular in Camport because of +his bullying nature even before the outbreak of the war, and his evident +leaning toward Germany had deepened this feeling. + +Since he had been drafted, he had of course kept his pro-German views to +himself, for he valued his skin and had no desire to face a firing +squad. But his work had been done grudgingly, and his disposition to +shirk had more than once gained him short terms in the guardhouse. + +Of all the group approaching him he most heartily disliked Frank. In the +first place, Frank had never permitted him to bully him when they were +with Moore & Thomas, and the two had been more than once on the brink of +a fight. And since the boxing bout in the camp, when he had tried foul +tactics and Frank had thrashed him thoroughly, his venom toward his +conqueror had been more bitter than ever. + +The boys stopped when they reached the front of the hut. + +"Hello, Rabig!" they greeted him. + +"Hello!" responded Rabig, still keeping up his pacing. + +"Right on the job, I see," remarked Bart, pleasantly enough. + +"Your eyesight's mighty good," replied Nick sullenly. + +"Yes," Bart came back at him, "I can see a bit of white paper from quite +a distance." + +Rabig gave a sudden start. + +"What do you mean by that?" he demanded. + +"Nothing special," replied Bart carelessly. "What should I mean?" + +"By the way," put in Tom, "you'd better tuck your handkerchief in a +little more tightly or you'll lose it. It looks as though it were almost +ready to drop out." + +"What if it does?" snarled Rabig. "I could pick it up again, couldn't +I?" + +"Of course you could," said Tom, "but you might pick up something else +with it. Dust, or a bit of paper, or something like that." + +"Say, what's the matter with you guys anyway?" demanded Rabig, glowering +at them. + +"That looks like quite a solid door," remarked Frank, inspecting it +critically. + +"Oh, I don't know," responded Billy. "It's got dents in it. Here's one +that looks as though it were made by a rifle butt." + +Rabig looked at them angrily, and yet furtively, evidently seeking to +find out how much their remarks meant. + +"You fellows had better get along," he snapped. "You're interfering with +discipline by talking to a sentry on guard." + +Rabig's newborn reverence for discipline amused the boys so that they +had hard work to repress a laugh. + +"You're right," responded Frank. "We'll mosey along." + +"Ta-ta, Rabig," said Bart. "Keep your eye peeled for any Hun trick. That +fellow nearly got me yesterday with his knife, and he might try to play +the same game on you." + +"Don't you worry," growled Rabig. "I can take care of myself." + +The chums passed on, laughing and talking about indifferent things, +until they were out of ear shot. + +"We've got him guessing," remarked Billy with a grin. + +"We managed to put a flea in his ear," agreed Tom. + +"Did you see how red he got?" questioned Bart. + +"He sure is wondering how much we know," summed up Frank. "Whether it +will make him go straight or not is another question. What we fellows +ought to do is to take turns keeping tab on him, so that he can't act +crooked even if he wants to." "It's a pity there should be any men in +the American army whom we have to watch," said Tom bitterly. + +"Yes, but that's to be expected," returned Frank. "There's never been an +army in the history of the world that hasn't been infected with traitors +more or less." + +"Look at Benedict Arnold," remarked Billy. + +"To my mind, it's surprising that there aren't more," said Frank. +"That's what the Kaiser was counting on. He thought that the German +element in America was so strong that we wouldn't dare to go to war with +him. Do you remember what he told Gerard? That 'there were five hundred +thousand Germans in America who would revolt'?" + +"Yes," grinned Billy, "and I remember how Gerard came back at him with +the 'five hundred thousand lamp-posts on which we'd hang them if they +did.'" + +They were out on the main road by this time, and they stepped to one +side and saluted, as an officer in French uniform, accompanied by an +orderly, came galloping along. + +The officer's eye swept the group as he returned the salute, and when it +rested on Frank he drew up his horse so suddenly that the beast sat back +on its haunches. + +The officer threw himself from the horse's back, cast the reins to his +orderly, and came impetuously toward the astonished Army boys with his +hand extended to Frank. + +"Monsieur Sheldon!" he exclaimed, his face beaming. "_Mon brave +Americain. Le sauveur de ma vie._" + +"Colonel Pavet!" cried Frank with equal pleasure, as he took the +extended hand. + +"Yes," replied the newcomer, "Colonel Pavet, alive and well, thanks to +you. Ah, I shall never forget the night when I lay wounded on the +battlefield and you climbed out of the trench and made your way through +a storm of bullets and shells to my side and carried me back to safety. +It was the deed of a hero, a modern d'Artagnan! How glad I am to see you +again!" + +"And I to see you" responded Frank warmly. "You were so dreadfully +wounded that I feared you might not recover." + +They were talking in French, which Frank spoke like a native, thanks to +his French mother, and the other boys saluted and passed on, leaving the +two together. + +"If we had not met, I would have searched you out," went on the colonel, +"for I have some news for you. News that both you and your mother will +be glad to hear." + +"My mother," repeated Frank, his eyes kindling and his heart responding, +as it never failed to do at the mention of that dear mother of his, who +in her lonely home across the sea was waiting and praying for him. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ESCAPE + + +"Yes," replied Colonel Pavet, "your mother, Madame Sheldon,--it seems +strange for me to name her thus, for I never think of her except as +Lucie De Latour, as I knew her in her girlhood--has a very excellent +prospect of coming into the property that was willed to her." + +"I'm very glad to hear that!" exclaimed Frank. "And I know that my +mother will be pleased too. I have told her in my letters about my +meeting with you, and I gave her the remembrances that you were kind +enough to send her. She was delighted to know that I had met one of her +old neighbors in Auvergne, and she asked me to thank you most heartily +for your kindness in promising to look after her interests." + +The colonel smiled genially. + +"She is too good," he responded. "The obligation is all on my side. My +humble services would have been at her disposal in any event simply for +the sake of old friendship. But how much more ought they to be wholly +hers, now that her son has saved my life." + +"I am afraid you put too much value on what I did, Colonel," said Frank +deprecatingly. + +"It was something that not one in ten thousand would have done," replied +the colonel warmly. "When I found myself helpless and wounded on that +field of death I thought my life was over, and I had commended my soul +to God." + +"I'm glad that you have lived to strike another blow for France," said +Frank. + +"Ah, for France!" repeated the colonel fervently, as he lifted his cap +reverently. + +"As I started to say," he resumed after a moment, "your mother's +prospects for coming into her own are excellent. After my wound I was +sent home, and for some time it was doubtful whether I would live or +die. But God was good and I recovered. While I was gradually mending I +had ample time to look into that matter of the contested will. And, +fortunately, just at that time my brother Andre, who is one of the +leading lawyers of Paris, came to the chateau to see and cheer me up +while I was convalescing. I laid the whole matter before him, and he +went into it thoroughly. He has gone over all the proceedings in the +case, and he tells me that there is no doubt that your mother has the +law as well as right--unfortunately they are not always the same thing-- +on her side. He says that the testimony of those who are contesting the +will smacks strongly of perjury. It is too bad that your mother cannot +be here, for then Andre thinks the whole thing could be straightened out +at once." + +"It is too bad," agreed Frank; "but in the present state of things, and +the danger on the Atlantic from submarines, I would not want her to take +the risk. But what you say delights me, as I am sure it will her, and I +can't thank you enough for all the trouble you have taken." + +"Not trouble, but pleasure," corrected the colonel. "And you can be +assured that the matter will not be allowed to lag now that Andre has +taken it up. When he starts a case he can be depended on to carry it +through to a finish. I will keep in close touch with him and will let +you know from time to time how the matter is progressing. But now tell +me about yourself." + +"There's not much to tell," replied Frank. "I'm well and have been lucky +enough so far not to have stopped a bullet." + +The colonel's eyes twinkled. + +"Not much to tell," he repeated. "No, not if Monsieur Sheldon does the +telling. But there are others who speak more freely. Your captain, for +instance." + +Frank flushed uncomfortably and Colonel Pavet laughed outright. + +"Bravery and modesty usually go together," he went on. "How about that +machine gun episode yesterday, when an American soldier cut down its +crew, turned it on the enemy trench and compelled the men in it to +surrender? How about the raiding party where five men accounted for +fourteen of the Huns? You see, _mon ami_, that I have a good memory for +details. Ah, you are blushing. I wonder if you, too, could recall these +things if you tried." + +"There were a lot of us in on them," parried Frank, "and one did as much +as another." + +"Well," rejoined the colonel, "I'm proud that a French woman is your +mother. You have a glorious heritage in the traditions of two gallant +countries. And I rejoice to see the way you Americans are throwing +yourselves into the fighting. We were sorely pressed by the Hun hordes +and were fighting with our backs against the wall." + +"And such fighting!" returned Frank enthusiastically. "The world has +never seen anything finer. The spirit of France is unconquerable." + +"Yes," replied the colonel proudly. "As one of our great orators has +said: 'If the men are all killed the women will rise up; if the women +are killed the children will rise; if the children are killed the very +dead will rise and fight--fight for France." + +"But I must go on," he continued, motioning to his orderly to bring up +his horse. "I have a long journey yet before I reach the headquarters of +my division. I am more delighted than I can tell that I met you as I +did. May we meet again soon." + +"In Berlin, if not sooner," interjected Frank with a smile. + +"Ah, that is it," said the colonel delightedly. "In Berlin! That is the +way to speak. It may be a long time, but sooner or later the Stars and +Stripes and the Tricolor will wave together _Unter den Linden_. May +Heaven speed the day!" + +The French officer wrung Frank's hand warmly, sprang into the saddle, +and with Frank's "_bon voyage_" ringing in his ears, galloped rapidly +away. + +Twilight was coming on as Frank set out to rejoin his comrades, who were +waiting for him at a little distance down the road. His heart was light, +for he had news to write his mother that he knew would bring her +pleasure. + +"Some swell," chaffed Tom, as Frank came up to his friends. "Talking to +a colonel as though he were a pal. I wonder that you condescend to talk +to us common privates." + +"It is a comedown," grinned Frank; "but I'll try to tolerate you for a +while longer. But say, fellows, that colonel is a brick! Not a bit of +side about him. And he's doing a lot for us in the matter of my mother's +property that I've told you about." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Bart heartily. + +"I'll forgive him," conceded Tom magnanimously, "even if he does talk in +a lingo that I can't understand." + +"Why, I thought you were a finished French scholar by this time," +chaffed Bart. + +"Do you remember the day Tom tried to ask for soup and got his tongue +twisted around 'bouillon'?" gibed Billy, with a broad grin. + +"Well, I got the soup anyway, didn't I?" defended Tom. + +"Sure you got it," agreed Billy. "I could hear you getting it." + +Tom made a pass at him that Billy ducked. + +"Talking about soup makes me hungry," remarked Bart. "If you fellows +stand talking here much longer we'll be late at chow." + +"I'd like to have one more look at that hut Rabig's guarding," said +Frank a little uneasily. + +"We might stroll down this way again after supper if you like," +suggested Billy, "but just at present a little knife and fork exercise +seems the most pressing business I have to attend to." + +Just then their talk was interrupted by a single shot, followed by a +volley of them, and looking back in the direction from which they had +come, they saw men running in the direction of the hut that Rabig had +been guarding. + +They turned and ran at full speed and were soon in the midst of an +excited group gathered about the hut. + +"What's up?" asked Frank of one of the soldiers. + +"Prisoner escaped," replied the other briefly. + +"What prisoner?" + +"The fellow that Rabig was guarding. Some way or other he got out, +managed to strike Rabig down and skipped. Poor Rabig's pretty badly +messed up." + +The boys looked at each other. + +"_Poor_ Rabig," repeated Tom, and there was a world of meaning in his +tone. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A GHASTLY BURDEN + + +The sergeant of the guard came running up quickly, followed by two other +officers of higher rank, and a hurried inquiry took place on the spot. + +Rabig had been lifted to his feet from where he had been lying, and +stood supported by two comrades. Blood was running down his face from a +wound in his head. He seemed weak and dazed, although a surgeon who had +been hastily summoned pronounced the wound not dangerous. He seemed to +have been dealt a glancing blow, and, as in the case of all scalp +wounds, the blood had flowed freely. + +"Bring a seat for him," commanded the lieutenant in charge, and the +order was promptly obeyed. + +"Now, Rabig," proceeded the officer, not unkindly, "tell me about this. +How did you come to lose your prisoner?" + +Rabig looked about him in a helpless sort of way. + +"I don't know," he mumbled. "My head is swimming so that I can't +remember." + +"Try to think," said the officer patiently. Rabig seemed to make an +effort, but did not succeed and fell back in a swoon that put an end for +the present to the questioning. + +"Who saw anything of this?" queried the lieutenant, looking about him. +"Does any one know in what direction the prisoner went?" + +"If you please, sir," said one of the sentries who had been guarding an +adjacent hut, "I saw a man jump on a horse and go through the woods +there, but it was getting dark and I didn't know but what it might be +one of our own men. But I ran up here and found Rabig lying on the +ground, and the door of the hut was open. I sent a shot after the man on +horseback and so did some of the other men, but we couldn't take aim and +I don't know whether we hit him or not." + +"Look alive there," commanded the officer. "Sergeant, take a squad of +men and beat up these woods. The fellow may be hiding there. Take him +dead or alive." + +"Yes, sir," replied the sergeant, saluting. + +The soldiers standing by were hastily sent into the woods and others +were summoned to join them. The prisoner had got a good start, but by +this time the field telephones were busy all along the line and his +chance of ultimate escape was by no means bright. But he was a powerful +and desperate man, and if he had any weapons at all he would probably +make his capture a costly one. + +"He'll reason that he's a dead man if we get him and he might as well +die fighting," remarked Frank, as with his comrades he picked his way +through the woods. + +"Righto," agreed Tom. "And even if he didn't have a weapon when he +escaped, there are lots of them lying around and he won't have any +trouble in picking one up." + +"I wonder if he'll stick to the horse," mused Bart. + +"I hardly think so," replied Billy. "He knows from the shots that were +sent after him that we know he used a horse in escaping and will be +looking for a man on horseback. So he'll try to deceive us by going on +foot." + +"He'll probably hang about in the woods until it's pitch dark and then +try to get through the lines," said Frank. "He may be behind any tree or +bush, and we want to be mighty careful to examine each one as we go past +it." + +"Maybe he'll climb a tree," suggested Tom, looking up to the branches of +one he happened to be under at the moment. + +"Not a chance at this time of the year," objected Billy. "There aren't +any leaves to hide him, and even in the darkness we could probably see +his outline against the sky. Then, too, if he were seen he could be +potted too easily. No, he's not up a tree." + +"Queer that he should have got away so soon after we'd been down to the +hut," remarked Frank. + +"Queer!" snorted Tom. "It isn't queer at all to my way of thinking. The +whole thing was cut and dried." + +"Then you think that Rabig was in cahoots with him?" asked Bart +dubiously. + +"I'm sure of it," responded Tom. "Use your common sense, fellows. We see +half a dozen suspicious things that look as if Rabig and the prisoner +had some understanding. A little while after the prisoner escapes. +What's the answer?" + +"The answer might be several things," replied Frank, who hated to +believe evil of even his worst enemy. "A lot of things are due to +coincidence. It may be perfectly true that Rabig was in sympathy with +the German, but that doesn't say that he'd go so far as to let him +actually escape. He was taking big chances with his own skin in doing +it." + +"Besides, there's no doubt that Rabig was wounded," remarked Bart. "That +fellow seems to have given him an awful knock. He was bleeding like +fury." + +"Oh, it was easy enough to arrange that," answered Tom, unconvinced. "It +would have been too raw to have Rabig let the fellow go and still be +safe and sound. How could he explain it? He'd be brought up for +court-martial. But a scalp wound could be easily made where it would +produce the most blood and do the least harm." + + +"But what object would Rabig have in taking such chances?" asked Billy. +"The fellow had been searched and couldn't have had any money with him." + +"No, but he could have promised plenty," argued Tom. "Perhaps he's told +Rabig that the grateful Kaiser would make him rich. How do we know that +Rabig wouldn't fall for that? He's got an ivory dome anyway. If there +were more than two ideas in his head at one time they'd be arrested for +unlawful assemblage." + +The boys laughed and Tom went on: + +"Besides, how do we know but what Rabig is planning to desert and wants +to pave the way for a warm welcome on the other side? It would be easy +enough to slip across while the lines are so near each other." + +"But Rabig seemed to be pretty badly hurt," said Billy. "You saw him +faint." + +"Which only proves that he is a good actor," retorted Tom dryly. "Don't +think me hardhearted, fellows, because I'm not. I'm always ready to give +everybody his due. But I feel sure down in my heart that this thing was +all fixed up beforehand, and some day you'll find that I'm right." + +For more than two hours they kept up the search without result, and the +fact that they had not had their supper was forced upon them with +growing insistency. + +"Isn't there any time limit to this?" grumbled Bart. "I'll be hunting +for acorns instead of a prisoner before long." + +"I've got a vacuum where my stomach ought to be," moaned Billy. "Gee, +wouldn't I like to be streaking it for the mess room." + +"Cork up, you fellows," commanded Frank. "Listen! I thought I heard +something just then." + +The talking ceased instantly, and all stood as rigid as statues. + +"It's a horse coming this way," whispered Frank, after a moment of +strained attention. "Quick, fellows, get behind these bushes and have +your rifles ready!" + +They crouched low and peered up a little glade that ran through the +forest. + +But the noise ceased as suddenly as it had begun and they began to think +that their comrade had been mistaken. + +"Guess Frank's been stringing us," chaffed Billy. + +"He's the only one who seems to have heard anything," said Tom. + +"Don't you worry about my hearing," said Frank. "I tell you I heard a +horse's hoofs. Perhaps the rider suspects something and is trying to get +a line on us, just as we're trying to get one on him." + +"It may have been a horse all right," said Billy, "but that doesn't say +he had any rider. He may be rambling around all by his lonesome, and +perhaps he's stopped to graze somewhere." + +"There he goes again!" exclaimed Frank, and this time every one of them +heard what was undeniably the thud of a horse's hoofs. + +But there was a hesitation, an uncertainty about the animal's movements +that seemed unusual. It moved as though it had no purpose in view no +guiding hand on the reins. At times the canter seemed to subside into a +walk. There was something about this unseen steed, at large in the dim +forest, that gave the boys a most uncomfortable feeling. + +Then suddenly a more resolute note in the sound and an increase in its +volume told the listening boys that the horse was coming straight toward +them. + +The clatter of hoofs drew nearer, and they clutched their guns more +tightly. + +Soon they were able to distinguish in the gloom the outline of a horse +and rider. The man's figure loomed up huge and threatening, and they +felt sure that it was the big German corporal for whom they were +searching. + +The boys waited until the horse was almost upon them and then rushed out +into the road. + +"Halt!" cried Frank. He seized the horse's rein while the others leveled +their rifles at the rider. + +The horse reared in fright, but the rider made no answer nor did he +attempt to draw a weapon. + +"Get down!" commanded Frank. "We've got you covered. Surrender." + +Still the rider remained silent. + +Frank having quieted the horse went alongside and put his hand on the +man's arm. + +"Come----" he began, then stopped suddenly. + +There was a moment of utter silence, and Frank for the first time in his +life could feel the hair rising on his head. Then he controlled himself. + +"Put up your rifles boys," he commanded. "The man is dead!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +WITH THE TANKS + + +"Dead!" exclaimed Frank's comrades in voices that shook with surprise +and horror. + +"That's what I said," replied Frank. "Touch him and see for yourselves." + +All did so and found that the body was rigid. How long the horse had +borne his lifeless burden they could not tell. The legs were set stiffly +in the stirrups and the hands had a death grip on the reins. + +The boys had seen death in many forms. Scarcely a day had passed since +their arrival at the front without that sad experience. But it had never +seemed so ghastly or uncanny as at this moment. That silent, colossal +figure, seated bolt upright, worked fearfully on their imaginations and +seemed far more formidable than any living enemy would have seemed. + +"One of those bullets that the sentries sent after him must have reached +him," said Bart in an awed voice. + +"I suppose so," replied Frank. "But it doesn't matter now. Our search is +over." + +"What are we going to do with the body?" asked Billy soberly. + +"I guess we can't do anything just now," replied Frank. "I don't think +we could get those reins out of his hands anyway, and I for one don't +want to try. Besides, this is the proof for the officers that the +prisoner hasn't escaped. They're anxious, because they don't know what +information he might have been carrying back to the German lines. The +only thing to do is for one of us to lead the horse--with its rider-- +back to camp." + +This seemed to the others the solution of the problem, although the task +was a gruesome one and they would have gladly evaded it if they could. +It made chills run down the spine to trudge along leading the horse with +that huge figure towering behind them in the darkness, mocking at them +because he had escaped to the silent land from which they could never +bring him back. + +But there was comfort in numbers, and what no one of them could perhaps +have done singly they finally accomplished by taking turns, keeping +close together all the while as the ghostly cavalcade wound its way +through the woods. + +It was with a sigh of heartfelt relief that they finally drew up before +the friendly lights of the regimental headquarters that had never before +seemed so welcome. + +Their coming caused a great sensation, and there was soon a dense crowd +around them, for the uncanny circumstances of their return spread +through the camp like wildfire. The reins were cut from the dead hands +and the body lifted to the ground. Then after making a full report the +boys went to their quarters. They were besieged with inquiries by +curious comrades, but they shook them off as soon as possible. Their +experience had been one that they were only too anxious to forget. + +"I don't think I want any supper, after all," remarked Tom to his +friends. + +"Same here," responded Bart. "I don't feel as though I'd ever be hungry +again." + +"All I want to do is to get to sleep and forget it," said Billy. "That +is, if I _can_ get to sleep." + +"You'll sleep all right," observed Frank, "but I wouldn't guarantee you +against nightmare." + +But harrowed as their nerves had been, they were too young and healthy +to stand out against the sleep they needed, and when they woke the next +morning both their spirits and their appetites were as good as usual. +Life at the front was too full of work and rush for any one experience +to leave its imprint long. + +Their first inquiry after breakfast was for Rabig. + +"How's Rabig getting along?" Frank asked of Fred Anderson. + +"Oh, he's all right, I guess," answered Fred carelessly. "When the +doctors came to examine him they found that the wound didn't amount to +much. Said he'd be all right in a day or two." + +"Is he under arrest?" asked Tom. + +"Why, yes, I suppose he is," answered Fred. "But I guess it's a mere +form. The fact that the prisoner didn't finally get away will count in +his favor. It's like baseball. An error is an error, but if the man who +ought to be out at first gets put out when he tries to steal second the +error is harmless. It's no credit to Rabig that a bullet got the man he +let escape, but it's lucky for him just the same." + +It was evident that Anderson had no suspicion that Rabig had been guilty +of anything but carelessness, and the boys carefully refrained from +saying anything about what they had gathered from their observation the +day before. But when they were alone together they had no hesitation +about speaking their minds. + +"Some fellows could commit murder and get away with it," grumbled Tom. + +"Cheer up, you old grouch," chaffed Billy. "At any rate the prisoner +didn't escape, and so there's no harm done." + +"And if Rabig is guilty he's got nothing from it but a sore head," put +in Bart. + +"I don't feel dead sure that Rabig helped him," said Frank, "and yet the +more I think it over, the more I'm inclined to think that Tom is right +about it. Still, Rabig's entitled to the benefit of the doubt. I know +how the Scotch jury felt when they brought in the verdict: 'Not guilty, +but don't do it again.'" + +"That's just what I'm afraid Rabig will do," said Tom. "This time +luckily it didn't matter. The prisoner didn't escape. But if Rabig is a +traitor, how do we know but what the next time he might do something +that might cause a defeat?" + +"It does make one uneasy," agreed Bart. "Nick in the regiment is like a +splinter in the finger. It makes you sore. But we'll keep our eyes open +and the very next crooked move he makes it will be curtains for him." + +"Or taps," added Billy. + +The fighting now had lost the first intensity that had signalized the +day of the mine explosion. The Germans had been strongly reinforced, and +had held their third line, which had now become their first. + +"And they've got plenty of other lines behind that one," commented Tom, +as he sat on a trench step cleaning and oiling his rifle. + +"Slathers of them," assented Billy. "I suppose they stretch all the way +back to the Rhine." + +"It will be some job to root them out of them if we have to storm each +one of them in turn," remarked Bart. + +"We don't have to count on that," said Frank confidently. "The Allies +gained twenty-five miles at a clip when they drove Hindenburg back from +the Somme. The Huns may stand out a long while, but when the time comes +they may collapse all at once like the deacon's 'one-hoss shay.'" + +The Americans in the meantime had thoroughly reorganized the captured +positions and had held them against a number of strong counter-attacks. +But these became fewer as they failed to produce results, and although +the artillery still kept on growling and barking, the wearied infantry +had a chance to get some of the rest they so sorely needed after their +herculean efforts. + +"Nothing to do till to-morrow," yawned Billy, as after performing their +turn of trench duty they found themselves with an hour or two on their +hands. + +"Let's take a little hike back of the lines and see what's doing," +suggested Bart. + +"I think there's something in the wind connected with the tanks," +remarked Frank. "They say there's a bunch of them coming up from all +parts of the front and getting together just back of our division." + +"They're hot playthings, all right," commented Tom. "They certainly keep +the Huns on the jump. If we only had enough of them we might roll right +into Berlin." + +They passed some of the field batteries where the men, stripped to the +waist, were serving the guns, running the shells in and discharging +their weapons with marvelous smoothness, speed and precision. + +"This is the life," chaffed Tom. "You fellows have a picnic here away +back of the lines, while we chaps in the front line do all the work and +stop all the bullets." + +"G'wan, you doughboys," retorted a gunner good-naturedly. "If we're +alive here after eight days, the orders are to shoot us for loafing." + +A little further on, they came upon a myriad of tanks of all +descriptions. There were "baby" tanks, "whippets," "male" and "female," +all with different functions to perform during a battle. Just as in the +navy there are vessels of all sizes from a light scout to a +super-dreadnought, so already this arm of the service was developing +various grades, each to do some special work for which the others were +not so well adapted. + + +"See how they're hidden," said Frank, as he pointed to a very forest of +bushes and branches that extended above the array of tanks. + +"That's to keep the Boche aviators guessing," observed Bart. "They'd +give their eyes if they could only spy out where these fellows are being +massed." + +"I heard one of the fellows say that the tanks travel only at night so +that the Boches can't track them," said Tom. + +"And see what a raft of them have been got together here," said Billy. +"I tell you, fellows, there's something big going to be pulled off +before long." + +"Say, boys, see who's here!" exclaimed Frank, and they turned to see +Will Stone coming toward them with a broad smile of welcome on his +bronzed face. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BREAKING THROUGH + + +There was a rush toward Will Stone, and in a moment the Army boys were +shaking hands with a vigor that showed the pleasure they felt at again +meeting their acquaintance, who belonged to the tank division. + +"Say, fellows, have a heart," Will grinned. "I need these hands in my +business. But it sure does me good to see you again. And all of you +alive and kicking! I'll bet that's more than some of the Huns are that +you've run up against." + +"Oh, we're still able to sit up and take nourishment," laughed Frank. +"But tell us about yourself, old man. You look like ready money." + +"I see you have a marking different from what you had when we saw you +last," remarked Bart, looking at the insignia that proclaimed Will an +officer. + +"And look at that war cross!" cried Tom. "I guess you've been some busy +little bee to get that. Shake again, old scout." + +Stone flushed and looked a little embarrassed. + +"Only a few little skirmishes here and there," he said deprecatingly. +"But the real big thing is yet to come. Look at this army of tanks. +We've never had so many in one place since the war began." + +"Looks like a herd of elephants," commented Frank, as his eye ran along +the array that seemed to number hundreds. "They'll do more trampling +than any herd of elephants that ever trod the earth," remarked Stone +grimly. "But come along, fellows, and let me show you my own particular +pet. It's the biggest one of the bunch, and it's a peach! We call it +Jumbo, and it carries a crew of twenty men." + +They followed him till they came to a monster tank on which Stone placed +his hand caressingly. + +"Isn't it a beauty?" he asked, as he beamed upon them. + +"I should call it a holy terror," grinned Frank. + +"What the Huns will call it won't be fit for publication," laughed +Billy. + +"I guess they've already exhausted the German vocabulary," chuckled +Stone. "But just wait until this beauty of mine goes climbing over their +trenches and smashing their pill boxes and tearing away their +entanglements. Then they'll know what they're up against." + +"I only wish we could see you while you're doing it," remarked Tom. + +"Likely enough you will," replied Stone. "From things I've picked up +here and there I think the infantry will be right alongside of us in the +next big jamboree. Don't you fellows make any mistake about it, there's +going to be one of the biggest stunts of the war pulled off in the +course of the next few days. Mithridates with his elephants won't be a +circumstance to us with our tanks. There sure is bound to be some lovely +fighting." + +"Let it come!" exclaimed Tom. + +"And come quickly," chimed in Frank. + +"The only thing I'm sorry for is that you're in the Canadian +contingent," said Bart. "I want to see you leading the way in a U. S. A. +tank." + +"You may yet," replied Stone. "Uncle Sam will soon be sending over his +tanks, and you bet when they do come they'll be lallapaloozers with all +the modern improvements, and then some! And the minute that happens I'm +going to apply to be transferred to the United States army. These +Canadians are among the finest men in the world and they're doing +magnificent fighting, but still I'll feel more natural when I'm fighting +under the Stars and Stripes." + +"Well, that won't be long now," replied Frank. "Our men and our guns and +our tanks and everything else we need to lick the Kaiser will be coming +in droves pretty soon. And then watch our smoke." + +"Right you are," agreed Stone enthusiastically. + +Then as a trumpet rang out he added: "That's the signal for a rehearsal, +fellows, and I'll have to get on the job. We're going to put our +machines through their paces. I'm mighty glad to have seen you again, +and I wish you no end of luck." + +"Come over to our line when you get a chance and see the way our boys +are shaping up," was Frank's invitation, which was echoed heartily by +the others. + +"You bet I will," responded Stone, as with a wave of his hand he went to +his work, while the boys strolled back to their quarters. + +"He's the real stuff," commented Frank. "All wool and a yard wide." + +"He'd rather fight than eat," observed Tom. + +"If the Canadians take him as a sample, no wonder they're glad to see +Uncle Sam mix in," remarked Billy. + +Some days went by, days of steady rush and preparation. It was evident +that some big operation was near at hand. Troops were moved up from +other portions of the long line that stretched from Switzerland to the +sea. There were the bronzed Tommies in khaki, the snappy, dashing poilus +in their uniforms of corn-flower blue, veterans hardened in a score of +battles from Ypres to Verdun. And right alongside of them in closest +comradeship and gallant rivalry were the stalwart sons of the United +States of America, the very flower of her youth, who had already had +their baptism of fire and who had sworn to themselves that no flag +should be further in the van than Old Glory when it came to the stern +test of battle. + +Nearer and nearer the tanks had crept to the front of the line and taken +up their places in front of great openings that had been made in the +wire entanglements and skilfully concealed from the enemy. + +A certain number of them were assigned to lead each regiment, and the +Camport boys' delight was great when they saw that Jumbo, with a squad +of assisting tanks, had been told off to lead their regiment. + +"Just what the doctor ordered," exulted Frank, when he saw Stone step +out of the door of the monster tank. + +"We'll follow you, old man, till the cows come home," called Bart, as +the boys crowded around the young operator. + +"We'll try to make a broad path for you," laughed Stone, as he returned +their greeting cordially. + +"When is the show coming off?" asked Billy. + +"Almost any time now, I guess," replied Stone. "About all we need is a +nice misty morning. It's up to the weather sharps to tip us off. Then +we'll amble over and give the Huns a little shaking up." + +Several days passed with the weather exasperatingly clear. Usually the +soldiers would have welcomed the bright sunny mornings. But now, when +they were keyed up to a high pitch, the one thing they longed for was a +dull and lowering sky that would favor the great enterprise they had on +hand. + +"You might think the boys were a lot of grangers after a dry spell, from +the way they're praying for rain," remarked Billy, as for the hundredth +time he scanned the sky. + +"Remember how different it used to be when we had a baseball game on +hand?" laughed Frank. "Then a gleam of sunshine was like money from home +after you'd been broke for a week." + +"That cloud a little while ago looked as though it might have had +thunder and lightning behind it," observed Bart, "but it was only a +false alarm." + +"Nothing but wind, like a German bulletin," grinned Billy, stretching +himself. + +"Or their U-boat prophecies," added Frank. "But cheer up, fellows, this +sunshine can't last forever." + +There came at last just the kind of weather wanted. A soft drizzle set +in at nightfall, not enough to make the ground muddy, but enough to make +the steaming and saturated air lie heavy on the earth. Everything +indicated that there would be a fog at dawn. + +"I guess to-morrow's the big day," remarked Frank, as he looked out at +the settling mists. + +"High time," grumbled Tom. "I'd grow stale if we had to wait much +longer." + +The regiments slept on their arms that night, and an hour before dawn +all were astir and in their places. There was no special artillery fire, +such as usually preceded big attacks. It was given to the tanks to level +the entanglements of the enemy and open up the gaps for the troops to +swarm through. + +The hour dragged by until within ten minutes of the time appointed for +the assault. Then a monotonous hum filled the air as the motors of the +tanks tuned up. Down through the black lines of waiting soldiers the +gray monsters slowly made their way, passed through the gaps made in the +defences and led the way into the desolate stretch of No Man's Land. + +Even to the friendly eyes that watched them there was something weird +and frightful in their aspect. It was as though the huge brutes of the +prehistoric world had taken form before them. Even those monsters had +never carried within them such death-dealing power. + +As the sea closes in the wake of a ship, the troops fell in behind the +tanks, and the silent procession took up the march toward the German +lines. + +Hardly a sound beyond the labored breathing of the tanks broke the +stillness. It might have been an army of ghosts. + +On they went, and with every step the conviction grew that the surprise +would be complete. No thunder broke from the enemy guns. No fiery +barrage swept the dense ranks, exacting its toll of wounds and death. +For once the Hun was asleep. + +Nearer and nearer. Then like so many thunderbolts at a hundred different +points they struck the German lines and the tanks went through! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +CAUGHT NAPPING + + +Nothing could stand before the terrific impact of the war tanks. + +There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, as wire entanglements +were uprooted. These had been strengthened in every way that German +cunning could invent, but they bent like straws beneath the onslaught of +the gray monsters. A cyclone could not have done the work more +thoroughly. + +There was no need now for further secrecy, and with a wild yell the +Allied troops swarmed through the gaps, sending a deadly volley before +them, supplemented by thousands of grenades. + +At the same instant, the Allied artillery opened up and laid a heavy +barrage fire over the heads of the onrushing troops. + +The blow came down on the Germans with crushing force. The surprise was +complete. Every detail of the great drive had been mapped out with the +precision of clockwork, and so nicely had it been timed that on every +part of the long line the shock came like a thunderbolt. + +A horde of Germans rushed up from the trenches and poured in a great +stream into the open. The earth seemed to disgorge itself. They came +shouting and yelling in wild consternation, their eyes heavy with sleep +and their faces pallid with fear. + +Fear not so much of the Allied troops rushing upon them. These they had +faced in many battles, and though they knew the mettle of their foes, +they were still men who could be faced on even terms. But their courage +gave way when through the spectral mists they saw the wallowing monsters +bearing down on them like so many Juggernauts, crushing, tearing, mowing +them down as though they were insects in the path of giants. + +The men fled helter-skelter in the wildest panic that had come upon them +since the outbreak of the war. In vain their officers shouted and cursed +at them. The iron bonds of discipline snapped like threads. Soldiers +rushed hither and thither like ants whose hill had been demolished by a +ruthless foot. + +Many fled back toward their second line, pursued by a withering blast of +rifle fire that reaped a terrible harvest of wounds and death. Others +rushed back into their trenches, crowding and treading upon one another. +But even here they were not safe from the great tanks, which lumbered +down into the trenches and up on the other side, leaving devastation in +their wake, spitting out flame from the guns they carried, while they +themselves in their iron armor went on uninjured. + +Not only were they frightful engines of offense, but they served as well +for defense of the troops that followed after them. + +For the first few minutes the slaughter was awful, and it looked as +though the whole German line would be forced to give way without putting +up any resistance worthy of the name. Prisoners were rounded up by the +hundreds. There was no time then to send them to the rear. So they were +gathered together in the open spaces, their suspenders were cut so that +their trousers would slip down and entangle their legs if they tried to +escape in the confusion, a small guard was put over them, and the tanks +and the troops went thundering on toward the second line. + +But here the resistance began to stiffen. The first paralysis of +surprise was past. The heavy guns of the enemy opened up, and from +scores of machine gun nests and pill boxes came a storm of bullets. The +German officers had got their troops under some semblance of control, +and heavy reinforcements were rushed up from the rear. From now on the +Allies had an awakened and powerful foe to reckon with. + +But despite the sterner opposition, the tanks were not to be denied. On +they went, as resistless as fate. Their sides were reddened now, and the +wake they left behind them was fearful to look upon. + +Through the second line entanglements they crashed as easily as through +the first, although this time they met with losses. Some had overturned +and others had been struck by heavy shells and put out of action. But +even though disabled, the guns on one side or the other were still able +to pour out their messengers of death and take savage toll of the enemy. + +Jumbo was leading, and close behind followed the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh, with Frank and his chums in the van. They were fighting +like young Vikings, their rifles empty but their bayonets and hand +grenades doing deadly work. Their arms were tired by their terrific +efforts, but their hearts were on fire. They felt as though they were +treading on air, and the blood ran through their veins like quicksilver. +Bunker Hill and Gettysburg spoke through them. The traditions of a +hundred glorious battlefields on which Americans had fought was theirs. +Now again Americans were fighting, fighting to avenge the murdered women +and babies of the Lusitania, fighting to crush the most barbarous +tyranny the modern world has known, fighting the battle of freedom and +civilization. + + +So they fought on like demons, smashing a pill box here, routing out a +machine gun nest there, until the second line was carried. Then the +conquerors paused for breath. + +On the whole German front in that region two lines deep the line had +been smashed. That crowded hour of stark fighting had cracked the +boasted invincible line of Hindenburg and sent the foe flying in +confusion toward their third and most formidable line. Thousands of +prisoners and scores of guns were among the spoils of victory. + +And the most gratifying feature of the drive was the insignificant loss +to the Allied forces. The resistance at first had been only slight, and +even in the second phase of the battle it had been so quickly overcome +that few of the attacking troops had fallen. Seldom had so great an +advance been made at so small a price. + +But modern warfare has its limits in the matter of time and speed. The +very swiftness with which they had advanced had in itself an element of +danger because it had brought them too far ahead of their supporting +guns. These had to be brought up from the rear, and the captured +positions had to be reorganized. The troops, too, had to be given a +breathing spell, for they had reached the limit of human endurance. + +So a halt was called, and the wearied men took turns in resting and +refreshing themselves for the hard work that still lay ahead of them. + +"A mighty good morning's work," panted Frank, as he threw himself down +at the roots of a giant tree which had been utterly stripped of branches +and even of bark by the tempest of fire that had raged around it. + +"Ask a German and see if he'd agree with you," said Billy with a grin. + +"We've got plenty to ask," said Tom, as his eyes roved over the throng +of prisoners. "We sure have taken a raft of them this morning. And +there's a still bigger bunch that will never answer roll call again." + +There was food in plenty, but they did not have to avail themselves of +the rations they carried in their kits. There were the camp kitchens of +the enemy that in a twinkling were set to work, and soon the savory +odors of steaming stews and fragrant coffee filled the smoke-laden air +and brought joy to the hearts of the victors. + +Frank, Bart, Billy and Tom were lucky enough to stumble on a meal that +had already been started for some German officers, and they were +surprised to find it so good and abundant. + +"The Germans may be starving, but there's no sign of it here," remarked +Frank, as he threw himself down on the ground with a sigh of relief. + +"Trust the Huns to look after their soldiers, even if the civilians +starve," replied Bart. "The people don't count in Germany. Only the +military are taken seriously. They take the middle of the sidewalk and +others are crowded to the wall." + +"Well, I'm not quarreling with them just now on that account," grinned +Billy. "I'm just glad there's plenty of grub here this morning." + +"I'm not very partial to German cooking as a rule," chuckled Tom, "but +this stew certainly smells good. How the Boche officers would grit their +teeth if they saw us wading into this." + +But his rejoicing was premature, for just at this moment a cannon shot +from the German lines tore its way through the kettle and the scalding +broth was spattered all over the group that were lying about. Luckily it +did no other damage, but the chagrin of the boys was comical to see. + +"I'd like to have hold of the gunner that fired that shot," sputtered +Tom wrathfully, as he wiped from his face some of the stew that had +fallen to his share. + +"You ought to have knocked wood when you talked of the German officers +seeing us wading into their chow," growled Bart. "There's a perfectly +good stew gone to the dogs." + +"Nothing personal in that, I hope," laughed Frank, "because most of it +came to us." + +"I like mine inside," put in Billy, as he gingerly removed a piece of +meat from his ear. "As an outside decoration I'm dead against stew." + +"Well, cheer up, fellows," remarked Frank. "The stew's past praying for, +but there's a lot of other things. And anyway we ought to be mighty +thankful that the shot didn't remove some of us from the landscape as +well as the kettle." + +"What's the big noise about?" asked a cheery voice, and they looked up +to see Will Stone regarding them with a quizzical grin. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + +The four Camport boys greeted Stone joyfully and gladly made room for +him. + +"It's another German atrocity," grinned Billy. "They were sore at us for +swiping their grub and they sent our kettle to smithereens." + +"I'm glad they don't know about it anyway," said Tom. "I don't want any +Boche to have the laugh on me." + +"I guess they're not doing much laughing this morning," remarked Will +Stone, as he dropped down on the ground beside them. "Or if they are, +it's on the wrong side of their mouths." + +"We've certainly waxed them good and plenty," said Bart +enthusiastically. + +"Jumbo was all to the good this morning," exulted Frank. "It did my +heart good to see the way he ploughed along. There was nothing to it +after he got started." + +"He certainly scattered the Huns good and plenty," chortled Billy. "They +ran like hares." + +"He does for 'em all right," agreed Stone, glad to have his pride in his +giant pet justified. "And the best of it is that, although the bullets +came against his hide like hail on a tin roof, he came through +practically without a scratch. He sure is a tough old fellow." + +"The tanks are wonders," chimed in Tom. "They've won this fight. It was +scrumptious the way they tore those entanglements up by the roots. +Without 'em we'd have lost ten times as many men as we did." + +"So far we've gotten off pretty easily," agreed Stone, "but the hardest +part of the fighting is coming. The Boches have got their second wind by +this time, and there can't be any more surprises. You fellows would +better fill up now, for you'll have to have plenty to stand up on." + +"Trust us," laughed Billy. "We may be slow in some things, but when it +comes to filling up, we're some pumpkins. But I certainly do feel sore +about that stew." + +"Billy'll never get over that," laughed Bart. "He had his mouth all +fixed for it. No other stew in all his life will ever taste so good to +him as this one that he didn't get." + +"It's always the biggest fish that gets away," laughed Stone, as he fell +to with the rest. + +While they were eating, there was a thunder of hoofs along the road. +This had been such an unusual occurrence up to date that they sprang to +their feet with eager interest. + +Then the cavalry swept by. + +Fine fellows the cavalrymen were on splendid mounts, which they bestrode +as though they had never done anything else in all their lives. For +months past they had chafed under restraint, for since the struggle had +settled down to trench warfare they had seldom seen service except on +foot. But now their turn had come, for with the broken line of the enemy +had come a call for the cavalry to pursue and complete the +demoralization of the foe. + +"Some class to that bunch," remarked Tom, as he watched the flying +column with an appraising eye. + +"A little faster than your tanks, old scout?" remarked Bart, giving +Stone a nudge in the ribs. + +"They sure are," admitted Stone. "But don't forget that though we may be +slow we get there just the same." + +After a brief resting spell the lines were reformed and the fighting was +resumed. The space between the second and the third lines was a wide +one, and the country was hilly, with numerous lanes and ravines. These +were being held in greater or less force by enemy troops posted in +advantageous positions supported by machine guns, while beyond them +their big guns kept up a heavy fire to prevent the Allied advance. + +To clean these up and get ready for an attack upon the third line was a +work of hours, as every foot of advance was bitterly contested by the +Germans, who had now recovered from their surprise and fought +desperately to stem the tide that had overwhelmed their first position. + +There were two or three villages in the fighting zone and one town of +considerable size. Not that it was a town now in any real sense of the +word. What had once been houses were now mere pitiful heaps of wood and +stone and mortar, and their inhabitants had long since been dispossessed +or slain. It stood gaunt and desolate and forbidding in its mute protest +against the pitiless storm of war to which it had fallen a victim. + +In cleaning out a particularly obnoxious nest of machine gun positions +Frank and his friends had been kept busy until nearly noon. But at last +the guns were silenced and the crews wiped out or captured. + +The boys started to regain their main force, but the country was +unfamiliar and they took a turning in the road which led toward the +German lines instead of toward their own. + +"Gee!" remarked Tom as they trudged along, "maybe I'm not tired. My feet +feel as though they weighed a ton." + +"Perhaps they do," gibed Billy unfeelingly. "Considering the size of +them, I should say a ton was just about right." + +"I notice your hoofs are not so small," retorted Tom. "But how much +longer is this hike going to take?" + +"Search me," responded Frank. "To tell the truth, I'm twisted up about +the direction. Seems to me we ought to strike some of our troops soon." + +"It would be funny if we walked straight into the German lines," +observed Billy. + +"Funny!" snorted Tom. "Yes, as funny as a funeral. Some people have a +queer sense of humor." + +They were passing a hedge that walled off an orchard from the road when +Frank, who was ahead, saw before him a great wave of gray uniforms +coming around a bend in the road. + +"Quick, fellows," he whispered. "Over the hedge and down on the ground." + +Like a flash the boys were out of sight, and not one instant too soon, +for a moment later they could see through the hedge what seemed to be an +endless line of gray uniforms going past at the double quick. They were +evidently hurrying forward to reinforce their hard-pressed comrades +farther down the road. + +The boys lay still as death until the troops had passed, and then looked +at each other ruefully. + +"We're cut off," ejaculated Frank. "Those fellows are between us and our +line." + +"Looks pretty bad," said Bart. + +"This is a pretty kettle of fish," grumbled Tom. "Let's cut across the +orchard and see if we can find some of our boys." + +They acted on the suggestion, but found to their dismay that the Germans +were everywhere. In whatever direction they looked the only uniforms +they saw were the detested field gray. The Germans had rallied and the +boys had been caught in the swirl of the returning tide. + +"We'll have to hide somewhere until our men drive back the Huns and get +as far as this orchard," said Billy. + +"We're up against it for fair," growled Tom disconsolately. + +"It's easy enough to talk of hiding, but where shall we hide?" asked +Bart. "If we stay here above ground we're bound to be spotted before +long." + +"Let's make our way toward the town," suggested Frank. "There wasn't a +soul in sight there a few minutes ago. It seemed to be wholly deserted. +There must be plenty of hiding places in those heaps of stones, or +perhaps we can stow ourselves away in a cellar. Let's get a hustle on, +too, or we'll know sooner than we want to what a prison camp looks +like." + +As quickly as they dared they crept along, using every bit of cover that +offered itself until they reached the outskirts of what had been the +town. As Frank had said, it appeared to be wholly deserted at the +moment. It was clear that all available forces had been summoned away to +stem the great drive. + +Having satisfied themselves that there was no one about they moved +cautiously from one street to another seeking some place of refuge. The +prospect was not hopeful, for there was scarcely a room in a single +house that was not gaping wide open. Doors were gone and windows had +vanished. There was hardly a place where anything as large as a cat +could be free from detection. + +"A mighty slim outlook," grumbled Tom, as they crouched close to a pile +of masonry near the corner of a street. + +"Stop grouching," counseled Frank. "We may stumble across something at +any minute." + +"Stumble is right," said Bart, as he rubbed a barked shin. "I've been +doing nothing else since we got in among these rock piles." + +"That house over the way there seems in a little better condition than +the rest of these heaps," suggested Billy, pointing a little way down +the street. + +"We'll try our luck there," said Frank, and again their cautious journey +was resumed. + +They reached the place and squeezed themselves in through a narrow +opening on a side that had faced a tiny yard bordered by a wall about +eight feet in height. + +There had been three rooms on the ground floor of the house, but all +three had been knocked into one by the visitation of shells. The boys +picked their way over the uneven masses of plaster, and Frank gave an +exclamation as he perceived an opening that seemed to lead down into a +cellar. + +"This way, fellows," he said as he looked down into the darkness. "I +don't see any stairs here but we can take a chance and drop. It doesn't +seem very deep. One of you hold this gun of mine and I'll go first." + +There was a chance of spraining an ankle if nothing worse, but luckily +he landed safely. + +"All serene," he called up in a low tone. "Hand me down your guns and +then come along." + +They did so, and the four found themselves in a cluttered cellar that by +feeling around with their hands they found to be about thirty feet long +by twenty in width. There was a furnace which had been broken into a +pile of junk and a little light filtering down showed where a pipe had +formerly gone through to the upper floor. There were a number of barrels +in one corner, but apart from these the cellar seemed to hold nothing +but rubbish. + +"It's as dark as Egypt down here," grumbled Tom. + +"So much the better," replied Bart. "There'll be that much less chance +of a Heinie seeing us if he takes the trouble to look down here." + +"So this is where we've got to hang out until our boys get here," +remarked Billy, grinning. "It reminds me of the Waldorf-Astoria--it's so +different." + +"Never mind," said Frank cheerfully, "it's a thousand per cent. better +than a Hun prison camp, and don't you forget it!" + +"You said a mouthful that time," replied the irrepressible Billy, with +more force than elegance. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + +"The first thing to do is to make a barricade of these barrels," said +Frank, when the four privates had made an inventory of what the cellar +afforded in the way of defense. + +"They will help us in putting up a fight if the Huns discover us here," +agreed Bart. + +"Let's see if there's anything in them," suggested Billy. + +"Swell chance," commented Tom. "They smell as if they'd had wine or beer +in them, and you can trust the Heinies to have drained them to the last +drop. Not that I want any of the stuff, but if they were full they'd +stop a bullet better than if they were empty." + +They tested the barrels by knocking against them with the butts of their +rifles and the hollow sound they gave back proved that Tom had +conjectured truly. + +"Dry as the Desert of Sahara," pronounced Frank. + +"And that reminds me," said Bart. "What are we going to do for water to +drink? We've got grub enough in our kits to last us a couple of days in +a pinch. But we can't hold out long without something to wash it down +with." + +"We won't worry about that yet," said Frank. "I stepped into a puddle +over in one corner while we were going round here. I suppose that came +from the rain we had last night. It doesn't fit my idea of what drinking +water ought to be, but it's a mighty sight better than dying of thirst." + +They got out their stock of food and decided that with careful rationing +they had enough for two days. + +"And that will be plenty," prophesied Billy. "Our fellows will be here +before long. Perhaps this very night we'll be with the old bunch again." + +"I wish I had your cheery disposition," growled Tom. "When any one hands +you a lemon----" + +"I make lemonade out of it," came back Billy, and there was a general +laugh. + +"That's the way to talk," said Frank. "The Huns haven't got us yet, and +even this hole is better than a German prison camp." + +"You bet!" responded Billy. "From all I hear those places are something +fierce. A fellow had better die fighting than die of abuse or +starvation." + +"That's what," agreed Bart. "And that's another thing that shows how low +the Huns have stooped in this war. Look at the way we treat them when we +take them prisoners. They live on the fat of the land. Of course the +Germans haven't as much food in their country as we have, and we don't +expect so much for our men in the matter of grub, although even at that +they don't get enough to keep body and soul together. But it's sickening +to hear of the way they torture them. One of their favorite sports is to +set dogs on 'em. If a man doesn't move quickly enough to suit 'em they +stick a bayonet into him. It's low beastly tyranny that puts them on a +level with the Turks. It's no wonder that Germany is coming to be hated +and despised by the whole world." + +"Did you hear of the fire that happened in one of their camps?" queried +Tom. "There was a hut in one corner of the camp with five men in it. It +caught fire and the men, who couldn't get out of the door because it was +locked, tried to get out of the window. The sentry thrust his bayonet +into the first man, and threw him back into the flames. The poor fellow +made another attempt and again the sentry ran the bayonet into him. And +every one of the five men burned to death, though every one of them +could have been saved. What do you think of that, fellows? Isn't it the +limit?" + +"They'll get theirs," said Frank bitterly. "They can't sow the wind +without reaping the whirlwind. They'll surely pay, soon or late, for +every bit of this brutality. + +"I hope it will be soon," said Billy. "I'm getting impatient." + +"It won't be long if we can keep up the pace we set this morning," said +Bart. "Gee, how our tanks went through those wires as though they were +rotten cord." + +"And our guns are keeping it up," said Frank. "Just listen to that roar. +What a shame it is we can't be out there doing our bit. It makes me feel +like a slacker." + +"It's the fortune of war," said Billy philosophically. "But it's might +hard luck just the same that we took the wrong direction after we +cleared up that machine gun nest so neatly. But let's have a hack at +that grub, fellows. Oh, boy, if we only had some of that stew we lost +this morning!" + + "That stew still sticks in Billy's crop," laughed Frank. + +"I only wish it did," mourned Billy. "But it never got that far." + +"Well, just remember, fellows, that we're on rations now," warned Frank +as he doled out a little portion to each from the common stock they had +pooled together. "We've got to make this last as long as we can. If we +feel hungry when we get through we'll just have to tighten our belts and +let it go at that." + +They ate sparingly, but, although they were all thirsty, especially +after the heat and excitement of the fighting, it was a long time before +they could bring themselves to drink from the pool in the corner of the +cellar. They finally had to come to it, however, though they tried to +make it less repugnant by filtering it through the only clean +handkerchief they could muster among them. + +The time dragged on interminably in their narrow quarters. They tried to +sleep, but though they were very tired after their strenuous day, the +novelty and discomfort of their position kept them on edge. + +The daylight finally vanished from the little opening in the floor above +and the darkness became absolute. They had matches in their kits, but +they feared to use them lest some prowling sentry might see the light +through some rift in the masonry. + +The roar of the heavy artillery had died down, though the guns still +gave out an occasional challenge. The fighting for the day was evidently +at an end. But there had been no clash in the streets of the ruined town +to betoken the arrival of the Allied forces. However they might have +fared in other parts of the battlefield, the town itself had not been +wrested from the Germans. In all probability the boys were still in the +midst of their enemies. + +"Another night as well as a day to stay in this shebang," remarked Tom +when the hope of immediate rescue had failed them. + +"Oh, well, to-morrow's a new day," said Frank. "A lot may happen between +now and to-morrow night. Our grub will hold out till then anyway, and if +nothing better turns up we'll make a dash and try to reach our lines." + +He had scarcely stopped speaking when there was a loud clattering in the +street as though a cavalry troop were passing through. + +"Perhaps those are our men now!" exclaimed Billy jubilantly. + +"Perhaps," assented Frank. "And they seem to be coming this way." + +The pace of the horses died down as they neared the house, and they +finally stopped just before it. The boys could hear the troopers +dismount and a moment later they heard footsteps on the floor above. + +They listened intently. Would the first words they heard be English or +German? If the first it would mean a boisterous shout to the men above +and a hasty and joyful scramble out of their prison. If the second, it +would mean that they were in imminent danger of capture or death. + +A light filtered down through the hole where the stovepipe had been. +Somebody above had struck a match. But he had evidently burned his +fingers as he did so, for the light went out and there was an impatient +exclamation. + +"_Donnerwetter_!" + +Just one word, but it made the hearts of the listening boys go down into +their boots. + +For it was a German who just then struck a second match and lighted a +candle, and it was a German cavalry troop whose horses stood before the +door. + +But for what purpose had they entered the house? Were they in search of +the boys? Had any one seen them entering the house and given +information? + +"Be ready, fellows," whispered Frank. "It looks as if we were in for a +scrap." + +They clutched their rifles firmly to be ready for whatever might happen. + +But it was not long before they realized that this sudden irruption had +nothing to do with them. What seemed to be a bench or a table was +dragged across the floor and one or more candles placed upon it. There +seemed to be half a dozen or more officers in the room, and they were +soon engaged in an earnest conversation. + +"I never thought much of the German language," whispered Bart to Billy, +"but I'd give a farm to understand it now." + +"If Frank only knew German as well as he does French," responded Billy, +"we might pick up something that our officers would give a lot to know." + +For perhaps half an hour the raucous tones above continued. The debate +was at times an angry one and was punctuated by the sound of fists +brought heavily down on a table. Just after one of these, the stovepipe +hole was dimmed by something that shut off the light from the room +above. It floated down with a slight rustle and the boys could see that +it was a paper of some kind. + +In an instant Frank had crept across and grabbed the paper, thrusting it +into the bosom of his shirt. Then he moved swiftly back to the shelter +of the barricade. + +"That was taking a chance, old boy," whispered Bart, as his friend +resumed his place among them. "If you'd knocked against anything and the +Huns had heard you, they'd have been down here in a jiffy." + +"I suppose it was a little risky," returned Frank, "but we've got to +take risks sometimes, and it struck me that there might be something in +that paper that our officers would like to know." + +Just then Billy, in trying to get in a less cramped position, knocked +against one of the rifles that had been stood in a corner. It fell +against one of the barrels with a clatter that in the confined place and +the tense state of the boys' nerves sounded to them like thunder. + +Frank grabbed it before it could fall on the cellar floor, but it seemed +as though the mischief must have been done, and their hearts were in +their mouths as they listened for anything that might indicate that the +sound had been heard on the floor above. + +But the debate had reached a lively stage just at that moment, and the +incident attracted no attention, so that after two minutes more of +strained listening the boys were assured that they had come off scot +free from what might have been a disaster. + +"This is sure no place for a man with heart disease," murmured Tom, and +his comrades unanimously agreed with him. + +The conference in the room above had come to an end, as was shown by the +shuffling of feet as the men rose from the table. There was a sound as +of a sheaf of papers being hastily gathered together. But there was no +outcry to indicate that any one of them was missing, and the boys drew a +long breath and relaxed their grasp on their rifles. There would be no +search, and for the moment they were safe. + +The lights above were extinguished and the party went out. The horses +clattered away, and once more the house and the town were as still as +the grave. + +"So near and yet so far," murmured Frank, when he was sure that the last +of the unwelcome visitors had departed. + +"That was what you might call too close for comfort," grinned Billy. + +"They wouldn't have done a thing to us if they had nabbed us," declared +Bart. "We wouldn't have had a Chinaman's chance. No prison camp for +ours! They'd have shot us down like dogs! They'd have reasoned that we +had heard their military plans, and that would have been all the excuse +they wanted." + +"Not that they would care whether they had the excuse or not," said +Billy. "The mere fact that a German wants to do anything makes it all +right to do it." + +"How they'd froth at the mouth if they knew Frank had that paper," +remarked Tom. "I wonder what it is." + +"It has a seal on it and it feels as if it were heavy and official," +replied Frank. "I don't want to strike a match now, but I'll take a +squint at it when daylight comes. Probably it's in German, and if it is +I can't read it. But they'll read it at headquarters all right, and it +may queer some of Heinie's plans." + +They conversed in whispers a little while longer, and then made ready to +go to sleep. Their preparations were not extensive, and consisted +chiefly in finding a place where no sharp edge of stone bored into the +small of their backs. But they were too tired to be critical, and after +putting away the food in a corner and arranging to stand watch turn and +turn about they soon forgot their troubles in sleep. + +When they awoke the light shining through the hole in the floor told +them that it was day. + +"Time you fellows opened your eyes," remarked Tom, who had been standing +the last watch. "If you hadn't I'd have booted you awake anyway, for you +were snoring loud enough to bring the whole German army down on you." + +"I'd hate to call you an out and out prevaricator, Tom," remarked Billy, +rubbing his eyes and running his hands through his tumbled hair, "so +I'll simply say that you use the truth with great economy. Suppose you +bring me my breakfast. I think I'll eat it in bed this morning." + +He dodged the shoe that Tom threw at his head and rose laughingly to his +feet. + +"Mighty bad manners the people have at this hotel," he remarked, "but +since you feel that way about it I'll take my grub any way I can get it. +Haul it out from that corner, Bart, and let's have a hack at it. I'm +hungry enough to eat nails this morning." + +Bart needed no second request, for he was quite as hungry as his mates. +But when he picked up the canvas wrapper in which the food had been +stored he dropped it with a startled exclamation. + +"What's the matter?" cried Frank. + +"Matter enough," replied Bart. "The bag's empty. There isn't a blessed +thing in it." + +The others rushed him under the light that came from above and examined +the wrapper with sinking hearts. What Bart had said was true. Not a +crumb was left. + +There was no mystery about it. The gnawed and tattered holes in the bag +told their own story. It was summed up in the one word that came from +their lips simultaneously. "Rats!" + +Their four-footed enemies had perhaps brought them nearer capture than +their human enemies had been able to do. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +CHASED BY CAVALRY + + +The four Army boys looked at each other in dismay. + +Nothing much worse than this could have befallen them. It brought them +close to the edge of tragedy. They would have to change their plans. +Instead of being free to choose their own time for their attempt to +escape, they were forced to act quickly no matter how much greater the +risk might be. For if they waited until they were weak from hunger they +would be in no condition to make a dash or put up a fight. + +Frank as usual was the first to recover his self-possession. + +"No use crying over spilt milk, fellows," he said, trying to infuse +cheerfulness into his tone. "We've got to try Billy's recipe and make +lemonade from the lemon that the rats have handed us." + +"It's a mighty big lemon," said Tom, "and I don't see much sugar lying +around." + +"How could the brutes have got at it without our hearing them, do you +suppose?" questioned Bart. + +"That doesn't matter much," replied Billy. "And there's no use holding +post-mortems. The thing is, what are we going to do?" + +"We're going to get out of here to-night without fail," said Frank +decidedly. "The moon won't come up till late and if the night is cloudy +it won't show up at all. At any rate we can't stay here. There isn't a +chance on earth of there being anything left in these houses, or we +might take a chance on foraging. The Huns have seen to that. The longer +we stay here the weaker we'll get. We've just got to make a break and +trust our wits and our luck to get back to the lines." + +"I guess you're right, old man," agreed Bart. "We'll just move our belts +up a hole and pretend we're not hungry. Tom here's getting too fat +anyway, and it'll do him good to give his stomach a rest. And as for +Billy, he can take a nap and dream of that stew he didn't get." + +"There's another thing, too," remarked Frank. "Those rats are likely to +come back to-night for more, and they may have spread the news and bring +a whole rat colony with them. No doubt they're famished since there's +nothing left in the town to eat, and if there are enough of them they +might go for us. Of course we could beat them off, but we'd be apt to +make a lot of noise in doing it, and that might bring the Huns down on +us. There's no use talking, we've got to skip." + +They all agreed to this, and they passed the rest of that day as best +they could until the light faded from the hole in the floor and night +settled down in a pall of velvet. They clambered out of their temporary +prison, their hearts beating with high determination. + +They ventured out at last into the darkness, slipping along from one +projection of the ruined houses to another, moving as lightly and +stealthily as cats. + +To one thing they had made up their minds. There would be no going back +to their old hiding place. That meant either starvation or surrender. +Besides, if they turned back on being discovered, the Germans would know +that they were hiding somewhere in the ruined town and they would not +leave one stone on another until they found them. But if they made a +break for the open country they would have their chance of escaping in +the darkness. On they went like so many spectres, until, on reaching a +shattered doorway, they crept close together for a whispered parley. + +"So far so good," murmured Frank. + +"Luck's been with us," agreed Bert. + +"We can stand a whole lot of luck in this business," whispered Tom. + +"It's a long, long way yet to our own lines," said Billy. "We haven't +got more than a couple of blocks away from our old hangout, and there's +no telling how much further it is before we strike the open country." + +Just then a stone toppled from a wall and fell with a crash only a few +feet away. In their tense state of alertness the unexpected sound made +them jump. + +"Just as well we weren't under that," remarked Frank, with a sigh of +relief. + +"Let's hope it won't bring some German sentry along to see what's making +the racket," responded Bart. + +"Just what it is doing," whispered Tom, as he heard a step approaching. +"Quick, fellows, get further back and lie down flat." + +They almost ceased to breathe as a dim form passed by so close that they +could almost have reached out and touched him. But the dust still rising +from the shattered stone convinced the visitor that nature and not man +was responsible for the disturbance, and, with a grunt of satisfaction +that it was nothing worse, the sentry returned to his former post. + +But the promptness with which he had appeared warned the fugitives that +the town, desolate as it was, was still under guard, and they redoubled +their precautions. However dangerous it might be, they must go on. The +moon would rise before long, and they must make the most of the pitchy +darkness that still prevailed. + +Listening with all their ears and straining their eyes until they ached, +they made their way through the littered streets until they realized +from their frequent encounters with bush and hedge that they were +getting into the open country. + +Huddled close in a thicket, they consulted the radio compass that Frank +drew from his pocket. That gave them the general direction in which they +must go. They knew that in general their course led toward the west, +but, as they could not tell what changes had taken place in the position +of the armies as the result of the two days' fighting, they had no idea +of how long it might take them to reach the American lines. + +They got their bearings due west and set off. They were making fair +progress when they were startled by hearing the clatter of hoofs a +little ahead of them. + +"Listen!" hissed Bart. + +"It's a cavalry troop," whispered Frank, as he flattened himself behind +a bush, an example that was promptly followed by the others. + +"Troop!" growled Tom. "It sounds more like a brigade." + +"Uhlans, probably," conjectured Billy. + +They peered through the bushes at the broad road not more than twenty +feet away. + +At that moment the moon showed a slender rim above the horizon and +threaded the darkness with a faint shimmer of light. + +Along the road came a force of cavalry. The guttural voices of the +riders told the concealed watchers that they belonged to the enemy. In +the dim light they could see the steam that rose from the horses' +flanks. + +Those days had been the first for a long time that cavalry could be used +on the western front. Trench fighting had put that arm of the service +almost wholly out of action. But the fact that the Allies had followed +up their tank attack with cavalry had brought forth a German response of +the same nature. + +There was no sign of elation among the riders, and the boys drew +pleasure from that. A dejected air prevailed, as though the Uhlans had +had the worst of it. + +"Guess they've had the hot end of the poker," whispered Bart. + +"Looks like it," replied Frank. + +Something just then frightened one of the horses, and he reared and +plunged into the bushes at the side of the road. The boys had all they +could do to scramble out of reach of the iron-shod hoofs. The rider was +almost unhorsed, but managed to retain his seat and quiet his trembling +mount. + +By the time he had done this, the troopers had almost passed. The boys +were rejoicing at this, but their exultation changed to uneasiness when +the soldier who had had so much trouble rode up to an officer and began +to talk volubly, at the same time pointing toward the bushes. + +"Here's where I see trouble coming," muttered Tom. + +"He's on to us," agreed Bart. + +"He must have seen us when we got out of his way," said Frank. "Let's +get out of here, quick." + +But this was not to be done so easily, for even as he spoke the officer +rapped out a command and a group of twenty horsemen began to spread out +and surround the place where the Army boys were crouching. + +To remain there would be fatal, for it was only a matter of a few +minutes before that ring would close upon them with a grip of iron. At +all hazards they must break through. + +"Stick together, fellows," murmured Frank. "Get your rifles ready. We +can't miss at this distance. When I say the word, give them a volley and +make a break for the road. It's our only chance, for they'd surely round +us up in these bushes." + +"We're with you, boy," replied Bart, and the little party crouched lower +with their fingers on trigger. + +Frank waited until the nearest horsemen were not more than ten feet +away. Then he sprang to his feet with a shout. + +"Fire!" he cried, and a stream of flame leaped from the bushes. + +Two of the riders threw up their hands and pitched from their saddles. A +third seized with his left hand the rein that dropped from his right. +There was a moment of confusion, and Frank and his comrades took instant +advantage of it. + +With a rush they reached the road and tore down it for dear life, while +behind them thundered the Uhlans in hot pursuit! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BROKEN BRIDGE + + +The Army boys had no idea where the road led to. It might be to the +American lines or to the German lines. But they knew that certain death +was behind them and possible life in front of them, and they ran as +though their feet had wings. + +But swift as they were, the horses were of course swifter, and before +long they knew that their pursuers were gaining. + +"Throw away your rifles," panted Frank. "We'll still have our knives and +grenades." + +They threw the heavy rifles aside, and, relieved of their weight, they +bounded ahead with renewed speed. + +For a short time their desperate efforts held their pursuers even, but +soon the gap again began to close. + +At a turn of the road they halted, gasping for breath. + +"Give them the grenades," ordered Frank, getting his own ready. "They +won't be expecting them and it may upset them. Throw yours at the same +time I do mine." + +They waited until the horsemen were within fifty feet. Then four +stalwart arms hurled the grenades against the front ranks. + +There was a tremendous explosion as the shells all seemed to go off at +the same instant, and the first rank of horsemen went down in a heap. + +Those behind drew their beasts back on their haunches so as not to +override their fellows, and in that moment another volley came among +them with deadly effect. + +Without waiting any longer, the boys renewed their flight. They knew +that the Germans would be mad with rage at their check by so small a +force, and they were not foolish enough to believe for a moment that the +chase would be abandoned. + +But a new exultation was in their hearts as they ran. They might be +killed, but they would at least have sold their lives dearly. There +would be little that the Uhlans would have to boast of in their story of +that night's work. + +Their breath came in short gasps and their laboring lungs felt as though +they were ready to burst. Frank, a little in the van, reached out a +warning hand and they slowed up. + +"We'll make faster time if we give ourselves a minute's rest," he +panted. "When we start in again we'll have our second wind. They haven't +got out of that mix-up yet. Besides, they'll come on more cautiously +now. They won't know how many grenades we have left." + +"I haven't any," gasped Tom. + +Billy was too far gone to speak, but he drew his last grenade from his +sack. Bart and Frank also were down to their last one, for the work on +the previous day had almost used up the stock with which they had +started out. They had a chance for one last throw, and then if it came +to a hand to hand fight they had nothing to rely on but their knives. + +They rested for a minute or two, and then again upon the wind came the +sound of hurrying hoofs. + +Instinctively the boys reached out and grasped one another's hands. +There was no need for words. They knew what it meant. To some of them +this might prove the last lap of the last race they would ever run. + +On came their pursuers, and the boys, summoning up every ounce of +strength they possessed, set out at the pace of hunted deer. + +Not two minutes had elapsed before their feet struck the boards of a +bridge. Below they saw the gleam of the moon in the dark water that ran +beneath. + +They took heart at the sight and put on a new burst of speed. Who knew +but what the American troops were camped on the further side? + +Twenty feet further they stopped abruptly. The bridge was broken. The +boards had been torn up, though the shattered timbers of the sides +projected a few feet further over the current. But fully a hundred feet +of black water stretched between them and the farther shore. + +They stopped, panting and perplexed. And just at that moment they heard +the hoofs of horses on the wood of the bridge. + +They were trapped. To turn back was certain captivity or death. To +plunge into that black current might also mean death. Their choice was +made on the instant. + +"Over we go, boys!" shouted Frank, throwing off his coat. "But we +mustn't waste those last grenades. Let them have them." + +They turned and threw, and without waiting to see the result dived +headforemost into the stream. The roar of the explosion was in their +ears as they struck the water. + +They were all good swimmers, and when they came to the surface they +found themselves within a few feet of each other. + +"To the other bank, fellows!" exclaimed Frank, as he shook the water +from his eyes. "And keep as low in the water as you can. They'll send a +volley after us." + +They struck out lustily for the farther shore while, as Frank had +predicted, bullets zipped around them. But in the darkness their foes +could take no aim and they reached the shore unscathed. + +The bank was steep, with long reeds growing down to the water's edge. +The fugitives grasped these and rested before they attempted to climb +the bank. + +"I'm all in," gasped Tom. + +Frank reached out a supporting hand. + +"I guess we all are," he replied. "It's lucky this river isn't wider. +But we're safe now." + +"I don't know about that," said Bart. "Listen!" + + There was a tramp of many feet upon the bank. + +"They've heard the shooting," whispered Billy. "If it's our boys we're +all right. If it isn't----" + +The sentence was never finished. Above the bank they saw a crowd of +helmeted figures. A light was flashed into their faces, nearly blinding +them, and a hoarse voice cried: + +"_Wer da!_" + +A score of hands reached down and grasped them. Unarmed, dripping, +utterly exhausted, they found themselves in the hands of the soldiers of +the Kaiser! + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + +With a file of soldiers on either side of them, the four boys were +marched off to a dugout near at hand. Here a German outpost had been +stationed to watch the river bank. It was not a large command, and the +lieutenant in charge, being unable to speak English and having no +interpreter at hand, after a few brusque attempts to question them gave +it up. Then, after having had them searched, he committed them to the +custody of a non-commissioned officer with directions that they were to +be fed and sent to headquarters in the morning. They ate ravenously, +and, not being permitted to talk to each other, found solace in sorely +needed sleep. + +When taken before the German officers, the friends were forced to +undergo a strict and searching examination. Their questioners tried in +every way, with pleadings alternating with threats, to get them to +divulge information that might be useful to them, but in vain. The four +Americans were absolutely uncommunicative, and at last the German who +had been doing most of the questioning was forced to acknowledge defeat. + +"_Donnerwetter!_" he growled. "Yankee pigs! It must be that they are so +stupid that they do not know anything to tell. What do you think, Herr +Lieutenant?" turning to one of his officers. + +"I think it more likely that they are just obstinate, sir, like those +cursed English," replied the officer addressed. "But perhaps a few +months in a prison camp will incline them to answer more quickly when a +German speaks to them." This was accompanied by a cruel smile, whose +significance was hot lost on the Americans. The captain glared at them, +but as they did not seem to weaken perceptibly, even under his high +displeasure, he grumbled finally: + +"Well, take them away, and we'll see how they act after a taste of +prison life." As their guards were about to take them from the room, he +continued, menacingly: "Remember, you Yankees, that the sooner you tell +me what I want to know, the easier it will be for you. And in the end +we'll make you talk. It is not well to oppose Germany's will too far." + +But as the prisoners did not appear greatly frightened by these threats, +the commander at last ordered the sergeant in charge to take the +prisoners away, and turned again to his desk. + +In spite of the critical situation in which they found themselves, Bart +could not resist a surreptitious wink at his companions as they passed +through the doorway, which was returned in kind by his graceless +companions. But, although they had had the satisfaction of balking the +German officers, they were not long in appreciating the discomforts of +their present situation. When they reached the temporary prison camp, +they were herded into a large tent, already overcrowded with French, +English, and a few American prisoners. Soon after their arrival food was +served out, although it hardly seemed worthy of the name. Watery soup, +made by boiling turnips in water, and a small chunk of some tasteless +substance supposed to be bread, constituted the meal. The boys, fresh +from the wholesome and abundant food furnished by Uncle Sam, found it +absolutely uneatable, and gave away their portions to some of the other +prisoners, who appeared glad to get it. + +"Wait until you've been here a few days," said one lanky Englishman, +with a ghastly smile, "you'll get so thoroughly famished that you'll be +able to go even that stuff," and he made a wry face. + +"Perhaps so, if we can't find some way to get out," said Frank. + +"Not as easy as it sounds," said the Englishman. "Although it has been +done, of course. But a lot more have been shot trying it than have ever +got away." + +"Might as well get shot as die of starvation," remarked Tom. + +This opinion evidently appealed to Tom's comrades, who looked +significantly at him. From that look each knew that the others were +ready to risk everything to gain their freedom. The Englishman, however, +seemed unconvinced, and presently left them. + +As night came on, they cast about for some place to sleep, but met with +little success. The only place to lie was on the ground, but by that +time the four friends were so tired that sleep, even under any hardship, +was desirable. They finally settled down in a corner that appeared a +little less crowded than the rest. However, before going to sleep they +tried to formulate some plan of escape, but with indifferent success. + +"About all we can do," said Bart finally, "is to hold ourselves in +readiness to make use of the first chance of escape that comes along. +And if these Germans are all as stupid as the ones we've seen so far, it +oughtn't to be very difficult." + +"Well, when the chance comes, we won't let any grass grow under our +feet, that's certain," said Frank. "But now, I'm dog-tired, and I'm +going to see if I can't get a little sleep. And what's more, I'd advise +you fellows to do the same." + +"He who sleeps, dines," quoted Tom, with a somewhat rueful grin. "I hope +there's more in that old saying than there is in most of them." + +"Right you are," said Bart, "but something seems to tell me I'm going to +be hungry in the morning, just the same." + +Bart was right. After a restless night, the boys woke with ravenous +appetites, and managed to eat most of the unpalatable fare that was +passed around. Not long after this they saw the sergeant who had had +charge of them the previous day picking his way through the crowd, +evidently looking for some particular object. At last he caught sight of +the Americans, and immediately headed toward them. + +"Come," he commanded, roughly, in his halting English. "Orders have come +for your removal." + +"Where to?" inquired Frank. "Silence! Do as you are told, and ask no +questions!" commanded the German. + +"For two cents I'd jump on him and choke the dog's life out of him!" +muttered Tom, but his friends laid restraining hands on him. + +"Nothing doing, Tom," warned Billy. "We'd be playing against stacked +cards in a game like that. Take it easy now, and maybe our chance will +come later." + +Meanwhile the sergeant had started off, and the friends had no choice +but to follow him. He led them out of the tent, where a squad of +soldiers was lined up. At a nod from the sergeant, these surrounded the +boys, and at a curt word of command they all started off. + +They were soon outside the confines of the camp, and marching along what +had once been a perfect road, but was now badly broken up by the +combined effects of shellfire and heavy trucking. The soldiers talked +among themselves in low gutturals, and the boys, by piecing together +words that they caught here and there, gathered that they were being +taken to some higher official for further questioning. + +"You see," said Billy, "they know we were inside their lines a +considerable time before they caught us, and so they are paying +particular attention to us. I guess they think we may know more than +we've told them so far." This with a wink at his friends. + +"We sure have told them a lot," put in Bart, grinning. "And, just to be +perfectly fair, I suggest that we tell the next Boche who questions us +just as much as we told the last one." + +"Fair enough," agreed Tom. "No favoritism has always been my motto." + +"No talking among the prisoners," commanded the sergeant, threateningly, +and the four friends, having said about all they wanted to say, anyway, +relapsed into silence. + +For several miles the little group plodded along, often meeting +detachments of German infantry, who scowled sullenly at the Americans as +they passed. + +The boys were far from happy, in spite of the light-hearted attitude +they presented to their captors. They all knew that if they could not +effect an escape their chance for life was small, as, on account of +their having been inside the German lines so long before being captured, +the Huns would seize the opportunity of calling them spies, and mete out +the quick end that is accorded to such. They were walking along, each +one immersed in his own gloomy thoughts, when suddenly a sound from +above caused them to look quickly up toward the blue sky. + +What they saw caused their hearts to beat faster and hope to spring up +again in their breasts. For, skilled as they were in such matters, they +recognized the airplane up above, whose roaring exhaust had first +attracted their attention, as one of the Allied type. + +It was coming toward them at high speed, flying low, and as it rapidly +neared them the four friends, forgetting their German captors, waved +their hands wildly to the pilot, whom they could see, as the aeroplane +came closer, peering down over the side of the body. The Germans, on +their part, were so terrified by the approach of this huge enemy +machine, that they seemed to forget all about their prisoners, and in +fact about everything except their individual safety. With wild yells of +terror they scattered this way and that, all except the sergeant. He, +seeing his men running in every direction, snarled out a curse, and +whipped out his automatic pistol. + +"I'll do for you Yankees, anyway, he hissed," and leveled the pistol at +them. But even as his finger trembled on the trigger, Frank's fist, with +the force of a sledgehammer, came with a crashing impact against the +point of the German's jaw, and the Hun went down, his pistol exploding +harmlessly toward the sky. Frank, with the light of battle in his eye, +seized the fallen man's weapon and looked around for the other Germans. +But by this time they had all gotten out of effective pistol range, and +after emptying the weapon in the direction of the fleeing figures, Frank +and the others turned their attention to the aeroplane, which by now was +manoeuvring for a landing. + +The airship came down in great spirals, and finally took the ground with +hardly a jar, running along a hundred feet or so and then coming to a +halt. + +As the boys started running toward it, Tom ejaculated: "Say, fellows, my +eyes may be playing me tricks, but if that isn't Dick Lever at the wheel +you can call me a German!" + +"I think it is Dick, myself," agreed Frank. "And if this isn't a case of +the 'friend in need,' I miss my guess." + +It was indeed as they thought. The pilot was an old friend of theirs, +but one whom they had not seen for some time. Now, as they raced toward +the airplane, he in turn recognized them, and raised a delirious shout +of joy. + +"Tumble into this bus just as fast as you can, fellows," he cried, +"we've got to get out of this mighty quick. You can explain the mystery +of your being here after we get started." + +"But can you carry the whole bunch of us?" asked Billy. + +"Easily," replied one of the two observers, who had not spoken up to +now. "We've just dropped our load of bombs on a few German supply +depots, and now we're running back light." + +"All right, then," said Billy, "in we go!" And, suiting the action to +the word, the four friends swarmed into the airplane, filling the +cramped passenger carrying space to overflowing. Meantime, the Germans, +having found cover, had opened up a brisk rifle fire against the +aeroplane, and bullets began to sing through the framework. One of the +observers leaped to the ground, gave the propeller a vigorous twist, and +as the motor began to roar clambered aboard as the big plane started +over the rough ground, bumping and jolting, but rapidly gaining speed. +The Germans broke from their shelter in pursuit, firing wildly as they +ran, but although some of their shots came close, none came near enough +to do any real damage. In a few seconds, in answer to a quick movement +from Dick Lever, the big bombing machine left the ground, and amid a +parting rain of bullets from the Germans, started to ascend in long, +sweeping spirals. + +The friends were about to congratulate themselves on their safe escape, +when suddenly one of the observers, who had been scanning the horizon +closely, pointed behind them, and exclaimed: + +"Just as I thought! Those two Boche planes that we saw getting ready to +come after us just after we dropped our last bomb are coming up fast. +Look!" + +All twisted about, and saw that it was as the observer had said. High up +in the sky two swift, darting objects were coming in pursuit. The +American machine was built more for carrying capacity than for speed, +and in addition was heavily loaded. Every advantage was with the swift +German machines. Their pilots no doubt realized this, for now they +headed directly for the Americans, descending in a long slant that gave +them tremendous speed. + +"All right," said Lever, coolly, "if they're going to come down, it may +be a good idea for us to go up," and, suiting the action to the word, he +elevated the nose of the big plane skyward, and they started to climb +steeply. The American machine was equipped with a tremendously powerful +motor, and this, combined with its great wing spread, enabled it to +climb with great rapidity, in spite of the heavy load it was carrying. +The Germans had not counted on this, and the result was that they +miscalculated their distances, passing beneath the American flyer +instead of above it, as they had intended. They both turned quickly and +started to climb, but by this time the American aviators had trained +their two machine guns on the Germans, and opened fire. + +At first this seemed to have little effect, and the Germans ascended +rapidly, while their machine gun operators, although as yet unable to +use their deadly weapons, sent a hail of revolver bullets whistling +through the wings and rigging of the American machine. But now the +concentrated fire from the American machine was beginning to have +effect. One of the German planes hesitated, quivered, and suddenly its +right wing, with its wire stays severed by the machine gun bullets, +crumpled up. The crippled aeroplane staggered wildly, suddenly turned on +its right side, and pitched steeply downward. + +The boys in the American airplane gazed at each other with white faces, +but they had little time to devote to thoughts of the fallen, for by now +the remaining German machine was on a level with them, and its machine +gunner opened fire. The Americans, crouching low to avoid the murderous +stream of bullets, returned the fire from both their machine guns, with +a deadliness of purpose and aim for which the German was no match. +Suddenly a tiny flame appeared in the body of the German machine, grew +with lightning rapidity, and in a few seconds one side of the machine +was enveloped in leaping yellow flames. + +"Punctured the gas tank!" exulted Lever. "They're done for now." + +And he was right. The machine gun fire from both fighting planes died +out, and the boys could see the Germans vainly trying to beat out the +hungry flames. Their efforts were useless, however, and in a few seconds +the German machine, a roaring mass of flame and black smoke, dropped +downward as swiftly as a stone. As it went, the boys saw two figures +hurl themselves out into space, and then everything was hidden in a haze +of billowy smoke. + +"That's awful!" exclaimed Tom, drawing in his breath with a great sigh, +while all relaxed from the terrible tension they had been under. + +"Awful, yes," said Dick Lever. "But it's only what they would have done +to us if they had been able. Instead of 'live and let live,' it's 'kill +or get killed' in this game." + +Frank nodded his head gloomily, but none of the boys felt like talking +then, and sat silent as their pilot got his bearings and then +straightened out swiftly in the direction of the American lines. + +With the roar of the motor in their ears and the rush of wind past their +faces, much of the horror of the deadly air battle was swept from their +minds, and they began to enjoy the exhilaration of their first flight. +The distant earth streamed rapidly by, like a swiftly flowing river, and +a wonderful panorama was spread out below them. It was an exceptionally +clear day, and they could see for many miles in every direction. Below +them, groups of gray clad figures, after a glance in the direction of +the soaring monster overhead, broke for cover, or, shaking impotent +fists, trudged stolidly onward, contemptuous of one more danger among +the many that daily surrounded them. + +"No prison camp for us this time," exulted Frank, as he looked down at +his enemies. + +"We wouldn't have been in a prison camp long," declared Tom. "Those +fellows had picked us out for a firing squad. They were going to get all +they could out of us, and then about six feet of earth would have been +our size." + +"I'll bet that sergeant's jaw aches yet from the clip that Frank handed +him," chuckled Billy happily. + +"I skinned my knuckles," said Frank, looking at them ruefully. + +"Never mind," laughed Bart. "You never hurt them in a better cause." + +"We can't be far from the lines now," shouted Frank, in Dick's ear. + +"Pretty close," responded the aviator. "We ought to be down fifteen +minutes from now." + +And his estimate proved very nearly correct. Soon the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh could recognize the familiar landmarks of their own +encampment, and, with one impulse, they gave three rousing cheers. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +PUTTING ONE OVER + + +It was a beautiful landing that Dick Lever made at the aviation camp, +his great machine sailing down like a swan and landing so lightly that +it would scarcely have broken a pane of glass. + +"Dick, you're a wonder!" exclaimed Frank, as he stepped out of the +machine. + +"The way you put it all over the Boche planes shows that," chimed in +Bart with equal enthusiasm. + +"I don't wonder they say you're an 'ace,'" added Billy. + +"If all aviators had your class, the Hun flyers wouldn't have a chance +on earth--I mean in the sky," said Tom. + +"Oh, it's all a matter of practice," said Dick modestly, although it was +plain to be seen that their heartfelt appreciation pleased him. "It's as +easy as running an automobile when you know how. Well, so long, fellows. +I've got to make my report," and with a gay wave of the hand he left +them and made his way to aviation headquarters. + +"Say, how does it feel to be a free man once more?" cried Frank +jubilantly, as they sought out their regiment. + +"I can't believe yet that it's anything but a dream." replied Bart with +deep feeling, as he looked around at the friendly faces and familiar +surroundings that he had feared for a time he would never see again. + +"And look at that flag!" cried Billy as he saw Old Glory flying from one +of the officers' pavilions. Like a flash their hats came off and they +saluted the glorious flag that meant to them everything in life. + +They passed the tanks, and Will Stone, who was "grooming his pet," +looked at them for a moment as though he could not believe his eyes. +Then he rushed toward them and nearly shook their hands off. + +"By all that is lucky!" he cried. "I was afraid I was never going to see +you fellows again. Where did you drop from?" + +"From the sky," laughed Frank. + +"Some little angels, you see," chuckled Billy. Then seeing Stone's +puzzled look he added: "The Huns had got their hooks on us when Dick +Lever came along in his plane, gave them a few little leaden missives, +picked us up and landed us here, right side up with care." + +Stone's eyes kindled as he heard their story, and his enthusiasm over +Lever's feat was as great as their own. + +"But how did we make out in the big drive?" asked Frank. "We kept hoping +all the time that you fellows would be along and nab us before the +Boches did." + +"We've had a big victory," explained Stone. "We put the Hindenburg line +on the blink by that smash at his center, and he's had to draw in his +wings on both sides. It's one of the biggest things that's been done on +the western front, and the Heinies will have a hard time explaining it +in Berlin." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Frank. + +"That town you fellows were hiding in didn't come into our general +plan," went on Stone, "and that's the reason you had to fight your way +out all by your lonesome." + +"It was some little fight, all right," remarked Tom. + +"And we certainly gave those Uhlans a run for their money," laughed +Billy. + +"Lucky they didn't get hold of you," said Stone. "It would have been +curtains for the whole bunch. They must have been wild at the lacing you +handed them." + +"I guess they were rather peeved," grinned Bart. + +"I'm sorry I had to throw away my rifle, though," mourned Tom. + +"Tom would find something to grouch about if he were in heaven," laughed +Frank. + +They talked for a few minutes longer and then went on, as they were +eager to be once more with their comrades of the old Thirty-seventh. + +And what a greeting they had when they walked into their old command! +They were pounded and mauled in wild enthusiasm, for they were prime +favorites in the regiment and had been sadly given up as dead or +captured. + +They had to tell again and again the story of their adventures, and it +was only by main force that they tore themselves away from their +rejoicing mates long enough to report themselves to their officers as +present for duty. + +Their captain was as delighted as his men at their safe return, although +his satisfaction was expressed in less boisterous fashion. He commended +warmly the gallant fight they had put up with the Uhlans, and he was +visibly startled as his eye glanced over the German report that had been +captured by Frank when it fluttered down into the cellar. + +"This must go to headquarters at once!" he exclaimed. "It is a matter of +the utmost importance. You men have deserved the thanks of the army," he +continued, "and I am proud that you are members of my command." + +They made their way back to their company with their leader's praise +ringing in their ears and warming their hearts. But they had scarcely +got out of the captain's presence before his chums pounced upon Frank +with the liveliest curiosity. + +"How did you keep that paper when the Germans searched you?" asked Tom. + +"Where did you hide it?" demanded Billy. + +"I never knew you were a sleight of hand performer," added Bart. + +"Easy there, fellows," laughed Frank, enjoying their mystification. "It +was the simplest thing in the world. While you fellows were sleeping in +the cellar I just loosened the sole of my shoe and slipped the paper in +between the sole and the upper and nailed the sole up again. The Heinies +didn't get next to it, and that's where I had luck. I'm mighty glad they +didn't, for the cap seems to think there's something in it that's worth +while." + +"Foxy stunt," approved Tom. + +"Some wise boy!" exclaimed Billy, giving his chum a slap on the shoulder +that made him wince. + +"You're all there when it comes to the gray matter, old man," was Bart's +tribute. + +A day later, part of their reward came in a week's furlough that was +granted them for "specially gallant conduct," as the order of the day +expressed it. The rest was welcome, for it was the first they had had +since they had landed on French soil, and they had been under a strain +of hard work and harder fighting that had taxed even their strong +vitality to the utmost. + +And that week stood out forever in their memory like an oasis in a +desert. They spent it in a little French town miles away from the firing +line and even beyond the sound of the guns. They fished and swam and +loafed and slept as though there was no such thing as war in the world. +No reveille to wake them in the morning, no taps to send them to their +beds at night. For the first time in months they were their own masters, +and they enjoyed their brief liberty to the full. + +Yet even here in this "little bit of heaven" as Tom expressed it, they +could not be wholly free from war's reminder. + +They were sprawling one day outside their cottage when an officer came +along, gorgeous in epaulets and gold lace. + +"See who's coming!" exclaimed Tom peevishly. "Now we'll have to get up +and salute." + +"I suppose so," said Billy reluctantly. + +"Can't we pretend, we don't see him?" yawned Bart sleepily, clutching at +a straw of hope. + +"Not a chance in the world," declared Frank. "He's looking right at us." + +They stood up as the officer approached and saluted respectfully. He +returned the salute snappishly and glared at them sternly. + +"Get in line there," he commanded. "Smart now. Eyes ahead." + +They resented his tone, but obeyed with military promptness. + +"Present arms." + +They hesitated and looked at each other. + +"Present arms," I said. + +"If you please, sir," said Bart, "we have no guns." + +"I know it," snapped the officer. "Go through the motions." + +So without a word they did as directed. + +"Shoulder arms." + +They did so. + +"Forward! March!" + +He set off in front with a military stride and they followed. + +"I feel like a fool," whispered Bart to Frank. + +"Same here," was the reply. "What does he mean by it?" + +"Wants to show his authority, I reckon," muttered Bart. + +Tom and Billy said nothing, but there were scowls on their faces that +spoke for them. + +They had marched for perhaps half a mile, when at a cross roads two men +appeared who were evidently looking for some one. Their eyes lighted up +when they saw the officer and they came straight toward him. He saw them +coming, and throwing his dignity to the wind started to run, but they +were quicker than he and grasped him by the collar. + +"Come back to the asylum," one of them growled. "We've had lots of +trouble to find you." + +The boys stood rooted to the spot. + +"You see," explained one of the men, touching his forehead +significantly, "he's a grocer that's got the military bug. He thinks +he's Napoleon. Come along, Napoleon." + +And "Napoleon" meekly obeyed. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SUSPICION + + +To paint the emotions that chased themselves over the features of the +four boys would have taxed the ability of an artist. For a moment no one +of them cared to look into the eyes of the others. + +Tom was the first to act. He grabbed his cap in his hands, kneaded it +into a ball, threw it on the ground and jumped up and down on it. + +The others looked at his scowling face and the sight was too much for +them. They threw themselves on the ground in convulsions of laughter. +They howled. They roared. They rolled over and over, until Tom himself +caught the contagion and joined in with the rest. It was a long time +before any one of them was able to speak. + +"Stung!" choked Bart, while tears of merriment rolled down his cheeks. + +"Forward! March!" gurgled Billy. "Pound me on the back, you fellows, or +I'll have a fit." + +"A grocer! Napoleon!" roared Frank. "Shades of Austerlitz and Waterloo!" + +"And we fell for it!" yelled Tom. "Think of it, fellows! By the great +horn spoon! We fell for it!" + +They got themselves under control at last, though not without many +interruptions, for again and again one of them would start to speak and +go off into a peal of laughter. + +"I'm as weak as a rag," gulped Billy. "I haven't laughed like this in +all my life." + +"It would make a hit in vaudeville," chuckled Bart. "Think of us sillies +stalking along and going through shadow motions for a nut like that. +We're squirrel food, all right." + +"Well, after all what could we do?" defended Frank. "We're not mind +readers." + +"Not even of a scrambled mind like that," interposed Billy. + +"And we couldn't tell that he wasn't an officer," went on Frank, not +heeding the interruption. "His uniform seemed to be all right, although +a bit gaudy." + +"That gives us a way out," said Bart. "We can say that we followed the +uniform, not the man, and let it go at that. But, oh, boy! if the +fellows of our regiment had seen us trotting along behind that lunatic, +maybe they wouldn't make our life a burden." + +"We'd never have heard the last of it," agreed Tom. "But what they don't +know won't hurt them, and it's a safe bet that none of us will ever let +out a squeak." + +"It's lucky there wasn't any moving picture man handy," laughed Frank. +"He'd have had a film that would put all the rest out of business. But +now let's get back to the cottage after this unfortunate hike of ours." + +"Say," put in Bart, as a new thought struck him, "do you think those +keepers could have caught on?" + +"I don't think they tumbled," Billy reassured them. "They were too +intent on catching Napoleon to think of anything else." + +"Poor Napoleon," chuckled Frank. "I suppose he's back on St. Helena by +this time." + +"Well, there's one comfort, anyway," declared Tom. "He doesn't know that +he put anything over on us. If he hasn't forgotten us altogether he +thinks we're part of the Old Guard." + +"They say a philosopher is one who can grin when the laugh is on +himself," laughed Billy. "If that's so we're dandy philosophers." + +All too soon that pleasant week was over, and the boys, refreshed and +rested, went away, though with many a backward glance, to the stern work +where they had already won their spurs and made their mark. + +They started in on their work again with renewed zest and with quickened +energy, for a battle was impending and they were anxious to take their +part in driving back the Hun. + +They saw Rabig frequently, and though they all disliked him heartily, he +was still a soldier like themselves in the service of Uncle Sam, and +they strove to disguise their feeling for the good of the common cause. + +"He's a bad egg, all right," declared Tom, who stuck obstinately to his +belief that Rabig had had some part in the escape of the German +corporal, "but as long as we can't prove it, we'll have to give him a +little more rope. But sooner or later he'll come to the end of that +rope, and don't you forget it!" + +Nick had come out of the court-martial that investigated the escape, not +with flying colors, but with bedraggled feathers. The cut on his head +had proved so slight as to arouse suspicion that it might have been +self-inflicted. Still the motive for this did not seem adequate, and the +upshot of the inquiry was that Rabig was confined a few days in the +guardhouse and then restored to duty. But in the private books of the +officers there was a black mark against him, and all of them would have +been better pleased not to have had him in the regiment. + +"Oh, well, don't let's talk about him," Frank summed up a discussion +about the bully. "The whole subject leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I +only hope he's the only rotten apple in the barrel." + +"That's just the trouble'," replied Tom. "If that rotten apple isn't +taken out of the barrel a good many more may be spoiled in less than no +time." + +"Sure enough," agreed Bart. "But I guess there isn't much danger in this +case. If Nick had lots of friends that he might influence it might be +different, but you notice that the fellows leave him to flock by +himself." + +"He's about as popular as the hives in summertime for a fact," commented +Tom. "He'd be a mighty sight more at home if he were in the trenches on +the other side." + +"Maybe so," admitted Frank. + +"What are you fellows chinning about?" broke in a familiar voice, and +they turned to see Dick Lever regarding them with a friendly grin. + +"Hello, Dick," came from them all at once in a roar of welcome, for it +was the first time they had seen him since he had rescued them from +their German captors, and their feelings toward him were of the warmest +nature. + +"Where have you been keeping yourself?" asked Frank. "We've been looking +for you to drop in and see us for a long time past." + +"As a matter of fact, I did get down this way about a week ago," replied +Dick, as he tried to shake hands with all four at once, "but the whole +bunch of you were off on furlough." + +"Sorry we missed you," said Frank. "Yes, we did get a few days off, and +it didn't do us a bit of harm. We've all come back feeling the best +ever." + +"Ready to take another crack at the Huns, eh?" grinned Dick. "Some +fellows never know when they have enough." + +"You needn't talk," laughed Bart. "I'll bet you've been popping away at +them every day since we saw you last." + +"Oh, they've kept me pretty busy," said Dick carelessly. "The Hun flyers +are getting pretty sassy just now, and we have to keep working hard to +drive them back." + +"I've noticed more of them flying over our lines than usual in the last +day or two," remarked Billy. + +"Say," broke in Tom, "this is sure our lucky day. Here comes Will +Stone." + +"We sure are lucky when two of the best fellows in the world drop in on +us at the same time," said Frank, as he and his mates greeted the +bronzed tank operator. "I don't know whether you two fellows know each +other, but if you don't you've both lost something." + +"Oh, we're not altogether strangers," smiled Stone, as he and Dick shook +hands heartily. "Many a time I've seen his plane flying overhead, and +it's made me feel rather comfortable to know that he was on the job, and +that no Boche flyer would have a chance to drop something that would put +Jumbo out of commission." + +"It would have to be some bomb that would make junk of that big car of +yours," said Dick. "I was flying pretty low the day we smashed the Boche +lines and I saw the way Jumbo snapped those wires as though they were so +many threads. That tank's a wonder and no mistake." + +They were having such a good time and the time flew so rapidly that they +were startled when the bugle blew and they were compelled to go to their +respective quarters. + +A few nights after his return Frank was assigned to sentry duty on an +important post on the front trenches. His beat terminated at a point +where he could see a little shack that stood on the side of a hill. + +Standing as it did in the battle zone; it had become little more than a +ruin. Most of the thatched roof had been shot away, one side had gone +altogether, and the other three sides leaned crazily toward each other. + +It was a little after midnight when Frank thought he saw a gleam of +light either in the cabin or close by it. It was very faint, scarcely +more than the glimmer of a firefly, and it vanished instantly. + +Still, it had been there. Cautiously, avoiding every twig with the +stealth of an Indian, Frank crept toward the hut. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +A FAMILIAR VOICE + + +As Frank neared the cabin he redoubled his precautions, and it was here +that his scout training stood him in good stead. + +When he was within twenty feet he went down flat on the earth and wormed +his way to one of the sides that had been left standing. He placed his +ear against a board and listened intently. + +But not a sound rewarded him. The deepest silence reigned. + +For a moment he was tempted to believe that his eyes had played a trick +on him. But they had seldom done this and he had learned to trust them. + +The light could not have come from a firefly, for it was too late in the +season for them. What then had caused it? + +He worked his way around to the shattered doorway and inch by inch +lifted his head until his eyes were on a level with the floor. Quickly +they swept the room, which was so small that the faint light that came +from the stars enabled him to see that it was empty. + +When he was fully assured of this, he crept into the room and with his +fingers explored every inch of the floor. The apartment was so small +that this was not much of a task, and before long his hand came in +contact with a match. It had been lighted and the softness of the +charred end told him that this had been done recently. + +This then was the "firefly"! + +He continued his search with renewed caution and soon found a cartridge. +He knew from the feel of it that it was of the kind used in the rifles +with which the American troops were equipped. It was still warm, as +though it had been recently in a belt close to a man's body. + +But what was a man doing in that lonely spot at that hour of the night? + +Was he a prowling spy from the German camp who had made a daring +incursion into the American lines? + +He must solve the mystery. With every faculty at its highest pitch, he +moved out into the open. + +A slight rustling in the forest near by fell on his ears. It might have +been made by some woodland creature, but to his strained senses every +sound, however slight, suggested a possible clue. + +He listened intently and heard it again, but this time it was a trifle +louder than before. + +He rose to his feet and with catlike tread moved in the direction of the +sound. As he drew hearer he heard it more plainly. And now his patience +was rewarded, for he distinctly heard the low tone of a human voice. + +And if it was a human voice it must of necessity be an enemy voice, for +no friend of his or of Uncle Sam's could be in that place at that hour +on a legitimate errand. + +A moment later he detected another voice in a different key yet pitched +hardly above a whisper. So it was a conference! A conference of whom and +about what? + +He crept still farther forward. + +Right before him stretched a little glade full of small trees and +undergrowth with a scarcely visible path leading downward. + +To press too far between the bushes would have inevitably betrayed him. +He halted with his rifle ready for action and listened. + +The conversation seemed to be an earnest one and in their earnestness +the conferees at times forgot caution, for, as one of the men raised his +voice in expostulation, Frank could note that he was talking German. But +it was not that which made him start suddenly and clutch his rifle more +tightly. + +He had heard that voice before. + +Where and when? + +He cudgeled his brain and then it came to him. + +It was Nick Rabig's voice! + +That is, he thought it was. But at that distance he could not be +perfectly sure. At any rate it was time to act. + +With a bound he leaped forward. + +"Halt!" he cried. "Halt or I fire." + +There were startled exclamations from both men, and then a prodigious +scrambling in the bushes as they tried to escape. + +Bang! went Frank's rifle, and there was a scream followed by a heavy +fall. + +Frank rushed forward, but caught his foot in a tangled root and fell. +His gun flew from his hand and his head came in contact with a stump. +The jagged edges cut a gash in his forehead, and for a moment he was +utterly dazed. + +He strove desperately to retain his senses and in a minute or two his +brain ceased to whirl. He staggered drunkenly to his rifle and picked it +up. And at this moment there was a sound of hurrying feet, and Wilson, +the corporal of the guard, came running up, accompanied by Fred Anderson +who had been on duty near by. + +"What is it, Sheldon?" asked the corporal "What were you shooting at?" + +Frank tried to speak, but his tongue was thick and the words would not +come." + +"He's wounded!" exclaimed Anderson, as he saw with alarm the blood +flowing freely from Frank's forehead. + +They deftly bound up his head, and by this time Frank had found his +voice. + +"It's nothing," he managed to say. "I fell and cut my head. It's only a +scratch. I heard two men talking German here in the bushes and I started +in to get them. They wouldn't stop when I ordered them to, and I fired, +I don't know whether I got them or not." + +"We'll see," said the corporal, and led the way into the bushes while +Frank and Fred followed close on his heels. + +From one side to the other the corporal flashed his light, and before +long he uttered an exclamation. + +"You got one of them anyway," he said, as the light fell on the dead +body of a German whose uniform showed that he belonged to the Eighth +Bavarian Regiment, which they knew was stationed opposite them at that +part of the line. + +The corporal blew his whistle and other men of his squad came running in +answer to the call. He ordered them to carry the body into camp where it +could be searched for papers. Then he turned to Frank. + +"You've done well, Sheldon," he said, "and I'm sorry that you were hurt. +You're relieved from duty for the rest of your watch. I'll put another +man in your place. You'd better see the surgeons and have them wash out +that cut of yours and bind it up again. Then tumble in and go to sleep. +I hope you'll be all right in the morning." + +Frank did as he was directed, and after the surgeon had dressed his +wound and pronounced it not serious made his way to his bunk. He had to +pass Rabig's bunk in reaching his own and he stopped there for a moment. + +The place was dark, but he could see that the bunk was occupied, and +from the snoring that arose from it the inmate seemed to be sleeping +soundly. + +Had he been mistaken? + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE SHADOW OF TREASON + + +When the soldiers jumped from their bunks the next morning at the call +of the bugle Frank's comrades saw his bandaged head and they surrounded +him at once with expressions of solicitude and alarm. + +"What's the matter, old man?" asked Bart anxiously. + +"Don't say you're badly hurt!" exclaimed Tom. + +"You look all in," said Billy. "You're as pale as a ghost." + +"I'm a long way from being a ghost yet," smiled Frank, as he drew on his +clothes. "Wait till you see me tuck away the grub at breakfast. I butted +my head against a stump last night to find out which was the harder, and +the stump won." + +"Stop your kidding and tell us about it," commanded Bart. + +Frank told them the main features of his encounter of the night before, +but it was only after mess when he had them by themselves that he voiced +his suspicions of Rabig. + +Tom gave a long whistle. + +"That fellow will queer this whole outfit yet," he blurted out. "He's a +sneak and a traitor. If he had his deserts he'd be up against the firing +squad within twenty-four hours." + +"Easy there, Tom," counseled Frank, looking around him, for in his +excitement Tom had raised his voice. "Remember I'm not dead sure. I +wouldn't swear to it in a court of law." + +"Here comes Nick himself," remarked Bart. + +"The Old Nick," growled Tom. + +"Hello, Rabig," said Frank, as the former Camport bully came along. + +Rabig grunted a surly "Hello" in reply, and was passing on when Billy +hailed him. + +"Sleep well, last night, Rabig?" he asked carelessly. + +Rabig's face flushed and a frightened look came into his eyes. + +"Sure I did," he snapped. "Why shouldn't I?" + +"No reason in the world," replied Billy. + +"These cool nights are fine for sleeping," remarked Tom. "A little too +cool to be out in the woods, but just right for the trench." + +Rabig seemed to be trying to think up a reply, but nothing came to him +and he simply stood still and glowered at them. He appeared to be +speculating. What significance was there in these apparently careless +questions? Why should they be asked at all? How much did these cordially +hated acquaintances of his really know? + +"I hear that one of the Germans was killed close to our lines last +night," said Billy, shifting the attack. + +"Right inside our lines," corrected Tom. "And here's the fellow who shot +him," pointing to Frank. + +"Frank has nerve," drawled Billy. + +Rabig shot a glare of hate that was not lost by the onlookers, who kept +their eyes steadily on his face. + +"He nearly got another one, too," observed Bart. "And the funny thing +about it was that he thought he knew the fellow's voice." + +This was coming too near for Rabig to pretend that he did not know what +they were driving at. He turned upon them in desperation. + +"Look here," he snarled viciously. "What do you fellows mean? If you +mean that I'm mixed up in this thing you lie. Now don't you speak to me +again or I'll make you sorry for it." + +Without waiting for a reply he hurried off, and the four Camport chums +looked after him with speculation in their eyes until he was lost to +view at a turn of the trench. + +"He's guilty all right," declared Tom with conviction. + +"If ever guilt looked out of a man's eyes they looked out of his," +agreed Bart. + +"It seems so," admitted Frank with reluctance, "and yet he was in his +bunk when I went through last night." "How do you know it was Rabig?" +Tom retorted. "Are you such a cute detective that you can tell one man's +snore from another?" + +"Who else could it have been?" asked Frank. "If it was some one else, +that some one else must have been in cahoots with Rabig and agreed to +make him seem to be in his bunk. I'd hate to think that there was more +than one traitor in the regiment. + +"One's more than enough," agreed Bart. + +"What do you think we ought to do about it?" asked Billy. + +"I don't know," replied Frank, with a worried look on his face. "It +would be a terrible thing to accuse a man wrongfully of such a thing as +treason. Rabig would simply deny it and put it up to us to prove it. +Then, too, every one knows that there's no love lost between us and +Nick, and they might think we were too ready to believe evil of him +without real proof." + +"On the other hand," replied Tom, "if we let him go on, we may wake up +some time to find that Rabig has done the regiment more harm than a +German battery could do." + +"We'll simply have to keep our eyes peeled," was Billy's solution of the +problem, "and watch that fellow like hawks. But if he makes one more bad +break I don't think we ought to keep silent any longer. Let's hope that +next time, if there is any next time, we'll have the goods on him so +that there can't be any denying it." + +But pleasanter thoughts diverted their attention just then, for the camp +postman came into view and the boys rose with a whoop and pounced upon +their letters. And all their spare time that morning was spent in +reading and rereading the precious missives from their friends so many +thousand miles away. + +Frank was poring over a letter from his mother for the tenth time when +he heard his name spoken and looked up to see Colonel Pavet, who was +passing along in the company of another officer. + +He had only a moment to spare, but that moment was given to Frank, who +had risen and greeted him with a welcome as warm as his own. + +"Ah, Monsieur Sheldon, letters from home, I see," he remarked. "I hope +your mother is well." + +"Very well, thank you," responded Frank. "And very grateful to you, +Colonel Pavet, for the interest you have taken in her behalf and mine." + +The colonel courteously waved the thanks aside. + +He replied. "But you can tell Madame Sheldon that her affairs are +progressing finely, though not as rapidly as they would if it were not +for the distracted state of France. For instance, my brother Andre has +been trying to get a furlough for a man who was formerly a butler in the +De Latour family, and whose evidence he thinks will be most important in +establishing your mother's right. It is only with the greatest +difficulty that I have been able to bring this about, but I have +succeeded at last, and the man will go to Auvergne next week to give his +testimony. Let us hope that it will be as valuable as Andre thinks." + +Again Frank expressed his thanks, and after a few more words they +parted. + +_"Vive la France!"_ exclaimed Frank, as he saluted. + +_"Vive l'Amerique!"_ returned the colonel. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A HAIL OF LEAD + + +"It's coming," declared Tom a few days later, as the boys were getting +ready to go to mess. + +"Listen to the oracle," mocked Bart. + +"What's coming? Christmas?" inquired Billy. + +"The big fight," replied Tom. + +"Hear the general," gibed Bart. + +"I've understood that Tom was General Pershing's right bower," put in +Billy. + +"They say he doesn't do a thing without him," said Bart. + +"It's a pity that Tom didn't live in Napoleon's time," laughed Frank. +"He'd have been a marshal sure." + +"Napoleon," repeated Billy, with a faraway look in his eyes. "Where have +I heard that name before?" + +The four friends laughed as the comical scene in the little French +village rose up before them. + +But with all their jesting they felt as sure as Tom that a big battle +was impending. One did not have to be an officer to know that. The rank +and file could tell it just as unerringly as their superiors. + +For many days past all arms of the service had been working at top +speed. Regiments and divisions had been reorganized and brought up to +their full strength. Reserves had been brought from distant portions of +the line and were massed heavily in the rear of the positions. + +Raiding parties were active on both sides, as each was eager to get +prisoners and information, and scarcely a night passed without heavy +skirmishes between patrols that in former days would have risen to the +dignity of battles. + +Overhead the sky was dotted with the planes of the rival forces and the +hum of the motors of the giant birds of prey was continuous. They fought +not only in single combat but in sauacfrons, and the sight of one or +more whirling down in flames was so common that it scarcely attracted +attention. + +And most ominous of all, the medical service was organizing gigantic +units close to the front, in anticipation of the harvest of blood and +wounds that was so close at hand. + +Yes, a battle was coming. The grim reaper was sharpening his scythe and +the watching world was waiting for the outcome in an agony of +expectation. + +The forces as far as known were evenly balanced, though it was rumored +that the Germans were drawing large reserves temporarily from the +eastern front, and color was lent to this by the fact that the Swiss +frontier had been closed for a month to conceal the movement of troops. + +It was not yet certain which side would make the first move. Each army +was drawn up in a strong natural position with ranges of hills behind in +the event of having to fall back. + +"I hope we get in the first blow," remarked Frank, as he discussed the +question with his chums. + +"So do I," agreed Bart. "You know then where you're going to strike. +This matter of fighting behind entanglements doesn't make a hit with me +at all." + +"There's more of a swing and rush to it when you attack," commented +Billy. "Do you remember how it was, fellows, in that last big scrap when +we were sprinting over No Man's Land? You're so eager to get at the Huns +that you don't have time to think of danger." + +But one foggy morning not long after, the German leaders settled the +matter for the Camport strategists and struck with tremendous force at +the Allied lines. + +Two hours before dawn the German guns opened up with a roar that shook +the earth. The air was full of flying shells; tear shells to blind the +eyes of the Allied gunners so that they could not see to serve their +pieces; mustard shells that bit into the lungs like a consuming fire; +chlorine gas shells, with a deadly poison, to cause such agony that even +surgeons, hardened in the exercise of their profession, turned away +their faces from the writhings of the victims. Then, following these, a +storm of leaden hail, withering, searing, blasting, before which it +seemed no living thing could stand. + +Crouched low in their trenches, massed line behind line, the Allied +forces bent their heads to the storm, and waited in grim fury for the +infantry attack that they knew would surely follow. + +And it was not long in coming. The fog had risen by this time, and over +the fields, rank upon rank, marching at the double quick, came masses of +gray figures that seemed as endless as the waves of the sea. + +The Allied artillery tore wide gaps in the dense masses, but they closed +up instantly and continued their advance. Machine guns poured thousands +of bullets into the living target, and the gunners served their pieces +again and again until they were so hot that they burned the hand. + +But true to their theory of warfare, the German leaders fed their men +into the jaws of Moloch with cynical indifference. They had counted on +paying a certain price, and they were willing to pay it. + +But flesh and blood has its limitations, and before that murderous fire +the ranks at last faltered. + +Then from the trenches poured the Allied hosts in a fierce counter +attack, and before their resistless charge the enemy wavered and at last +broke. The gray lines melted away, and the ground, strewn with their +dead and dying, was held by the Allied forces, which swiftly organized +for the second attack, that they knew would not be long in coming. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A DEED OF DARING + + +"We got them!" cried Bart, exultingly, as the boys worked feverishly at +the preparations to meet the new attack. + +"Right between the eyes," cried Billy. + +"We drew first blood, all right," agreed Frank, "but they'll come again +for more." + +The prophecy was speedily realized, for again the enemy came forward, +with undiminished ardor, protected this time by a deadly barrage fire +behind which they marched with confidence. It was evident that this time +the enemy, having tested the Allied mettle and found it excellent, had +determined to place its chief reliance upon their big gun fire. And for +a time it seemed as though their confidence was justified. The barrage +fire swept the ground so completely that the Allies were forced to +abandon their hastily seized positions in the open and retreat once more +to the shelter of their trenches. But all the attacks of the German +hordes, repeated again and again, were not able to get possession of +those first line trenches, to which the Allies held with the fury of +desperation. They were manned chiefly by the American troops, although +certain units of French and English held either end of the line. Again +and again the storm broke, and again and again it was beaten back. The +Germans had massed at that portion of the line numbers many times +greater than those possessed by the defenders. By all the theories of +war they ought to have been successful, but, like the old guard at +Waterloo, the Americans might die, but would not surrender. + +Yet after a while the very stubbornness of this resistance proved in +itself a danger. On the right and the left the line, though not broken, +was bent back. In this way the American position formed a salient in the +German line, and was subjected to attack not only in front, but on the +flanks. It became imperative that the line should draw back so that it +might be in keeping with the position now held by the wings. + +So, after hours of sanguinary fighting, the orders came to fall back, +and the Americans, who had been standing like the army of Thomas at +Chickamauga, fifty years previous, reluctantly obeyed, and fell slowly +back to new positions, their faces always toward the foe. + +"What kind of a fool stunt is this?" growled Tom, who, with his +comrades, had been in the thick of the fight. "We had it all over those +fellows, even if they were two or three times as many, and here we are +retreating, when we ought to go ahead and lick the tar out of them." +"Don't growl and complain, Tom," soothed Frank, whose left hand was +bleeding where a bullet had zipped its way across it. "They'll get the +licking all right when the time comes." + +"It's good dope to give back a little sometimes," added Bart. "It's like +boxing. When a blow comes straight at your stomach you bend back and +that takes half the force away from the blow. Don't worry the least +little bit about this fight. We may be bending a little, but we're not +breaking, and before many hours we'll be standing the Heinies on their +heads." + +But the promise was not fulfilled that day, and when, night came after +hours of tremendous struggle, the Allied forces had not regained their +lost ground. + +As darkness fell the combat lessened, and finally ceased altogether, as +far as infantry attacks were concerned, although all through the night +the artillery kept up a fire of greater or less intensity. + +The boys of the regiment to which the Camport boys belonged were in +rather a sober mood when they gathered around their field kitchens that +night and partook of the food that was served out to them. They had not +lost a gun, but they had yielded ground, and a great many of their +comrades would never again answer the roll call. But their fighting +spirit was at as high a pitch as ever, and they could scarcely wait till +the morrow to get their revenge. + +Frank and his chums had come through the day unscathed, except for the +injury to Frank's hand and a mark across Billy's temple where a bullet +had ridged the skin. Perhaps it was due to the fortune that is said to +attend the brave, for they had borne themselves like heroes and had been +stationed at one of the most fiercely battered portions of the line. + +"I suppose they're gloating over this in Berlin to-night," said Tom +gloomily, as they sat at the roots of a great tree whose bark and +branches had been stripped from it by a storm of shells. + +"And groaning over it in New York," added Billy. + +"He laughs best who laughs last," said Bart. "To-morrow's a new day. +Just watch our smoke." + +"We'll eat 'em alive," prophesied Frank confidently, as he nursed his +wounded hand. "Like John Paul Jones, we've just begun to fight." + +"Do you fellows remember what General Corse said one time when Sherman +asked him if he could hold out?" asked Bart. + +"What was it?" asked Billy. + +"He said: 'I've lost one eye and a piece of an ear, but I can lick a +brigade or two yet,'" answered Bart. + +"Good old scout," approved Billy, while the boys laughed. + +"Well, we're not as badly off as that yet," said Frank, "although this +hand of mine is smarting to beat the band." + +"And my head is aching ready to split," added Billy. "One inch to the +left and it would have been all up with your uncle Billy." + +The fighting was resumed at dawn, and again it was the Germans who +attacked. They had counted on their advantage of the day before to break +the morale of their enemies and hoped by pressure to turn the withdrawal +into a rout. + +But like so many German calculations since the beginning of the war, +they had figured badly. The Allies, stung by their discomfiture of the +day before, fought like tigers. They beat the Germans back and took the +offensive in their own hands. + +The Germans retreated, though staunchly contesting every foot of ground. +In the front of Frank's company the enemy had established a machine gun +nest that was particularly effective. Again and again the Americans +sought to clean them out, but were met with such a galling fire that +they lost heavily, and at last the captain decided that the guns were +not worth the price he was paying to get possession of them. Yet the +position would be of so much advantage, if captured, that he hesitated +at changing his course and choosing another line of advance. + +In the litter and wreck of the field, Frank's keen eye had caught sight +of two big barrels filled with clothing for the troops. The barrels had +been dropped from a wrecked motor lorry of a supply train. Like a flash +an inspiration came to him. + +He consulted a moment with Bart, whose eye lighted up as he nodded +assent. Then he stepped up to his captain and saluted. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +STORMING THE RIDGE + + +"What is it, Sheldon?" + +"I think I can silence those guns, sir," Frank said. + +A light came into the captain's eyes. + +"How?" he asked. + +In a few brief words Frank described his plan. + +"But it's suicide," protested the captain. "There isn't one chance in a +thousand that you'll come out alive." + +"I know," said Frank. "But Raymond and I are willing to risk it if you +give the word." + +The captain pondered for a moment. It was a forlorn hope, but forlorn +hopes sometimes won out. + +"Go ahead," he said. + +Frank nodded to Bart, and in a twinkling they had turned the big barrels +over on their sides. + +Then each lay on the ground behind his barrel and began to push it +toward the enemy. + +The men of their company had watched them wonderingly while they made +their preparations, and when they realized what the boys had in mind +they raised a thundering cheer that rose above the din of battle. + +The crews of the two enemy machine guns looked with stupefaction at the +big barrels coming toward them. Then they woke from their trance and a +storm of bullets beat upon the barrels. + +If they had been empty the bullets would have gone through and killed +the boys behind them. But they were filled with woolen clothing, which +while light enough to enable the boys to push the barrels with +comparative ease was just the thing to stop the bullets. The whizzing +missiles thudded into the clothing and there they stopped. It was on the +same basis as the sandbag which stops a cannon ball that would go +through an iron plate. + +Steadily the boys kept on, pushing the barrels before them. They did not +go on hands and knees, for then they would be exposed to the enemy +bullets. It was a caterpillar motion, drawing their bodies along the +ground, and was a tremendous tax on their muscles, for they could get no +purchase. + +One thing in their favor was that the ground sloped a trifle toward the +enemy position and this made the barrels roll more easily. + +By this time the enemy was growing frantic at this novel method of +attack. They could not see their enemy, and they could not kill him. And +the sight of those barrels coming toward them, as inexorably as fate, +got on their nerves, already tense with the fury of the combat. + +Nearer and nearer came the barrels to the guns until they were not more +than twenty feet away. Then they stopped. + +The German gunners drew fresh hope from this. Had their bullets found +their mark in the bodies of their daring enemies? + +But there were two very live boys behind those motionless barrels. + +Frank and Bart had drawn a handful of grenades from their sacks. At a +given signal they drew back their arms and hurled them over the barrels +in quick succession. + +They fell right in the midst of the machine guns. There was a tremendous +explosion that killed some of the gunners and threw the rest into wild +confusion. + +"Now!" shouted Frank, and he and Bart leaped to their feet and rushed +toward the guns. + +There was a wild melee for a moment, and then the surviving Germans +turned and ran in panic down the slope. + +The boys slued the captured guns around and sent a stream of bullets +after their wildly fleeing enemies. + +The rout was complete, and the next minute the whole company, that had +charged the instant the grenades were thrown, came tearing up, and there +was a scene of hilarity and enthusiasm that passed description. + +"The finest thing I ever saw!" declared the captain. "You boys are the +stuff of which heroes are made." + +But there was no time then to dwell on the exploit. The enemy was on the +run and they must keep him going. + +And they did, so well and so thoroughly, that when the day was over they +had swept the whole ridge that had been their objective in the fight and +planted Old Glory on its highest crest. And their victory was shared by +the rest of the Allied line, who not only regained all the losses of the +day before, but swept the Germans out of their first and second lines on +a five-mile front, inflicting on them a defeat which they were long to +remember. + +And how the lesson that the Germans learned that day was repeated later +on will be told in the next book of this series, entitled: "Army Boys on +the Firing Line; Or, Holding Back the German Drive." + +Not but what the victory had cost the Americans dearly. Every regiment +engaged had its own long list of killed and wounded. + +"Poor old Fred," said Frank, referring to Anderson. "His right arm was +badly shattered and I'm afraid he may lose it." + +"Fred is playing in hard luck," returned Bart. "That's twice he's been +wounded. Remember the night down at the old mill when the bomb got his +leg?" + +"He's having more than his share," agreed Billy. + +"There's Wilson, too," said Bart. "He's been in the thick of it all day, +but he went down with a bullet in his shoulder just as we got to the top +of the ridge." + +"The corp certainly fought like a tiger," said Tom. "But he's worth a +dozen dead men yet. A month in the hospital will fix him up all right, I +hope." + +"There's one good thing anyway," pat in Billy. "The Huns haven't taken +many of our boys prisoners." + +"And we've got more of their men than we know what to do with," exulted +Frank. + +"I know what I'd do with them," said Tom. "I'd send them to America to +be imprisoned there and I'd put a bunch of them on every transport that +sailed to the other side." + +"That wouldn't be a bad stunt," agreed Bart. "Then if a submarine sank +the ship it would carry a lot of their own people down to Davy Jones." + +Among the missing was one whose loss did not greatly grieve the boys of +the old Thirty-seventh. Nick Rabig did not answer to his name when the +roll was called. They did not find his body on the field, nor was he +among the wounded that were brought in and tenderly cared for in the +hospitals. + +"I see Nick is missing," remarked Frank to Bart later in the evening, as +they were resting and rejoicing over the victory. + +"Missing but not missed," put in the implacable Tom. + +"If the Huns have got him, he'll feel more at home than he ever felt +with us," remarked Bart. + +"Maybe he was captured against his will," said Tom, "and then again +_maybe_--" + +"What do you suppose they'll say in Camport when they hear of this day's +work, fellows?" asked Billy. + +"Oh," answered Frank with a laugh, "they'll only say: 'It's nothing more +than we expected.'" + +"They know us, don't they?" + +"Of course they do," broke in Tom. "We came to France to do our duty as +American citizens, as well as soldiers." + +"I wonder how long it will be before this war is over and we start for +home?" came from Frank. + +"Not tired of the game yet, are you?" quizzed Billy, quickly. + +"Do I look as if I was tired of it?" was the counter-question. + +"We are all going to stay over here until the Huns are licked good and +proper!" burst cut Bart. "There is no use in stopping while the job is +only half finished." + +"Just you wait until Uncle Sam has a lot of men over here," put in +Billy. "Then we'll show those Huns what's what and don't you forget it! +We'll wallop them so thoroughly they'll be getting down on their knees +yelling for mercy." + +"Now you've said something!" came in a chorus from the others. + +And here let us say good-bye to the Army Boys. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + +This file should be named 7abft10.txt or 7abft10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 7abft11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 7abft10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Army Boys in the French Trenches + +Author: Homer Randall + +Release Date: January, 2006 [EBook #9789] +[This file was first posted on October 17, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + + + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + + + + + +ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES + +OR + +HAND TO HAND FIGHTING WITH THE ENEMY + +BY + +HOMER RANDALL + +AUTHOR OF +"Army Boys in France" and "Army Boys on the Firing Line" + +Illustrated by ROBERT GASTON HERBERT + +1919 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, +as wire entanglements were uprooted.] + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I A SLASHING ATTACK + + II THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + III TAKING CHANCES + + IV BETWEEN THE LINES + + V THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + VI A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + VII NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + VIII COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + IX THE ESCAPE + + X A GHASTLY BURDEN + + XI WITH THE TANKS + + XII BREAKING THROUGH + + XIII CAUGHT NAPPING + + XIV IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + XV THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + + XVI CHASED BY CAVALRY + + XVII THE BROKEN BRIDGE + +XVIII RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + XIX PUTTING ONE OVER + + XX SUSPICION + + XXI A FAMILIAR VOICE + + XXII THE SHADOW OF TREASON + +XXIII A HAIL OF LEAD + + XXIV A DEED OF DARING + + XXV STORMING THE RIDGE + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A SLASHING ATTACK + + +"Stand ready, boys. We attack at dawn!" + +The word passed in a whisper down the long line of the trench, where the +American army boys crouched like so many khaki-clad ghosts, awaiting the +command to go "over the top." + +"That will be in about fifteen minutes from now, I figure," murmured +Frank Sheldon to his friend and comrade, Bart Raymond, as he glanced at +the hands of his radio watch and then put it up to his ear to make sure +that it had not stopped. + +"It'll seem more like fifteen hours," muttered Tom Bradford, who was on +the other side of Sheldon. + +"Tom's in a hurry to get at the Huns," chuckled Billy Waldon. "He wants +to show them where they get off." + +"I saw him putting a razor edge on his bayonet last night," added Bart. +"Now he's anxious to see how it works." + +"He'll have plenty of chances to find out," said Frank. "This is going +to be a hot scrap, or I miss my guess. I heard the captain tell the +lieutenant that the Germans had their heaviest force right in front of +our part of the line." + +"So much the better," asserted Billy stoutly. "They can't come too thick +or too fast. They've been sneering at what the Yankees were going to do +in this war, and it's about time they got punctures in their tires." + +At this moment the mess helpers passed along the line with buckets of +steaming hot coffee, and the men welcomed it eagerly, for it was late in +the autumn and the night air was chill and penetrating. "Come, little +cup, to one who loves thee well," murmured Tom, as he swallowed his +portion in one gulp. + +The others were not slow in following his example, and the buckets were +emptied in a twinkling. + +Then the stern vigil was renewed. + +From the opposing lines a star shell rose and exploded, casting a +greenish radiance over the barren stretch of No Man's Land that +separated the hostile forces. + +"Fritz isn't asleep," muttered Frank. + +"He's right on the job with his fireworks," agreed Bart. + +"Maybe he has his suspicions that we're going to give him a little +surprise party," remarked Billy, "and that's his way of telling us that +he's ready to welcome us with open arms." + +"Fix bayonets!" came the command from the officer in charge, and there +was a faint clink as the order was obeyed. + +"It won't be long now," murmured Tom. "But why don't the guns open up?" + +"They always do before it's time to charge," commented Billy, as he +shifted his position a little. "I suppose they will now almost any +minute." + +"I don't think there'll be any gun fire this time before we go over the +top," ventured Frank. + +"What do you mean?" asked Bart in surprise, as he turned his head toward +his chum. + +"Do you know anything?" queried Tom. + +"Not exactly know, but I've heard enough to make a guess," replied +Frank. "I think we're going to play the game a little differently this +time. Unless I'm mistaken, the Huns are going to get the surprise of +their lives." + +"Put on gas masks!" came another order, and in the six seconds allowed +for this operation the masks were donned, making the men in the long +line look like so many goblins. + +It was light enough for them to see each other now, for the gray fingers +of the dawn were already drawing the curtain of darkness aside from the +eastern sky. + +One minute more passed--a minute of tense, fierce expectation, while the +boys gripped their rifles until it seemed that their fingers would bury +themselves in the stocks. + +Crash! + +With a roar louder than a thousand guns the earth under the German +first-line trenches split asunder, and tons of rock and mud and guns and +men were hurled toward the sky. + +The din was terrific, the sight appalling, and the shock for an instant +was almost as great to the Americans as to their opponents, though far +less tragic. + +"Now, men," shouted their lieutenant, "over with you!" and with a wild +yell of exultation the boys clambered over the edge of the trench and +started toward the German lines. + +"We're off!" panted Frank, as, with eyes blazing and bayonet ready for +instant use, he rushed forward in the front rank. + +"To a flying start!" gasped Bart, and then because breath was precious +they said no more, but raced on like greyhounds freed from the leash. + +On, on they went, with the wind whipping their faces! On, still on, to +the red ruin wrought by the explosion of the mine. + +For the first fifty yards the going was easy except for the craters and +shell holes into which some of the boys slid and tumbled. The enemy had +been so numbed and paralyzed by the overwhelming explosion that they +seemed to be unable to make any resistance. + +But the officers knew, and the men as well, that this was only the lull +before the storm. Their enemy was desperate and resourceful, and though +the cleverness of the American engineers had carried through the mine +operation without detection, it was certain that the foe would rally. + +Fifty yards from the first-line trench--forty--thirty--and then the +German guns spoke. + +A long line of flame flared up crimson in the pallid dawn. + +"Down, men, down!" shouted their officers, and the Yankee lads threw +themselves flat on the ground while a leaden hail swept furiously over +them. + +"Are you hurt, Bart?" cried Frank anxiously, as he heard a sharp +exclamation from his comrade. + +"Not by a bullet," growled Bart. "Took some of the skin off my knee +though when I went down." + +A second time the murderous fire came hurtling over them, but the +officers noted with satisfaction that the enemy were shooting high. + +"They haven't got the range yet," observed Billy. + +"Up!" came the word of command, and again the men were on their feet and +racing like mad toward the trench. + +They came at last to where it had been. For it was no longer a trench! + +Gone was the zigzag line that the boys knew by heart from having faced +and fought against it for weeks. The mine had done its work thoroughly. + +Everywhere was a welter of hideous confusion. Barbed wire entanglements +with their supporting posts had been rooted from the ground. Guns had +been torn from their carriages. "Pill boxes" had been smashed to bits. +Horses and men and wagons and camp kitchens were mingled together in +wildest chaos. + +Parts of the trench had been filled to the surface with earth, while +huge boulders blocked the entrance to some of the communicating +passages. + +There were a few sharp fights with scattered units of the enemy that had +retained their senses and were trying to get their machine guns into +action. But these detachments were soon cut down or captured. The great +majority of the survivors were so dazed that they surrendered with +scarcely a show of resistance and were rounded up in squads to be sent +to the rear. + +The first trench had been won, and it was almost a bloodless victory, +only a few of the American troops having fallen in the sudden rush. + +But sterner work lay ahead, for the second and third German lines were +still intact, bristling with men and supported heavily by their guns. + +"This was easy," grinned Billy. + +"Like taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten," chuckled Tom, as he +wiped the grime and perspiration from his face. + +"Don't fool yourselves," warned Frank, as a shell came whining over +their heads. "This was only a skirmish. The real fight is coming, and +coming mighty quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE UPLIFTED KNIFE + + +Even while Frank Sheldon spoke, the artillery of the enemy took on a +deeper note until it reached the intensity of drumfire. + +But now the American gunners took a hand, and the shells came pouring +over the heads of the boys, searching out the line of the second enemy +trench and preparing the way for the advance. + +In obedience to commands, the American soldiers had sought shelter +wherever they could find it, while they were recovering their wind. + +Only a moment could be granted for this, however, for time was +everything just now. They had caught the enemy off his guard and must +take advantage of the opportunity. + +"Line up, men!" cried the leader of Frank's detachment, and the high +state of discipline that the American forces had reached was shown by +the promptness with which the order was obeyed. + +A signal was sent back to the supporting guns, and they opened up a +deadly barrage fire over the heads of Frank and his comrades, clearing +the ground before them of everything that dared to show itself in the +open. + +Behind this curtain of fire, the boys advanced, slowly at first, but +gathering speed at every stride, until they were running at the double +quick. + +Bullets rained about them from the machine guns of the enemy and great +shells tore gaps in the ranks. At Frank's left, a soldier suddenly +wavered and then pitched headlong into a shell hole and lay still. +Another toppled over with a bullet in his shoulder. But the lanes that +were made closed almost instantly. + +Now they had reached the wire entanglements that had been battered by +the artillery until they hung in festoons around their posts, leaving +paths through which the American lads poured. + +Then like a great tidal wave they struck the trench! + +The Germans had clambered out to meet them, and when the two forces met +the shock was terrific. Back and forth the battle surged and swayed, +each side fighting with the fury of desperation. The cannon had ceased +now, for in that locked mass the shells were as likely to kill friends +as foes. It was man against man, bayonet against bayonet, each combatant +obeying the primitive law of "kill or be killed." + +The opposing forces at this part of the line were nearly equal, with the +Germans having a slight advantage in numbers. But to make up for this, +the Americans had the advantage of the attack and the tremendous +momentum with which they had struck the enemy's line. + +For a time victory hung in the balance, but then Yankee determination +and superior skill in bayonet work began to tell. The Americans would +not be denied. The German line was pierced, and the forces broke up into +a number of battling groups. + +Frank and Bart, Billy and Tom, who all through the fight had managed to +keep together, found themselves engaged with a squad of Germans double +their number, two of whom were frantically trying to bring a machine gun +to bear upon them. + +With a bound Frank was upon them. He toppled one over with his bayonet, +but while he was doing this the other fired at him point-blank with a +revolver. At such a close range he could not have missed, had not Bart, +quick as a flash, clubbed him over the arm with his rifle, making the +bullet go wild. + +"Quick, Bart!" panted Frank, as with his comrade's help he slued the +machine gun around, gripped the trigger, and sent a stream of bullets +into a group of the enemy charging down upon him. + +Before that withering fire they dissolved like mist, and a circle was +cleared as though by magic. + +What Germans were left in that immediate vicinity leaped back into the +trench on the edge of which they had been fighting. + +"Now we've got them!" cried Frank, as with his friends' assistance he +quickly wheeled the gun to the brink of the trench and depressed the +muzzle so that it commanded the huddled bunch below. "Come out of that, +you fellows. Hands up, quick!" + +They may not have understood his words, but there was no +misunderstanding the meaning of that black sinister muzzle of the +machine gun with a hundred deaths behind it. They were trapped, and +their hands went up with cries of "_Kamerad!_" in token of surrender. + +On that part of the line the battle was over, for the plan did not +contemplate going beyond the second trench at that time. The American +boys had won and won gloriously. From all parts of the trench, on a +two-mile front, groups of captives were coming sullenly out with uplifted +hands, to be herded into groups by their captors and sent to the rear. + +"Glory hallelujah!" cried Bart, as he removed his mask and wiped his +streaming face. "And no gas, either." + +"Some scrap!" gasped Billy, as he sank exhausted to the ground. + +"Did them up to the Queen's taste," chuckled Tom. + +"We certainly put one over on the Huns that time," grinned Frank +happily. + +And while they stand there, breathless and exulting, it may be well for +the benefit of those who have not previously made the acquaintance of +the American Army Boys to sketch briefly their adventures up to the time +this story opens. + +Frank Sheldon, Bart Raymond, Tom Bradford and Billy Waldon had all been +born and brought up in Camport, a thriving American city of about +twenty-five thousand people. They had known each other from boyhood, +attended the same school, played on the same baseball nine and were warm +friends. + +Frank was the natural leader of the group. He was a tall, muscular young +fellow, quick to think and quick to act, always at the front in sports +as well as in the more serious events of life. + +His father had died some years before, leaving only a modest home as a +legacy, and Frank was the sole support of his mother. The latter had +been born in France, where Mr. Sheldon had married her and brought her +to America. + +Later, Mrs. Sheldon's father had died, leaving her a considerable +property in Auvergne, her native province. This estate, however, had +been tied up in a lawsuit, and she had not come into possession of it. +She had been planning to go to France to look after her interests, but +her husband's death and, later on, the breaking out of the European war, +had made this impossible. + +She was a charming woman, with all the French sparkle and vivacity, and +she and her son were bound together in ties of the strongest affection. +Naturally her ardent sympathy had been with France in the great war +raging in Europe. But when it became evident that America soon would +take part, although she welcomed the aid this would bring to her native +country, her mother heart was torn with anguish at the thought that her +only son would probably join in the fighting across the sea. + +But Frank, though he dreaded the separation, felt that he must join the +Camport regiment that was getting ready to fight the Huns. The deciding +moment came when a German tore down the American flag from a neighbor's +porch. Frank knocked the fellow down and in the presence of an excited +throng made him kiss the flag that he had insulted. From that moment his +resolution was taken, and his mother, who had witnessed the scene, gave +her consent to his joining the old Thirty-seventh regiment, made up +chiefly of Camport boys, including Billy Waldon, who had seen service on +the Mexican border. + +Bart Raymond, Frank's special chum, a sturdy, vigorous young fellow, was +equally patriotic, and joined the regiment with Frank as soon as war was +declared. Tom Bradford, a fellow employee in the firm of Moore & Thomas, +a thriving hardware house, wanted to enlist, but was rejected on account +of his teeth, although he wrathfully declared that "he wanted to shoot +the Germans, not to bite them." In fact, almost all the young fellows +employed by the firm, except "Reddy," the office boy, who wanted to go +badly enough, but who was too young, tried to get into some branch of +the army or navy. + +A marked exception was Nick Rabig, the foreman of the shipping +department, who, although born in the United States, came of German +parents and lost no opportunity of "boosting" Germany and "knocking" +America. He was the bully of the place and universally disliked. He +hated Frank, especially after the flag incident, and only the thought of +his mother had prevented Frank more than once from giving Rabig the +thrashing he deserved. + +Frank's regiment was sent to Camp Boone for their preliminary training, +and here the young recruits were put through their paces in rifle +shooting, grenade throwing, bayonet practice and all the other exercises +by which Uncle Sam turns his boys into soldiers. There was plenty of fun +mixed in with the hard work, and they had many stirring experiences. A +pleasant feature was the coming of Tom, who although rejected when he +tried to enlist had been accepted in the draft. Not so pleasant, though +somewhat amusing, was the fact that Nick Rabig also had been drafted and +had to go to Camp Boone, though most unwillingly. + +How the regiment sailed to France for intensive training behind the +firing lines; how their transport narrowly escaped being sunk by a +submarine and how the tables were turned; the singular chance by which +Frank met a French colonel and heard encouraging news about his mother's +property; how he thoroughly "trimmed" Rabig in a boxing bout; how the +Camport boys took part in the capture of a Zeppelin; how the old +Thirty-seventh finally reached the trenches; Frank's daring exploit when +caught in the swirl of a German charge; these and other exciting +adventures are told in the first book of this Series, entitled: "Army +Boys in France; Or, From Training Camp to the Trenches." + + + +"Do you remember what that airship captain said the day we bagged him?" +chuckled Billy. + +"About it being impossible for Americans to get to France?" asked Bart. +"You bet I do. I'll never forget that boob. I wonder if he still +believes it." + +"He'd sing a different tune if he were here to-day," observed Tom. + +"I don't know," laughed Frank. "The German skull is pretty thick. Still +you can get something through it once in a while if you keep on +hammering." + +"I guess these fellows haven't any doubts about our being here," +observed Billy. + +"They've had pretty good evidence of it," confirmed Tom, as he watched +the enemy captives standing about in dejected groups, waiting to be sent +to the rear. + +One thing that struck the boys forcibly was the disparity of age between +the prisoners. There was an unusual proportion of men beyond middle life +and of youngsters still in their teens. + +"Grandpas and kids," blurted out Tom. + +"The Kaiser's robbing the cradle and the grave," commented Billy. +"Germany's getting pretty near to the limit of her man power, I guess." + +"That's true of France and England, too," observed Frank thoughtfully. +"They lost the flower of their troops in the early fighting and they all +have to do a great deal of combing to keep their ranks full." + +"And that's where America has the Indian sign on the Huns," jubilated +Bart "We'll have our best against her second best." + +"We'll trim her good and proper," predicted Frank. "Even at her best, +we'd down her in the end. But don't let's kid ourselves. She's full of +fight yet, and will take a lot of beating. And there are plenty of +huskies in her ranks yet. Look at that big brute over there. He looks as +though he could lift an ox." + +He pointed to a massively built German corporal, who was evidently mad +with rage at his capture. He was gesticulating wildly to his fellow +prisoners and fairly sputtering in the attempt to relieve his feelings. + +"Seems to be rather peeved," grinned Tom. + +"I can't catch on to what he's saying," laughed Bart. "But I'll bet he +could give points to a New York truckman or the mate of a Mississippi +steamboat. They'd turn green with envy if they could understand him." + +"He's frothing at the mouth," chuckled Billy. "I'd hate to have him bite +me just now. I'd get hydrophobia sure." + +There was no time for further comment. The officers had had to give the +men a short breathing spell, for all were spent with their tremendous +exertions. But now after the brief rest, all was bustle and hurry. + +"The Huns will be back for more," predicted Frank, as he and his friends +were set to work changing the sandbags from the side of the trench that +had faced the Americans to the other side that looked toward the German +third line. + +"They must be hard to please if they haven't had enough for one +morning," growled Tom. + +"They're gluttons for punishment," remarked Bart. "The first-line trench +is junk from the mine explosion, but they won't give this second one up +without making one mighty effort to get it back." + +The young soldiers were working feverishly to organize the captured +position, when their corporal, Wilson, summoned them out and they +scrambled forth promptly and stood at attention. + +"Fall in to take back the prisoners," he ordered. + +A look of disappointment came over their faces and Wilson's eyes +twinkled when he saw it. + +"Haven't you had enough fighting yet?" he demanded. "Well, I feel that +way myself, but orders are orders. Come along." + +"Hard luck," muttered Frank in a low tone to Bart, as they obeyed the +command. + +"We'll miss some lovely fighting," agreed Bart. + +"I was just getting warmed up," mourned Billy. + +"Don't worry," advised Tom. "We'll be sent back after we get these +fellows to headquarters, and we'll have a chance to get another crack at +them." + +The prisoners, having been searched, were placed in double file between +the members of the guarding squad, who walked at a few paces interval on +either side of them. + +"Fall in!" came the corporal's order. "Shoulder arms. March!" + +They started out briskly. + +Frank and Bart happened to be close beside the big German corporal whom +they had before observed. His wrath was not yet abated, and he kept up a +volley of epithets as he sullenly marched along. + +"He's making as much fuss as though he were the Kaiser," chuckled Tom, +who was vastly amused at the prisoner's antics. + +"Slap him on the wrist and tell him to be nice," counseled Billy with a +grin. + +The captive glared at them with insane rage in his eyes. + +"I think he's going nutty," remarked Bart. "It's lucky for him there +aren't any squirrels around." + +"You want to keep your eye peeled for him," warned Frank. "He's bad +medicine." + +"He's safe enough," replied Bart, carelessly. "He hasn't any weapon, and +if he started to run he wouldn't get far. He isn't cut out for a +sprinter." + +"Even if he were, a bullet would catch him," chimed in Billy. "He'd make +a big target and it would be a pretty bad shot that would miss him." + +When they reached the blown-up first trench they found it difficult to +keep in line, and had to pick their way over the heaped-up ruin that had +been made by the mine explosion. + +Bart tripped over a strand of broken wire, and in trying to save himself +from falling, his rifle slipped from his hand. + +The German corporal was within a foot of him and saw his opportunity. + +Quick as a flash he drew from his clothing a trench knife that the +searchers had overlooked. The murderous blade gleamed in the air as the +corporal brought it down toward the neck of Bart, who had stooped to +pick up his rifle. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +TAKING CHANCES + + +"Look out, Bart!" yelled Billy, while Tom made a desperate leap to his +comrade's rescue. + +But Frank was quicker than either. + +Like lightning he lunged with his bayonet and caught the German in the +wrist, just as the knife was about to bury itself in Bart's neck. + +With a howl of rage and pain, as his arm was forced upward, the +prisoner's hand lost its grip on the weapon and it clattered harmlessly +to the ground. + +In an instant the German was overpowered and his arms tied behind him +with his own belt. Then his wounded wrist was bound up with a surgical +dressing, and under a special guard he was urged forward in no gentle +manner, for all were at a white heat at his treacherous attempt. + +By the laws of war his life was forfeited, and he seemed to realize +this, for all his bravado vanished and from time to time he looked +fearfully at his captors. He saw little there to encourage him, for Bart +was a great favorite with his company and the attack had stirred them to +the depths. + +"A close call, old man." said Frank, affectionately tapping his friend +on the shoulder. "It would have been taps for me, all right, if you +hadn't acted as quickly as you did," responded Bart gratefully. + +"Frank was Johnny-on-the-spot," said Billy admiringly. "My heart was in +my mouth when I saw that knife coming down." + +"It was a waste of time to tie up that fellow's arm," remarked Tom, as +he glowered at the miscreant. "He'll soon be where he won't need any +bandages." + +"I guess it's a case for a firing squad," judged Billy. "But it serves +him right, for it was up to him to play the game." + +Before long they reached headquarters and delivered up their prisoners. +If they had expected to be sent back immediately to the firing line, +they were disappointed, for the examination of the prisoners began at +once, without the squad receiving notice of dismissal. + +This had its compensations, however, for although they had captured +prisoners before, they had never been present at their examination, and +they were curious to see the turn the questioning would take. + +Captain Baker, of the old Thirty-seventh, was detailed to do the +examining, and because time was precious and it was most important to +learn just what enemy units were opposed to the American forces, he got +to work at once, an interpreter standing at his side while a +stenographer made note of the replies. + +The captain signaled to one of the most intelligent looking of the +prisoners, and the latter stepped out, clicked his heels together +smartly and saluted. + +"What is your name?" asked the captain. + +"Rudolph Schmidt." + +"Your regiment?" + +"The Seventy-ninth Bavarian." + +"Who is your colonel?" + +"Von Armin." + +"Who commands your division?" + +"General Hofer." + +"Who is your corps commander?" + +"Prince Lichtenstein." + +"How many men have you lost in the last few days' fighting?" + +Obstinate silence. + +The captain repeated the question. + +"I do not know," the prisoner answered evasively. + +"Well, were your losses heavy or light?" pursued the captain patiently. + +"I cannot tell." + +The captain switched to another line. + +"Do you know who have captured you?" he asked. + +"The English," was the prompt answer. + +"No," replied the captain. "We are Americans." + +The prisoner permitted himself an incredulous smile. + +"Can't you see these are American uniforms?" asked the captain, with a +sweep of his arm. + +"Yes," was the reply. "But our captain tells us that the English wear +that uniform to make us think that the Americans have arrived in +France." + +A grin went around the circle of listeners. + +"You blawsted, bloody Britisher," chuckled Bart, giving Frank a poke in +the ribs. + +"Where's my bally monocle, old top?" whispered Frank, while Billy and +Tom grew red in the face from trying to control their merriment. + +The captain himself had all he could do to maintain his gravity. + +"Do you believe your captain when he tells you that?" he inquired. + +"I must believe him," answered the prisoner simply. + +"There's discipline for you," muttered Billy. + +"Such childlike faith," murmured Tom. + +"But even if the Americans are not already here," persisted the captain, +"don't you believe they are coming?" + +"They may try to come," answered the captive doubtfully; "but if they +do, they will never get here." + +"Why not." + +"Our U-boats will stop them." + +"That settles it," whispered Bart. "We think we're here, but we're only +kidding ourselves. We _can't_ be here. Heinie says so and, of course, he +knows." + +"What a come-on he'd be for the confidence men," gurgled Billy. "They'd +sell him the Brooklyn Bridge before he'd been on shore for an hour." + +Questioned as to food supplies, the German admitted that their rations, +although fairly good, were not so abundant as at the beginning of the +war. Then with characteristic arrogance he added: + +"But we will have plenty to eat and drink too when we get to Paris." + +"I suppose your captain tells you that too," remarked the inquisitor. + +"Yes," was the reply. + +"That eternal captain again," murmured Bart. + +"He must be a wonder," chuckled Tom. + +"You've been rather a long time on the road to Paris, haven't you?" +asked the captain, with a tinge of sarcasm. "Seems to me I've heard +something about a banquet that was to celebrate the Crown Prince's entry +into Paris a month after the war was started." + +A discomfited look stole over the prisoner's face. + +"That was Von Kluck's fault," he said sullenly. + +"Seems to me the French army had something to do with it too," whispered +Frank to Bart. "What does your captain tell you your armies are fighting +for?" continued the questioner. + +"To give Germany her place in the sun," answered the prisoner without +hesitation. + +"That seems to be a stock phrase of the Huns," whispered Billy. "I'll +bet it's part of the lesson taught in every German school." + +A few more questions followed, but failed to elicit any information of +special importance, and the prisoner was dismissed, to have his place +taken by some of his comrades. + +But what they told the boys never knew, for just then Corporal Wilson, +who had been in close conference with his lieutenant, beckoned to them +and they filed silently out of the quarters. + +"Back to the firing line for us," remarked Frank. + +"About time too," replied Bart, as he shouldered his rifle. "We've been +missing all the fun." + +But the first words of the corporal showed them that they were mistaken. + +"You lads are out of it for the rest of the day," he remarked. "Go back +to your old trench now, get some grub and tumble into your bunks." + +They looked at each other in surprise, for the sun had not much more +than risen. + +"You heard what I said," reiterated the corporal. "Get all the sleep you +can to-day, for you won't do any sleeping to-night!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +BETWEEN THE LINES + + +The Army boys looked at each other in blank inquiry, but the corporal +did not offer to enlighten them, and they were too good soldiers to ask +questions when orders were given. + +"What do you suppose is in the wind now?" asked Bart, as they made their +way to their sleeping quarters. + +"Search me," replied Frank. + +"Aeroplanes," chirped Billy. + +Bart made a thrust at him which Billy dodged. + +"I guess we're picked for a scouting party," remarked Tom. "The captain +may want to confirm some of the information he's getting from those +chaps." + +"Information!" snorted Bart. "More likely misinformation. Those fellows +struck me as being dandy liars." + +"They wouldn't be Huns if they weren't," remarked Billy. "You know Baron +Munchausen came from over the Rhine, so they come rightly by their +talent in that line. But what's the matter with Tony here?" he added, as +they passed by one of the field kitchens in a protected nook, where one +of the bakers was kneading away desperately at some dough and muttering +volubly to himself. + +"He seems all riled up about something, for a fact," commented Frank. + +"What's the matter, Tony?" inquired Bart of the perspiring baker, an +Italian who had spent some years in the United States and who was +generally liked by the boys of the old Thirty-seventh because of his +customary good nature and his skill in compounding their favorite +dishes. + +Tony looked up in despair. + +"I can't maka de dough," he complained. "I worka more dan hour. It lika +de sand. It getta my goat." + +The boys laughed at his woe-begone face. + +"Put some more water with it," suggested Billy at a venture. + +Tony looked at him with such a glare of contempt that the amateur baker +wilted. + +"I usa de water!" he exclaimed. "Plent water! No maka de stick." + +"It looks all right," remarked Frank, as he picked up some of the +substance on the kneading board and let it dribble through his fingers, +"but as Tony says, it's like so much sand." + +"And it tastes queer," said Billy, putting a bit of it on his tongue. + +"Looks as though some of the food profiteers were trying to put +something over on us," observed Tom. + +Just then one of the commissary men came along, evidently looking for +something. + +"There's a bag of trench foot powder missing," he said. "Have any of you +chaps seen anything of it?" + +"Not guilty," returned Bart. "Though the way my feet feel it wouldn't do +them a bit of harm to have some of that powder on them right now." + +A sudden light dawned upon Frank. + +"Say, Tony!" he exclaimed, "let's see the bag you got that flour from." + +Tony complied and brought forth from one of his receptacles a large +paper bag which was two thirds full. + +Frank seized it and turned it around to see what was stamped on the +other side. Then he almost dropped the bag in a wild fit of hilarity. + +"No wonder Tony couldn't make his dough!" he exclaimed, when he could +speak. "Some chump in the supply department has handed him out a bag of +foot powder when he asked for flour." + +He showed the others the marking on the bag, and their merriment equaled +his own, while Tony alternately glowered and grinned. He had begun to +think that somebody had cast on him the "evil eye," so dreaded by his +countrymen, and he was relieved to find that his plight was due to +natural causes. Yet the thought of all that wasted effort stirred him to +resentment. + +"That's one on you, Tony, old boy!" chuckled Billy, with a poke in the +ribs. + +"It's lucky the dough wouldn't stick," laughed Frank. "There wouldn't +have been much nourishment in that kind of bread." + +"Dat guy a bonehead," asserted Tony, as he scraped his board with vigor. +"A vera beeg bonehead." + +The boys assented and passed on laughing. + +"And now for grub!" exclaimed Billy. "Oh, boy, maybe it won't taste +good!" + +"I guess we've earned our breakfast, all right," said Bart. + +"I can stand a whole lot of filling up," observed Tom. "Talk about +exercise before breakfast to get you an appetite. We've sure had enough +of it this morning." + +"I never ran so fast in my life," declared Billy. "A Marathon runner +would have had nothing on me." + +"We must have covered the space between those trenches in about twenty +seconds," agreed Bart. + +"Well, as long as we weren't running in the wrong direction it was all +right," grinned Tom. + +"The Boches haven't seen our backs yet, and here's hoping it will be +some time before they'll have that treat," said Frank with a laugh. + +They ate like famished wolves and then threw themselves on their bunks +to get a long sleep in preparation for the strenuous night that lay +before them. And so used had they already become to roaring of cannon +and whining of bullets and shrieking of shells, that, although the din +was almost incessant all through that day, it bothered them not at all. + +It was nearly dusk when the corporal passed along, giving them a shake +that roused them from their slumbers and brought them out of their bunks +in a hurry. + +"Time to get up, boys," said the corporal. "Not that we're going to +start out right away. But we've got quite a job before us and I want you +to have plenty of time to think over your instructions and have them +sink in." + +They dressed quickly and after a hearty supper reported to Wilson at +their company headquarters. + +They found the corporal grave and preoccupied. + +"As I suppose you fellows have already guessed," he began, "we're going +to-night on a scouting party. We're to find out the condition of the +wire in front of that third trench that the Huns still hold, and we want +to get more exact information about the location of the enemy's machine +guns. Anything else we find out will be welcome, but those are the main +things. + +"It's going to be pretty risky work," he continued. "Not but what +there's always plenty of risk about a job of this kind, but to-night +there's more than usual. The fierce fighting to-day has got the enemy +all stirred up and he'll be on the alert. Likely enough he'll have +scouting parties of his own out, and we may run across them in the dark. +Then it will be a question of who is the quicker with knife or bayonet. +Now you boys scatter and get your crawling suits and hoods and masks, +and we'll be ready for business. + +"I can see that there'll be no monotony in our young lives to-night," +observed Frank to Bart, as they obeyed instructions. + +"Not that you can notice," agreed Bart. "The corp has quite a little +program marked out for us." + +"So it seems." + +"And No Man's Land is going to be a little rougher land to-night than it +ever was before," predicted Tom. "That mine explosion hasn't done a +thing to it." + +"All the better," chimed in Billy. "There'll be better places to hide in +when Fritz throws up his star shells. But let's get a hustle on or the +corp will be after us." + +They got into their "crawling suits," so named because they were used +only on scouting duty, when it was necessary to move over the earth on +their stomachs or at best on hands and knees. They were a dead black in +color, and in addition to the suit itself comprised a black mask and +hood. The hood was loose and shapeless, so as to avoid the sharp outline +that would have been afforded if it were tight-fitting. + +Dressed in this fashion and lying prone and motionless on the ground +whenever a star shell threw its greenish radiance over the field, the +scouts were reasonably safe from detection and sniping. They would seem, +if seen at all, to be just so many more objects added to the hundreds +that littered up the ground between the two armies. + +Since they had been in France, the boys had had special training in +scouting duty, and the one thing that had been drilled into them perhaps +more than anything else was the necessity for "playing dead," as Tom +expressed it. One of their exercises compelled them to lie on the ground +absolutely motionless for an hour. Not even a muscle could twitch +without bringing a reprimand from their keen-eyed instructor. Another +part of the drill made them take half an hour merely to rise to their +feet from a prostrate position, each move in the process being marked by +the utmost caution. It was hard drill, but necessary, and in time the +boys had gained a control over their muscles that would have done credit +to an Apache Indian. + +In a few minutes they were fully arrayed in their crawling suits and +reported to Corporal Wilson. He looked them over carefully and noted +with satisfaction that nothing that was essential to the success of +their night foray was lacking. + +"With a fair share of luck we'll bring home the bacon," he remarked, as +he led the way from the trench. + +At the start there was no special caution necessary, as would have been +the case the day before. For the two trenches in front of them that had +been occupied by the enemy were now in the possession of the United +States troops. + +All that day, since the mine explosion had given the signal for attack +and storm, the Germans who had been driven from their first two lines of +trenches had made desperate efforts to get them back. There had been +fierce counter attacks, many times repeated, but through them all the +Americans had stood like a rock and thrown the enemy back without +yielding a foot of the conquered ground. + +At nightfall the enemy had ceased his infantry attacks, although the big +guns on both sides, like angry mastiffs, kept growling at each other. + +"It's been a great day for our fellows," exulted Frank, as they picked +their way through the welter of debris that bore testimony to the +violence of the fighting. + +"It sure has," agreed Bart. + +"We've got there with both feet," remarked Tom. + +"And in both trenches," chimed in Billy. + +"Yes," said Frank. "I'm glad we didn't stop at the first one. The mine +caught the Boches napping there and stood them on their heads. But in +the second it was an out and out stand up fight, man to man, and we +licked them." + +"And licked them good," asserted Billy. "I guess they won't do any more +sneering at the Yankees after this day's work." + +They passed the place where Bart had so nearly met his death through the +treacherous attack of his captive. + +"Here's where you nearly went West," remarked Tom. + +"Don't talk of it," objected Bart with a grimace. "It makes the chills +creep over me to think of it. I could stand being knifed in a square +fight, but I'd hate to get it the way that fellow meant that I should." + +"One of the Frenchmen was telling me of something like that that +happened at Verdun," said Frank. 'Two Frenchmen were carrying a wounded +German officer on a stretcher to the hospital. The officer got out his +revolver and shot the first stretcher bearer dead." + +"That's gratitude for you," remarked Bart. "Something like another +German in a hospital, who pretended he wanted to shake hands with the +Red Cross nurse who was tending him, and then with a sudden snap broke +her wrist." + +"You hear it said sometimes," said Billy, "that 'the only good Indian is +a dead Indian.' That's always sounded a little tough on poor Lo. But if +the Huns keep on the way they are going, it won't be long before all the +world will be saying that the only good German is a dead one." + +"I'm beginning to say it already," replied Tom. + +They passed stretcher bearers carrying away the wounded, and burial +parties engaged in a business still more sad. There was plenty for them +to do, for death and wounds had come to many that day, which had been +the most strenuous for the United States troops since they had come to +the fighting line. + +That many of their regiment had fallen and still more been wounded the +boys knew well, although the full toll of their losses would not be +known until the next day. But the enemy had lost still more, and a large +number of prisoners were in American hands. They had taken two trenches +on a wide front, and that night American boys were eating their suppers +in the dugouts where Germans had breakfasted in the morning. It had been +a dashing attack with a successful result, and Uncle Sam had reason to +be proud of his nephews. + +"One more step on the road to the Rhine," exulted Frank, voicing the +thought that stirred them all. + +"Right you are," replied Bart "It's a long, long road, but we'll get +there." + +"Do you remember what old Peterson said just before we left for France?" +queried Tom. "'The United States has put her hand to the plow and she +won't turn back.'" + +"Good old Peterson!" remarked Billy. "He was a dandy scrapper himself in +the old days when he wore the blue. I'll bet he's rooting for us every +day." + +"Sure he is," agreed Frank. "Everybody in the old firm is." + +"Reddy's rooting the hardest of them all," laughed Bart, referring to +the red-headed office boy. "Do you remember how excited the little +rascal got when the old Thirty-seventh went past? He almost tumbled out +of the window. And how he cheered!" + +"He's got the right stuff in him," said Tom. "Do you know, I shouldn't +be a bit surprised to see that kid turn up here some time." + +"You're dreaming," replied Bart. + +"You wait and see," prophesied Tom. "When any one wants a thing hard +enough he usually gets it. He'll ship as cabin boy or something of the +kind and some day, when we're least expecting it, Reddy will pop up +here. Watch my hunch." + +"How scared the Huns would be if they knew that Reddy was coming to +clean them up," mocked Tom. + +"He might account for some of them at that," remarked Billy. "A bullet +from Reddy's gun would go as fast and hit as hard as any other. You know +what David did to Goliath." + +By this time they had passed the second captured trench and were facing +the enemy's trench about three hundred yards away. Their talk ceased or +died down to whispers. + +Before them stretched the desolate waste of No Man's Land, pitted with +shell holes, blasted and seared by the pitiless storm of fire that had +swept it all that day. + +Once it had been fertile and beautiful. Now it was withered and hideous. +It was a grim commentary on the war that had been as ruthless toward +nature as it had been toward man. + +"Now, boys," said the corporal in a low voice, "you know what we've got +to do. Keep together as much as you can and--Drop!" + +The last command came out like a shot, and was caused by a star shell +that rose from the opposing trench and burst in a flood of greenish +light. + +Had they been standing, it would have revealed them clearly, but at +their leader's word they had dropped instantly to the ground, where they +lay motionless until the light died away. + +Then they rose and like so many shadows moved cautiously forward, with a +motion more like drifting than walking, their ears alert, their eyes +strained, their hearts beating fast with excitement. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BARBAROUS HUNS + + +The night was as black as pitch, which, while an advantage in one way, +was a disadvantage in another. For though it lessened their chance of +detection, it also made it more difficult to get the lay of the land and +keep their sense of direction. + +But here again their training came into play, for they had been +specially drilled to be blindfolded and remain in that condition for +hours at a time. In that way they had developed their sense of feeling +just as a blind man does and had acquired an almost uncanny ability to +avoid obstacles and steer a course without the aid of their eyes. + +"Gee!" whispered Bart to Frank, as the two comrades moved along side by +side, "I never saw a night so dark." + +"Yes," replied his comrade, "it's as black as velvet. You could almost +cut it with a knife." + +"Lucky if that's the only cutting we'll have to do before the night is +over," murmured Tom. + +Soon they reached a little patch of woodland that stood almost halfway +between the lines. Only a few gaunt trees had been left standing, mere +skeletons of what they had been, every branch and twig swept away by +shells and bullets and even the bark stripped off, leaving the trunks in +ghastly nakedness. + +But they still afforded shelter from bursting shrapnel or a sniper's +bullet, and the boys stood behind them for a few moments while they +listened intently for any sound that might betray the presence of an +enemy patrol, prowling about on an errand similar to their own. + +But nothing suspicious developed, and, reassured, they again, at a +signal from their leader, moved forward. But new they were no longer on +their feet. They were too close to the German line for that. + +Down on hands and knees they wormed their way along inch by inch, +reaching out their hand cautiously for each fresh grip on the uneven +ground. Sometimes their hands encountered emptiness and they were warned +that they were on the edge of a shell hole. At other times they drew +back in instinctive repulsion, as they felt the rigid outlines of a dead +body. But whatever detours they had to make, they managed by touch or +whisper to keep together, and although their progress was slow it was +still progress, and they knew that they were steadily nearing the German +lines. + +Suddenly Frank's extended hand came in contact with a sharp object that +he recognized on the instant. It was the barb on a broken strand of +wire. + +They had reached the entanglement protecting a segment of the German +trench. + +Frank had been a trifle in advance of his comrades, and he softly +signaled his discovery to the others. In an instant they had stiffened +out and lay as rigid as statues. + +For five minutes not one of them stirred, while they listened for the +tread of the sentry who might be stationed behind the wires. + +Some distance off they could hear the sound of voices in guttural tones, +the occasional click of a bayonet as it was slipped into place, the low +rumble of what might have been field pieces being moved into position. + +Now too their eyes came into play, for ahead of them the darkness was +threaded with a faint ray of light that rose above the trench, and while +it did little more than make darkness visible, it was still sufficient +to form a background against which they could have detected the figure +of a sentinel. + +But they drew no false assurance from that fact, for the enemy's patrol +might be lying on the ground, as silent as themselves and as watchful, +ready to fire in the direction of the slightest sound. + +It was a nerve-trying situation, but life or death might depend on their +self-control, and they stood the test successfully, although poor Tom +had an almost irrepressible desire to sneeze, in conquering which he +almost broke a blood vessel. + +Convinced at last that it was safe to move, they commenced to crawl +along the outside of the wire, trying by the sense of touch to find out +what havoc had been made in it by the American artillery fire and where +it would be easiest to break through. + +They had drawn on rubber gloves, for they knew that the Germans +sometimes charged the wires with electricity, and a touch with the bare +hand would mean instant death. + +But that day the fighting had been so fierce and the enemy had been kept +so busy in resisting the American onslaught that no such precaution had +been taken. And this better than anything else told the boys how badly +the enemy had been shaken. + +At several places they found gaps that had been made by the Yankee guns, +and these they widened by the use of the wire cutters that they carried +in their belts. + +At each such breach the boys tied small pieces of white rag, so that on +the next day these fluttering bits of white could be seen through field +glasses by the American officers, and the full force of guns and men +could be brought to bear against these weakened portions of the line. + +They worked rapidly and silently, timing their cutting with the roar of +the guns that still kept up the artillery duel, so that the click of the +nippers would be drowned in the heavier sound. + +Little by little in the course of the work, the members of the patrol +had drawn apart, depending upon their ability to rejoin each other by +following the line of the wire. + +Frank found himself working on a specially tangled bit of wire that was +made still more difficult of handling because it was intertwisted with +the stalks of a thick hedge. He had just nipped a piece of wire in two, +when his quick ear detected a sound on the other side of the hedge. + +Instantly he stiffened. Every muscle became as taut as tempered steel. +He scarcely seemed to breathe while his unwinking eyes tried to bore +through the mass of tangled brush and wire to see what was on the other +side. + +There too the rustling sound had ceased and a silence prevailed as deep +as his own. + +For minutes that seemed ages this condition persisted. Then slowly, so +slowly that Frank at first was not sure that he saw aright, a slender +spear-like point broke the outline of the top of the hedge. Only the +fact that it stood out against the dim light that came from the enemy +trench enabled Frank to see it at all. + +Gradually the object rose higher until it seemed to broaden out at the +base; and then with a quickening of the pulse Frank realized that what +he saw was the spike of a German helmet! + +He had won in the duel of silence. The other, unable to stand the +strain, had risen first. Would he win in the grimmer duel that seemed to +be impending? + +Frank's fingers stole toward his revolver, but stopped before they +reached it. There must be no shooting so near the enemy trench. A horde +of Germans would be upon him in a twinkling. + +His rifle lay beside him where he had placed it while working on the +wire. His fingers closed upon the stock. Here was a weapon that he might +use at either end with deadly effect. The butt could serve as a club, +while the bayonet, painted black like the rest of his accoutrements so +that no glimmer of steel should betray it, carried death on its point. + +Now beneath the helmet the head of a man appeared, then the shoulders, +and finally the sentry, evidently satisfied that his suspicion had been +without foundation, straightened out to his full length. He stood for +another minute or two peering into the darkness. But Frank's black-clad +form merged so perfectly into its surroundings and he remained so +motionless that the German at last was convinced. + +With a grunt of satisfaction he stooped to pick up his rifle. + +Lithe as a panther, Frank sprang to his feet, leaped over the hedge and +landed heavily on the stooping form, knocking the breath out of the +German's body. + +In a flash Frank's sinewy hands were upon the sentry's throat, stifling +the cry that sought to issue from his lips. + +There was a brief struggle, but the attack had been so sudden and +tremendous that it was soon over, and the German lay limp and +unconscious. + +The instant Frank realized this, he relaxed his hold. He tore open the +man's coat, felt for his heart and found that it was still beating. + +What his foe would have done if the case had been reversed, Frank knew +perfectly well. A dagger point would have pierced his heart and stilled +its beating forever. More than once he had looked on the bodies of +comrades who had been butchered while lying wounded and helpless on the +battlefield, and had been stirred by a wild desire to take similar +vengeance on those who had violated all the laws of war. + +But he was an American, with all the proud traditions of honor and +chivalry that had come down to him through generations. He could not +slaughter a helpless foe. He had the man a prisoner. It was enough. + +Quickly he tied the sentry's hands, using the German's own belt as a +strap. Then he tore some strips from the white cloth he had been +carrying to fasten on the bushes and made a gag, in case the man should +recover his senses and try to give the alarm. + +He dragged the man through a gap in the hedge so that he would not be +found by any of his comrades who might come that way. Then he crept down +to where the corporal and the other members of the patrol were still +busy on the wires and in a whisper told what had happened. + +Wilson was quick to see the opportunity that the capture had afforded. + +"Good work, Sheldon," he commended. "Here's where we get through the +wires. And we've got to do it quickly, for we don't know at what time +that fellow's relief may be coming along." + +His prophecy seemed about to be fulfilled with startling suddenness, +for, even while he spoke, a group of several figures, topped by helmets, +was revealed by the action of one of them in striking a match. It flared +up brightly for a second, but luckily the boys were outside the zone of +light that it formed. + +They lay perfectly still, although each of them took a tighter grasp on +his rifle. + +The men conversed in guttural tones for several minutes, that seemed as +many ages to the watchers in the shadows. + +Would the Germans come toward them or walk away from them? Their lives, +or at the least their liberty, might depend upon the answer. + +One of the men pointed in their direction and even took a step forward, +but his comrades stopped him and an animated discussion ensued, which +finally resulted in their retracing their steps in the direction from +which they had come. + +A sigh of relief went up from the boys and their grip on their weapons +relaxed. + +"A mighty close shave," whispered Billy. + +"It was all of that," agreed Bart. + +"As close for them as it was for us," said Tom grimly. "I had that big +fellow picked out and I'd have dropped him sure." + +Like so many ghosts, the party drifted along in Corporal Wilson's wake +until they came to the gap. A glance at the motionless sentry showed +that he had not yet returned to consciousness. + +"That was a knockout for fair," murmured Billy admiringly. + +"He must have thought a house was falling on him," whispered Bart with a +low chuckle. + +"Frank's no featherweight," agreed Tom. "I'd hate to have those trench +clogs of his come down on my back with him inside of them." + +A warning "s--sh" from the corporal brought them back to the grim +business still before them, and they crept along behind him as he wormed +his way through the breach. + +Camp utensils were scattered upon the ground and indicated that a field +kitchen had stood there recently, an impression that became a conviction +when Bart burned his hand by bringing it down upon some smoldering +embers covered with ashes. + +He bit his tongue trying to repress the exclamation that leaped to his +lips, but he succeeded, although his fingers were badly blistered. + +Little by little, with many pauses, they reached the edge of a small +section of the first trench. Nothing hindered them, no one challenged +them. In fact their progress was so free from obstacles that the +corporal, a wily veteran who had had long experience among the savage +Moros while serving in the Philippines, became uneasy, fearing an +ambush. + +Still, that was one of the chances that the party had to take, and there +was nothing to do but to keep on. But they redoubled their precautions, +every sense tingling with watchfulness against a sudden surprise. + +They worked their way along the trench until they reached the entrance. +No sound came from the interior. They listened for the murmur of +conversation, the scraping of feet, the clank of a weapon. They looked +down its length for a ray of light. Not a gleam or a sound rewarded +them. + +As far as they could judge, it was absolutely deserted. But on the other +hand it might be bristling with armed men, waiting in a stillness as +deathlike as their own the command to fire. + +For fully ten minutes their watch continued. Then the corporal gathered +them close around him and gave his commands in a whisper. + +"We'll raid it," he decided. "There are only a few of us, but we'll have +the advantage of surprise. That is, if they're not waiting to surprise +us. But we'll have to gamble on that. It's only a connecting trench, and +there won't be more than a dozen men or thereabouts in it. If we could +bag them and take them back to camp it would be a good night's work. +Have your guns ready and be prepared to slip them a few grenades if we +have to. I'll lead the way and when the time comes I'll flash my light. +Come along now and be right on your toes when I give the word." + +Corporal Wilson went first and his scouting party followed close on his +heels. It was like going into the jaws of death. It would have taken +less nerve to face a charge, for then their blood would have been up and +they would have been fired by the sight of their enemy. There would have +been nothing of this eerie stillness, this vault-like chill. Yet not one +of them hesitated or lagged behind. + +Twenty paces had been covered when the corporal stopped, drew out his +flashlight and sent out a stream of radiance that illumined every nook +and cranny of the trench. + +On the instant the boys had their rifles at their shoulders with their +fingers on the triggers, ready for a volley. + +But their precaution was needless. The trench was empty! + +Empty as far as men were concerned. But it was full of other things that +made their hair stand up with horror as their meaning swept in upon +them! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A TASTE OF COLD STEEL + + +Planted at intervals in the trench were rows of iron stakes, coming to a +sharp point at the top and cunningly camouflaged so that they would not +be detected by any one looking over the edge. The Army boys were not +slow in seeing the meaning of the trap and the fiendish ingenuity that +had conceived it. + +"It's a dummy trench!" murmured Corporal Wilson. "The idea is to have +their men seem to retreat into it when the fighting takes place on this +part of the line. Our boys come on in pursuit, jump over the edge, come +down on these sharp stakes and are spitted like larks. Nice way to wage +war, that!" + +"It's worthy of the Hun," growled Tom. + +"And when you've said that you've reached the limit," observed Bart. + +"The Turks are pretty good at torture," murmured Frank bitterly, "but +they must feel like thirty cents when they compare themselves with their +German masters." + +"Let's get these things out of the way," said Billy wrathfully, as he +grasped one of the spikes. + +But the corporal stopped him instantly. "Don't dig them out!" he cried. +"There's no knowing but what you may cause an explosion. Or they may +have some electric connection that will give warning to the Boches. +We've spotted the location of this infernal trap and that's enough. Our +officers will see that our men steer clear of it." + +"Of course," remarked Bart, "all the value to the Huns of this trap +depends upon our boys jumping in from the top of the trench. If they +came in from the entrance to the dugout, all the trouble of planting +these spikes would be thrown away." + +"It would be a trap just the same, only in a different way," replied the +corporal. "It's a safe bet that the Germans have machine guns planted +where they can sweep the whole length of this part of the trench. They'd +wait until our boys were all crowded in here and then the machine guns +would start spitting and wipe every last one of them out. There'd be no +way to get put except the way they had come in, and no one could get +through that storm of bullets. But now let's get out of this while the +going's good." + +The conversation had been carried on in the faintest whispers, and after +the first hurried examination of the dummy trench there had been no +light. But they all felt better when they had passed out of the trench +without mishap and lay on the ground above. Here they were at least in +the open, and if death came to them they would not be slaughtered like +rats in a trap. + +The corporal consulted his radio watch and found that it wanted but two +hours to dawn. + +"Not much time left, boys," he murmured. "And unless we get back to our +lines before daylight, we'll stand a good chance of losing the number of +our mess. But if we don't do anything else, we've done a pretty fair +night's work. The finding of this dummy trench will put a crimp in the +Heinies' plans. I'd like to have some prisoners to take along just for +luck but all we've bagged is that sentry." + +"Perhaps we haven't even got him," suggested Frank. "Some of his +comrades may have found him by this time." + +"Not likely," replied Bart. "He couldn't make a noise, and as we left +him outside the wire they wouldn't be likely to stumble over him." + +"All the same, we'd better get a hustle on," replied the corporal, and +they started on their homeward journey as stealthily as they had come. + +They had some difficulty in finding the breach in the wire through which +they had entered, but at last they succeeded and wormed their way out. +Then they felt around for the sentry and found him in the place they had +left him. He had returned to consciousness, for when the corporal risked +a ray of his flashlight on the upturned face, they could see that his +eyes were open and looking at them intelligently. + +The corporal placed the muzzle of his revolver against the man's neck as +a gentle reminder of what would happen to him if he should make a sound, +and they proceeded to untie his hands. Then they motioned to him that he +was to get on his hands and knees and go before them, which, with +muffled grunts, and after two or three attempts, he succeeded in doing. +He was evidently dazed yet and stiff from the cramped attitude in which +he had been lying, but stern necessity was on him and he finally wobbled +and staggered on before them. + +They had got some little distance away from the wires when Frank +suddenly came to a dead stop. His comrades halted instantly. + +"What is it?" whispered Wilson, who was nearest to him. + +"That blur ahead of us," returned Frank. "It looks a little more solid +than the rest of the darkness." + +He pointed ahead and a little to the right. + +"I don't see anything," remarked Tom. + +"Neither do I," affirmed Billy. + +"I think I see a little blacker patch than usual," declared Bart. "And +it seems to be moving." + +The corporal put his ear to the ground. + +"I think Sheldon is right," he said, after a moment of intense +listening. "At any rate we'll take no chances. Slip into some of these +shell holes and lie low. If it should be an enemy patrol and there are +too many to tackle we'll let them go by. But if there aren't more than +double our number we'll take a crack at them. Keep your weapons ready +and let fly when I give the word." + +The ground was so pitted with craters from the heavy artillery duel that +had been raging all the day before that they had no difficulty in +finding shelter. Their prisoner, who judged by the preparations that +some of his own comrades were approaching, was inclined to balk a little +and delay matters, but a vigorous push of Bart's boot hastened his +movements and he was tumbled in unceremoniously. And they blessed the +precaution that had still left the gag in his mouth when they had +unfastened his hands. + +More and more the blur ahead of them detached itself from the +surrounding darkness, until even skeptical Tom and Billy knew that what +they saw was a body of men bearing down steadily in their direction. + +Of course there was a chance that it was an American patrol out on an +errand similar to their own, but it was unlikely, if that were so, that +they would be going in the direction of the enemy's lines when the night +was so far spent. + +Nearer and nearer came the party until not more than thirty feet lay +between them and the American boys who knelt in the shell holes, with +faces stern and set and fingers on the triggers of their rifles awaiting +the word of command. + +But for some unknown reason the blur became motionless and remained so +for several minutes. Then it receded, as though the party had changed +its plan. + +"What do you suppose is the matter with them?" whispered Tom. "Do you +think they've tumbled to our being here?" + +"How could they?" returned Frank. "They'd have to have the eyes of cats +to see us in these holes." + +"I hope the corp will let us go after them," murmured Billy. "I'm all +tuned up for a scrap." + +Wilson hesitated. If he went after the supposed enemy, they would +probably hear him and he would lose the advantage of the surprise. On +the other hand, that they now seemed to be going in the direction of the +American lines might indicate that, after all, they were a patrol of his +own comrades. But while he weighed the chances, the question was solved +for him by the fact that the blur again became distinct. And this time +it grew larger very rapidly, indicating that the party had at last +reached a definite decision. On they came until only a few paces +separated them from the Army boys. + +Just then a star shell rose from the German lines and sent a flare of +light stabbing the darkness and clearly revealing a dozen or more +Germans. As they were facing the glare they were momentarily dazzled by +it, and the Americans peering beneath their black hoods on a level with +the ground could have easily escaped detection had they been so +inclined. + +But that instantaneous flash had decided the corporal. The odds were +more than two to one, but such odds as that was only a challenge to +Yankee fighting blood. + +"Fire!" he shouted, and five rifles spoke as one. Three of the enemy +went down as though stricken by an axe, and another staggered and his +rifle clattered to the ground. + +But the enemy rallied almost instantly, and at a hoarse command there +was a return volley. This proved harmless, however, for the boys knew +that it would come and bent beneath the edge of the craters until the +iron storm had swept over them. + +"Now, boys, at them with your bayonets!" shouted Corporal Wilson, as +soon as he had drawn the enemy's fire. + +With a leap the American squad was on the level ground and rushing with +leveled bayonets at the foe. + +The Americans had the advantage of the surprise, and their headlong +charge would have won instantly if the forces had been equal. But +although two went down at once, the others, after yielding ground +somewhat, closed in a death grip with their assailants, and there was a +furious combat at close quarters. + +There was no more shooting. It was a matter now of clubbed rifles and +bayonet thrusts. + +Frank found himself engaged in a bayonet duel with a massive German who +towered above him in height and probably outweighed him by twenty +pounds. He was well trained too in bayonet work and was a most +formidable opponent. + +But he met his master when he crossed bayonets with Frank. The latter +had made himself expert by long training under skilful French +instructors, and, besides, was the most finished boxer in the regiment. +At thrust and parry, feint and riposte, advance and retreat, he stood +first among his comrades. + +Against the furious bull-like rushes of his opponent, he opposed a +quickness and agility that more than counterbalanced his enemy's weight +It was a contest of a bull against a panther, and the panther won. + +For perhaps two minutes the fight continued. Then with a lightning +thrust Frank's bayonet found its mark, and the German staggered for a +moment, fell headlong and lay still. + +His fall seemed to take the heart out of the others who were being +outfought and pressed back. They wavered, broke and started to flee, but +the sharp crack of the corporal's revolver brought one of them to the +ground, and the others halted. + +Up went their hands and from the lips of each came the cry "_Kamerad_!" +in token of surrender. + +The American boys rounded them up and disarmed them. Then the corporal +took account of stock. + +Bart was there panting and flushed with nothing worse than a scalp wound +where a rifle butt had glanced from his head. Wilson himself was unhurt. +Billy also had come through unscathed, but Tom was nowhere to be seen. + +An awful fear, a fear that they had never felt in the fighting itself, +clutched the hearts of his comrades. Good old Tom, bound to them by a +thousand ties of friendship and comradeship--had he met his fate in this +desolate stretch of No Man's Land? + +Frantically they searched among the bodies for one that wore a suit +similar to their own. Frank found it first. His hand went to the heart +and to his joy found that it was beating. + +He lifted Tom's head and rested it on his knee. + +"Tom! Tom!" he called, as he chafed his chum's hands and loosened his +suit at the throat. + +Tom's eyes slowly opened, and, recognizing his friend, a faint smile +came to his lips. But he did not speak, and Bart, who was the only other +one who could be spared from guarding the prisoners, joined Frank in +redoubled efforts to bring Tom back to full consciousness. + +"He doesn't seem to have any bones broken," said Frank after a hurried +examination. + +"And he isn't bleeding," replied Bart. "But he has a lump on his head as +big as an egg." + +At last Tom's full consciousness returned, and with his chums' +assistance he got slowly and painfully to his feet. + +"Guess they haven't got my number yet, but they came mighty near it," he +said, trying to grin. "I'd just run one of the Huns through the arm when +I saw another out of the tail of my eye swinging for my head with his +rifle. I tried to dodge, but he must have been too quick for me, for +that's the last I remember." + +"Thank heaven it was no worse!" ejaculated Frank fervently. + +"It would have been a mighty bad thing for us if you had cashed in, old +boy," said Bart with feeling. "How did the scrap turn out?" asked Tom. + +"Though I suppose there's no use in asking, or you wouldn't be here +taking care of me." + +"We trimmed them good and proper," said Frank, from whom a ton's weight +had been lifted by finding that his friend had escaped serious injury. + +"A lovely scrap," added Bart. "I wouldn't have missed it for a farm. +We've wiped out five and rounded out the rest. Let's go over and see how +many there are." + +"Eight," announced the corporal, as he counted the prisoners who stood +in a group sullen and morose. "There must have been a baker's dozen in +the party." + +"I don't know how superstitious they may be," chuckled Billy, "but I'll +bet that from now on they'll agree that thirteen is an unlucky number!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +NICK RABIG'S QUEER ACTIONS + + +"Well," remarked Corporal Wilson, who was relieved beyond measure to +find that his own little force was practically intact, "eight is a +pretty good bag for one night's work, not to speak of five more who +won't do any more strafing for the Kaiser." + +"Nine," corrected Bart. "Don't forget our speechless friend in the shell +hole." + +"No doubt he'd be perfectly willing to be forgotten," grinned Billy. +"But we'd better take him along just for luck. That'll be nearly two +prisoners apiece for each of the bunch. Pretty fair work if you ask me." + +There was no further time for talking, for it would soon be dawn and +they were eager to get back to their own lines. They had been under a +terrible strain through all the long hours of the night and were +beginning to feel the reaction. And they were not at all averse to +showing their comrades in the regiment how well they had fared and how +stoutly they had held up the colors of the old Thirty-seventh. + +"Who goes there?" came the sharp challenge of the sentry, as they drew +near the American trench, and they knew that a score of rifles was +trained upon them to back up the sentry's demand if the answer were +halting or suspicious. + +"Friends," replied the corporal. + +"Advance and give the countersign," was the next requirement. + +Corporal Wilson complied, and he and his squad were joyfully welcomed. + +"I said 'friends'" added the corporal with a grin, as the party made +their way through the opening in the wire defences, "but perhaps that +doesn't go for all this crowd. Some of them didn't want to come, but we +told them they'd better, and here they are." + +"A bunch of huskies," remarked the sentry, as he surveyed the prisoners +critically. "You don't mean to say that just you five rounded up that +gang?" + +The four privates merely grinned. + +"Looks like it, doesn't it?" answered the corporal with keen relish of +the sentry's surprise. "Counting those we brought down, there are just +fourteen that will turn up missing when the Boches call the roll this +morning." + +"That's going some," said the sentry admiringly. "I only wish I'd been +along with you. Some fellows have all the luck." + +The prisoners were turned over to the officer in charge, and the +corporal made his way to headquarters to make his report of the night's +work. + +Bart and Tom went under the hands of the surgeons to have their wounds +and bruises treated, and were assured that with a little rest they would +be as well as ever in a day or two. Then the boys, "dog-tired," as Bart +expressed it, but happy and exultant that they had done their work well +and were back safe once more, tumbled into their bunks to enjoy the rest +they had so richly earned. + +"Never was so tired in my life," murmured Frank, drowsily, as he fell +rather than climbed into his bunk. + +"Same here," chimed in Billy. + +"Rip Van Winkle won't have anything on me," drawled Tom. "What's twenty +years of sleep? I'm going to take forty." + +As for Bart, he started to say something but dropped off to sleep while +saying it. + +None of the quartette woke until late in the afternoon. Then they found +that their exploit had made a stir in the regiment. Their fight against +twice their number was the most interesting feature to their comrades of +the rank and file. But still more important in the view of their +officers was the discovery of the dummy trench, which might have been +turned into a shambles for the American troops if they had rushed into +the trap so cunningly and so fiendishly set for them. + +"It was fine work, Corporal," the captain said warmly, when Wilson +finished his report. "You deserve credit for having brought your squad +back without the loss of a man." + +"They mostly brought themselves back, sir," replied Wilson with a smile. +"It's a pleasure to command such a nervy crowd as that. You don't need +to use the spur. I'm mostly busy putting on the brakes. It would have +done your heart good if you could have seen the way they waded into the +Huns. That fellow Sheldon particularly is a crackerjack when it comes to +a scrap. He's as strong as an ox and as quick as a cat." + +"I've had my eye on him," replied the officer. "He'll go far before the +war is over. You can go now, Corporal. I'll have your work mentioned in +the order of the day." + +He was as good as his word, for when the regiment was drawn up for +inspection the order of the day commended each man of the squad by name +for their gallant exploit that, as the order ran, "reflected credit on +the regiment." + +"How's your head feeling now, old man?" Frank asked of Tom, as they +rejoined each other at mess. + +"Pretty groggy," responded Tom. "But I'm not kicking. I'm lucky to be +alive at all. That fellow made an awful swipe at me, and if it had hit +me fair it would have been all over." + +"A miss is as good as a mile," put in Bart. "I had a pretty close shave +myself. Seemed as though twenty star shells were going off at once." + +"Yesterday was your lucky day," remarked Billy. "You had two narrow +escapes." + +"Let's hope it won't be three times and out," responded Bart lightly." +By the way, I wonder what they did with that corporal who tried to do me +up?" + +"Most likely he's shot by this time," observed Tom. "If he isn't, he +ought to be." + +"He isn't shot yet at any rate," remarked Fred Andon, who sat near by. +"I guess the fighting was so hot all day yesterday that they didn't have +time to attend to him. Likely enough he's down in the prisoners' pen +waiting for the court-martial." + +"Let's go down and see after we've finished our chow," suggested Billy. +"That is if you fellows ever get through eating. Look at Tom stowing it +away. He'd eat his way through the whole quartermaster's department if +he was let." + +"And he's the fellow that they wouldn't let enlist because of his +teeth," gibed Bart. "They didn't know Tom." + +"I'm not the only one that got a raw deal," replied Tom, with whom it +was always a sore point that he had been refused when he wanted to +enlist, but had been accepted in the draft. "There's a drafted man here +who was telling me the other day that he walked ninety miles to enlist. +And do you know what the enlistment board did to him?" + +"What?" was the query. + +"Turned him down because he had flat feet," responded Tom. "Told him he +wouldn't be able to stand a five-mile hike." + +There was a roar of laughter. + +"I heard another good one," chimed in Billy. "A fellow wanted to enlist, +and the examining board wanted to reject him because he had a cast in +his eye. 'Oh, that's all right,' he drawled, 'I allus shets that eye +anyway when I shoot.' That made them laugh and he got by." + +In high spirits they finished their meal, and as they were off duty for +the next hour or two, made their way down to that quarter of the field +where the prisoners' camp was placed. + +Behind the barrier at the point nearest them they saw one bulky captive, +who was munching contentedly the food that had been given him, and who +had none of the woe-begone expression that a man in his position is +commonly expected to show. + +"See him shovel it in," laughed Billy. + +"He doesn't seem to have a care in the world," remarked Bart. + +"Probably glad to be behind our machine guns instead of in front of +them," conjectured Tom. + +"Hello, Heinie!" said Frank good-naturedly. + +"Hello yourself," came the answer. + +"Do you speak English?" asked Frank in surprise. + +"A little," replied the German, and proceeded to prove it by answering, +although in rather a halting manner, the questions they put to him. + +No, he at any rate had not wanted the war. He was a skilled mechanic in +one of the munition factories. There had been a strike on account of bad +conditions and he had been one of the leaders. The Government had seized +him and bundled him off to the front. He was glad to be captured. After +the war the Kaiser would see that men were born to be something else +than cannon fodder. + +"Well," remarked Frank as they moved along, "there's one fellow at least +that doesn't cry: '_Hoch the Kaiser_.'" + +"Seems good to see it so full," remarked Bart with great satisfaction, +as he saw the large number of Germans who had been captured in the +fierce fighting of the day before. + +"If only the Kaiser and the Crown Prince were in that bunch," sighed +Tom. + +"That's a pleasure still to come," replied Frank. "But where's the +fellow that tried to stab Bart? I don't see him anywhere. Seems as +though the party isn't complete without him." + +They made inquiry of one of the guards. + +"Oh, that one," replied the guard. "They've roped him out from the rest +of these mavericks and given him a hut all by himself. I guess he's +thinking of making his will. I hear they're going to have him out before +a drumhead in the morning." + +"Which hut is it?" asked Frank, as his eye took in a little group of +shacks at the further end of the field. + +"That end one down by the big tree." The guard pointed it out with the +point of his bayonet. + +They went down in that direction, and as they neared the hut saw that it +was guarded by a single sentry. + +"Who's that fellow on guard?" asked Tom. "My head's so dizzy yet that +I'm seeing things double." + +"Looks rather familiar for a fact," said Bart. "Wait till he turns his +head this way." + +The next instant the sentry turned, and there was a whistle of surprise +from Billy. "By the great horn spoon!" he ejaculated. "It's Nick Rabig!" + +"Set a Hun to watch a Hun," remarked Tom bitingly. + +"Oh, come, Tom," remonstrated Frank, "that's going a little too far. +I've no reason to like the fellow, and we know he had to be dragged into +the army, but that doesn't say he's a Hun." + +"All except the uniform," persisted Tom. "He'd rather be fighting for +the Kaiser this minute than for Uncle Sam." + +"Shouldn't wonder if Tom's more than half right," assented Billy. "You +know the way he" used to talk in Camport." + +"You notice that we've never seen him volunteering for any of the +raiding parties," said Billy. + +"But that may only mean that Rabig has a yellow streak in him. It +doesn't say that he's a traitor," returned Frank. + +"Well, maybe he isn't," conceded Tom. "But all the same it seems rather +queer that he should have been picked out to guard this Heinie. They +could talk together in German through that closed door and nobody be +wise to what they were saying." + +"I don't suppose the officers know Rabig as well as the rest of us do," +said Billy. "But say, fellows, look at that bit of white under the door +of the hut. What do you suppose it is?" + +"Oh, just a scrap of paper," laughed Bart. "Just like the Belgian +treaty." + +"Something the wind's blown up against the door, I guess," conjectured +Tom. + +"Wind nothing!" exclaimed Frank, whose vision was keener than that of +any of the others. "It's under the door and it's getting bigger and +bigger all the time. I tell you what it is, fellows," he went on +excitedly, "it's a note that's being pushed out by the fellow inside." + +"Let's get behind these trees and see what's going on," suggested Bart, +indicating a clump of trees near which they happened to be standing. + +In a moment they were screened from observation. Then they watched with +the keenest interest what would follow. + +That Rabig had caught sight of the paper was evident, for he stopped his +pacing and turned his eyes on the door. Then he looked stealthily about +him. The nearest sentry was some distance away, and the boys were well +hidden by the trees. + +Then Rabig made a complete circuit of the little hut, as though to make +sure that no one was lurking about. Having apparently satisfied himself +on that point, he returned and resumed his pacing until he was directly +in front of the door. + +Here he paused and drew out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead. But +as he went to put it back, it dropped from his hand so that it lay close +by and almost upon the protruding piece of paper. + +He was stooping to pick it up, when he caught sight of a sergeant coming +in his direction. Instantly he straightened up, and as he did so the +butt of his rifle knocked against the door. + +The paper disappeared as though it had been drawn swiftly back from the +inside, just as the sergeant came up. + +"Gee!" gasped Tom. + +"Prisoner all right, Rabig?" inquired the sergeant. + +"Yes, sir," replied Rabig. "He seems to be keeping pretty quiet. I +looked in a little while ago and he was lying asleep on the bench." + +"Keep a close watch on him," counseled the sergeant. "What he tried to +do to Raymond yesterday shows that he's a desperate character. But I +guess that by this time to-morrow he won't need any one to watch him." + +The sergeant passed on and the boys looked at each other with +speculation in their eyes. + +"What do you think of it?" asked Frank thoughtfully. + +"Think?" snorted Tom. "I think that Rabig is a bad egg. What else is +there for any one to think?" + +"It certainly looks suspicious," said Bart with a little wrinkle of +anxiety creasing his brow. + +"One thing is sure," declared Billy. "It was a note that was being +pushed outside that door. The fellow inside was trying to get into +communication with Rabig." + +"True," assented Frank. "But that in itself doesn't prove anything. You +or I might be on sentry duty and a prisoner might try to do the same +thing to us." + +"Yes," agreed Billy. "But we wouldn't act the way Rabig did. We'd have +picked up the note and given it to the sergeant of the guard." + +"And we wouldn't have sneaked around the hut to see if any one was near +by," said Tom. "Why did he drop his handkerchief, except to have an +excuse for picking it up and copping the note at the same time?" + +"And his rifle butt didn't hit the door by accident," put in Billy. +"That was a tip to the prisoner that some one was coming. Did you see +how quickly the note disappeared?" + +"I hate to think that there's a single man in the regiment who's a +disgrace to his uniform," remarked Frank, "but it certainly looks bad. +That fellow Rabig will bear watching." + +"I told you he was a Hun," declared Tom. "His body's in France, but his +heart's in Germany." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +COLONEL PAVET REAPPEARS + + +The Army boys thought over the situation in some perplexity. + +"What do you suppose we ought to do?" asked Bart. + +"We ought to go hotfoot to the captain and tell him what we've seen," +declared Tom with emphasis. + +"I hardly like to do that," objected Billy. "At least not at this stage +of the game. After all, we haven't any positive proof against Nick. His +handkerchief might have dropped accidentally. And the knocking of the +butt of his gun against the door could have happened without his meaning +anything by it. He could explain his going around the hut by saying he +wanted to be especially vigilant in guarding the prisoner." + +"Yes," agreed Frank, "we haven't proof enough against Rabig to hang a +yellow dog. And I wouldn't want to get him in bad with his officers on +mere suspicion." + +"That note might be proof if we could only get hold of it," suggested +Tom. + +"Swell chance!" returned Bart. "You can bet that note is chewed up and +swallowed by this time. The first thing the Hun thought of, when he was +tipped off that some one was coming, was to get rid of the evidence that +might queer his chance of escape." + +"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Frank. "We'll just go down and see +Rabig and ask him casually about the prisoner. That may make him think +that we're on to something, and if he's planning to do anything crooked +it may scare him off. It won't do any harm anyway, and we'll take a +chance." + +They left the clump of trees and strolled down carelessly in the +direction of the hut. + +Rabig saw them coming, and the surly look that was habitual with him +became more pronounced than usual. There was no love lost between him +and any of them. He had been thoroughly unpopular in Camport because of +his bullying nature even before the outbreak of the war, and his evident +leaning toward Germany had deepened this feeling. + +Since he had been drafted, he had of course kept his pro-German views to +himself, for he valued his skin and had no desire to face a firing +squad. But his work had been done grudgingly, and his disposition to +shirk had more than once gained him short terms in the guardhouse. + +Of all the group approaching him he most heartily disliked Frank. In the +first place, Frank had never permitted him to bully him when they were +with Moore & Thomas, and the two had been more than once on the brink of +a fight. And since the boxing bout in the camp, when he had tried foul +tactics and Frank had thrashed him thoroughly, his venom toward his +conqueror had been more bitter than ever. + +The boys stopped when they reached the front of the hut. + +"Hello, Rabig!" they greeted him. + +"Hello!" responded Rabig, still keeping up his pacing. + +"Right on the job, I see," remarked Bart, pleasantly enough. + +"Your eyesight's mighty good," replied Nick sullenly. + +"Yes," Bart came back at him, "I can see a bit of white paper from quite +a distance." + +Rabig gave a sudden start. + +"What do you mean by that?" he demanded. + +"Nothing special," replied Bart carelessly. "What should I mean?" + +"By the way," put in Tom, "you'd better tuck your handkerchief in a +little more tightly or you'll lose it. It looks as though it were almost +ready to drop out." + +"What if it does?" snarled Rabig. "I could pick it up again, couldn't +I?" + +"Of course you could," said Tom, "but you might pick up something else +with it. Dust, or a bit of paper, or something like that." + +"Say, what's the matter with you guys anyway?" demanded Rabig, glowering +at them. + +"That looks like quite a solid door," remarked Frank, inspecting it +critically. + +"Oh, I don't know," responded Billy. "It's got dents in it. Here's one +that looks as though it were made by a rifle butt." + +Rabig looked at them angrily, and yet furtively, evidently seeking to +find out how much their remarks meant. + +"You fellows had better get along," he snapped. "You're interfering with +discipline by talking to a sentry on guard." + +Rabig's newborn reverence for discipline amused the boys so that they +had hard work to repress a laugh. + +"You're right," responded Frank. "We'll mosey along." + +"Ta-ta, Rabig," said Bart. "Keep your eye peeled for any Hun trick. That +fellow nearly got me yesterday with his knife, and he might try to play +the same game on you." + +"Don't you worry," growled Rabig. "I can take care of myself." + +The chums passed on, laughing and talking about indifferent things, +until they were out of ear shot. + +"We've got him guessing," remarked Billy with a grin. + +"We managed to put a flea in his ear," agreed Tom. + +"Did you see how red he got?" questioned Bart. + +"He sure is wondering how much we know," summed up Frank. "Whether it +will make him go straight or not is another question. What we fellows +ought to do is to take turns keeping tab on him, so that he can't act +crooked even if he wants to." "It's a pity there should be any men in +the American army whom we have to watch," said Tom bitterly. + +"Yes, but that's to be expected," returned Frank. "There's never been an +army in the history of the world that hasn't been infected with traitors +more or less." + +"Look at Benedict Arnold," remarked Billy. + +"To my mind, it's surprising that there aren't more," said Frank. +"That's what the Kaiser was counting on. He thought that the German +element in America was so strong that we wouldn't dare to go to war with +him. Do you remember what he told Gerard? That 'there were five hundred +thousand Germans in America who would revolt'?" + +"Yes," grinned Billy, "and I remember how Gerard came back at him with +the 'five hundred thousand lamp-posts on which we'd hang them if they +did.'" + +They were out on the main road by this time, and they stepped to one +side and saluted, as an officer in French uniform, accompanied by an +orderly, came galloping along. + +The officer's eye swept the group as he returned the salute, and when it +rested on Frank he drew up his horse so suddenly that the beast sat back +on its haunches. + +The officer threw himself from the horse's back, cast the reins to his +orderly, and came impetuously toward the astonished Army boys with his +hand extended to Frank. + +"Monsieur Sheldon!" he exclaimed, his face beaming. "_Mon brave +Americain. Le sauveur de ma vie._" + +"Colonel Pavet!" cried Frank with equal pleasure, as he took the +extended hand. + +"Yes," replied the newcomer, "Colonel Pavet, alive and well, thanks to +you. Ah, I shall never forget the night when I lay wounded on the +battlefield and you climbed out of the trench and made your way through +a storm of bullets and shells to my side and carried me back to safety. +It was the deed of a hero, a modern d'Artagnan! How glad I am to see you +again!" + +"And I to see you" responded Frank warmly. "You were so dreadfully +wounded that I feared you might not recover." + +They were talking in French, which Frank spoke like a native, thanks to +his French mother, and the other boys saluted and passed on, leaving the +two together. + +"If we had not met, I would have searched you out," went on the colonel, +"for I have some news for you. News that both you and your mother will +be glad to hear." + +"My mother," repeated Frank, his eyes kindling and his heart responding, +as it never failed to do at the mention of that dear mother of his, who +in her lonely home across the sea was waiting and praying for him. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ESCAPE + + +"Yes," replied Colonel Pavet, "your mother, Madame Sheldon,--it seems +strange for me to name her thus, for I never think of her except as +Lucie De Latour, as I knew her in her girlhood--has a very excellent +prospect of coming into the property that was willed to her." + +"I'm very glad to hear that!" exclaimed Frank. "And I know that my +mother will be pleased too. I have told her in my letters about my +meeting with you, and I gave her the remembrances that you were kind +enough to send her. She was delighted to know that I had met one of her +old neighbors in Auvergne, and she asked me to thank you most heartily +for your kindness in promising to look after her interests." + +The colonel smiled genially. + +"She is too good," he responded. "The obligation is all on my side. My +humble services would have been at her disposal in any event simply for +the sake of old friendship. But how much more ought they to be wholly +hers, now that her son has saved my life." + +"I am afraid you put too much value on what I did, Colonel," said Frank +deprecatingly. + +"It was something that not one in ten thousand would have done," replied +the colonel warmly. "When I found myself helpless and wounded on that +field of death I thought my life was over, and I had commended my soul +to God." + +"I'm glad that you have lived to strike another blow for France," said +Frank. + +"Ah, for France!" repeated the colonel fervently, as he lifted his cap +reverently. + +"As I started to say," he resumed after a moment, "your mother's +prospects for coming into her own are excellent. After my wound I was +sent home, and for some time it was doubtful whether I would live or +die. But God was good and I recovered. While I was gradually mending I +had ample time to look into that matter of the contested will. And, +fortunately, just at that time my brother André, who is one of the +leading lawyers of Paris, came to the chateau to see and cheer me up +while I was convalescing. I laid the whole matter before him, and he +went into it thoroughly. He has gone over all the proceedings in the +case, and he tells me that there is no doubt that your mother has the +law as well as right--unfortunately they are not always the same thing-- +on her side. He says that the testimony of those who are contesting the +will smacks strongly of perjury. It is too bad that your mother cannot +be here, for then André thinks the whole thing could be straightened out +at once." + +"It is too bad," agreed Frank; "but in the present state of things, and +the danger on the Atlantic from submarines, I would not want her to take +the risk. But what you say delights me, as I am sure it will her, and I +can't thank you enough for all the trouble you have taken." + +"Not trouble, but pleasure," corrected the colonel. "And you can be +assured that the matter will not be allowed to lag now that André has +taken it up. When he starts a case he can be depended on to carry it +through to a finish. I will keep in close touch with him and will let +you know from time to time how the matter is progressing. But now tell +me about yourself." + +"There's not much to tell," replied Frank. "I'm well and have been lucky +enough so far not to have stopped a bullet." + +The colonel's eyes twinkled. + +"Not much to tell," he repeated. "No, not if Monsieur Sheldon does the +telling. But there are others who speak more freely. Your captain, for +instance." + +Frank flushed uncomfortably and Colonel Pavet laughed outright. + +"Bravery and modesty usually go together," he went on. "How about that +machine gun episode yesterday, when an American soldier cut down its +crew, turned it on the enemy trench and compelled the men in it to +surrender? How about the raiding party where five men accounted for +fourteen of the Huns? You see, _mon ami_, that I have a good memory for +details. Ah, you are blushing. I wonder if you, too, could recall these +things if you tried." + +"There were a lot of us in on them," parried Frank, "and one did as much +as another." + +"Well," rejoined the colonel, "I'm proud that a French woman is your +mother. You have a glorious heritage in the traditions of two gallant +countries. And I rejoice to see the way you Americans are throwing +yourselves into the fighting. We were sorely pressed by the Hun hordes +and were fighting with our backs against the wall." + +"And such fighting!" returned Frank enthusiastically. "The world has +never seen anything finer. The spirit of France is unconquerable." + +"Yes," replied the colonel proudly. "As one of our great orators has +said: 'If the men are all killed the women will rise up; if the women +are killed the children will rise; if the children are killed the very +dead will rise and fight--fight for France." + +"But I must go on," he continued, motioning to his orderly to bring up +his horse. "I have a long journey yet before I reach the headquarters of +my division. I am more delighted than I can tell that I met you as I +did. May we meet again soon." + +"In Berlin, if not sooner," interjected Frank with a smile. + +"Ah, that is it," said the colonel delightedly. "In Berlin! That is the +way to speak. It may be a long time, but sooner or later the Stars and +Stripes and the Tricolor will wave together _Unter den Linden_. May +Heaven speed the day!" + +The French officer wrung Frank's hand warmly, sprang into the saddle, +and with Frank's "_bon voyage_" ringing in his ears, galloped rapidly +away. + +Twilight was coming on as Frank set out to rejoin his comrades, who were +waiting for him at a little distance down the road. His heart was light, +for he had news to write his mother that he knew would bring her +pleasure. + +"Some swell," chaffed Tom, as Frank came up to his friends. "Talking to +a colonel as though he were a pal. I wonder that you condescend to talk +to us common privates." + +"It is a comedown," grinned Frank; "but I'll try to tolerate you for a +while longer. But say, fellows, that colonel is a brick! Not a bit of +side about him. And he's doing a lot for us in the matter of my mother's +property that I've told you about." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Bart heartily. + +"I'll forgive him," conceded Tom magnanimously, "even if he does talk in +a lingo that I can't understand." + +"Why, I thought you were a finished French scholar by this time," +chaffed Bart. + +"Do you remember the day Tom tried to ask for soup and got his tongue +twisted around 'bouillon'?" gibed Billy, with a broad grin. + +"Well, I got the soup anyway, didn't I?" defended Tom. + +"Sure you got it," agreed Billy. "I could hear you getting it." + +Tom made a pass at him that Billy ducked. + +"Talking about soup makes me hungry," remarked Bart. "If you fellows +stand talking here much longer we'll be late at chow." + +"I'd like to have one more look at that hut Rabig's guarding," said +Frank a little uneasily. + +"We might stroll down this way again after supper if you like," +suggested Billy, "but just at present a little knife and fork exercise +seems the most pressing business I have to attend to." + +Just then their talk was interrupted by a single shot, followed by a +volley of them, and looking back in the direction from which they had +come, they saw men running in the direction of the hut that Rabig had +been guarding. + +They turned and ran at full speed and were soon in the midst of an +excited group gathered about the hut. + +"What's up?" asked Frank of one of the soldiers. + +"Prisoner escaped," replied the other briefly. + +"What prisoner?" + +"The fellow that Rabig was guarding. Some way or other he got out, +managed to strike Rabig down and skipped. Poor Rabig's pretty badly +messed up." + +The boys looked at each other. + +"_Poor_ Rabig," repeated Tom, and there was a world of meaning in his +tone. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A GHASTLY BURDEN + + +The sergeant of the guard came running up quickly, followed by two other +officers of higher rank, and a hurried inquiry took place on the spot. + +Rabig had been lifted to his feet from where he had been lying, and +stood supported by two comrades. Blood was running down his face from a +wound in his head. He seemed weak and dazed, although a surgeon who had +been hastily summoned pronounced the wound not dangerous. He seemed to +have been dealt a glancing blow, and, as in the case of all scalp +wounds, the blood had flowed freely. + +"Bring a seat for him," commanded the lieutenant in charge, and the +order was promptly obeyed. + +"Now, Rabig," proceeded the officer, not unkindly, "tell me about this. +How did you come to lose your prisoner?" + +Rabig looked about him in a helpless sort of way. + +"I don't know," he mumbled. "My head is swimming so that I can't +remember." + +"Try to think," said the officer patiently. Rabig seemed to make an +effort, but did not succeed and fell back in a swoon that put an end for +the present to the questioning. + +"Who saw anything of this?" queried the lieutenant, looking about him. +"Does any one know in what direction the prisoner went?" + +"If you please, sir," said one of the sentries who had been guarding an +adjacent hut, "I saw a man jump on a horse and go through the woods +there, but it was getting dark and I didn't know but what it might be +one of our own men. But I ran up here and found Rabig lying on the +ground, and the door of the hut was open. I sent a shot after the man on +horseback and so did some of the other men, but we couldn't take aim and +I don't know whether we hit him or not." + +"Look alive there," commanded the officer. "Sergeant, take a squad of +men and beat up these woods. The fellow may be hiding there. Take him +dead or alive." + +"Yes, sir," replied the sergeant, saluting. + +The soldiers standing by were hastily sent into the woods and others +were summoned to join them. The prisoner had got a good start, but by +this time the field telephones were busy all along the line and his +chance of ultimate escape was by no means bright. But he was a powerful +and desperate man, and if he had any weapons at all he would probably +make his capture a costly one. + +"He'll reason that he's a dead man if we get him and he might as well +die fighting," remarked Frank, as with his comrades he picked his way +through the woods. + +"Righto," agreed Tom. "And even if he didn't have a weapon when he +escaped, there are lots of them lying around and he won't have any +trouble in picking one up." + +"I wonder if he'll stick to the horse," mused Bart. + +"I hardly think so," replied Billy. "He knows from the shots that were +sent after him that we know he used a horse in escaping and will be +looking for a man on horseback. So he'll try to deceive us by going on +foot." + +"He'll probably hang about in the woods until it's pitch dark and then +try to get through the lines," said Frank. "He may be behind any tree or +bush, and we want to be mighty careful to examine each one as we go past +it." + +"Maybe he'll climb a tree," suggested Tom, looking up to the branches of +one he happened to be under at the moment. + +"Not a chance at this time of the year," objected Billy. "There aren't +any leaves to hide him, and even in the darkness we could probably see +his outline against the sky. Then, too, if he were seen he could be +potted too easily. No, he's not up a tree." + +"Queer that he should have got away so soon after we'd been down to the +hut," remarked Frank. + +"Queer!" snorted Tom. "It isn't queer at all to my way of thinking. The +whole thing was cut and dried." + +"Then you think that Rabig was in cahoots with him?" asked Bart +dubiously. + +"I'm sure of it," responded Tom. "Use your common sense, fellows. We see +half a dozen suspicious things that look as if Rabig and the prisoner +had some understanding. A little while after the prisoner escapes. +What's the answer?" + +"The answer might be several things," replied Frank, who hated to +believe evil of even his worst enemy. "A lot of things are due to +coincidence. It may be perfectly true that Rabig was in sympathy with +the German, but that doesn't say that he'd go so far as to let him +actually escape. He was taking big chances with his own skin in doing +it." + +"Besides, there's no doubt that Rabig was wounded," remarked Bart. "That +fellow seems to have given him an awful knock. He was bleeding like +fury." + +"Oh, it was easy enough to arrange that," answered Tom, unconvinced. "It +would have been too raw to have Rabig let the fellow go and still be +safe and sound. How could he explain it? He'd be brought up for +court-martial. But a scalp wound could be easily made where it would +produce the most blood and do the least harm." + + +"But what object would Rabig have in taking such chances?" asked Billy. +"The fellow had been searched and couldn't have had any money with him." + +"No, but he could have promised plenty," argued Tom. "Perhaps he's told +Rabig that the grateful Kaiser would make him rich. How do we know that +Rabig wouldn't fall for that? He's got an ivory dome anyway. If there +were more than two ideas in his head at one time they'd be arrested for +unlawful assemblage." + +The boys laughed and Tom went on: + +"Besides, how do we know but what Rabig is planning to desert and wants +to pave the way for a warm welcome on the other side? It would be easy +enough to slip across while the lines are so near each other." + +"But Rabig seemed to be pretty badly hurt," said Billy. "You saw him +faint." + +"Which only proves that he is a good actor," retorted Tom dryly. "Don't +think me hardhearted, fellows, because I'm not. I'm always ready to give +everybody his due. But I feel sure down in my heart that this thing was +all fixed up beforehand, and some day you'll find that I'm right." + +For more than two hours they kept up the search without result, and the +fact that they had not had their supper was forced upon them with +growing insistency. + +"Isn't there any time limit to this?" grumbled Bart. "I'll be hunting +for acorns instead of a prisoner before long." + +"I've got a vacuum where my stomach ought to be," moaned Billy. "Gee, +wouldn't I like to be streaking it for the mess room." + +"Cork up, you fellows," commanded Frank. "Listen! I thought I heard +something just then." + +The talking ceased instantly, and all stood as rigid as statues. + +"It's a horse coming this way," whispered Frank, after a moment of +strained attention. "Quick, fellows, get behind these bushes and have +your rifles ready!" + +They crouched low and peered up a little glade that ran through the +forest. + +But the noise ceased as suddenly as it had begun and they began to think +that their comrade had been mistaken. + +"Guess Frank's been stringing us," chaffed Billy. + +"He's the only one who seems to have heard anything," said Tom. + +"Don't you worry about my hearing," said Frank. "I tell you I heard a +horse's hoofs. Perhaps the rider suspects something and is trying to get +a line on us, just as we're trying to get one on him." + +"It may have been a horse all right," said Billy, "but that doesn't say +he had any rider. He may be rambling around all by his lonesome, and +perhaps he's stopped to graze somewhere." + +"There he goes again!" exclaimed Frank, and this time every one of them +heard what was undeniably the thud of a horse's hoofs. + +But there was a hesitation, an uncertainty about the animal's movements +that seemed unusual. It moved as though it had no purpose in view no +guiding hand on the reins. At times the canter seemed to subside into a +walk. There was something about this unseen steed, at large in the dim +forest, that gave the boys a most uncomfortable feeling. + +Then suddenly a more resolute note in the sound and an increase in its +volume told the listening boys that the horse was coming straight toward +them. + +The clatter of hoofs drew nearer, and they clutched their guns more +tightly. + +Soon they were able to distinguish in the gloom the outline of a horse +and rider. The man's figure loomed up huge and threatening, and they +felt sure that it was the big German corporal for whom they were +searching. + +The boys waited until the horse was almost upon them and then rushed out +into the road. + +"Halt!" cried Frank. He seized the horse's rein while the others leveled +their rifles at the rider. + +The horse reared in fright, but the rider made no answer nor did he +attempt to draw a weapon. + +"Get down!" commanded Frank. "We've got you covered. Surrender." + +Still the rider remained silent. + +Frank having quieted the horse went alongside and put his hand on the +man's arm. + +"Come----" he began, then stopped suddenly. + +There was a moment of utter silence, and Frank for the first time in his +life could feel the hair rising on his head. Then he controlled himself. + +"Put up your rifles boys," he commanded. "The man is dead!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +WITH THE TANKS + + +"Dead!" exclaimed Frank's comrades in voices that shook with surprise +and horror. + +"That's what I said," replied Frank. "Touch him and see for yourselves." + +All did so and found that the body was rigid. How long the horse had +borne his lifeless burden they could not tell. The legs were set stiffly +in the stirrups and the hands had a death grip on the reins. + +The boys had seen death in many forms. Scarcely a day had passed since +their arrival at the front without that sad experience. But it had never +seemed so ghastly or uncanny as at this moment. That silent, colossal +figure, seated bolt upright, worked fearfully on their imaginations and +seemed far more formidable than any living enemy would have seemed. + +"One of those bullets that the sentries sent after him must have reached +him," said Bart in an awed voice. + +"I suppose so," replied Frank. "But it doesn't matter now. Our search is +over." + +"What are we going to do with the body?" asked Billy soberly. + +"I guess we can't do anything just now," replied Frank. "I don't think +we could get those reins out of his hands anyway, and I for one don't +want to try. Besides, this is the proof for the officers that the +prisoner hasn't escaped. They're anxious, because they don't know what +information he might have been carrying back to the German lines. The +only thing to do is for one of us to lead the horse--with its rider-- +back to camp." + +This seemed to the others the solution of the problem, although the task +was a gruesome one and they would have gladly evaded it if they could. +It made chills run down the spine to trudge along leading the horse with +that huge figure towering behind them in the darkness, mocking at them +because he had escaped to the silent land from which they could never +bring him back. + +But there was comfort in numbers, and what no one of them could perhaps +have done singly they finally accomplished by taking turns, keeping +close together all the while as the ghostly cavalcade wound its way +through the woods. + +It was with a sigh of heartfelt relief that they finally drew up before +the friendly lights of the regimental headquarters that had never before +seemed so welcome. + +Their coming caused a great sensation, and there was soon a dense crowd +around them, for the uncanny circumstances of their return spread +through the camp like wildfire. The reins were cut from the dead hands +and the body lifted to the ground. Then after making a full report the +boys went to their quarters. They were besieged with inquiries by +curious comrades, but they shook them off as soon as possible. Their +experience had been one that they were only too anxious to forget. + +"I don't think I want any supper, after all," remarked Tom to his +friends. + +"Same here," responded Bart. "I don't feel as though I'd ever be hungry +again." + +"All I want to do is to get to sleep and forget it," said Billy. "That +is, if I _can_ get to sleep." + +"You'll sleep all right," observed Frank, "but I wouldn't guarantee you +against nightmare." + +But harrowed as their nerves had been, they were too young and healthy +to stand out against the sleep they needed, and when they woke the next +morning both their spirits and their appetites were as good as usual. +Life at the front was too full of work and rush for any one experience +to leave its imprint long. + +Their first inquiry after breakfast was for Rabig. + +"How's Rabig getting along?" Frank asked of Fred Anderson. + +"Oh, he's all right, I guess," answered Fred carelessly. "When the +doctors came to examine him they found that the wound didn't amount to +much. Said he'd be all right in a day or two." + +"Is he under arrest?" asked Tom. + +"Why, yes, I suppose he is," answered Fred. "But I guess it's a mere +form. The fact that the prisoner didn't finally get away will count in +his favor. It's like baseball. An error is an error, but if the man who +ought to be out at first gets put out when he tries to steal second the +error is harmless. It's no credit to Rabig that a bullet got the man he +let escape, but it's lucky for him just the same." + +It was evident that Anderson had no suspicion that Rabig had been guilty +of anything but carelessness, and the boys carefully refrained from +saying anything about what they had gathered from their observation the +day before. But when they were alone together they had no hesitation +about speaking their minds. + +"Some fellows could commit murder and get away with it," grumbled Tom. + +"Cheer up, you old grouch," chaffed Billy. "At any rate the prisoner +didn't escape, and so there's no harm done." + +"And if Rabig is guilty he's got nothing from it but a sore head," put +in Bart. + +"I don't feel dead sure that Rabig helped him," said Frank, "and yet the +more I think it over, the more I'm inclined to think that Tom is right +about it. Still, Rabig's entitled to the benefit of the doubt. I know +how the Scotch jury felt when they brought in the verdict: 'Not guilty, +but don't do it again.'" + +"That's just what I'm afraid Rabig will do," said Tom. "This time +luckily it didn't matter. The prisoner didn't escape. But if Rabig is a +traitor, how do we know but what the next time he might do something +that might cause a defeat?" + +"It does make one uneasy," agreed Bart. "Nick in the regiment is like a +splinter in the finger. It makes you sore. But we'll keep our eyes open +and the very next crooked move he makes it will be curtains for him." + +"Or taps," added Billy. + +The fighting now had lost the first intensity that had signalized the +day of the mine explosion. The Germans had been strongly reinforced, and +had held their third line, which had now become their first. + +"And they've got plenty of other lines behind that one," commented Tom, +as he sat on a trench step cleaning and oiling his rifle. + +"Slathers of them," assented Billy. "I suppose they stretch all the way +back to the Rhine." + +"It will be some job to root them out of them if we have to storm each +one of them in turn," remarked Bart. + +"We don't have to count on that," said Frank confidently. "The Allies +gained twenty-five miles at a clip when they drove Hindenburg back from +the Somme. The Huns may stand out a long while, but when the time comes +they may collapse all at once like the deacon's 'one-hoss shay.'" + +The Americans in the meantime had thoroughly reorganized the captured +positions and had held them against a number of strong counter-attacks. +But these became fewer as they failed to produce results, and although +the artillery still kept on growling and barking, the wearied infantry +had a chance to get some of the rest they so sorely needed after their +herculean efforts. + +"Nothing to do till to-morrow," yawned Billy, as after performing their +turn of trench duty they found themselves with an hour or two on their +hands. + +"Let's take a little hike back of the lines and see what's doing," +suggested Bart. + +"I think there's something in the wind connected with the tanks," +remarked Frank. "They say there's a bunch of them coming up from all +parts of the front and getting together just back of our division." + +"They're hot playthings, all right," commented Tom. "They certainly keep +the Huns on the jump. If we only had enough of them we might roll right +into Berlin." + +They passed some of the field batteries where the men, stripped to the +waist, were serving the guns, running the shells in and discharging +their weapons with marvelous smoothness, speed and precision. + +"This is the life," chaffed Tom. "You fellows have a picnic here away +back of the lines, while we chaps in the front line do all the work and +stop all the bullets." + +"G'wan, you doughboys," retorted a gunner good-naturedly. "If we're +alive here after eight days, the orders are to shoot us for loafing." + +A little further on, they came upon a myriad of tanks of all +descriptions. There were "baby" tanks, "whippets," "male" and "female," +all with different functions to perform during a battle. Just as in the +navy there are vessels of all sizes from a light scout to a +super-dreadnought, so already this arm of the service was developing +various grades, each to do some special work for which the others were +not so well adapted. + + +"See how they're hidden," said Frank, as he pointed to a very forest of +bushes and branches that extended above the array of tanks. + +"That's to keep the Boche aviators guessing," observed Bart. "They'd +give their eyes if they could only spy out where these fellows are being +massed." + +"I heard one of the fellows say that the tanks travel only at night so +that the Boches can't track them," said Tom. + +"And see what a raft of them have been got together here," said Billy. +"I tell you, fellows, there's something big going to be pulled off +before long." + +"Say, boys, see who's here!" exclaimed Frank, and they turned to see +Will Stone coming toward them with a broad smile of welcome on his +bronzed face. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BREAKING THROUGH + + +There was a rush toward Will Stone, and in a moment the Army boys were +shaking hands with a vigor that showed the pleasure they felt at again +meeting their acquaintance, who belonged to the tank division. + +"Say, fellows, have a heart," Will grinned. "I need these hands in my +business. But it sure does me good to see you again. And all of you +alive and kicking! I'll bet that's more than some of the Huns are that +you've run up against." + +"Oh, we're still able to sit up and take nourishment," laughed Frank. +"But tell us about yourself, old man. You look like ready money." + +"I see you have a marking different from what you had when we saw you +last," remarked Bart, looking at the insignia that proclaimed Will an +officer. + +"And look at that war cross!" cried Tom. "I guess you've been some busy +little bee to get that. Shake again, old scout." + +Stone flushed and looked a little embarrassed. + +"Only a few little skirmishes here and there," he said deprecatingly. +"But the real big thing is yet to come. Look at this army of tanks. +We've never had so many in one place since the war began." + +"Looks like a herd of elephants," commented Frank, as his eye ran along +the array that seemed to number hundreds. "They'll do more trampling +than any herd of elephants that ever trod the earth," remarked Stone +grimly. "But come along, fellows, and let me show you my own particular +pet. It's the biggest one of the bunch, and it's a peach! We call it +Jumbo, and it carries a crew of twenty men." + +They followed him till they came to a monster tank on which Stone placed +his hand caressingly. + +"Isn't it a beauty?" he asked, as he beamed upon them. + +"I should call it a holy terror," grinned Frank. + +"What the Huns will call it won't be fit for publication," laughed +Billy. + +"I guess they've already exhausted the German vocabulary," chuckled +Stone. "But just wait until this beauty of mine goes climbing over their +trenches and smashing their pill boxes and tearing away their +entanglements. Then they'll know what they're up against." + +"I only wish we could see you while you're doing it," remarked Tom. + +"Likely enough you will," replied Stone. "From things I've picked up +here and there I think the infantry will be right alongside of us in the +next big jamboree. Don't you fellows make any mistake about it, there's +going to be one of the biggest stunts of the war pulled off in the +course of the next few days. Mithridates with his elephants won't be a +circumstance to us with our tanks. There sure is bound to be some lovely +fighting." + +"Let it come!" exclaimed Tom. + +"And come quickly," chimed in Frank. + +"The only thing I'm sorry for is that you're in the Canadian +contingent," said Bart. "I want to see you leading the way in a U. S. A. +tank." + +"You may yet," replied Stone. "Uncle Sam will soon be sending over his +tanks, and you bet when they do come they'll be lallapaloozers with all +the modern improvements, and then some! And the minute that happens I'm +going to apply to be transferred to the United States army. These +Canadians are among the finest men in the world and they're doing +magnificent fighting, but still I'll feel more natural when I'm fighting +under the Stars and Stripes." + +"Well, that won't be long now," replied Frank. "Our men and our guns and +our tanks and everything else we need to lick the Kaiser will be coming +in droves pretty soon. And then watch our smoke." + +"Right you are," agreed Stone enthusiastically. + +Then as a trumpet rang out he added: "That's the signal for a rehearsal, +fellows, and I'll have to get on the job. We're going to put our +machines through their paces. I'm mighty glad to have seen you again, +and I wish you no end of luck." + +"Come over to our line when you get a chance and see the way our boys +are shaping up," was Frank's invitation, which was echoed heartily by +the others. + +"You bet I will," responded Stone, as with a wave of his hand he went to +his work, while the boys strolled back to their quarters. + +"He's the real stuff," commented Frank. "All wool and a yard wide." + +"He'd rather fight than eat," observed Tom. + +"If the Canadians take him as a sample, no wonder they're glad to see +Uncle Sam mix in," remarked Billy. + +Some days went by, days of steady rush and preparation. It was evident +that some big operation was near at hand. Troops were moved up from +other portions of the long line that stretched from Switzerland to the +sea. There were the bronzed Tommies in khaki, the snappy, dashing poilus +in their uniforms of corn-flower blue, veterans hardened in a score of +battles from Ypres to Verdun. And right alongside of them in closest +comradeship and gallant rivalry were the stalwart sons of the United +States of America, the very flower of her youth, who had already had +their baptism of fire and who had sworn to themselves that no flag +should be further in the van than Old Glory when it came to the stern +test of battle. + +Nearer and nearer the tanks had crept to the front of the line and taken +up their places in front of great openings that had been made in the +wire entanglements and skilfully concealed from the enemy. + +A certain number of them were assigned to lead each regiment, and the +Camport boys' delight was great when they saw that Jumbo, with a squad +of assisting tanks, had been told off to lead their regiment. + +"Just what the doctor ordered," exulted Frank, when he saw Stone step +out of the door of the monster tank. + +"We'll follow you, old man, till the cows come home," called Bart, as +the boys crowded around the young operator. + +"We'll try to make a broad path for you," laughed Stone, as he returned +their greeting cordially. + +"When is the show coming off?" asked Billy. + +"Almost any time now, I guess," replied Stone. "About all we need is a +nice misty morning. It's up to the weather sharps to tip us off. Then +we'll amble over and give the Huns a little shaking up." + +Several days passed with the weather exasperatingly clear. Usually the +soldiers would have welcomed the bright sunny mornings. But now, when +they were keyed up to a high pitch, the one thing they longed for was a +dull and lowering sky that would favor the great enterprise they had on +hand. + +"You might think the boys were a lot of grangers after a dry spell, from +the way they're praying for rain," remarked Billy, as for the hundredth +time he scanned the sky. + +"Remember how different it used to be when we had a baseball game on +hand?" laughed Frank. "Then a gleam of sunshine was like money from home +after you'd been broke for a week." + +"That cloud a little while ago looked as though it might have had +thunder and lightning behind it," observed Bart, "but it was only a +false alarm." + +"Nothing but wind, like a German bulletin," grinned Billy, stretching +himself. + +"Or their U-boat prophecies," added Frank. "But cheer up, fellows, this +sunshine can't last forever." + +There came at last just the kind of weather wanted. A soft drizzle set +in at nightfall, not enough to make the ground muddy, but enough to make +the steaming and saturated air lie heavy on the earth. Everything +indicated that there would be a fog at dawn. + +"I guess to-morrow's the big day," remarked Frank, as he looked out at +the settling mists. + +"High time," grumbled Tom. "I'd grow stale if we had to wait much +longer." + +The regiments slept on their arms that night, and an hour before dawn +all were astir and in their places. There was no special artillery fire, +such as usually preceded big attacks. It was given to the tanks to level +the entanglements of the enemy and open up the gaps for the troops to +swarm through. + +The hour dragged by until within ten minutes of the time appointed for +the assault. Then a monotonous hum filled the air as the motors of the +tanks tuned up. Down through the black lines of waiting soldiers the +gray monsters slowly made their way, passed through the gaps made in the +defences and led the way into the desolate stretch of No Man's Land. + +Even to the friendly eyes that watched them there was something weird +and frightful in their aspect. It was as though the huge brutes of the +prehistoric world had taken form before them. Even those monsters had +never carried within them such death-dealing power. + +As the sea closes in the wake of a ship, the troops fell in behind the +tanks, and the silent procession took up the march toward the German +lines. + +Hardly a sound beyond the labored breathing of the tanks broke the +stillness. It might have been an army of ghosts. + +On they went, and with every step the conviction grew that the surprise +would be complete. No thunder broke from the enemy guns. No fiery +barrage swept the dense ranks, exacting its toll of wounds and death. +For once the Hun was asleep. + +Nearer and nearer. Then like so many thunderbolts at a hundred different +points they struck the German lines and the tanks went through! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +CAUGHT NAPPING + + +Nothing could stand before the terrific impact of the war tanks. + +There was a grinding, tearing, screeching sound, as wire entanglements +were uprooted. These had been strengthened in every way that German +cunning could invent, but they bent like straws beneath the onslaught of +the gray monsters. A cyclone could not have done the work more +thoroughly. + +There was no need now for further secrecy, and with a wild yell the +Allied troops swarmed through the gaps, sending a deadly volley before +them, supplemented by thousands of grenades. + +At the same instant, the Allied artillery opened up and laid a heavy +barrage fire over the heads of the onrushing troops. + +The blow came down on the Germans with crushing force. The surprise was +complete. Every detail of the great drive had been mapped out with the +precision of clockwork, and so nicely had it been timed that on every +part of the long line the shock came like a thunderbolt. + +A horde of Germans rushed up from the trenches and poured in a great +stream into the open. The earth seemed to disgorge itself. They came +shouting and yelling in wild consternation, their eyes heavy with sleep +and their faces pallid with fear. + +Fear not so much of the Allied troops rushing upon them. These they had +faced in many battles, and though they knew the mettle of their foes, +they were still men who could be faced on even terms. But their courage +gave way when through the spectral mists they saw the wallowing monsters +bearing down on them like so many Juggernauts, crushing, tearing, mowing +them down as though they were insects in the path of giants. + +The men fled helter-skelter in the wildest panic that had come upon them +since the outbreak of the war. In vain their officers shouted and cursed +at them. The iron bonds of discipline snapped like threads. Soldiers +rushed hither and thither like ants whose hill had been demolished by a +ruthless foot. + +Many fled back toward their second line, pursued by a withering blast of +rifle fire that reaped a terrible harvest of wounds and death. Others +rushed back into their trenches, crowding and treading upon one another. +But even here they were not safe from the great tanks, which lumbered +down into the trenches and up on the other side, leaving devastation in +their wake, spitting out flame from the guns they carried, while they +themselves in their iron armor went on uninjured. + +Not only were they frightful engines of offense, but they served as well +for defense of the troops that followed after them. + +For the first few minutes the slaughter was awful, and it looked as +though the whole German line would be forced to give way without putting +up any resistance worthy of the name. Prisoners were rounded up by the +hundreds. There was no time then to send them to the rear. So they were +gathered together in the open spaces, their suspenders were cut so that +their trousers would slip down and entangle their legs if they tried to +escape in the confusion, a small guard was put over them, and the tanks +and the troops went thundering on toward the second line. + +But here the resistance began to stiffen. The first paralysis of +surprise was past. The heavy guns of the enemy opened up, and from +scores of machine gun nests and pill boxes came a storm of bullets. The +German officers had got their troops under some semblance of control, +and heavy reinforcements were rushed up from the rear. From now on the +Allies had an awakened and powerful foe to reckon with. + +But despite the sterner opposition, the tanks were not to be denied. On +they went, as resistless as fate. Their sides were reddened now, and the +wake they left behind them was fearful to look upon. + +Through the second line entanglements they crashed as easily as through +the first, although this time they met with losses. Some had overturned +and others had been struck by heavy shells and put out of action. But +even though disabled, the guns on one side or the other were still able +to pour out their messengers of death and take savage toll of the enemy. + +Jumbo was leading, and close behind followed the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh, with Frank and his chums in the van. They were fighting +like young Vikings, their rifles empty but their bayonets and hand +grenades doing deadly work. Their arms were tired by their terrific +efforts, but their hearts were on fire. They felt as though they were +treading on air, and the blood ran through their veins like quicksilver. +Bunker Hill and Gettysburg spoke through them. The traditions of a +hundred glorious battlefields on which Americans had fought was theirs. +Now again Americans were fighting, fighting to avenge the murdered women +and babies of the Lusitania, fighting to crush the most barbarous +tyranny the modern world has known, fighting the battle of freedom and +civilization. + + +So they fought on like demons, smashing a pill box here, routing out a +machine gun nest there, until the second line was carried. Then the +conquerors paused for breath. + +On the whole German front in that region two lines deep the line had +been smashed. That crowded hour of stark fighting had cracked the +boasted invincible line of Hindenburg and sent the foe flying in +confusion toward their third and most formidable line. Thousands of +prisoners and scores of guns were among the spoils of victory. + +And the most gratifying feature of the drive was the insignificant loss +to the Allied forces. The resistance at first had been only slight, and +even in the second phase of the battle it had been so quickly overcome +that few of the attacking troops had fallen. Seldom had so great an +advance been made at so small a price. + +But modern warfare has its limits in the matter of time and speed. The +very swiftness with which they had advanced had in itself an element of +danger because it had brought them too far ahead of their supporting +guns. These had to be brought up from the rear, and the captured +positions had to be reorganized. The troops, too, had to be given a +breathing spell, for they had reached the limit of human endurance. + +So a halt was called, and the wearied men took turns in resting and +refreshing themselves for the hard work that still lay ahead of them. + +"A mighty good morning's work," panted Frank, as he threw himself down +at the roots of a giant tree which had been utterly stripped of branches +and even of bark by the tempest of fire that had raged around it. + +"Ask a German and see if he'd agree with you," said Billy with a grin. + +"We've got plenty to ask," said Tom, as his eyes roved over the throng +of prisoners. "We sure have taken a raft of them this morning. And +there's a still bigger bunch that will never answer roll call again." + +There was food in plenty, but they did not have to avail themselves of +the rations they carried in their kits. There were the camp kitchens of +the enemy that in a twinkling were set to work, and soon the savory +odors of steaming stews and fragrant coffee filled the smoke-laden air +and brought joy to the hearts of the victors. + +Frank, Bart, Billy and Tom were lucky enough to stumble on a meal that +had already been started for some German officers, and they were +surprised to find it so good and abundant. + +"The Germans may be starving, but there's no sign of it here," remarked +Frank, as he threw himself down on the ground with a sigh of relief. + +"Trust the Huns to look after their soldiers, even if the civilians +starve," replied Bart. "The people don't count in Germany. Only the +military are taken seriously. They take the middle of the sidewalk and +others are crowded to the wall." + +"Well, I'm not quarreling with them just now on that account," grinned +Billy. "I'm just glad there's plenty of grub here this morning." + +"I'm not very partial to German cooking as a rule," chuckled Tom, "but +this stew certainly smells good. How the Boche officers would grit their +teeth if they saw us wading into this." + +But his rejoicing was premature, for just at this moment a cannon shot +from the German lines tore its way through the kettle and the scalding +broth was spattered all over the group that were lying about. Luckily it +did no other damage, but the chagrin of the boys was comical to see. + +"I'd like to have hold of the gunner that fired that shot," sputtered +Tom wrathfully, as he wiped from his face some of the stew that had +fallen to his share. + +"You ought to have knocked wood when you talked of the German officers +seeing us wading into their chow," growled Bart. "There's a perfectly +good stew gone to the dogs." + +"Nothing personal in that, I hope," laughed Frank, "because most of it +came to us." + +"I like mine inside," put in Billy, as he gingerly removed a piece of +meat from his ear. "As an outside decoration I'm dead against stew." + +"Well, cheer up, fellows," remarked Frank. "The stew's past praying for, +but there's a lot of other things. And anyway we ought to be mighty +thankful that the shot didn't remove some of us from the landscape as +well as the kettle." + +"What's the big noise about?" asked a cheery voice, and they looked up +to see Will Stone regarding them with a quizzical grin. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN CLOSE QUARTERS + + +The four Camport boys greeted Stone joyfully and gladly made room for +him. + +"It's another German atrocity," grinned Billy. "They were sore at us for +swiping their grub and they sent our kettle to smithereens." + +"I'm glad they don't know about it anyway," said Tom. "I don't want any +Boche to have the laugh on me." + +"I guess they're not doing much laughing this morning," remarked Will +Stone, as he dropped down on the ground beside them. "Or if they are, +it's on the wrong side of their mouths." + +"We've certainly waxed them good and plenty," said Bart +enthusiastically. + +"Jumbo was all to the good this morning," exulted Frank. "It did my +heart good to see the way he ploughed along. There was nothing to it +after he got started." + +"He certainly scattered the Huns good and plenty," chortled Billy. "They +ran like hares." + +"He does for 'em all right," agreed Stone, glad to have his pride in his +giant pet justified. "And the best of it is that, although the bullets +came against his hide like hail on a tin roof, he came through +practically without a scratch. He sure is a tough old fellow." + +"The tanks are wonders," chimed in Tom. "They've won this fight. It was +scrumptious the way they tore those entanglements up by the roots. +Without 'em we'd have lost ten times as many men as we did." + +"So far we've gotten off pretty easily," agreed Stone, "but the hardest +part of the fighting is coming. The Boches have got their second wind by +this time, and there can't be any more surprises. You fellows would +better fill up now, for you'll have to have plenty to stand up on." + +"Trust us," laughed Billy. "We may be slow in some things, but when it +comes to filling up, we're some pumpkins. But I certainly do feel sore +about that stew." + +"Billy'll never get over that," laughed Bart. "He had his mouth all +fixed for it. No other stew in all his life will ever taste so good to +him as this one that he didn't get." + +"It's always the biggest fish that gets away," laughed Stone, as he fell +to with the rest. + +While they were eating, there was a thunder of hoofs along the road. +This had been such an unusual occurrence up to date that they sprang to +their feet with eager interest. + +Then the cavalry swept by. + +Fine fellows the cavalrymen were on splendid mounts, which they bestrode +as though they had never done anything else in all their lives. For +months past they had chafed under restraint, for since the struggle had +settled down to trench warfare they had seldom seen service except on +foot. But now their turn had come, for with the broken line of the enemy +had come a call for the cavalry to pursue and complete the +demoralization of the foe. + +"Some class to that bunch," remarked Tom, as he watched the flying +column with an appraising eye. + +"A little faster than your tanks, old scout?" remarked Bart, giving +Stone a nudge in the ribs. + +"They sure are," admitted Stone. "But don't forget that though we may be +slow we get there just the same." + +After a brief resting spell the lines were reformed and the fighting was +resumed. The space between the second and the third lines was a wide +one, and the country was hilly, with numerous lanes and ravines. These +were being held in greater or less force by enemy troops posted in +advantageous positions supported by machine guns, while beyond them +their big guns kept up a heavy fire to prevent the Allied advance. + +To clean these up and get ready for an attack upon the third line was a +work of hours, as every foot of advance was bitterly contested by the +Germans, who had now recovered from their surprise and fought +desperately to stem the tide that had overwhelmed their first position. + +There were two or three villages in the fighting zone and one town of +considerable size. Not that it was a town now in any real sense of the +word. What had once been houses were now mere pitiful heaps of wood and +stone and mortar, and their inhabitants had long since been dispossessed +or slain. It stood gaunt and desolate and forbidding in its mute protest +against the pitiless storm of war to which it had fallen a victim. + +In cleaning out a particularly obnoxious nest of machine gun positions +Frank and his friends had been kept busy until nearly noon. But at last +the guns were silenced and the crews wiped out or captured. + +The boys started to regain their main force, but the country was +unfamiliar and they took a turning in the road which led toward the +German lines instead of toward their own. + +"Gee!" remarked Tom as they trudged along, "maybe I'm not tired. My feet +feel as though they weighed a ton." + +"Perhaps they do," gibed Billy unfeelingly. "Considering the size of +them, I should say a ton was just about right." + +"I notice your hoofs are not so small," retorted Tom. "But how much +longer is this hike going to take?" + +"Search me," responded Frank. "To tell the truth, I'm twisted up about +the direction. Seems to me we ought to strike some of our troops soon." + +"It would be funny if we walked straight into the German lines," +observed Billy. + +"Funny!" snorted Tom. "Yes, as funny as a funeral. Some people have a +queer sense of humor." + +They were passing a hedge that walled off an orchard from the road when +Frank, who was ahead, saw before him a great wave of gray uniforms +coming around a bend in the road. + +"Quick, fellows," he whispered. "Over the hedge and down on the ground." + +Like a flash the boys were out of sight, and not one instant too soon, +for a moment later they could see through the hedge what seemed to be an +endless line of gray uniforms going past at the double quick. They were +evidently hurrying forward to reinforce their hard-pressed comrades +farther down the road. + +The boys lay still as death until the troops had passed, and then looked +at each other ruefully. + +"We're cut off," ejaculated Frank. "Those fellows are between us and our +line." + +"Looks pretty bad," said Bart. + +"This is a pretty kettle of fish," grumbled Tom. "Let's cut across the +orchard and see if we can find some of our boys." + +They acted on the suggestion, but found to their dismay that the Germans +were everywhere. In whatever direction they looked the only uniforms +they saw were the detested field gray. The Germans had rallied and the +boys had been caught in the swirl of the returning tide. + +"We'll have to hide somewhere until our men drive back the Huns and get +as far as this orchard," said Billy. + +"We're up against it for fair," growled Tom disconsolately. + +"It's easy enough to talk of hiding, but where shall we hide?" asked +Bart. "If we stay here above ground we're bound to be spotted before +long." + +"Let's make our way toward the town," suggested Frank. "There wasn't a +soul in sight there a few minutes ago. It seemed to be wholly deserted. +There must be plenty of hiding places in those heaps of stones, or +perhaps we can stow ourselves away in a cellar. Let's get a hustle on, +too, or we'll know sooner than we want to what a prison camp looks +like." + +As quickly as they dared they crept along, using every bit of cover that +offered itself until they reached the outskirts of what had been the +town. As Frank had said, it appeared to be wholly deserted at the +moment. It was clear that all available forces had been summoned away to +stem the great drive. + +Having satisfied themselves that there was no one about they moved +cautiously from one street to another seeking some place of refuge. The +prospect was not hopeful, for there was scarcely a room in a single +house that was not gaping wide open. Doors were gone and windows had +vanished. There was hardly a place where anything as large as a cat +could be free from detection. + +"A mighty slim outlook," grumbled Tom, as they crouched close to a pile +of masonry near the corner of a street. + +"Stop grouching," counseled Frank. "We may stumble across something at +any minute." + +"Stumble is right," said Bart, as he rubbed a barked shin. "I've been +doing nothing else since we got in among these rock piles." + +"That house over the way there seems in a little better condition than +the rest of these heaps," suggested Billy, pointing a little way down +the street. + +"We'll try our luck there," said Frank, and again their cautious journey +was resumed. + +They reached the place and squeezed themselves in through a narrow +opening on a side that had faced a tiny yard bordered by a wall about +eight feet in height. + +There had been three rooms on the ground floor of the house, but all +three had been knocked into one by the visitation of shells. The boys +picked their way over the uneven masses of plaster, and Frank gave an +exclamation as he perceived an opening that seemed to lead down into a +cellar. + +"This way, fellows," he said as he looked down into the darkness. "I +don't see any stairs here but we can take a chance and drop. It doesn't +seem very deep. One of you hold this gun of mine and I'll go first." + +There was a chance of spraining an ankle if nothing worse, but luckily +he landed safely. + +"All serene," he called up in a low tone. "Hand me down your guns and +then come along." + +They did so, and the four found themselves in a cluttered cellar that by +feeling around with their hands they found to be about thirty feet long +by twenty in width. There was a furnace which had been broken into a +pile of junk and a little light filtering down showed where a pipe had +formerly gone through to the upper floor. There were a number of barrels +in one corner, but apart from these the cellar seemed to hold nothing +but rubbish. + +"It's as dark as Egypt down here," grumbled Tom. + +"So much the better," replied Bart. "There'll be that much less chance +of a Heinie seeing us if he takes the trouble to look down here." + +"So this is where we've got to hang out until our boys get here," +remarked Billy, grinning. "It reminds me of the Waldorf-Astoria--it's so +different." + +"Never mind," said Frank cheerfully, "it's a thousand per cent. better +than a Hun prison camp, and don't you forget it!" + +"You said a mouthful that time," replied the irrepressible Billy, with +more force than elegance. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE FOUR-FOOTED ENEMY + +"The first thing to do is to make a barricade of these barrels," said +Frank, when the four privates had made an inventory of what the cellar +afforded in the way of defense. + +"They will help us in putting up a fight if the Huns discover us here," +agreed Bart. + +"Let's see if there's anything in them," suggested Billy. + +"Swell chance," commented Tom. "They smell as if they'd had wine or beer +in them, and you can trust the Heinies to have drained them to the last +drop. Not that I want any of the stuff, but if they were full they'd +stop a bullet better than if they were empty." + +They tested the barrels by knocking against them with the butts of their +rifles and the hollow sound they gave back proved that Tom had +conjectured truly. + +"Dry as the Desert of Sahara," pronounced Frank. + +"And that reminds me," said Bart. "What are we going to do for water to +drink? We've got grub enough in our kits to last us a couple of days in +a pinch. But we can't hold out long without something to wash it down +with." + +"We won't worry about that yet," said Frank. "I stepped into a puddle +over in one corner while we were going round here. I suppose that came +from the rain we had last night. It doesn't fit my idea of what drinking +water ought to be, but it's a mighty sight better than dying of thirst." + +They got out their stock of food and decided that with careful rationing +they had enough for two days. + +"And that will be plenty," prophesied Billy. "Our fellows will be here +before long. Perhaps this very night we'll be with the old bunch again." + +"I wish I had your cheery disposition," growled Tom. "When any one hands +you a lemon----" + +"I make lemonade out of it," came back Billy, and there was a general +laugh. + +"That's the way to talk," said Frank. "The Huns haven't got us yet, and +even this hole is better than a German prison camp." + +"You bet!" responded Billy. "From all I hear those places are something +fierce. A fellow had better die fighting than die of abuse or +starvation." + +"That's what," agreed Bart. "And that's another thing that shows how low +the Huns have stooped in this war. Look at the way we treat them when we +take them prisoners. They live on the fat of the land. Of course the +Germans haven't as much food in their country as we have, and we don't +expect so much for our men in the matter of grub, although even at that +they don't get enough to keep body and soul together. But it's sickening +to hear of the way they torture them. One of their favorite sports is to +set dogs on 'em. If a man doesn't move quickly enough to suit 'em they +stick a bayonet into him. It's low beastly tyranny that puts them on a +level with the Turks. It's no wonder that Germany is coming to be hated +and despised by the whole world." + +"Did you hear of the fire that happened in one of their camps?" queried +Tom. "There was a hut in one corner of the camp with five men in it. It +caught fire and the men, who couldn't get out of the door because it was +locked, tried to get out of the window. The sentry thrust his bayonet +into the first man, and threw him back into the flames. The poor fellow +made another attempt and again the sentry ran the bayonet into him. And +every one of the five men burned to death, though every one of them +could have been saved. What do you think of that, fellows? Isn't it the +limit?" + +"They'll get theirs," said Frank bitterly. "They can't sow the wind +without reaping the whirlwind. They'll surely pay, soon or late, for +every bit of this brutality. + +"I hope it will be soon," said Billy. "I'm getting impatient." + +"It won't be long if we can keep up the pace we set this morning," said +Bart. "Gee, how our tanks went through those wires as though they were +rotten cord." + +"And our guns are keeping it up," said Frank. "Just listen to that roar. +What a shame it is we can't be out there doing our bit. It makes me feel +like a slacker." + +"It's the fortune of war," said Billy philosophically. "But it's might +hard luck just the same that we took the wrong direction after we +cleared up that machine gun nest so neatly. But let's have a hack at +that grub, fellows. Oh, boy, if we only had some of that stew we lost +this morning!" + + "That stew still sticks in Billy's crop," laughed Frank. + +"I only wish it did," mourned Billy. "But it never got that far." + +"Well, just remember, fellows, that we're on rations now," warned Frank +as he doled out a little portion to each from the common stock they had +pooled together. "We've got to make this last as long as we can. If we +feel hungry when we get through we'll just have to tighten our belts and +let it go at that." + +They ate sparingly, but, although they were all thirsty, especially +after the heat and excitement of the fighting, it was a long time before +they could bring themselves to drink from the pool in the corner of the +cellar. They finally had to come to it, however, though they tried to +make it less repugnant by filtering it through the only clean +handkerchief they could muster among them. + +The time dragged on interminably in their narrow quarters. They tried to +sleep, but though they were very tired after their strenuous day, the +novelty and discomfort of their position kept them on edge. + +The daylight finally vanished from the little opening in the floor above +and the darkness became absolute. They had matches in their kits, but +they feared to use them lest some prowling sentry might see the light +through some rift in the masonry. + +The roar of the heavy artillery had died down, though the guns still +gave out an occasional challenge. The fighting for the day was evidently +at an end. But there had been no clash in the streets of the ruined town +to betoken the arrival of the Allied forces. However they might have +fared in other parts of the battlefield, the town itself had not been +wrested from the Germans. In all probability the boys were still in the +midst of their enemies. + +"Another night as well as a day to stay in this shebang," remarked Tom +when the hope of immediate rescue had failed them. + +"Oh, well, to-morrow's a new day," said Frank. "A lot may happen between +now and to-morrow night. Our grub will hold out till then anyway, and if +nothing better turns up we'll make a dash and try to reach our lines." + +He had scarcely stopped speaking when there was a loud clattering in the +street as though a cavalry troop were passing through. + +"Perhaps those are our men now!" exclaimed Billy jubilantly. + +"Perhaps," assented Frank. "And they seem to be coming this way." + +The pace of the horses died down as they neared the house, and they +finally stopped just before it. The boys could hear the troopers +dismount and a moment later they heard footsteps on the floor above. + +They listened intently. Would the first words they heard be English or +German? If the first it would mean a boisterous shout to the men above +and a hasty and joyful scramble out of their prison. If the second, it +would mean that they were in imminent danger of capture or death. + +A light filtered down through the hole where the stovepipe had been. +Somebody above had struck a match. But he had evidently burned his +fingers as he did so, for the light went out and there was an impatient +exclamation. + +"_Donnerwetter_!" + +Just one word, but it made the hearts of the listening boys go down into +their boots. + +For it was a German who just then struck a second match and lighted a +candle, and it was a German cavalry troop whose horses stood before the +door. + +But for what purpose had they entered the house? Were they in search of +the boys? Had any one seen them entering the house and given +information? + +"Be ready, fellows," whispered Frank. "It looks as if we were in for a +scrap." + +They clutched their rifles firmly to be ready for whatever might happen. + +But it was not long before they realized that this sudden irruption had +nothing to do with them. What seemed to be a bench or a table was +dragged across the floor and one or more candles placed upon it. There +seemed to be half a dozen or more officers in the room, and they were +soon engaged in an earnest conversation. + +"I never thought much of the German language," whispered Bart to Billy, +"but I'd give a farm to understand it now." + +"If Frank only knew German as well as he does French," responded Billy, +"we might pick up something that our officers would give a lot to know." + +For perhaps half an hour the raucous tones above continued. The debate +was at times an angry one and was punctuated by the sound of fists +brought heavily down on a table. Just after one of these, the stovepipe +hole was dimmed by something that shut off the light from the room +above. It floated down with a slight rustle and the boys could see that +it was a paper of some kind. + +In an instant Frank had crept across and grabbed the paper, thrusting it +into the bosom of his shirt. Then he moved swiftly back to the shelter +of the barricade. + +"That was taking a chance, old boy," whispered Bart, as his friend +resumed his place among them. "If you'd knocked against anything and the +Huns had heard you, they'd have been down here in a jiffy." + +"I suppose it was a little risky," returned Frank, "but we've got to +take risks sometimes, and it struck me that there might be something in +that paper that our officers would like to know." + +Just then Billy, in trying to get in a less cramped position, knocked +against one of the rifles that had been stood in a corner. It fell +against one of the barrels with a clatter that in the confined place and +the tense state of the boys' nerves sounded to them like thunder. + +Frank grabbed it before it could fall on the cellar floor, but it seemed +as though the mischief must have been done, and their hearts were in +their mouths as they listened for anything that might indicate that the +sound had been heard on the floor above. + +But the debate had reached a lively stage just at that moment, and the +incident attracted no attention, so that after two minutes more of +strained listening the boys were assured that they had come off scot +free from what might have been a disaster. + +"This is sure no place for a man with heart disease," murmured Tom, and +his comrades unanimously agreed with him. + +The conference in the room above had come to an end, as was shown by the +shuffling of feet as the men rose from the table. There was a sound as +of a sheaf of papers being hastily gathered together. But there was no +outcry to indicate that any one of them was missing, and the boys drew a +long breath and relaxed their grasp on their rifles. There would be no +search, and for the moment they were safe. + +The lights above were extinguished and the party went out. The horses +clattered away, and once more the house and the town were as still as +the grave. + +"So near and yet so far," murmured Frank, when he was sure that the last +of the unwelcome visitors had departed. + +"That was what you might call too close for comfort," grinned Billy. + +"They wouldn't have done a thing to us if they had nabbed us," declared +Bart. "We wouldn't have had a Chinaman's chance. No prison camp for +ours! They'd have shot us down like dogs! They'd have reasoned that we +had heard their military plans, and that would have been all the excuse +they wanted." + +"Not that they would care whether they had the excuse or not," said +Billy. "The mere fact that a German wants to do anything makes it all +right to do it." + +"How they'd froth at the mouth if they knew Frank had that paper," +remarked Tom. "I wonder what it is." + +"It has a seal on it and it feels as if it were heavy and official," +replied Frank. "I don't want to strike a match now, but I'll take a +squint at it when daylight comes. Probably it's in German, and if it is +I can't read it. But they'll read it at headquarters all right, and it +may queer some of Heinie's plans." + +They conversed in whispers a little while longer, and then made ready to +go to sleep. Their preparations were not extensive, and consisted +chiefly in finding a place where no sharp edge of stone bored into the +small of their backs. But they were too tired to be critical, and after +putting away the food in a corner and arranging to stand watch turn and +turn about they soon forgot their troubles in sleep. + +When they awoke the light shining through the hole in the floor told +them that it was day. + +"Time you fellows opened your eyes," remarked Tom, who had been standing +the last watch. "If you hadn't I'd have booted you awake anyway, for you +were snoring loud enough to bring the whole German army down on you." + +"I'd hate to call you an out and out prevaricator, Tom," remarked Billy, +rubbing his eyes and running his hands through his tumbled hair, "so +I'll simply say that you use the truth with great economy. Suppose you +bring me my breakfast. I think I'll eat it in bed this morning." + +He dodged the shoe that Tom threw at his head and rose laughingly to his +feet. + +"Mighty bad manners the people have at this hotel," he remarked, "but +since you feel that way about it I'll take my grub any way I can get it. +Haul it out from that corner, Bart, and let's have a hack at it. I'm +hungry enough to eat nails this morning." + +Bart needed no second request, for he was quite as hungry as his mates. +But when he picked up the canvas wrapper in which the food had been +stored he dropped it with a startled exclamation. + +"What's the matter?" cried Frank. + +"Matter enough," replied Bart. "The bag's empty. There isn't a blessed +thing in it." + +The others rushed him under the light that came from above and examined +the wrapper with sinking hearts. What Bart had said was true. Not a +crumb was left. + +There was no mystery about it. The gnawed and tattered holes in the bag +told their own story. It was summed up in the one word that came from +their lips simultaneously. "Rats!" + +Their four-footed enemies had perhaps brought them nearer capture than +their human enemies had been able to do. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +CHASED BY CAVALRY + + +The four Army boys looked at each other in dismay. + +Nothing much worse than this could have befallen them. It brought them +close to the edge of tragedy. They would have to change their plans. +Instead of being free to choose their own time for their attempt to +escape, they were forced to act quickly no matter how much greater the +risk might be. For if they waited until they were weak from hunger they +would be in no condition to make a dash or put up a fight. + +Frank as usual was the first to recover his self-possession. + +"No use crying over spilt milk, fellows," he said, trying to infuse +cheerfulness into his tone. "We've got to try Billy's recipe and make +lemonade from the lemon that the rats have handed us." + +"It's a mighty big lemon," said Tom, "and I don't see much sugar lying +around." + +"How could the brutes have got at it without our hearing them, do you +suppose?" questioned Bart. + +"That doesn't matter much," replied Billy. "And there's no use holding +post-mortems. The thing is, what are we going to do?" + +"We're going to get out of here to-night without fail," said Frank +decidedly. "The moon won't come up till late and if the night is cloudy +it won't show up at all. At any rate we can't stay here. There isn't a +chance on earth of there being anything left in these houses, or we +might take a chance on foraging. The Huns have seen to that. The longer +we stay here the weaker we'll get. We've just got to make a break and +trust our wits and our luck to get back to the lines." + +"I guess you're right, old man," agreed Bart. "We'll just move our belts +up a hole and pretend we're not hungry. Tom here's getting too fat +anyway, and it'll do him good to give his stomach a rest. And as for +Billy, he can take a nap and dream of that stew he didn't get." + +"There's another thing, too," remarked Frank. "Those rats are likely to +come back to-night for more, and they may have spread the news and bring +a whole rat colony with them. No doubt they're famished since there's +nothing left in the town to eat, and if there are enough of them they +might go for us. Of course we could beat them off, but we'd be apt to +make a lot of noise in doing it, and that might bring the Huns down on +us. There's no use talking, we've got to skip." + +They all agreed to this, and they passed the rest of that day as best +they could until the light faded from the hole in the floor and night +settled down in a pall of velvet. They clambered out of their temporary +prison, their hearts beating with high determination. + +They ventured out at last into the darkness, slipping along from one +projection of the ruined houses to another, moving as lightly and +stealthily as cats. + +To one thing they had made up their minds. There would be no going back +to their old hiding place. That meant either starvation or surrender. +Besides, if they turned back on being discovered, the Germans would know +that they were hiding somewhere in the ruined town and they would not +leave one stone on another until they found them. But if they made a +break for the open country they would have their chance of escaping in +the darkness. On they went like so many spectres, until, on reaching a +shattered doorway, they crept close together for a whispered parley. + +"So far so good," murmured Frank. + +"Luck's been with us," agreed Bert. + +"We can stand a whole lot of luck in this business," whispered Tom. + +"It's a long, long way yet to our own lines," said Billy. "We haven't +got more than a couple of blocks away from our old hangout, and there's +no telling how much further it is before we strike the open country." + +Just then a stone toppled from a wall and fell with a crash only a few +feet away. In their tense state of alertness the unexpected sound made +them jump. + +"Just as well we weren't under that," remarked Frank, with a sigh of +relief. + +"Let's hope it won't bring some German sentry along to see what's making +the racket," responded Bart. + +"Just what it is doing," whispered Tom, as he heard a step approaching. +"Quick, fellows, get further back and lie down flat." + +They almost ceased to breathe as a dim form passed by so close that they +could almost have reached out and touched him. But the dust still rising +from the shattered stone convinced the visitor that nature and not man +was responsible for the disturbance, and, with a grunt of satisfaction +that it was nothing worse, the sentry returned to his former post. + +But the promptness with which he had appeared warned the fugitives that +the town, desolate as it was, was still under guard, and they redoubled +their precautions. However dangerous it might be, they must go on. The +moon would rise before long, and they must make the most of the pitchy +darkness that still prevailed. + +Listening with all their ears and straining their eyes until they ached, +they made their way through the littered streets until they realized +from their frequent encounters with bush and hedge that they were +getting into the open country. + +Huddled close in a thicket, they consulted the radio compass that Frank +drew from his pocket. That gave them the general direction in which they +must go. They knew that in general their course led toward the west, +but, as they could not tell what changes had taken place in the position +of the armies as the result of the two days' fighting, they had no idea +of how long it might take them to reach the American lines. + +They got their bearings due west and set off. They were making fair +progress when they were startled by hearing the clatter of hoofs a +little ahead of them. + +"Listen!" hissed Bart. + +"It's a cavalry troop," whispered Frank, as he flattened himself behind +a bush, an example that was promptly followed by the others. + +"Troop!" growled Tom. "It sounds more like a brigade." + +"Uhlans, probably," conjectured Billy. + +They peered through the bushes at the broad road not more than twenty +feet away. + +At that moment the moon showed a slender rim above the horizon and +threaded the darkness with a faint shimmer of light. + +Along the road came a force of cavalry. The guttural voices of the +riders told the concealed watchers that they belonged to the enemy. In +the dim light they could see the steam that rose from the horses' +flanks. + +Those days had been the first for a long time that cavalry could be used +on the western front. Trench fighting had put that arm of the service +almost wholly out of action. But the fact that the Allies had followed +up their tank attack with cavalry had brought forth a German response of +the same nature. + +There was no sign of elation among the riders, and the boys drew +pleasure from that. A dejected air prevailed, as though the Uhlans had +had the worst of it. + +"Guess they've had the hot end of the poker," whispered Bart. + +"Looks like it," replied Frank. + +Something just then frightened one of the horses, and he reared and +plunged into the bushes at the side of the road. The boys had all they +could do to scramble out of reach of the iron-shod hoofs. The rider was +almost unhorsed, but managed to retain his seat and quiet his trembling +mount. + +By the time he had done this, the troopers had almost passed. The boys +were rejoicing at this, but their exultation changed to uneasiness when +the soldier who had had so much trouble rode up to an officer and began +to talk volubly, at the same time pointing toward the bushes. + +"Here's where I see trouble coming," muttered Tom. + +"He's on to us," agreed Bart. + +"He must have seen us when we got out of his way," said Frank. "Let's +get out of here, quick." + +But this was not to be done so easily, for even as he spoke the officer +rapped out a command and a group of twenty horsemen began to spread out +and surround the place where the Army boys were crouching. + +To remain there would be fatal, for it was only a matter of a few +minutes before that ring would close upon them with a grip of iron. At +all hazards they must break through. + +"Stick together, fellows," murmured Frank. "Get your rifles ready. We +can't miss at this distance. When I say the word, give them a volley and +make a break for the road. It's our only chance, for they'd surely round +us up in these bushes." + +"We're with you, boy," replied Bart, and the little party crouched lower +with their fingers on trigger. + +Frank waited until the nearest horsemen were not more than ten feet +away. Then he sprang to his feet with a shout. + +"Fire!" he cried, and a stream of flame leaped from the bushes. + +Two of the riders threw up their hands and pitched from their saddles. A +third seized with his left hand the rein that dropped from his right. +There was a moment of confusion, and Frank and his comrades took instant +advantage of it. + +With a rush they reached the road and tore down it for dear life, while +behind them thundered the Uhlans in hot pursuit! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BROKEN BRIDGE + + +The Army boys had no idea where the road led to. It might be to the +American lines or to the German lines. But they knew that certain death +was behind them and possible life in front of them, and they ran as +though their feet had wings. + +But swift as they were, the horses were of course swifter, and before +long they knew that their pursuers were gaining. + +"Throw away your rifles," panted Frank. "We'll still have our knives and +grenades." + +They threw the heavy rifles aside, and, relieved of their weight, they +bounded ahead with renewed speed. + +For a short time their desperate efforts held their pursuers even, but +soon the gap again began to close. + +At a turn of the road they halted, gasping for breath. + +"Give them the grenades," ordered Frank, getting his own ready. "They +won't be expecting them and it may upset them. Throw yours at the same +time I do mine." + +They waited until the horsemen were within fifty feet. Then four +stalwart arms hurled the grenades against the front ranks. + +There was a tremendous explosion as the shells all seemed to go off at +the same instant, and the first rank of horsemen went down in a heap. + +Those behind drew their beasts back on their haunches so as not to +override their fellows, and in that moment another volley came among +them with deadly effect. + +Without waiting any longer, the boys renewed their flight. They knew +that the Germans would be mad with rage at their check by so small a +force, and they were not foolish enough to believe for a moment that the +chase would be abandoned. + +But a new exultation was in their hearts as they ran. They might be +killed, but they would at least have sold their lives dearly. There +would be little that the Uhlans would have to boast of in their story of +that night's work. + +Their breath came in short gasps and their laboring lungs felt as though +they were ready to burst. Frank, a little in the van, reached out a +warning hand and they slowed up. + +"We'll make faster time if we give ourselves a minute's rest," he +panted. "When we start in again we'll have our second wind. They haven't +got out of that mix-up yet. Besides, they'll come on more cautiously +now. They won't know how many grenades we have left." + +"I haven't any," gasped Tom. + +Billy was too far gone to speak, but he drew his last grenade from his +sack. Bart and Frank also were down to their last one, for the work on +the previous day had almost used up the stock with which they had +started out. They had a chance for one last throw, and then if it came +to a hand to hand fight they had nothing to rely on but their knives. + +They rested for a minute or two, and then again upon the wind came the +sound of hurrying hoofs. + +Instinctively the boys reached out and grasped one another's hands. +There was no need for words. They knew what it meant. To some of them +this might prove the last lap of the last race they would ever run. + +On came their pursuers, and the boys, summoning up every ounce of +strength they possessed, set out at the pace of hunted deer. + +Not two minutes had elapsed before their feet struck the boards of a +bridge. Below they saw the gleam of the moon in the dark water that ran +beneath. + +They took heart at the sight and put on a new burst of speed. Who knew +but what the American troops were camped on the further side? + +Twenty feet further they stopped abruptly. The bridge was broken. The +boards had been torn up, though the shattered timbers of the sides +projected a few feet further over the current. But fully a hundred feet +of black water stretched between them and the farther shore. + +They stopped, panting and perplexed. And just at that moment they heard +the hoofs of horses on the wood of the bridge. + +They were trapped. To turn back was certain captivity or death. To +plunge into that black current might also mean death. Their choice was +made on the instant. + +"Over we go, boys!" shouted Frank, throwing off his coat. "But we +mustn't waste those last grenades. Let them have them." + +They turned and threw, and without waiting to see the result dived +headforemost into the stream. The roar of the explosion was in their +ears as they struck the water. + +They were all good swimmers, and when they came to the surface they +found themselves within a few feet of each other. + +"To the other bank, fellows!" exclaimed Frank, as he shook the water +from his eyes. "And keep as low in the water as you can. They'll send a +volley after us." + +They struck out lustily for the farther shore while, as Frank had +predicted, bullets zipped around them. But in the darkness their foes +could take no aim and they reached the shore unscathed. + +The bank was steep, with long reeds growing down to the water's edge. +The fugitives grasped these and rested before they attempted to climb +the bank. + +"I'm all in," gasped Tom. + +Frank reached out a supporting hand. + +"I guess we all are," he replied. "It's lucky this river isn't wider. +But we're safe now." + +"I don't know about that," said Bart. "Listen!" + + There was a tramp of many feet upon the bank. + +"They've heard the shooting," whispered Billy. "If it's our boys we're +all right. If it isn't----" + +The sentence was never finished. Above the bank they saw a crowd of +helmeted figures. A light was flashed into their faces, nearly blinding +them, and a hoarse voice cried: + +"_Wer da!_" + +A score of hands reached down and grasped them. Unarmed, dripping, +utterly exhausted, they found themselves in the hands of the soldiers of +the Kaiser! + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +RESCUE FROM THE SKY + + +With a file of soldiers on either side of them, the four boys were +marched off to a dugout near at hand. Here a German outpost had been +stationed to watch the river bank. It was not a large command, and the +lieutenant in charge, being unable to speak English and having no +interpreter at hand, after a few brusque attempts to question them gave +it up. Then, after having had them searched, he committed them to the +custody of a non-commissioned officer with directions that they were to +be fed and sent to headquarters in the morning. They ate ravenously, +and, not being permitted to talk to each other, found solace in sorely +needed sleep. + +When taken before the German officers, the friends were forced to +undergo a strict and searching examination. Their questioners tried in +every way, with pleadings alternating with threats, to get them to +divulge information that might be useful to them, but in vain. The four +Americans were absolutely uncommunicative, and at last the German who +had been doing most of the questioning was forced to acknowledge defeat. + +"_Donnerwetter!_" he growled. "Yankee pigs! It must be that they are so +stupid that they do not know anything to tell. What do you think, Herr +Lieutenant?" turning to one of his officers. + +"I think it more likely that they are just obstinate, sir, like those +cursed English," replied the officer addressed. "But perhaps a few +months in a prison camp will incline them to answer more quickly when a +German speaks to them." This was accompanied by a cruel smile, whose +significance was hot lost on the Americans. The captain glared at them, +but as they did not seem to weaken perceptibly, even under his high +displeasure, he grumbled finally: + +"Well, take them away, and we'll see how they act after a taste of +prison life." As their guards were about to take them from the room, he +continued, menacingly: "Remember, you Yankees, that the sooner you tell +me what I want to know, the easier it will be for you. And in the end +we'll make you talk. It is not well to oppose Germany's will too far." + +But as the prisoners did not appear greatly frightened by these threats, +the commander at last ordered the sergeant in charge to take the +prisoners away, and turned again to his desk. + +In spite of the critical situation in which they found themselves, Bart +could not resist a surreptitious wink at his companions as they passed +through the doorway, which was returned in kind by his graceless +companions. But, although they had had the satisfaction of balking the +German officers, they were not long in appreciating the discomforts of +their present situation. When they reached the temporary prison camp, +they were herded into a large tent, already overcrowded with French, +English, and a few American prisoners. Soon after their arrival food was +served out, although it hardly seemed worthy of the name. Watery soup, +made by boiling turnips in water, and a small chunk of some tasteless +substance supposed to be bread, constituted the meal. The boys, fresh +from the wholesome and abundant food furnished by Uncle Sam, found it +absolutely uneatable, and gave away their portions to some of the other +prisoners, who appeared glad to get it. + +"Wait until you've been here a few days," said one lanky Englishman, +with a ghastly smile, "you'll get so thoroughly famished that you'll be +able to go even that stuff," and he made a wry face. + +"Perhaps so, if we can't find some way to get out," said Frank. + +"Not as easy as it sounds," said the Englishman. "Although it has been +done, of course. But a lot more have been shot trying it than have ever +got away." + +"Might as well get shot as die of starvation," remarked Tom. + +This opinion evidently appealed to Tom's comrades, who looked +significantly at him. From that look each knew that the others were +ready to risk everything to gain their freedom. The Englishman, however, +seemed unconvinced, and presently left them. + +As night came on, they cast about for some place to sleep, but met with +little success. The only place to lie was on the ground, but by that +time the four friends were so tired that sleep, even under any hardship, +was desirable. They finally settled down in a corner that appeared a +little less crowded than the rest. However, before going to sleep they +tried to formulate some plan of escape, but with indifferent success. + +"About all we can do," said Bart finally, "is to hold ourselves in +readiness to make use of the first chance of escape that comes along. +And if these Germans are all as stupid as the ones we've seen so far, it +oughtn't to be very difficult." + +"Well, when the chance comes, we won't let any grass grow under our +feet, that's certain," said Frank. "But now, I'm dog-tired, and I'm +going to see if I can't get a little sleep. And what's more, I'd advise +you fellows to do the same." + +"He who sleeps, dines," quoted Tom, with a somewhat rueful grin. "I hope +there's more in that old saying than there is in most of them." + +"Right you are," said Bart, "but something seems to tell me I'm going to +be hungry in the morning, just the same." + +Bart was right. After a restless night, the boys woke with ravenous +appetites, and managed to eat most of the unpalatable fare that was +passed around. Not long after this they saw the sergeant who had had +charge of them the previous day picking his way through the crowd, +evidently looking for some particular object. At last he caught sight of +the Americans, and immediately headed toward them. + +"Come," he commanded, roughly, in his halting English. "Orders have come +for your removal." + +"Where to?" inquired Frank. "Silence! Do as you are told, and ask no +questions!" commanded the German. + +"For two cents I'd jump on him and choke the dog's life out of him!" +muttered Tom, but his friends laid restraining hands on him. + +"Nothing doing, Tom," warned Billy. "We'd be playing against stacked +cards in a game like that. Take it easy now, and maybe our chance will +come later." + +Meanwhile the sergeant had started off, and the friends had no choice +but to follow him. He led them out of the tent, where a squad of +soldiers was lined up. At a nod from the sergeant, these surrounded the +boys, and at a curt word of command they all started off. + +They were soon outside the confines of the camp, and marching along what +had once been a perfect road, but was now badly broken up by the +combined effects of shellfire and heavy trucking. The soldiers talked +among themselves in low gutturals, and the boys, by piecing together +words that they caught here and there, gathered that they were being +taken to some higher official for further questioning. + +"You see," said Billy, "they know we were inside their lines a +considerable time before they caught us, and so they are paying +particular attention to us. I guess they think we may know more than +we've told them so far." This with a wink at his friends. + +"We sure have told them a lot," put in Bart, grinning. "And, just to be +perfectly fair, I suggest that we tell the next Boche who questions us +just as much as we told the last one." + +"Fair enough," agreed Tom. "No favoritism has always been my motto." + +"No talking among the prisoners," commanded the sergeant, threateningly, +and the four friends, having said about all they wanted to say, anyway, +relapsed into silence. + +For several miles the little group plodded along, often meeting +detachments of German infantry, who scowled sullenly at the Americans as +they passed. + +The boys were far from happy, in spite of the light-hearted attitude +they presented to their captors. They all knew that if they could not +effect an escape their chance for life was small, as, on account of +their having been inside the German lines so long before being captured, +the Huns would seize the opportunity of calling them spies, and mete out +the quick end that is accorded to such. They were walking along, each +one immersed in his own gloomy thoughts, when suddenly a sound from +above caused them to look quickly up toward the blue sky. + +What they saw caused their hearts to beat faster and hope to spring up +again in their breasts. For, skilled as they were in such matters, they +recognized the airplane up above, whose roaring exhaust had first +attracted their attention, as one of the Allied type. + +It was coming toward them at high speed, flying low, and as it rapidly +neared them the four friends, forgetting their German captors, waved +their hands wildly to the pilot, whom they could see, as the aeroplane +came closer, peering down over the side of the body. The Germans, on +their part, were so terrified by the approach of this huge enemy +machine, that they seemed to forget all about their prisoners, and in +fact about everything except their individual safety. With wild yells of +terror they scattered this way and that, all except the sergeant. He, +seeing his men running in every direction, snarled out a curse, and +whipped out his automatic pistol. + +"I'll do for you Yankees, anyway, he hissed," and leveled the pistol at +them. But even as his finger trembled on the trigger, Frank's fist, with +the force of a sledgehammer, came with a crashing impact against the +point of the German's jaw, and the Hun went down, his pistol exploding +harmlessly toward the sky. Frank, with the light of battle in his eye, +seized the fallen man's weapon and looked around for the other Germans. +But by this time they had all gotten out of effective pistol range, and +after emptying the weapon in the direction of the fleeing figures, Frank +and the others turned their attention to the aeroplane, which by now was +manoeuvring for a landing. + +The airship came down in great spirals, and finally took the ground with +hardly a jar, running along a hundred feet or so and then coming to a +halt. + +As the boys started running toward it, Tom ejaculated: "Say, fellows, my +eyes may be playing me tricks, but if that isn't Dick Lever at the wheel +you can call me a German!" + +"I think it is Dick, myself," agreed Frank. "And if this isn't a case of +the 'friend in need,' I miss my guess." + +It was indeed as they thought. The pilot was an old friend of theirs, +but one whom they had not seen for some time. Now, as they raced toward +the airplane, he in turn recognized them, and raised a delirious shout +of joy. + +"Tumble into this bus just as fast as you can, fellows," he cried, +"we've got to get out of this mighty quick. You can explain the mystery +of your being here after we get started." + +"But can you carry the whole bunch of us?" asked Billy. + +"Easily," replied one of the two observers, who had not spoken up to +now. "We've just dropped our load of bombs on a few German supply +depots, and now we're running back light." + +"All right, then," said Billy, "in we go!" And, suiting the action to +the word, the four friends swarmed into the airplane, filling the +cramped passenger carrying space to overflowing. Meantime, the Germans, +having found cover, had opened up a brisk rifle fire against the +aeroplane, and bullets began to sing through the framework. One of the +observers leaped to the ground, gave the propeller a vigorous twist, and +as the motor began to roar clambered aboard as the big plane started +over the rough ground, bumping and jolting, but rapidly gaining speed. +The Germans broke from their shelter in pursuit, firing wildly as they +ran, but although some of their shots came close, none came near enough +to do any real damage. In a few seconds, in answer to a quick movement +from Dick Lever, the big bombing machine left the ground, and amid a +parting rain of bullets from the Germans, started to ascend in long, +sweeping spirals. + +The friends were about to congratulate themselves on their safe escape, +when suddenly one of the observers, who had been scanning the horizon +closely, pointed behind them, and exclaimed: + +"Just as I thought! Those two Boche planes that we saw getting ready to +come after us just after we dropped our last bomb are coming up fast. +Look!" + +All twisted about, and saw that it was as the observer had said. High up +in the sky two swift, darting objects were coming in pursuit. The +American machine was built more for carrying capacity than for speed, +and in addition was heavily loaded. Every advantage was with the swift +German machines. Their pilots no doubt realized this, for now they +headed directly for the Americans, descending in a long slant that gave +them tremendous speed. + +"All right," said Lever, coolly, "if they're going to come down, it may +be a good idea for us to go up," and, suiting the action to the word, he +elevated the nose of the big plane skyward, and they started to climb +steeply. The American machine was equipped with a tremendously powerful +motor, and this, combined with its great wing spread, enabled it to +climb with great rapidity, in spite of the heavy load it was carrying. +The Germans had not counted on this, and the result was that they +miscalculated their distances, passing beneath the American flyer +instead of above it, as they had intended. They both turned quickly and +started to climb, but by this time the American aviators had trained +their two machine guns on the Germans, and opened fire. + +At first this seemed to have little effect, and the Germans ascended +rapidly, while their machine gun operators, although as yet unable to +use their deadly weapons, sent a hail of revolver bullets whistling +through the wings and rigging of the American machine. But now the +concentrated fire from the American machine was beginning to have +effect. One of the German planes hesitated, quivered, and suddenly its +right wing, with its wire stays severed by the machine gun bullets, +crumpled up. The crippled aeroplane staggered wildly, suddenly turned on +its right side, and pitched steeply downward. + +The boys in the American airplane gazed at each other with white faces, +but they had little time to devote to thoughts of the fallen, for by now +the remaining German machine was on a level with them, and its machine +gunner opened fire. The Americans, crouching low to avoid the murderous +stream of bullets, returned the fire from both their machine guns, with +a deadliness of purpose and aim for which the German was no match. +Suddenly a tiny flame appeared in the body of the German machine, grew +with lightning rapidity, and in a few seconds one side of the machine +was enveloped in leaping yellow flames. + +"Punctured the gas tank!" exulted Lever. "They're done for now." + +And he was right. The machine gun fire from both fighting planes died +out, and the boys could see the Germans vainly trying to beat out the +hungry flames. Their efforts were useless, however, and in a few seconds +the German machine, a roaring mass of flame and black smoke, dropped +downward as swiftly as a stone. As it went, the boys saw two figures +hurl themselves out into space, and then everything was hidden in a haze +of billowy smoke. + +"That's awful!" exclaimed Tom, drawing in his breath with a great sigh, +while all relaxed from the terrible tension they had been under. + +"Awful, yes," said Dick Lever. "But it's only what they would have done +to us if they had been able. Instead of 'live and let live,' it's 'kill +or get killed' in this game." + +Frank nodded his head gloomily, but none of the boys felt like talking +then, and sat silent as their pilot got his bearings and then +straightened out swiftly in the direction of the American lines. + +With the roar of the motor in their ears and the rush of wind past their +faces, much of the horror of the deadly air battle was swept from their +minds, and they began to enjoy the exhilaration of their first flight. +The distant earth streamed rapidly by, like a swiftly flowing river, and +a wonderful panorama was spread out below them. It was an exceptionally +clear day, and they could see for many miles in every direction. Below +them, groups of gray clad figures, after a glance in the direction of +the soaring monster overhead, broke for cover, or, shaking impotent +fists, trudged stolidly onward, contemptuous of one more danger among +the many that daily surrounded them. + +"No prison camp for us this time," exulted Frank, as he looked down at +his enemies. + +"We wouldn't have been in a prison camp long," declared Tom. "Those +fellows had picked us out for a firing squad. They were going to get all +they could out of us, and then about six feet of earth would have been +our size." + +"I'll bet that sergeant's jaw aches yet from the clip that Frank handed +him," chuckled Billy happily. + +"I skinned my knuckles," said Frank, looking at them ruefully. + +"Never mind," laughed Bart. "You never hurt them in a better cause." + +"We can't be far from the lines now," shouted Frank, in Dick's ear. + +"Pretty close," responded the aviator. "We ought to be down fifteen +minutes from now." + +And his estimate proved very nearly correct. Soon the boys of the old +Thirty-seventh could recognize the familiar landmarks of their own +encampment, and, with one impulse, they gave three rousing cheers. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +PUTTING ONE OVER + + +It was a beautiful landing that Dick Lever made at the aviation camp, +his great machine sailing down like a swan and landing so lightly that +it would scarcely have broken a pane of glass. + +"Dick, you're a wonder!" exclaimed Frank, as he stepped out of the +machine. + +"The way you put it all over the Boche planes shows that," chimed in +Bart with equal enthusiasm. + +"I don't wonder they say you're an 'ace,'" added Billy. + +"If all aviators had your class, the Hun flyers wouldn't have a chance +on earth--I mean in the sky," said Tom. + +"Oh, it's all a matter of practice," said Dick modestly, although it was +plain to be seen that their heartfelt appreciation pleased him. "It's as +easy as running an automobile when you know how. Well, so long, fellows. +I've got to make my report," and with a gay wave of the hand he left +them and made his way to aviation headquarters. + +"Say, how does it feel to be a free man once more?" cried Frank +jubilantly, as they sought out their regiment. + +"I can't believe yet that it's anything but a dream." replied Bart with +deep feeling, as he looked around at the friendly faces and familiar +surroundings that he had feared for a time he would never see again. + +"And look at that flag!" cried Billy as he saw Old Glory flying from one +of the officers' pavilions. Like a flash their hats came off and they +saluted the glorious flag that meant to them everything in life. + +They passed the tanks, and Will Stone, who was "grooming his pet," +looked at them for a moment as though he could not believe his eyes. +Then he rushed toward them and nearly shook their hands off. + +"By all that is lucky!" he cried. "I was afraid I was never going to see +you fellows again. Where did you drop from?" + +"From the sky," laughed Frank. + +"Some little angels, you see," chuckled Billy. Then seeing Stone's +puzzled look he added: "The Huns had got their hooks on us when Dick +Lever came along in his plane, gave them a few little leaden missives, +picked us up and landed us here, right side up with care." + +Stone's eyes kindled as he heard their story, and his enthusiasm over +Lever's feat was as great as their own. + +"But how did we make out in the big drive?" asked Frank. "We kept hoping +all the time that you fellows would be along and nab us before the +Boches did." + +"We've had a big victory," explained Stone. "We put the Hindenburg line +on the blink by that smash at his center, and he's had to draw in his +wings on both sides. It's one of the biggest things that's been done on +the western front, and the Heinies will have a hard time explaining it +in Berlin." + +"That's bully!" exclaimed Frank. + +"That town you fellows were hiding in didn't come into our general +plan," went on Stone, "and that's the reason you had to fight your way +out all by your lonesome." + +"It was some little fight, all right," remarked Tom. + +"And we certainly gave those Uhlans a run for their money," laughed +Billy. + +"Lucky they didn't get hold of you," said Stone. "It would have been +curtains for the whole bunch. They must have been wild at the lacing you +handed them." + +"I guess they were rather peeved," grinned Bart. + +"I'm sorry I had to throw away my rifle, though," mourned Tom. + +"Tom would find something to grouch about if he were in heaven," laughed +Frank. + +They talked for a few minutes longer and then went on, as they were +eager to be once more with their comrades of the old Thirty-seventh. + +And what a greeting they had when they walked into their old command! +They were pounded and mauled in wild enthusiasm, for they were prime +favorites in the regiment and had been sadly given up as dead or +captured. + +They had to tell again and again the story of their adventures, and it +was only by main force that they tore themselves away from their +rejoicing mates long enough to report themselves to their officers as +present for duty. + +Their captain was as delighted as his men at their safe return, although +his satisfaction was expressed in less boisterous fashion. He commended +warmly the gallant fight they had put up with the Uhlans, and he was +visibly startled as his eye glanced over the German report that had been +captured by Frank when it fluttered down into the cellar. + +"This must go to headquarters at once!" he exclaimed. "It is a matter of +the utmost importance. You men have deserved the thanks of the army," he +continued, "and I am proud that you are members of my command." + +They made their way back to their company with their leader's praise +ringing in their ears and warming their hearts. But they had scarcely +got out of the captain's presence before his chums pounced upon Frank +with the liveliest curiosity. + +"How did you keep that paper when the Germans searched you?" asked Tom. + +"Where did you hide it?" demanded Billy. + +"I never knew you were a sleight of hand performer," added Bart. + +"Easy there, fellows," laughed Frank, enjoying their mystification. "It +was the simplest thing in the world. While you fellows were sleeping in +the cellar I just loosened the sole of my shoe and slipped the paper in +between the sole and the upper and nailed the sole up again. The Heinies +didn't get next to it, and that's where I had luck. I'm mighty glad they +didn't, for the cap seems to think there's something in it that's worth +while." + +"Foxy stunt," approved Tom. + +"Some wise boy!" exclaimed Billy, giving his chum a slap on the shoulder +that made him wince. + +"You're all there when it comes to the gray matter, old man," was Bart's +tribute. + +A day later, part of their reward came in a week's furlough that was +granted them for "specially gallant conduct," as the order of the day +expressed it. The rest was welcome, for it was the first they had had +since they had landed on French soil, and they had been under a strain +of hard work and harder fighting that had taxed even their strong +vitality to the utmost. + +And that week stood out forever in their memory like an oasis in a +desert. They spent it in a little French town miles away from the firing +line and even beyond the sound of the guns. They fished and swam and +loafed and slept as though there was no such thing as war in the world. +No reveille to wake them in the morning, no taps to send them to their +beds at night. For the first time in months they were their own masters, +and they enjoyed their brief liberty to the full. + +Yet even here in this "little bit of heaven" as Tom expressed it, they +could not be wholly free from war's reminder. + +They were sprawling one day outside their cottage when an officer came +along, gorgeous in epaulets and gold lace. + +"See who's coming!" exclaimed Tom peevishly. "Now we'll have to get up +and salute." + +"I suppose so," said Billy reluctantly. + +"Can't we pretend, we don't see him?" yawned Bart sleepily, clutching at +a straw of hope. + +"Not a chance in the world," declared Frank. "He's looking right at us." + +They stood up as the officer approached and saluted respectfully. He +returned the salute snappishly and glared at them sternly. + +"Get in line there," he commanded. "Smart now. Eyes ahead." + +They resented his tone, but obeyed with military promptness. + +"Present arms." + +They hesitated and looked at each other. + +"Present arms," I said. + +"If you please, sir," said Bart, "we have no guns." + +"I know it," snapped the officer. "Go through the motions." + +So without a word they did as directed. + +"Shoulder arms." + +They did so. + +"Forward! March!" + +He set off in front with a military stride and they followed. + +"I feel like a fool," whispered Bart to Frank. + +"Same here," was the reply. "What does he mean by it?" + +"Wants to show his authority, I reckon," muttered Bart. + +Tom and Billy said nothing, but there were scowls on their faces that +spoke for them. + +They had marched for perhaps half a mile, when at a cross roads two men +appeared who were evidently looking for some one. Their eyes lighted up +when they saw the officer and they came straight toward him. He saw them +coming, and throwing his dignity to the wind started to run, but they +were quicker than he and grasped him by the collar. + +"Come back to the asylum," one of them growled. "We've had lots of +trouble to find you." + +The boys stood rooted to the spot. + +"You see," explained one of the men, touching his forehead +significantly, "he's a grocer that's got the military bug. He thinks +he's Napoleon. Come along, Napoleon." + +And "Napoleon" meekly obeyed. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SUSPICION + + +To paint the emotions that chased themselves over the features of the +four boys would have taxed the ability of an artist. For a moment no one +of them cared to look into the eyes of the others. + +Tom was the first to act. He grabbed his cap in his hands, kneaded it +into a ball, threw it on the ground and jumped up and down on it. + +The others looked at his scowling face and the sight was too much for +them. They threw themselves on the ground in convulsions of laughter. +They howled. They roared. They rolled over and over, until Tom himself +caught the contagion and joined in with the rest. It was a long time +before any one of them was able to speak. + +"Stung!" choked Bart, while tears of merriment rolled down his cheeks. + +"Forward! March!" gurgled Billy. "Pound me on the back, you fellows, or +I'll have a fit." + +"A grocer! Napoleon!" roared Frank. "Shades of Austerlitz and Waterloo!" + +"And we fell for it!" yelled Tom. "Think of it, fellows! By the great +horn spoon! We fell for it!" + +They got themselves under control at last, though not without many +interruptions, for again and again one of them would start to speak and +go off into a peal of laughter. + +"I'm as weak as a rag," gulped Billy. "I haven't laughed like this in +all my life." + +"It would make a hit in vaudeville," chuckled Bart. "Think of us sillies +stalking along and going through shadow motions for a nut like that. +We're squirrel food, all right." + +"Well, after all what could we do?" defended Frank. "We're not mind +readers." + +"Not even of a scrambled mind like that," interposed Billy. + +"And we couldn't tell that he wasn't an officer," went on Frank, not +heeding the interruption. "His uniform seemed to be all right, although +a bit gaudy." + +"That gives us a way out," said Bart. "We can say that we followed the +uniform, not the man, and let it go at that. But, oh, boy! if the +fellows of our regiment had seen us trotting along behind that lunatic, +maybe they wouldn't make our life a burden." + +"We'd never have heard the last of it," agreed Tom. "But what they don't +know won't hurt them, and it's a safe bet that none of us will ever let +out a squeak." + +"It's lucky there wasn't any moving picture man handy," laughed Frank. +"He'd have had a film that would put all the rest out of business. But +now let's get back to the cottage after this unfortunate hike of ours." + +"Say," put in Bart, as a new thought struck him, "do you think those +keepers could have caught on?" + +"I don't think they tumbled," Billy reassured them. "They were too +intent on catching Napoleon to think of anything else." + +"Poor Napoleon," chuckled Frank. "I suppose he's back on St. Helena by +this time." + +"Well, there's one comfort, anyway," declared Tom. "He doesn't know that +he put anything over on us. If he hasn't forgotten us altogether he +thinks we're part of the Old Guard." + +"They say a philosopher is one who can grin when the laugh is on +himself," laughed Billy. "If that's so we're dandy philosophers." + +All too soon that pleasant week was over, and the boys, refreshed and +rested, went away, though with many a backward glance, to the stern work +where they had already won their spurs and made their mark. + +They started in on their work again with renewed zest and with quickened +energy, for a battle was impending and they were anxious to take their +part in driving back the Hun. + +They saw Rabig frequently, and though they all disliked him heartily, he +was still a soldier like themselves in the service of Uncle Sam, and +they strove to disguise their feeling for the good of the common cause. + +"He's a bad egg, all right," declared Tom, who stuck obstinately to his +belief that Rabig had had some part in the escape of the German +corporal, "but as long as we can't prove it, we'll have to give him a +little more rope. But sooner or later he'll come to the end of that +rope, and don't you forget it!" + +Nick had come out of the court-martial that investigated the escape, not +with flying colors, but with bedraggled feathers. The cut on his head +had proved so slight as to arouse suspicion that it might have been +self-inflicted. Still the motive for this did not seem adequate, and the +upshot of the inquiry was that Rabig was confined a few days in the +guardhouse and then restored to duty. But in the private books of the +officers there was a black mark against him, and all of them would have +been better pleased not to have had him in the regiment. + +"Oh, well, don't let's talk about him," Frank summed up a discussion +about the bully. "The whole subject leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I +only hope he's the only rotten apple in the barrel." + +"That's just the trouble'," replied Tom. "If that rotten apple isn't +taken out of the barrel a good many more may be spoiled in less than no +time." + +"Sure enough," agreed Bart. "But I guess there isn't much danger in this +case. If Nick had lots of friends that he might influence it might be +different, but you notice that the fellows leave him to flock by +himself." + +"He's about as popular as the hives in summertime for a fact," commented +Tom. "He'd be a mighty sight more at home if he were in the trenches on +the other side." + +"Maybe so," admitted Frank. + +"What are you fellows chinning about?" broke in a familiar voice, and +they turned to see Dick Lever regarding them with a friendly grin. + +"Hello, Dick," came from them all at once in a roar of welcome, for it +was the first time they had seen him since he had rescued them from +their German captors, and their feelings toward him were of the warmest +nature. + +"Where have you been keeping yourself?" asked Frank. "We've been looking +for you to drop in and see us for a long time past." + +"As a matter of fact, I did get down this way about a week ago," replied +Dick, as he tried to shake hands with all four at once, "but the whole +bunch of you were off on furlough." + +"Sorry we missed you," said Frank. "Yes, we did get a few days off, and +it didn't do us a bit of harm. We've all come back feeling the best +ever." + +"Ready to take another crack at the Huns, eh?" grinned Dick. "Some +fellows never know when they have enough." + +"You needn't talk," laughed Bart. "I'll bet you've been popping away at +them every day since we saw you last." + +"Oh, they've kept me pretty busy," said Dick carelessly. "The Hun flyers +are getting pretty sassy just now, and we have to keep working hard to +drive them back." + +"I've noticed more of them flying over our lines than usual in the last +day or two," remarked Billy. + +"Say," broke in Tom, "this is sure our lucky day. Here comes Will +Stone." + +"We sure are lucky when two of the best fellows in the world drop in on +us at the same time," said Frank, as he and his mates greeted the +bronzed tank operator. "I don't know whether you two fellows know each +other, but if you don't you've both lost something." + +"Oh, we're not altogether strangers," smiled Stone, as he and Dick shook +hands heartily. "Many a time I've seen his plane flying overhead, and +it's made me feel rather comfortable to know that he was on the job, and +that no Boche flyer would have a chance to drop something that would put +Jumbo out of commission." + +"It would have to be some bomb that would make junk of that big car of +yours," said Dick. "I was flying pretty low the day we smashed the Boche +lines and I saw the way Jumbo snapped those wires as though they were so +many threads. That tank's a wonder and no mistake." + +They were having such a good time and the time flew so rapidly that they +were startled when the bugle blew and they were compelled to go to their +respective quarters. + +A few nights after his return Frank was assigned to sentry duty on an +important post on the front trenches. His beat terminated at a point +where he could see a little shack that stood on the side of a hill. + +Standing as it did in the battle zone; it had become little more than a +ruin. Most of the thatched roof had been shot away, one side had gone +altogether, and the other three sides leaned crazily toward each other. + +It was a little after midnight when Frank thought he saw a gleam of +light either in the cabin or close by it. It was very faint, scarcely +more than the glimmer of a firefly, and it vanished instantly. + +Still, it had been there. Cautiously, avoiding every twig with the +stealth of an Indian, Frank crept toward the hut. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +A FAMILIAR VOICE + + +As Frank neared the cabin he redoubled his precautions, and it was here +that his scout training stood him in good stead. + +When he was within twenty feet he went down flat on the earth and wormed +his way to one of the sides that had been left standing. He placed his +ear against a board and listened intently. + +But not a sound rewarded him. The deepest silence reigned. + +For a moment he was tempted to believe that his eyes had played a trick +on him. But they had seldom done this and he had learned to trust them. + +The light could not have come from a firefly, for it was too late in the +season for them. What then had caused it? + +He worked his way around to the shattered doorway and inch by inch +lifted his head until his eyes were on a level with the floor. Quickly +they swept the room, which was so small that the faint light that came +from the stars enabled him to see that it was empty. + +When he was fully assured of this, he crept into the room and with his +fingers explored every inch of the floor. The apartment was so small +that this was not much of a task, and before long his hand came in +contact with a match. It had been lighted and the softness of the +charred end told him that this had been done recently. + +This then was the "firefly"! + +He continued his search with renewed caution and soon found a cartridge. +He knew from the feel of it that it was of the kind used in the rifles +with which the American troops were equipped. It was still warm, as +though it had been recently in a belt close to a man's body. + +But what was a man doing in that lonely spot at that hour of the night? + +Was he a prowling spy from the German camp who had made a daring +incursion into the American lines? + +He must solve the mystery. With every faculty at its highest pitch, he +moved out into the open. + +A slight rustling in the forest near by fell on his ears. It might have +been made by some woodland creature, but to his strained senses every +sound, however slight, suggested a possible clue. + +He listened intently and heard it again, but this time it was a trifle +louder than before. + +He rose to his feet and with catlike tread moved in the direction of the +sound. As he drew hearer he heard it more plainly. And now his patience +was rewarded, for he distinctly heard the low tone of a human voice. + +And if it was a human voice it must of necessity be an enemy voice, for +no friend of his or of Uncle Sam's could be in that place at that hour +on a legitimate errand. + +A moment later he detected another voice in a different key yet pitched +hardly above a whisper. So it was a conference! A conference of whom and +about what? + +He crept still farther forward. + +Right before him stretched a little glade full of small trees and +undergrowth with a scarcely visible path leading downward. + +To press too far between the bushes would have inevitably betrayed him. +He halted with his rifle ready for action and listened. + +The conversation seemed to be an earnest one and in their earnestness +the conferees at times forgot caution, for, as one of the men raised his +voice in expostulation, Frank could note that he was talking German. But +it was not that which made him start suddenly and clutch his rifle more +tightly. + +He had heard that voice before. + +Where and when? + +He cudgeled his brain and then it came to him. + +It was Nick Rabig's voice! + +That is, he thought it was. But at that distance he could not be +perfectly sure. At any rate it was time to act. + +With a bound he leaped forward. + +"Halt!" he cried. "Halt or I fire." + +There were startled exclamations from both men, and then a prodigious +scrambling in the bushes as they tried to escape. + +Bang! went Frank's rifle, and there was a scream followed by a heavy +fall. + +Frank rushed forward, but caught his foot in a tangled root and fell. +His gun flew from his hand and his head came in contact with a stump. +The jagged edges cut a gash in his forehead, and for a moment he was +utterly dazed. + +He strove desperately to retain his senses and in a minute or two his +brain ceased to whirl. He staggered drunkenly to his rifle and picked it +up. And at this moment there was a sound of hurrying feet, and Wilson, +the corporal of the guard, came running up, accompanied by Fred Anderson +who had been on duty near by. + +"What is it, Sheldon?" asked the corporal "What were you shooting at?" + +Frank tried to speak, but his tongue was thick and the words would not +come." + +"He's wounded!" exclaimed Anderson, as he saw with alarm the blood +flowing freely from Frank's forehead. + +They deftly bound up his head, and by this time Frank had found his +voice. + +"It's nothing," he managed to say. "I fell and cut my head. It's only a +scratch. I heard two men talking German here in the bushes and I started +in to get them. They wouldn't stop when I ordered them to, and I fired, +I don't know whether I got them or not." + +"We'll see," said the corporal, and led the way into the bushes while +Frank and Fred followed close on his heels. + +From one side to the other the corporal flashed his light, and before +long he uttered an exclamation. + +"You got one of them anyway," he said, as the light fell on the dead +body of a German whose uniform showed that he belonged to the Eighth +Bavarian Regiment, which they knew was stationed opposite them at that +part of the line. + +The corporal blew his whistle and other men of his squad came running in +answer to the call. He ordered them to carry the body into camp where it +could be searched for papers. Then he turned to Frank. + +"You've done well, Sheldon," he said, "and I'm sorry that you were hurt. +You're relieved from duty for the rest of your watch. I'll put another +man in your place. You'd better see the surgeons and have them wash out +that cut of yours and bind it up again. Then tumble in and go to sleep. +I hope you'll be all right in the morning." + +Frank did as he was directed, and after the surgeon had dressed his +wound and pronounced it not serious made his way to his bunk. He had to +pass Rabig's bunk in reaching his own and he stopped there for a moment. + +The place was dark, but he could see that the bunk was occupied, and +from the snoring that arose from it the inmate seemed to be sleeping +soundly. + +Had he been mistaken? + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE SHADOW OF TREASON + + +When the soldiers jumped from their bunks the next morning at the call +of the bugle Frank's comrades saw his bandaged head and they surrounded +him at once with expressions of solicitude and alarm. + +"What's the matter, old man?" asked Bart anxiously. + +"Don't say you're badly hurt!" exclaimed Tom. + +"You look all in," said Billy. "You're as pale as a ghost." + +"I'm a long way from being a ghost yet," smiled Frank, as he drew on his +clothes. "Wait till you see me tuck away the grub at breakfast. I butted +my head against a stump last night to find out which was the harder, and +the stump won." + +"Stop your kidding and tell us about it," commanded Bart. + +Frank told them the main features of his encounter of the night before, +but it was only after mess when he had them by themselves that he voiced +his suspicions of Rabig. + +Tom gave a long whistle. + +"That fellow will queer this whole outfit yet," he blurted out. "He's a +sneak and a traitor. If he had his deserts he'd be up against the firing +squad within twenty-four hours." + +"Easy there, Tom," counseled Frank, looking around him, for in his +excitement Tom had raised his voice. "Remember I'm not dead sure. I +wouldn't swear to it in a court of law." + +"Here comes Nick himself," remarked Bart. + +"The Old Nick," growled Tom. + +"Hello, Rabig," said Frank, as the former Camport bully came along. + +Rabig grunted a surly "Hello" in reply, and was passing on when Billy +hailed him. + +"Sleep well, last night, Rabig?" he asked carelessly. + +Rabig's face flushed and a frightened look came into his eyes. + +"Sure I did," he snapped. "Why shouldn't I?" + +"No reason in the world," replied Billy. + +"These cool nights are fine for sleeping," remarked Tom. "A little too +cool to be out in the woods, but just right for the trench." + +Rabig seemed to be trying to think up a reply, but nothing came to him +and he simply stood still and glowered at them. He appeared to be +speculating. What significance was there in these apparently careless +questions? Why should they be asked at all? How much did these cordially +hated acquaintances of his really know? + +"I hear that one of the Germans was killed close to our lines last +night," said Billy, shifting the attack. + +"Right inside our lines," corrected Tom. "And here's the fellow who shot +him," pointing to Frank. + +"Frank has nerve," drawled Billy. + +Rabig shot a glare of hate that was not lost by the onlookers, who kept +their eyes steadily on his face. + +"He nearly got another one, too," observed Bart. "And the funny thing +about it was that he thought he knew the fellow's voice." + +This was coming too near for Rabig to pretend that he did not know what +they were driving at. He turned upon them in desperation. + +"Look here," he snarled viciously. "What do you fellows mean? If you +mean that I'm mixed up in this thing you lie. Now don't you speak to me +again or I'll make you sorry for it." + +Without waiting for a reply he hurried off, and the four Camport chums +looked after him with speculation in their eyes until he was lost to +view at a turn of the trench. + +"He's guilty all right," declared Tom with conviction. + +"If ever guilt looked out of a man's eyes they looked out of his," +agreed Bart. + +"It seems so," admitted Frank with reluctance, "and yet he was in his +bunk when I went through last night." "How do you know it was Rabig?" +Tom retorted. "Are you such a cute detective that you can tell one man's +snore from another?" + +"Who else could it have been?" asked Frank. "If it was some one else, +that some one else must have been in cahoots with Rabig and agreed to +make him seem to be in his bunk. I'd hate to think that there was more +than one traitor in the regiment. + +"One's more than enough," agreed Bart. + +"What do you think we ought to do about it?" asked Billy. + +"I don't know," replied Frank, with a worried look on his face. "It +would be a terrible thing to accuse a man wrongfully of such a thing as +treason. Rabig would simply deny it and put it up to us to prove it. +Then, too, every one knows that there's no love lost between us and +Nick, and they might think we were too ready to believe evil of him +without real proof." + +"On the other hand," replied Tom, "if we let him go on, we may wake up +some time to find that Rabig has done the regiment more harm than a +German battery could do." + +"We'll simply have to keep our eyes peeled," was Billy's solution of the +problem, "and watch that fellow like hawks. But if he makes one more bad +break I don't think we ought to keep silent any longer. Let's hope that +next time, if there is any next time, we'll have the goods on him so +that there can't be any denying it." + +But pleasanter thoughts diverted their attention just then, for the camp +postman came into view and the boys rose with a whoop and pounced upon +their letters. And all their spare time that morning was spent in +reading and rereading the precious missives from their friends so many +thousand miles away. + +Frank was poring over a letter from his mother for the tenth time when +he heard his name spoken and looked up to see Colonel Pavet, who was +passing along in the company of another officer. + +He had only a moment to spare, but that moment was given to Frank, who +had risen and greeted him with a welcome as warm as his own. + +"Ah, Monsieur Sheldon, letters from home, I see," he remarked. "I hope +your mother is well." + +"Very well, thank you," responded Frank. "And very grateful to you, +Colonel Pavet, for the interest you have taken in her behalf and mine." + +The colonel courteously waved the thanks aside. + +He replied. "But you can tell Madame Sheldon that her affairs are +progressing finely, though not as rapidly as they would if it were not +for the distracted state of France. For instance, my brother André has +been trying to get a furlough for a man who was formerly a butler in the +De Latour family, and whose evidence he thinks will be most important in +establishing your mother's right. It is only with the greatest +difficulty that I have been able to bring this about, but I have +succeeded at last, and the man will go to Auvergne next week to give his +testimony. Let us hope that it will be as valuable as André thinks." + +Again Frank expressed his thanks, and after a few more words they +parted. + +_"Vive la France!"_ exclaimed Frank, as he saluted. + +_"Vive l'Amerique!"_ returned the colonel. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A HAIL OF LEAD + + +"It's coming," declared Tom a few days later, as the boys were getting +ready to go to mess. + +"Listen to the oracle," mocked Bart. + +"What's coming? Christmas?" inquired Billy. + +"The big fight," replied Tom. + +"Hear the general," gibed Bart. + +"I've understood that Tom was General Pershing's right bower," put in +Billy. + +"They say he doesn't do a thing without him," said Bart. + +"It's a pity that Tom didn't live in Napoleon's time," laughed Frank. +"He'd have been a marshal sure." + +"Napoleon," repeated Billy, with a faraway look in his eyes. "Where have +I heard that name before?" + +The four friends laughed as the comical scene in the little French +village rose up before them. + +But with all their jesting they felt as sure as Tom that a big battle +was impending. One did not have to be an officer to know that. The rank +and file could tell it just as unerringly as their superiors. + +For many days past all arms of the service had been working at top +speed. Regiments and divisions had been reorganized and brought up to +their full strength. Reserves had been brought from distant portions of +the line and were massed heavily in the rear of the positions. + +Raiding parties were active on both sides, as each was eager to get +prisoners and information, and scarcely a night passed without heavy +skirmishes between patrols that in former days would have risen to the +dignity of battles. + +Overhead the sky was dotted with the planes of the rival forces and the +hum of the motors of the giant birds of prey was continuous. They fought +not only in single combat but in sauacfrons, and the sight of one or +more whirling down in flames was so common that it scarcely attracted +attention. + +And most ominous of all, the medical service was organizing gigantic +units close to the front, in anticipation of the harvest of blood and +wounds that was so close at hand. + +Yes, a battle was coming. The grim reaper was sharpening his scythe and +the watching world was waiting for the outcome in an agony of +expectation. + +The forces as far as known were evenly balanced, though it was rumored +that the Germans were drawing large reserves temporarily from the +eastern front, and color was lent to this by the fact that the Swiss +frontier had been closed for a month to conceal the movement of troops. + +It was not yet certain which side would make the first move. Each army +was drawn up in a strong natural position with ranges of hills behind in +the event of having to fall back. + +"I hope we get in the first blow," remarked Frank, as he discussed the +question with his chums. + +"So do I," agreed Bart. "You know then where you're going to strike. +This matter of fighting behind entanglements doesn't make a hit with me +at all." + +"There's more of a swing and rush to it when you attack," commented +Billy. "Do you remember how it was, fellows, in that last big scrap when +we were sprinting over No Man's Land? You're so eager to get at the Huns +that you don't have time to think of danger." + +But one foggy morning not long after, the German leaders settled the +matter for the Camport strategists and struck with tremendous force at +the Allied lines. + +Two hours before dawn the German guns opened up with a roar that shook +the earth. The air was full of flying shells; tear shells to blind the +eyes of the Allied gunners so that they could not see to serve their +pieces; mustard shells that bit into the lungs like a consuming fire; +chlorine gas shells, with a deadly poison, to cause such agony that even +surgeons, hardened in the exercise of their profession, turned away +their faces from the writhings of the victims. Then, following these, a +storm of leaden hail, withering, searing, blasting, before which it +seemed no living thing could stand. + +Crouched low in their trenches, massed line behind line, the Allied +forces bent their heads to the storm, and waited in grim fury for the +infantry attack that they knew would surely follow. + +And it was not long in coming. The fog had risen by this time, and over +the fields, rank upon rank, marching at the double quick, came masses of +gray figures that seemed as endless as the waves of the sea. + +The Allied artillery tore wide gaps in the dense masses, but they closed +up instantly and continued their advance. Machine guns poured thousands +of bullets into the living target, and the gunners served their pieces +again and again until they were so hot that they burned the hand. + +But true to their theory of warfare, the German leaders fed their men +into the jaws of Moloch with cynical indifference. They had counted on +paying a certain price, and they were willing to pay it. + +But flesh and blood has its limitations, and before that murderous fire +the ranks at last faltered. + +Then from the trenches poured the Allied hosts in a fierce counter +attack, and before their resistless charge the enemy wavered and at last +broke. The gray lines melted away, and the ground, strewn with their +dead and dying, was held by the Allied forces, which swiftly organized +for the second attack, that they knew would not be long in coming. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A DEED OF DARING + + +"We got them!" cried Bart, exultingly, as the boys worked feverishly at +the preparations to meet the new attack. + +"Right between the eyes," cried Billy. + +"We drew first blood, all right," agreed Frank, "but they'll come again +for more." + +The prophecy was speedily realized, for again the enemy came forward, +with undiminished ardor, protected this time by a deadly barrage fire +behind which they marched with confidence. It was evident that this time +the enemy, having tested the Allied mettle and found it excellent, had +determined to place its chief reliance upon their big gun fire. And for +a time it seemed as though their confidence was justified. The barrage +fire swept the ground so completely that the Allies were forced to +abandon their hastily seized positions in the open and retreat once more +to the shelter of their trenches. But all the attacks of the German +hordes, repeated again and again, were not able to get possession of +those first line trenches, to which the Allies held with the fury of +desperation. They were manned chiefly by the American troops, although +certain units of French and English held either end of the line. Again +and again the storm broke, and again and again it was beaten back. The +Germans had massed at that portion of the line numbers many times +greater than those possessed by the defenders. By all the theories of +war they ought to have been successful, but, like the old guard at +Waterloo, the Americans might die, but would not surrender. + +Yet after a while the very stubbornness of this resistance proved in +itself a danger. On the right and the left the line, though not broken, +was bent back. In this way the American position formed a salient in the +German line, and was subjected to attack not only in front, but on the +flanks. It became imperative that the line should draw back so that it +might be in keeping with the position now held by the wings. + +So, after hours of sanguinary fighting, the orders came to fall back, +and the Americans, who had been standing like the army of Thomas at +Chickamauga, fifty years previous, reluctantly obeyed, and fell slowly +back to new positions, their faces always toward the foe. + +"What kind of a fool stunt is this?" growled Tom, who, with his +comrades, had been in the thick of the fight. "We had it all over those +fellows, even if they were two or three times as many, and here we are +retreating, when we ought to go ahead and lick the tar out of them." +"Don't growl and complain, Tom," soothed Frank, whose left hand was +bleeding where a bullet had zipped its way across it. "They'll get the +licking all right when the time comes." + +"It's good dope to give back a little sometimes," added Bart. "It's like +boxing. When a blow comes straight at your stomach you bend back and +that takes half the force away from the blow. Don't worry the least +little bit about this fight. We may be bending a little, but we're not +breaking, and before many hours we'll be standing the Heinies on their +heads." + +But the promise was not fulfilled that day, and when, night came after +hours of tremendous struggle, the Allied forces had not regained their +lost ground. + +As darkness fell the combat lessened, and finally ceased altogether, as +far as infantry attacks were concerned, although all through the night +the artillery kept up a fire of greater or less intensity. + +The boys of the regiment to which the Camport boys belonged were in +rather a sober mood when they gathered around their field kitchens that +night and partook of the food that was served out to them. They had not +lost a gun, but they had yielded ground, and a great many of their +comrades would never again answer the roll call. But their fighting +spirit was at as high a pitch as ever, and they could scarcely wait till +the morrow to get their revenge. + +Frank and his chums had come through the day unscathed, except for the +injury to Frank's hand and a mark across Billy's temple where a bullet +had ridged the skin. Perhaps it was due to the fortune that is said to +attend the brave, for they had borne themselves like heroes and had been +stationed at one of the most fiercely battered portions of the line. + +"I suppose they're gloating over this in Berlin to-night," said Tom +gloomily, as they sat at the roots of a great tree whose bark and +branches had been stripped from it by a storm of shells. + +"And groaning over it in New York," added Billy. + +"He laughs best who laughs last," said Bart. "To-morrow's a new day. +Just watch our smoke." + +"We'll eat 'em alive," prophesied Frank confidently, as he nursed his +wounded hand. "Like John Paul Jones, we've just begun to fight." + +"Do you fellows remember what General Corse said one time when Sherman +asked him if he could hold out?" asked Bart. + +"What was it?" asked Billy. + +"He said: 'I've lost one eye and a piece of an ear, but I can lick a +brigade or two yet,'" answered Bart. + +"Good old scout," approved Billy, while the boys laughed. + +"Well, we're not as badly off as that yet," said Frank, "although this +hand of mine is smarting to beat the band." + +"And my head is aching ready to split," added Billy. "One inch to the +left and it would have been all up with your uncle Billy." + +The fighting was resumed at dawn, and again it was the Germans who +attacked. They had counted on their advantage of the day before to break +the morale of their enemies and hoped by pressure to turn the withdrawal +into a rout. + +But like so many German calculations since the beginning of the war, +they had figured badly. The Allies, stung by their discomfiture of the +day before, fought like tigers. They beat the Germans back and took the +offensive in their own hands. + +The Germans retreated, though staunchly contesting every foot of ground. +In the front of Frank's company the enemy had established a machine gun +nest that was particularly effective. Again and again the Americans +sought to clean them out, but were met with such a galling fire that +they lost heavily, and at last the captain decided that the guns were +not worth the price he was paying to get possession of them. Yet the +position would be of so much advantage, if captured, that he hesitated +at changing his course and choosing another line of advance. + +In the litter and wreck of the field, Frank's keen eye had caught sight +of two big barrels filled with clothing for the troops. The barrels had +been dropped from a wrecked motor lorry of a supply train. Like a flash +an inspiration came to him. + +He consulted a moment with Bart, whose eye lighted up as he nodded +assent. Then he stepped up to his captain and saluted. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +STORMING THE RIDGE + + +"What is it, Sheldon?" + +"I think I can silence those guns, sir," Frank said. + +A light came into the captain's eyes. + +"How?" he asked. + +In a few brief words Frank described his plan. + +"But it's suicide," protested the captain. "There isn't one chance in a +thousand that you'll come out alive." + +"I know," said Frank. "But Raymond and I are willing to risk it if you +give the word." + +The captain pondered for a moment. It was a forlorn hope, but forlorn +hopes sometimes won out. + +"Go ahead," he said. + +Frank nodded to Bart, and in a twinkling they had turned the big barrels +over on their sides. + +Then each lay on the ground behind his barrel and began to push it +toward the enemy. + +The men of their company had watched them wonderingly while they made +their preparations, and when they realized what the boys had in mind +they raised a thundering cheer that rose above the din of battle. + +The crews of the two enemy machine guns looked with stupefaction at the +big barrels coming toward them. Then they woke from their trance and a +storm of bullets beat upon the barrels. + +If they had been empty the bullets would have gone through and killed +the boys behind them. But they were filled with woolen clothing, which +while light enough to enable the boys to push the barrels with +comparative ease was just the thing to stop the bullets. The whizzing +missiles thudded into the clothing and there they stopped. It was on the +same basis as the sandbag which stops a cannon ball that would go +through an iron plate. + +Steadily the boys kept on, pushing the barrels before them. They did not +go on hands and knees, for then they would be exposed to the enemy +bullets. It was a caterpillar motion, drawing their bodies along the +ground, and was a tremendous tax on their muscles, for they could get no +purchase. + +One thing in their favor was that the ground sloped a trifle toward the +enemy position and this made the barrels roll more easily. + +By this time the enemy was growing frantic at this novel method of +attack. They could not see their enemy, and they could not kill him. And +the sight of those barrels coming toward them, as inexorably as fate, +got on their nerves, already tense with the fury of the combat. + +Nearer and nearer came the barrels to the guns until they were not more +than twenty feet away. Then they stopped. + +The German gunners drew fresh hope from this. Had their bullets found +their mark in the bodies of their daring enemies? + +But there were two very live boys behind those motionless barrels. + +Frank and Bart had drawn a handful of grenades from their sacks. At a +given signal they drew back their arms and hurled them over the barrels +in quick succession. + +They fell right in the midst of the machine guns. There was a tremendous +explosion that killed some of the gunners and threw the rest into wild +confusion. + +"Now!" shouted Frank, and he and Bart leaped to their feet and rushed +toward the guns. + +There was a wild mêlée for a moment, and then the surviving Germans +turned and ran in panic down the slope. + +The boys slued the captured guns around and sent a stream of bullets +after their wildly fleeing enemies. + +The rout was complete, and the next minute the whole company, that had +charged the instant the grenades were thrown, came tearing up, and there +was a scene of hilarity and enthusiasm that passed description. + +"The finest thing I ever saw!" declared the captain. "You boys are the +stuff of which heroes are made." + +But there was no time then to dwell on the exploit. The enemy was on the +run and they must keep him going. + +And they did, so well and so thoroughly, that when the day was over they +had swept the whole ridge that had been their objective in the fight and +planted Old Glory on its highest crest. And their victory was shared by +the rest of the Allied line, who not only regained all the losses of the +day before, but swept the Germans out of their first and second lines on +a five-mile front, inflicting on them a defeat which they were long to +remember. + +And how the lesson that the Germans learned that day was repeated later +on will be told in the next book of this series, entitled: "Army Boys on +the Firing Line; Or, Holding Back the German Drive." + +Not but what the victory had cost the Americans dearly. Every regiment +engaged had its own long list of killed and wounded. + +"Poor old Fred," said Frank, referring to Anderson. "His right arm was +badly shattered and I'm afraid he may lose it." + +"Fred is playing in hard luck," returned Bart. "That's twice he's been +wounded. Remember the night down at the old mill when the bomb got his +leg?" + +"He's having more than his share," agreed Billy. + +"There's Wilson, too," said Bart. "He's been in the thick of it all day, +but he went down with a bullet in his shoulder just as we got to the top +of the ridge." + +"The corp certainly fought like a tiger," said Tom. "But he's worth a +dozen dead men yet. A month in the hospital will fix him up all right, I +hope." + +"There's one good thing anyway," pat in Billy. "The Huns haven't taken +many of our boys prisoners." + +"And we've got more of their men than we know what to do with," exulted +Frank. + +"I know what I'd do with them," said Tom. "I'd send them to America to +be imprisoned there and I'd put a bunch of them on every transport that +sailed to the other side." + +"That wouldn't be a bad stunt," agreed Bart. "Then if a submarine sank +the ship it would carry a lot of their own people down to Davy Jones." + +Among the missing was one whose loss did not greatly grieve the boys of +the old Thirty-seventh. Nick Rabig did not answer to his name when the +roll was called. They did not find his body on the field, nor was he +among the wounded that were brought in and tenderly cared for in the +hospitals. + +"I see Nick is missing," remarked Frank to Bart later in the evening, as +they were resting and rejoicing over the victory. + +"Missing but not missed," put in the implacable Tom. + +"If the Huns have got him, he'll feel more at home than he ever felt +with us," remarked Bart. + +"Maybe he was captured against his will," said Tom, "and then again +_maybe_--" + +"What do you suppose they'll say in Camport when they hear of this day's +work, fellows?" asked Billy. + +"Oh," answered Frank with a laugh, "they'll only say: 'It's nothing more +than we expected.'" + +"They know us, don't they?" + +"Of course they do," broke in Tom. "We came to France to do our duty as +American citizens, as well as soldiers." + +"I wonder how long it will be before this war is over and we start for +home?" came from Frank. + +"Not tired of the game yet, are you?" quizzed Billy, quickly. + +"Do I look as if I was tired of it?" was the counter-question. + +"We are all going to stay over here until the Huns are licked good and +proper!" burst cut Bart. "There is no use in stopping while the job is +only half finished." + +"Just you wait until Uncle Sam has a lot of men over here," put in +Billy. "Then we'll show those Huns what's what and don't you forget it! +We'll wallop them so thoroughly they'll be getting down on their knees +yelling for mercy." + +"Now you've said something!" came in a chorus from the others. + +And here let us say good-bye to the Army Boys. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ARMY BOYS IN THE FRENCH TRENCHES *** + +This file should be named 8abft10.txt or 8abft10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 8abft11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 8abft10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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