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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Allies At Verdun, by Clair W. Hayes
+
+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: The Boy Allies At Verdun
+
+Author: Clair W. Hayes
+
+Release Date: July 25, 2004 [EBook #13020]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                        The Boy Allies At Verdun
+
+                                   OR
+
+                      Saving France from the Enemy
+
+                           By CLAIR W. HAYES
+
+AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies At Liège" "The Boy Allies On the Firing Line"
+"The Boy Allies With the Cossacks" "The Boy Allies In the Trenches"
+"The Boy Allies On the Somme"
+
+                                  1917
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE EVE OF VERDUN
+
+
+On the twenty-second of February, 1916, an automobile sped northward
+along the French battle line that for almost two years had held back the
+armies of the German emperor, strive as they would to win their way
+farther into the heart of France. For months the opposing forces had
+battled to a draw from the North Sea to the boundary of Switzerland,
+until now, as the day waned--it was almost six o'clock--the hands of time
+drew closer and closer to the hour that was to mark the opening of the
+most bitter and destructive battle of the war, up to this time.
+
+It was the eve of the battle of Verdun.
+
+The occupants of the automobile as it sped northward numbered three. In
+the front seat, alone at the driver's wheel, a young man bent low. He was
+garbed in the uniform of a British lieutenant of cavalry. Close
+inspection would have revealed the fact that the young man was a youth of
+some eighteen years, fair and good to look upon. As the machine sped
+along he kept his eyes glued to the road ahead and did not once turn to
+join in the conversation of the two occupants on the rear seat. Whether
+he knew that there was a conversation in progress it is impossible to
+say, but the rush of wind would have made the conversation
+unintelligible, to say the least.
+
+This youth on the front seat was Hal Paine, an American.
+
+The two figures in the rear seat were apparently having a hard time
+to maintain their places, as they bounced from side to side as the
+car swerved first one way and then the other, or as it took a flying
+leap over some object in the road, which even the keen eye of the
+driver had failed to detect. But in spite of this, even as they
+bounced, they talked.
+
+One of the two figures was tall and slender and there was about him an
+air of youthfulness. He was in fact a second American boy. His name
+was Chester Crawford, friend and bosom companion of Hal Paine. Like
+the latter he, too, was attired in the uniform of a British lieutenant
+of cavalry.
+
+The second figure in the rear seat was built along different lines. He
+was short and chunky; also, he was stout. Had he been standing it would
+have been evident that he was almost as wide as he was long. He had a
+pleasant face and smiled occasionally, though upon each occasion this
+smile died away in a sickly grin as the car leaped high in the air after
+striking a particularly large obstruction in the road, or veering crazily
+to one side as it turned sharply. In each case the grin was succeeded by
+a gasp for breath.
+
+The figure was that of Mr. Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent of the New
+York _Gazette_, on the firing line in Europe to gather facts for his
+newspaper. He was attired in a riding suit of khaki.
+
+Said Mr. Stubbs:
+
+"Well, we may get there and we may not."
+
+"Oh, we'll get there all right, Mr. Stubbs!" Chester raised his voice to
+make himself heard.
+
+"We're likely to land out here in the ditch," was Stubbs' reply. "The way
+Hal runs this car, there is no telling what may happen."
+
+"Not frightened, are you, Mr. Stubbs?" asked Chester, grinning.
+
+"Frightened?" echoed Stubbs. "Why should I be frightened? We can't be
+going more than a couple of hundred miles an hour. No, I'm not
+frightened. I'm what you call scared. Wow!"
+
+This last ejaculation was drawn from the little man as he was pitched
+over into Chester's lap by an extra violent lurch of the car. He threw
+out a hand, seeking a hold, and his open palm came in contact with
+Chester's face. Chester thrust Stubbs away from him.
+
+"I say, Stubbs!" said the lad half angrily. "If you want to jump out of
+here, all right; but don't try and push me out ahead of you. Keep your
+hands out of my face."
+
+"I wasn't trying to push you out," gasped Stubbs. "I was hunting
+something to hang on to."
+
+"Well, my face is no strap," declared Chester.
+
+The automobile slowed down suddenly and a moment later came to a stop at
+a fork in the road.
+
+"I'll have to have a look at this chart," Hal called over his shoulder to
+his companions, as he thrust a hand into a pocket. "Forget which way we
+head from here."
+
+"We're headed for the happy hunting grounds no matter which road we
+take," mumbled Stubbs.
+
+"Don't croak, Mr. Stubbs," said Hal. "Barring accidents, we'll reach
+General Petain at Verdun in time to deliver these despatches before it's
+too late."
+
+"What I don't understand," said Chester, "is why it is necessary to
+deliver these despatches by courier. What's the matter with the wire?"
+
+"I don't know," said Hal, as he returned the chart to his pocket after a
+quick scrutiny, "unless there is a leak of some kind."
+
+"Hardly," said Chester.
+
+Hal shrugged his shoulders as he settled his cap more firmly on his head
+and laid a hand on the wheel.
+
+"You never can tell," he said.
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I don't--hey! what're you trying to do, anyhow?"
+
+For the little man again had been hurled violently against Chester as Hal
+sent the car forward with a lurch. "Trying to leave me behind? What?"
+
+"Can't be done, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester.
+
+Mr. Stubbs glared at the lad angrily, but deigned to make no reply. So
+the big army automobile continued on its way in silence.
+
+Darkness fell. Hal stopped the car and lighted the lamps.
+
+"Can't take any chances while going at this speed," he said.
+
+Stubbs grinned feebly to himself, seemed as if about to speak, then
+thought better of it and remained silent. But he waved a hand in disgust.
+
+A moment later the car was rushing through the darkness at the speed of
+an express train; and while this journey in the night continues it will
+be well to explain the presence of the three companions in the big army
+car, how they came there and why, and the nature of the mission upon
+which they were bound.
+
+A month before the three had been in the Balkans. There the two lads,
+together with Anthony Stubbs, had gone through many dangerous adventures,
+finally reaching Greek soil in the nick of time, with a horde of
+Bulgarians just behind them. With them had been others--Ivan, a Cossack,
+a third British officer and a young girl. Ivan had elected to join the
+Anglo-French forces at Salonika; the other British officer had found his
+own regiment there and the girl, whom it had been the good fortune of the
+boys to save from the Bulgarians, found friends in the Greek city who had
+taken her in charge.
+
+Hal, Chester and Stubbs had embarked on a French battleship, homeward
+bound. After due time they landed in Marseilles.
+
+"Now," said Chester, when he once more felt French soil under his feet,
+"I suppose the thing for us to do is to return to the Italian lines and
+see if we can learn anything of Uncle John, then return to Rome and to
+New York."
+
+Uncle John was the brother of Chester's mother. All had been bound for
+home when Hal and Chester had become involved in a matter that took them
+forward with the Italian troops. Uncle John had been along to keep them
+out of mischief, if he could. He hadn't succeeded and had fallen into the
+hands of the Austrians. The boys had saved him. Later they had been
+forced to seek refuge in the Balkans, having found it impossible to get
+back into the Italian lines, and they had lost Uncle John. Their arrival
+in Marseilles had really been the first step toward a return to Rome,
+where they intended to try and find their mothers.
+
+But their plans to return to Rome did not materialize. As Hal said: "Luck
+was with us."
+
+In a little room in a Marseilles restaurant they had overheard a
+conversation between two men, plainly foreigners, that had resulted in
+their once more being sent on active service. While they had been unable
+to gather all the details, they had learned enough to know that the
+German Crown Prince had laid careful plans for an attack on Verdun. They
+had taken their information to the French commanding officer in
+Marseilles. The latter had been somewhat skeptical, but Colonel Derevaux,
+an old friend of the boys, had arrived at the psychological moment and
+vouched for them.
+
+Immediately the French officer decided that something must be done. The
+plans of the Germans, so far as he knew, had not been anticipated. For
+some reason he did not wish to trust the information to the telegraph
+wires, and the two lads had volunteered to deliver it in person to
+General Petain. Their offer had been accepted, which accounts for the
+fact that we find them upon the last leg of their journey to Verdun at
+the opening of this story.
+
+Stubbs had elected to accompany them, for, as he said, "I've got to get
+the news."
+
+The two lads had seen considerable active service. They had fought with
+the Belgians at Liège; with the British on the Marne; with the Cossacks
+in Russian Poland and in the Carpathians; with the Montenegrins and
+Serbians in the Balkans, and with the Italian troops in the Alps.
+
+They had been participants in many a hard blow that had been delivered by
+the Allies. They had won the confidence of Field Marshall John French,
+commander of the British forces in France until he was succeeded by
+General Sir Douglas Haig after the battle of the Champagne, and of
+General Joffre, the French commander-in-chief.
+
+While they ostensibly were British army officers, their titles were
+purely honorary, but they held actual lieutenancies in the Belgian army,
+these having been bestowed upon them by King Albert in recognition of
+services accomplished in and around Liège in the early days of the war.
+
+The boys had been chums since early childhood. They had been brought up
+together. They attended school together and were inseparable companions.
+Each spoke German and French fluently, and service with other armies had
+given them a knowledge of other tongues. Both were strong and sturdy,
+crack shots, good with sword and sabre, and particularly handy with their
+fists. These accomplishments had stood them in good stead in many a tight
+place. But better than all these accomplishments was the additional fact
+that each was clear-headed, a quick thinker and very resourceful. They
+depended upon brains rather than brawn to pull them through ticklish
+situations, though they did not hesitate to call on the latter force when
+occasion demanded.
+
+Hal, peering ahead by the glare of the searchlight on the large army car,
+suddenly slowed down; the car stopped. A group of mounted men rode up.
+Hal stood up and gave a military salute as one of the group advanced
+ahead of the others.
+
+"I am from General Durand at Marseilles, sir," he said. "I have important
+dispatches for General Petain."
+
+The French officer returned the salute.
+
+"Follow me," he said briefly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+VERDUN
+
+
+Rightly is the fortress of Verdun called the gateway to France. By reason
+of its strategic position, it is absolutely essential that an invading
+army have possession of Verdun before thought of a successful advance on
+Paris can be entertained; and it was upon the capture of Paris that the
+German emperor laid his hopes, in spite of the collapse of a similar
+offensive launched in the first days of the war.
+
+But Wilhelm II had learned a lesson. Verdun must be taken before he
+ordered his armies upon the French capital; and so it was that, upon
+February twenty-third, 1916, the German Crown Prince began a determined
+assault upon the historic French fortress.
+
+In sheer human interest the battle of Verdun surpassed all other
+individual events of the war. For six months and more the defenders of
+the gateway to France withstood a storm at the fury of which the world
+stood aghast.
+
+Foot by foot, almost inch by inch, the Germans forged ahead with a
+reckless disregard of their lives, a tenacity and cool courage which was
+only equalled by the cool determination of the French. Five months after
+the opening of this great battle, the unofficial estimate of German dead
+was a half million men. The assailants fought their way to within three
+miles and a half of the fortress itself, but there they were finally
+halted. It was then that the tide turned; and though the Germans surged
+forward day after day in heavy masses they progressed no further. It was
+the beginning of the end.
+
+The Germans advanced confidently. The destruction of the fortress
+presented no hard problem to them. The utter worthlessness of similarly
+fortified positions had been proven in the earlier days of the war--in
+the destruction of Louvain, Liège, Brussels and Antwerp, the latter the
+most strongly fortified city in the world, with the exception of Paris
+itself. The huge 42-centimetre guns of the Germans had battered them to
+pieces in little or no time at all.
+
+It was with the knowledge of the effectiveness of these great guns that
+the Crown Prince opened the battle of Verdun. The fortress of Verdun and
+the outlying fortifications, it was believed, would be shattered with
+little effort. With these facts in mind, the German Crown Prince opened
+with his big guns, first upon the fortresses guarding Verdun itself.
+
+These approaches shattered, the Crown Prince ordered his infantry and
+cavalry to the attack. But where the onrushing Germans, according to the
+reasoning of the Crown Prince, should have found no resistance, they
+encountered strenuous opposition. Abandoning the outlying artificial
+fortifications, the French had thrown up huge earthworks and from behind
+these received the German attacks coolly.
+
+Against these great earthworks the heavy guns of the attacking forces
+availed little. The force of even the great 42-centimetres was not great
+enough to penetrate the loosely built mounds of earth behind which the
+French reposed. The great shells struck the fresh earth, were embedded
+there and did no harm. The French general staff had realized the
+uselessness of fortresses as soon as had the Germans.
+
+Therefore, while the Germans were able to destroy forts and fortresses at
+will, almost, it availed them little. The defenders were secure behind
+their breastworks of earth. True, German guns dropped huge shells in the
+trenches, a veritable rain of death, but the gaps in the defending lines
+were filled promptly.
+
+There remained naught for the Germans but to try and carry the trenches,
+under the support of their artillery.
+
+Day after day the Crown Prince launched assault after assault. The French
+met them bravely. But the Germans were not to be denied; and urged on by
+the Crown Prince, and often by the presence upon the firing line of the
+German emperor himself, they continued the herculean task without regard
+to loss of life.
+
+Gradually the French were forced back. Hand-to-hand fighting for
+possession of the greatest strategical positions, fought daily, for a
+time resulted in advantage to neither side. Among the chief objectives of
+the German attack were two particularly important positions--Hill No 304
+(so called to distinguish it from numerous other elevated positions) and
+Le Mort Homme (Dead Man's Hill). This name, which was fated to become
+historic, was gained only after days and days of constant hand-to-hand
+fighting and is now recalled as one of the bloodiest battlefields of the
+titanic struggle.
+
+General Henri Phillip Petain, in direct command of the French operations
+at Verdun, endeared himself to the hearts of all his countrymen by his
+gallant conduct of the defense. While the decision of General Joffre, the
+French commander-in-chief, to give ground before the German attacks
+rather than to sacrifice his men in a useless defense of the fortresses,
+was criticized at first by the people, the resulting value of this move
+was soon apparent and censure turned to praise.
+
+While the heaviest assaults of the Germans were launched in the
+immediate vicinity of Verdun itself, the great battle line stretched far
+to the north and to the south. When it appeared at one time that the
+French must be hurled back, General Sir Douglas Haig, the British
+commander-in-chief, weakened his own lines to the far north to take over
+a portion of the ground just to his right and thus relieved the French
+situation at Verdun somewhat.
+
+General Petain thus was enabled to shorten his own lines, and from that
+moment, with few exceptions, the French stood firm.
+
+It seemed that the Germans, beaten off time after time as they were, must
+soon abandon the attempt to break the French lines at Verdun; but each
+repulse brought a new assault mightier than before. The Germans raced
+across the open ground under a veritable hail of lead. They fell by
+hundreds and thousands, but what few survived hurled themselves against
+the barbed wire entanglements of the French or into the trenches, there
+to die upon the points of the foes' bayonets, or to be shot down as they
+tumbled over the breastworks.
+
+The German general staff drew heavily from its forces on the east front
+and added these new legions to the already large army occupied before
+Verdun; but the result was always the same. So far they could progress
+and no farther.
+
+After almost five months of defensive tactics, General Petain began to
+launch assaults of his own. At first the Germans put these down with
+regularity, but at last the effort began to tell. The French made
+headway. Much of the lost ground was recovered. The French moved forward
+a bit day by day, occupied new positions and consolidated them. It was
+terrible work, but the French persevered.
+
+Around Hill No. 304 and Dead Man's Hill the fighting was especially
+severe. There men died by the hundreds and by the thousands that one of
+the opposing armies might advance a few yards. Gains even were counted by
+feet--almost by inches. Gain of a few yards was accounted a day's work
+well done.
+
+Not once did the French troops falter under fire; nor did the Germans,
+for that matter. Never was there greater bravery, loyalty and devotion.
+Called upon for tasks that seemed well nigh impossible, the men did not
+hesitate. They met death in such numbers as death was never met before.
+
+Almost daily, after the French had taken a brace three and a half miles
+from Verdun, it seemed that the Crown Prince must give up the effort. It
+appeared incomprehensible that the useless sacrifice of men could
+continue. But the attempt was not given up; rather, it was pressed with
+greater vigor each succeeding day.
+
+But, after five months, the fury of the German assaults gradually
+lessened. They were not delivered with the same effectiveness as before.
+The great guns continued to rage, scattering death over the field for
+miles, but the massed attacks of infantry, and cavalry charges, became
+more uncommon.
+
+Then came a day when the Germans failed to attack at all. For more than
+twenty-four hours there was a lull. Weeks passed with the Germans
+launching only occasional drives. The same held good for the French. It
+appeared that each side was content to rest on its laurels, biding the
+time when a grand assault could be delivered with some degree of
+effectiveness.
+
+The fighting was intermittent. It came spasmodically. Each side had
+fought itself out and had paused for breath. What advantage there had
+been, all things considered, rested with French arms. The losses on both
+sides, in killed and wounded, had been enormous--almost beyond
+comprehension. The number of prisoners taken by the French was large.
+Many French troops also had been captured, but not so many as Germans.
+Also, the French having been the defenders for the most part, they had
+suffered less in killed and wounded than had the foe.
+
+This, then, was the result of the battle of Verdun six months after it
+had begun. There had been no decisive victory. Each side retained its
+positions, but each was ready to strike whenever the opportune moment
+presented itself.
+
+Even while the fighting at Verdun was at its height there came the
+whisper of a grand offensive to be launched by the Allies. The whisper
+became louder as the days passed. There was more talk of Roumania and
+Greece throwing their armies to the support of the Allies, thus forming a
+steel cordon around the Central powers and their smaller allies, Bulgaria
+and Turkey, and forcing the Germans to shorten their lines. In the
+eastern war theater the Russians again were on the advance and were
+pushing the Germans and Austrians hard, threatening for a second time to
+invade Galicia and the plains of Hungary. It began to appear that the end
+was in sight.
+
+Italy, too, had launched a new offensive with Trieste as the objective
+and the driving power of the Italian troops was beginning to tell. It
+began to appear that the Central powers must before long be placed upon
+the defensive in all war zones.
+
+The world waited impatiently for the opening of the grand allied
+offensive that, it was expected, would be delivered simultaneously on all
+fronts. It was felt that it would not be long coming. There was talk of a
+new great field gun perfected by Great Britain--a gun that would be more
+effective than the German 42-centimetres--but so far it had come to play
+no part in the struggle.
+
+But of all battles, land or sea, that had been fought in the greatest war
+of history, the battle of Verdun stood head and shoulders as the most
+important. It was the greatest and bloodiest struggle of all time, up to
+that period.
+
+And it was in this battle that Hal and Chester, with the friend Anthony
+Stubbs, war correspondent, and other friends, old and new, were to play
+important roles. While each realized, as the three made their way to
+General Petain behind the French officer who had interrupted their wild
+automobile ride, that an important engagement was about to be fought,
+neither had, of course, means of knowing that they were to take part in
+one of the greatest of all battles.
+
+It was with the satisfaction that they had arrived in time to prevent a
+surprise attack that they made their way to General Petain's quarters.
+But, as it transpired, they had arrived a trifle too late. For even as
+they reached the general's tent the German guns spoke.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+GENERAL PETAIN
+
+
+To the soldier the voice of the great guns speaks plainly. Their ears
+accustomed to the various forms of bombardments, Hal and Chester
+realized as well as the rest that this was no mere resumption of an
+artillery duel. It was not a single salvo from a single German position
+that had been fired. The great guns boomed from north and south; and
+continued to boom.
+
+The officer who was conducting the three friends to the headquarters of
+General Petain turned and called a single word over his shoulder:
+
+"Hurry!"
+
+He broke into a run and the others did likewise. A short turn or two and
+they brought up before a tent somewhat larger than the rest. This the
+lads knew was General Petain's field headquarters.
+
+Even as the French officer approached the entrance, the general himself
+rushed from the tent, followed by members of his staff. The officer who
+had conducted the lads there accosted him.
+
+"Sir," he said, "despatch bearers from General Durand at Marseilles."
+
+General Petain waved them aside.
+
+"I've no time for them now," he said, and made as if to move on.
+
+Hal stepped forward.
+
+"Sir," he said, "the despatches we carry have to do with the
+impending action."
+
+General Petain stopped suddenly and eyed the lad keenly. Then he
+said abruptly:
+
+"Come with me."
+
+He led the way into the tent, and Hal, Chester and Stubbs followed
+him. The general seated himself at a desk at a far end of the tent
+and demanded:
+
+"The despatches."
+
+Hal produced several documents, which he passed to the general. The
+latter broke the seals quickly and read. Then suddenly he sprang to his
+feet and dashed outside. The lads could hear him delivering sharp orders
+to members of his staff. A moment later his voice became inaudible.
+
+After fifteen minutes' waiting, Chester grew fidgety.
+
+"Wonder where he went?" he said.
+
+"Don't know," returned Hal with a shrug.
+
+"Let's go out and see what's going on," said Stubbs, and moved
+toward the exit.
+
+"Hold on," said Hal. "We're under General Petain's orders now. We had
+better remain here until he returns."
+
+"You and Chester may be," said Stubbs, "but I'm not. I'm going out and
+have a look around."
+
+"Better stick around, Stubbs," said Chester grimly. "If they find you
+wandering about you're liable to be put under arrest. You can't go
+snooping around without permission, you know."
+
+"Snooping!" repeated Stubbs. "Snooping! Who's going snooping? I want to
+find out what's going on."
+
+"Same thing," said Chester.
+
+The little man was offended.
+
+"Call it snooping when I go out hunting news for my paper?" he asked.
+
+"It's snooping when you go sticking your nose into other people's
+business," declared Chester.
+
+"This is my business," exclaimed Stubbs.
+
+"Oh, no, it's not. It's just a plain case--"
+
+"I tell you it is my business. It's the business of the New York
+_Gazette_. The people in the United States want to know what is going on
+over here."
+
+"I'm afraid General Petain wouldn't agree with you, Stubbs," interposed
+Hal. "He doesn't care what the people in the United States want. All he
+cares about right now is to lick the Germans."
+
+"Well, maybe you're right," Stubbs admitted, "but just the same--I want
+you fellows to know that hunting news is not snooping."
+
+"Stubbs," said Chester, "I've got to give you credit. In my opinion
+you're a first class snooper."
+
+"What?" exclaimed the little man, fairly dancing with rage. "Snooper? Me
+a snooper? What do you mean?"
+
+"Of course you are," replied Chester; "and a good one. Why, I can
+remember once or twice that if you hadn't been a good snooper Hal and I
+wouldn't be here now. Remember?"
+
+"Well, yes," said Stubbs, somewhat mollified, "but I don't know whether
+that's what you meant or not."
+
+"Why, Stubbs," said Chester, "what else could I have meant?"
+
+Stubbs looked at Chester coldly; then turned and walked to the far end
+of the tent.
+
+"Now see what you've done, Chester," said Hal, in a whisper meant for
+Stubbs to overhear. "You've made him mad."
+
+Stubbs whirled about angrily.
+
+"You bet you've made me mad," he declared. "You can bet, too, that I
+won't ever do any more snooping on behalf of either of you. The next time
+you get in trouble you'll have to depend on someone besides Anthony
+Stubbs to get you out of it."
+
+"See," said Hal. "I told you not to do it, Chester. He's liable to let us
+both get killed. He--"
+
+Stubbs could stand no more. He turned on his heel and made his way from
+the tent. But even as he would have moved away he became involved in
+more trouble.
+
+With head down and not looking where he was going, he collided with
+another figure and was pushed violently backwards. Stubbs looked up
+angrily and was about to say something when he glanced at the other. It
+was General Petain. The latter spoke before Stubbs could apologize.
+
+"What's the matter with you?" he demanded. "Can't you see where you're
+going? What were you doing in my tent, anyhow? Who are you? What's your
+business here?"
+
+The questions, came so fast that Stubbs was confused.
+
+"I--why--I--" he stuttered.
+
+"Come inside here," said the general.
+
+He stretched forth a hand, seized Stubbs by the collar and pushed him in
+the tent. Stubbs, caught off his balance, went stumbling and almost fell
+into Hal's arms. General Petain entered the tent immediately behind him.
+
+When his eyes fell upon Hal and Chester he gave a start of surprise.
+Evidently he had forgotten all about them. Then he remembered.
+
+"So you're still here?" he said. "I had forgotten all about you."
+
+"We are awaiting your orders, sir," said Hal.
+
+"I don't know as I have any for you," was the reply. "I have taken what
+precautions I can. Had you arrived a day earlier it might have been
+different. I would have had more time."
+
+"We came as fast as we could, sir," said Chester.
+
+"I've no doubt of that," said the general. "Your information is of great
+value, of course. I suppose you will return to Marseilles?"
+
+"We had rather remain here a while, sir," said Hal.
+
+"So," said the general. "It's fighting you want, eh? Well, I guess I can
+accommodate you. I probably shall need every man I can get hold of. I
+shall attach you to my staff temporarily. But tell me, who is this man
+here?" He pointed to Stubbs.
+
+"War correspondent," replied Hal briefly.
+
+"What?" roared the general, "and in my tent! I'll have him court
+martialed!"
+
+Stubbs quailed visibly.
+
+"A war correspondent, eh," continued the general, "and walking about
+within my lines as free as air. He may be a spy. I'll have him shot."
+
+"Look here, general," said Stubbs, "I--"
+
+"Silence!" thundered General Petain. He turned to Hal. "Your name, sir?"
+
+"Paine, sir."
+
+"A lieutenant, I see."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+General Petain turned to Chester.
+
+"And your name?"
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford, sir."
+
+"Good. I'll turn this man over to you. You may do as you please with him.
+I see he is a friend of yours."
+
+"Yes, sir," returned Hal. "He's a good friend of ours, sir. He's rendered
+us several valuable services. Also, sir, he is to be trusted. He will
+seek to send out no information which you desire suppressed."
+
+"I never heard of one like that," said the general.
+
+"He's the only one in captivity, sir. His name is Stubbs, sir, of the New
+York _Gazette_"
+
+"His name will be Mudd, sir, if he doesn't conduct himself properly while
+within my lines," declared General Petain. "Take him with you. Find
+Lieutenant Maussapant and tell him to find quarters for you. Report to me
+at midnight. I probably shall have work for you."
+
+The lads saluted and made their way from the tent. Stubbs followed them.
+Chester glanced at his watch.
+
+"Great Scott!" he ejaculated. "I had no idea it was so late."
+
+"How late?" asked Chester.
+
+"Ten-thirty."
+
+"Nor I," said Chester. "Where do you suppose we are going to find
+Maussapant?"
+
+"You've got me. However, here comes a young officer; we'll ask him."
+
+Hal did so.
+
+"That is my name," was the young man's smiling response.
+
+"Then we're in luck," said Hal. "General Petain requests that you find
+quarters for me."
+
+"As it happens," said the young Frenchman, "two of my brother officers
+have been transferred and I can ask you to bunk with me."
+
+"How about Stubbs?" asked Hal.
+
+"Stubbs?"
+
+"Yes; our friend here, a war correspondent."
+
+"Oh, I guess we can find room for him. Come with me."
+
+The three friends followed the young Frenchman and presently were
+installed in a large, comfortable tent.
+
+"Turn in whenever you're ready," said the Frenchman.
+
+"We must report to the general at midnight," was Hal's reply.
+
+"What's up?"
+
+"You've got me," said Hal. "Hope it's something good, though."
+
+"Probably is, or he wouldn't want you at that hour."
+
+"Well," said Stubbs at this point, "you boys can do what you please. I'm
+going to get a little sleep."
+
+"All right," said Chester. "If we shouldn't be around in the morning,
+don't worry. We'll turn up sooner or later."
+
+Stubbs nodded and made ready for bed.
+
+At five minutes to twelve o'clock, Hal and Chester started for the
+headquarters of General Petain.
+
+"Here's where we get busy again, old man," said Chester.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE BATTLE OPENS
+
+
+For forty-eight hours the greatest of modern artillery duels had raged
+incessantly. German guns swept the French positions in all sections of
+the Verdun region. Fortresses protecting the approach to the city of
+Verdun had been shattered. The Germans had hurled two and three shells to
+each one by the French.
+
+But after the first day the French had entrenched themselves behind
+their earth breastworks, hastily dug and thrown up, and now remained
+secure. Into these the German guns now poured their fire. The defenders
+were ready for the first attack by infantry, which it was realized would
+come soon.
+
+And it came even sooner than was expected.
+
+Hal, with a despatch for the officer in command of the first line troops
+just to the north of Verdun, was about to return when there came a
+sudden shout:
+
+"Here they come!"
+
+Hal turned quickly.
+
+There, perhaps half a mile away, stretched out a long thin line, barely
+visible through the dense cloud of smoke that overhung the ground. Hal
+took in the situation, instantly. The German infantry was advancing to
+the charge under artillery support.
+
+Behind the first long line stretched out a second and beyond that a third
+and a fourth and many more. They advanced slowly in the face of a rain of
+lead turned on them by the men in the trenches. Men fell to the right and
+to the left, Hal could see, but the gaps were filled instantly and the
+long lines pressed forward.
+
+Now they were within three hundred yards and the heavy German guns became
+silent. The advance now must be made without further artillery support,
+for the German batteries could not fire without imminent danger of
+shooting down their own men. The Germans broke into a run.
+
+From behind the French earthworks was poured a hail of lead, but it did
+not serve to check the approaching foe. On to the breastworks they came
+and clambered up. Behind the first line came many more and they swarmed
+upon the defenders like bees in a hive.
+
+Bayonet met bayonet and revolvers cracked. Men struggled with their bare
+hands. Friend and foe went down together, struggling to the last. On the
+right and on the left, though Hal could not see these actions, similar
+scenes were being enacted. The Germans had made their initial advance
+upon a front of almost fifteen miles.
+
+A bugle sounded.
+
+French reinforcements were rushed forward to aid the hard-pressed men in
+the first line trenches. More Germans poured in. The struggling mass
+surged backward and forward. Then the French broke and fled, and Hal
+found himself among a panic-stricken mass of humanity, running for life
+for the protection of the second line trenches. From behind, the
+victorious Germans fell to their knees and poured a steady rifle fire
+upon the vanquished. Over the heads of their fleeing countrymen the
+second line French troops returned the fire.
+
+Hastily the Germans fell to work throwing up earthworks facing the second
+French line. Under experienced hands the breastworks sprang up as if by
+magic. They entrenched calmly under the rifles of the French infantry and
+the heavy guns of the French batteries, though men fell upon all hands.
+
+Far away, but coming closer, the German batteries now opened fire on the
+second French trenches, firing above the heads of the victorious German
+infantry. The infantry action subsided. The duel of big guns was resumed.
+
+Chester, who had been despatched by General Petain with orders, arrived
+there to witness a scene similar to the one Hal had seen in the center.
+The German assaults had been successful all along the line. The French
+had lost their first line trenches on a front of approximately twelve
+miles. Only at one or two isolated spots had the Germans met reverses;
+and these few points that the French still held were doubly dangerous
+now. They could not be given the proper support. Later in the day they
+were abandoned.
+
+Hal and Chester returned to their posts about the same time. Each was
+sadly disappointed at the result of the first infantry fighting. For
+several hours they were kept on the jump carrying despatches, and it was
+after dark before they found themselves alone together after the
+strenuous day.
+
+"Pretty hard," said Hal, shaking his head sadly.
+
+"I should say so," Chester agreed. "It seems to me that those fellows
+could have been stopped."
+
+"It doesn't to me," declared Hal. "The way they swept into our trenches
+seemed to me beyond human power to stop. I'm glad they stopped when they
+did. They probably could have gone farther."
+
+"They'll try again to-morrow," said Chester positively.
+
+"I'm afraid so," agreed Hal; "and if they do, I'm afraid they'll drive us
+back again."
+
+"And what's the reason?" demanded Chester.
+
+Hal shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I don't know," he said. "Of course they can only progress so far.
+They'll wear themselves out by their own exertions. They lost a great
+deal more heavily than we did to-day; but certainly it seemed as if
+nothing could stop them."
+
+There was little rest for Hal and Chester that night. It seemed to both
+that they had hardly closed their eyes when they were again summoned to
+General Petain. Assembled there they found the entire staff. The French
+commander was reviewing the events of the day and issuing orders and
+instructions rapidly. He realized that there would be more and probably
+harder fighting on the next day and he was laying his plans
+accordingly. Hal and Chester received their instructions for the morrow
+along with the rest.
+
+Returning to their own quarters again, they were attracted by the sound
+of confusion a short distance away.
+
+"Something up," said Chester. "Let's have a look."
+
+Nothing loath, Hal followed his chum.
+
+In the light of a large camp fire they made out a crowd of soldiers
+gathered about in a large circle. Howls of amusement and hilarious
+laughter rose on the air. Hal and Chester pushed closer and were able to
+ascertain the cause of merriment.
+
+In the center six French soldiers held a blanket and in the center of
+this blanket was a man. He rose and fell as the six men alternately
+released the blanket and then drew it taut again. He was yelling at the
+top of his voice to be let alone and threatening dire vengeance on his
+tormentors when he would be able to get at them. But he was laughing and
+taking the joke good naturedly.
+
+Hal and Chester joined the circle of spectators and derived as much
+amusement as the others from the proceedings. At length, tiring of their
+present victim, the men lowered him to the ground. One of them, a large,
+strapping fellow, perhaps thirty years of age, cast his eye around the
+circle of faces.
+
+"Let's get another one," he shouted.
+
+There was a chorus of assent from the others and all six set to looking
+about for a victim who would not prove too willing. As Hal said to
+Chester, apparently there was no fun tossing a man who took it good
+naturedly.
+
+At last the big fellow gave a howl of delight and dashed forward. Hal
+gazed after him. As the big fellow bounded forward, a slight figure in
+the first row turned and ran. But the big fellow overtook him and
+dragged him back.
+
+"Here's one, men," he cried. "See, he doesn't want to come with me. He
+doesn't know what a good time he is going to have. We'll give him a
+good one."
+
+The others lent a hand and dragged the unwilling captive forward. As they
+would have put him on the blanket, the youngster--for such the captive
+proved to be--protested.
+
+"Some other time, fellows," he said. "I'm sick to-night. I hadn't ought
+to be out at all, but I couldn't stay in the tent any longer. I'll let
+you toss me in the blanket some other time, but please let me alone
+to-night."
+
+From where Hal and Chester stood it was plain to see that the boy was
+telling the truth. His face was deathly pale and he looked very ill.
+
+"Great Scott," said Hal, "they shouldn't torment him. He is telling
+the truth."
+
+"Certainly he is," Chester agreed. "I believe the boy is very ill."
+
+But the young French boy's protest fell on unheeding ears.
+
+With loud guffaws the men grabbed hold of the blanket and sent the
+captive spinning aloft. Two, three times he rose and fell, and upon the
+last was still in the blanket. Apparently the men who held the blanket
+had not noticed this, however, for they were preparing to toss him aloft
+again. But Hal had detected the lad's condition. He decided it was time
+for some one to interfere, and as no one else apparently was ready to
+call a halt on the proceeding, he determined to take a hand himself.
+
+Quickly he shed his overcoat and then tossed off his jacket and passed
+them to Chester.
+
+"Hold 'em!" he said, and sprang forward.
+
+At the edge of the circle he halted and gazed at the big Frenchman, who
+had chanced to turn in his direction.
+
+"Let the boy go," he said. "Can't you see that he is unconscious?"
+
+The big Frenchman grinned at him. When Hal had taken off his coat, he had
+removed all signs of his rank and the soldier had no means of knowing he
+was an officer.
+
+"One more toss," said the Frenchman.
+
+Hal stepped close to him.
+
+"The boy is unconscious," said the Frenchman, and added: "Then we'll
+take you."
+
+He nodded to the others in signal that it was time to toss; but before he
+could move, Hal had seized him by the wrist and whirled him around.
+
+"You heard me," the lad said quietly. "I meant what I said."
+
+He gave the Frenchman's arm a quick twist and the man dropped his hold on
+the blanket. The Frenchman's hold on the blanket released, the lad upon
+it tumbled to the ground, where he lay still. Instantly several others
+bent over and gave their attention to bringing him to. The man whom Hal
+had confronted turned on him angrily.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
+
+"I told you to let the boy alone and I meant it," said Hal quietly.
+
+For answer the Frenchman struck at him. Hal dodged the blow and stepped
+back. He would have avoided a fight if possible. But the Frenchman
+stepped after him and struck again. Again Hal dodged and the blow passed
+harmlessly over his head. The lad struck out quickly with his right and
+caught the Frenchman a hard blow upon the side of the neck. Big man
+though he was, the Frenchman toppled over. Hal walked back to where he
+had left Chester, donned his coat and the two moved away.
+
+Behind them, as the big Frenchman staggered to his feet there was a howl
+of merriment. The Frenchman shook a fist angrily at Hal's back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE BLACK PEAS
+
+
+The howling without continued when Hal and Chester reached their
+own quarters.
+
+"Well, you've made another enemy, Hal," said Chester.
+
+"Can't help that," was his chum's reply. "It had to be done. By the way,
+I wonder what's happened to Stubbs?"
+
+"Oh, I guess he is spooking around some place. He'll turn up
+before long."
+
+The lad was right. Hal and Chester had hardly composed themselves to
+sleep when the flap to the tent was lifted and Stubbs' head appeared. He
+struck a match and looked at the two lads.
+
+"Asleep?" he asked.
+
+Neither lad was, but neither replied. They were both too sleepy to
+care to enter into a conversation with Stubbs, so they maintained a
+discreet silence.
+
+"All right, then," said Stubbs, "if you're asleep I'll soon be with you."
+
+He removed his clothing and went to bed.
+
+Stubbs was up early the following morning and when the lads arose
+entertained them with an account of his wanderings.
+
+"And," he concluded, "I've stumbled across a story that's a wonder."
+
+"A story?" repeated Chester.
+
+"Yes. A 'story' is a newspaper man's way of expressing something big."
+
+"Something to do with the battle?" asked Hal.
+
+"It may have and it may not," declared Stubbs. "It may have something to
+do with the whole war--and it may not. I don't know."
+
+"What is it, Stubbs?" asked Chester.
+
+Stubbs winked one eye at him.
+
+"As I happened to stumble across this while I was snooping," he
+said, "and as you don't think much of snooping, I am going to keep
+this to myself."
+
+"Come, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester, "you know I was just fooling."
+
+"Well, I may be just fooling now, for all you know," said Stubbs.
+
+In vain did the lads plead to know what he was talking about. Stubbs was
+obdurate and took his departure, announcing that he was going to do some
+more "snooping," without enlightening them.
+
+Hardly had he gone when the lads received a caller. It was none other
+than the young French boy whom Hal had rescued from the hands of his
+tormentors the night before.
+
+"They told me you came to my aid," he said to Hal, "so I have come to
+thank you."
+
+"Who are they?" asked Hal.
+
+"Some of the men. It was true that I was ill last night. Jules Clemenceau
+will not forget."
+
+The young French boy had stood with one hand in his pocket, and now
+withdrew the hand and extended it to Hal. As he did so, two small objects
+fell from his pocket. Apparently Jules did not notice them. Hal shook
+hands with the boy and the Frenchman took his departure.
+
+Chester, in the meantime, had picked up the two little objects and now he
+called to Jules, but the young Frenchman did not hear him.
+
+"Oh, I guess he doesn't want these things, anyhow," the lad muttered.
+
+"What things?" asked Hal, who had not seen the objects drop from
+Jules' pocket.
+
+Chester passed one of the objects to him.
+
+"Know what it is?" he asked.
+
+"Sure," returned Hal, "don't you?"
+
+"No. What is it?"
+
+"A pea."
+
+"I never saw a pea like that."
+
+"Probably not. They are rather rare. A black pea, that's what it is.
+Where did you get it?"
+
+"Jules dropped it out of his pocket."
+
+"Well, as he seems to think I have done him a favor, I am just going to
+keep this. I guess he won't mind. I'll carry it as a pocket piece."
+
+"Then I'll carry the mate to it," said Chester.
+
+He put the little round pea in his pocket and Hal followed suit.
+
+Although neither could possibly have suspected it, these two little peas
+were to be the means of getting them into all kinds of trouble.
+
+There was heavy fighting that day and when night fell it found the
+Germans safely entrenched in the French second line trenches along a
+seven-mile front. For some reason or other Hal and Chester did not get to
+the front, their duties confining them close to General Petain's
+headquarters. They were kept busy most of the day, however, and were
+tired out when they returned to their own quarters late that night.
+
+Ready as they were for bed, they consented to sit up a while and talk
+with Stubbs, who announced that he had a wonderful tale to unfold.
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I have discovered a strange thing. It's a big
+thing and there are many men in the French army implicated in it. Most
+likely in the British, too, and I know that it has touched the ranks of
+the enemy."
+
+"What is it, a conspiracy?" asked Chester.
+
+"It is," said Stubbs, "and it's a whopper. I haven't been able to find
+the names of any of the leaders and I wouldn't know what to do if I did
+learn who they are. This one thing, rather than anything else, is likely
+to disrupt the aims of the Allies."
+
+"Then you had better tell General Petain about it," declared Hal.
+
+"I suppose I should," said Stubbs, as he drew out his pipe and proceeded
+to fill it.
+
+He was quiet a moment as he ran his fingers in his vest pocket,
+seeking a match.
+
+"Say, I'm a good one, ain't I?" he demanded, forgetting his grammar
+absolutely.
+
+"What's the matter now?" asked Hal.
+
+"Matter is that I can never keep a match. Have you got one?"
+
+"Fortunately for you, I have," said Chester. "I don't carry them, as a
+rule, having no use for them, but I chanced to find a box of safety
+matches to-day."
+
+He reached in his pocket and produced the box; and as he did so the
+little black pea rolled from his pocket. It rolled toward Stubbs and the
+little man caught it. He would have returned it to Chester, but as he
+started to do so he took a close look at it. He gave a sudden start and
+the box of matches Chester had extended to him dropped to the floor even
+as his fingers would have closed on it.
+
+"H-m-m-m," he muttered to himself. "I wonder. I suppose it would be a
+great thing. I wonder."
+
+Stubbs picked up the box of matches and proceeded to light his pipe with
+deliberation.
+
+"Well, now that you have that pipe puffing," said Hal, "what's the rest
+of this story of yours?"
+
+"On second thought," said Stubbs calmly, "I have decided to keep it
+to myself."
+
+"You're not going to tell us?" demanded Chester.
+
+"No," said Stubbs. "By the way, here's your black pea," for Chester had
+not noticed that he had dropped it.
+
+"Thanks," said Chester, taking the pea and dropping it in his pocket, "I
+wouldn't want to lose it."
+
+"No, I guess not," said Stubbs mysteriously. "Pretty scarce articles. I
+don't suppose you could find another one in some distance."
+
+"Oh, yes, you could," said Hal. "I have one myself."
+
+"That so?" said Stubbs, and added to himself: "I thought so, but I wanted
+to make sure."
+
+Hal produced his black pea. Stubbs examined it carefully and passed it
+back to him.
+
+"Better keep it in a safe place," he said. "As I say, they are scarce
+and it never does a fellow any good to lose anything when there is
+anyone around."
+
+Hal and Chester started guiltily. How could Stubbs know they had found
+the peas when they fell from the pocket of Jules Clemenceau? Stubbs, who
+had been watching the two closely, observed these sudden starts and
+interpreted them to his own satisfaction.
+
+"Come now, Stubbs," said Chester, "tell us the rest of this story
+of yours."
+
+"No," said Stubbs, "I am going to keep it to myself." He added under his
+breath: "The young cubs! Trying to pump an old-timer like me to see how
+much I know!"
+
+"You mean you are not even going to tell the general?" asked Hal.
+
+"That's what I mean," said Stubbs.
+
+Hal and Chester exchanged glances. They wondered what had come over the
+little man so suddenly. Stubbs caught the interchange of glances and
+again he read it wrong. To Stubbs it appeared that there was relief on
+their features.
+
+Stubbs shook his head.
+
+"I'm going to turn in," he said.
+
+Not another word could the lads get out of him, try as they would. But
+Stubbs, on his cot, did not sleep immediately. Covertly he watched the
+two lads as they talked in tones too low for him to hear, strain his ears
+as he would.
+
+"Well, I guess I don't need to hear 'em," he told himself. "I can guess
+what it's all about."
+
+He rolled over and went to sleep.
+
+But the nature of the lads' conversation was a whole lot different from
+what Stubbs thought it was, though it concerned the little man himself.
+
+"Something wrong with him," said Chester.
+
+"Right you are," agreed Hal. "Talks like we had offended him or
+something."
+
+"Maybe he just wants to keep us guessing."
+
+"That might be it. Anyhow, if he doesn't tell us to-morrow, I'm going to
+tell him what I think of him."
+
+"Then he won't talk," said Chester.
+
+"We might be able to get him mad enough to make him talk," returned Hal.
+
+"By Jove! so we might," said Chester. "We'll have a try at it to-morrow
+if it's necessary."
+
+"All right. Then let's turn in. I've a feeling it's going to be a
+strenuous day to-morrow."
+
+And it was; though not strenuous in the way Hal had expected.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A PERILOUS SITUATION
+
+
+Hal and Chester held no conversation with Anthony Stubbs the following
+day, and therefore were unable to learn more than they already knew of
+the war correspondent's great "story."
+
+Before they rose Stubbs was up and gone, and when he returned, several
+hours later, Hal and Chester were receiving orders from General Petain.
+
+The German advance had continued the day before in spite of the heroic
+stand of the French troops. Successive charges by the Teuton hordes had
+driven the defenders back along practically the entire front. Here, with
+the coming of night, they had taken a brace with the arrival of
+reinforcements and had stemmed the tide; but not a man failed to realize
+that there would be more desperate work on the morrow.
+
+The French lines now had been pushed back well to the west of the city
+of Verdun itself and the civil population of the town had fled. The town
+had been swept by the great German guns until hardly one stone remained
+upon another. North of the city, the French had been bent back as the
+Germans thrust a wedge into the defending lines almost to the foot of
+Dead Man's Hill.
+
+This hill was of particular importance to the Germans, for it commanded
+the approach on all sides; and now the German Prince had determined upon
+its capture. General Petain anticipated the move and acted promptly.
+
+It was toward this point, then, that Hal and Chester found themselves
+moving upon the sixth day of the great battle. They bore despatches from
+General Petain and each bestrode a high-powered motorcycle, which the
+French commander had placed at their disposal. The two lads rode swiftly,
+for there was no time to be lost.
+
+Even above the "pop-pop" of their motorcycles could be heard the
+terrible roar of the German guns as they were brought to bear on Dead
+Man's Hill, paving the way for an infantry advance, which was to come a
+few hours later. It was risky business upon which the lads were bent,
+for the great shells struck on all sides of them, throwing huge masses
+of dirt in the air like giant fountains and digging immense excavations
+in the hard ground.
+
+But the lads reached their destination in safety; and here, for the
+first time, Hal and Chester were to come in contact with a new method
+of fighting.
+
+General Domont, in command at Dead Man's Hill, having read the despatches
+the lads carried, announced that they would remain with him during the
+day, acting as members of his staff. He ordered Hal forward with
+instructions for the troops holding the crest of the hill to the north
+and Chester was despatched upon a similar mission to the south.
+
+Hardly had Chester delivered his message when a shout told him the German
+infantry was advancing to the attack. The lad glanced around, and as he
+did so, a sharp order rang out and a moment later the French troops
+clamped queer-looking devices over their faces and heads.
+
+Chester knew what they were--gas masks to protect the defenders from
+the poisonous vapors of German gas bombs, which, had the defenders not
+been protected by masks, would have killed them instantly. A passing
+officer said something unintelligible to the lad as he passed and
+pointed to the ground. Glancing down, the lad perceived a mask and then
+understood that the officer had meant for him to put it on. Chester did
+so, though not without some difficulty, for he had trouble adjusting
+it. But with his nostrils protected at last, Chester turned to watch
+the approach of the enemy.
+
+The Germans came forward in a dense mass, despite the fearful execution
+worked in their ranks by the French guns. In the lines of the defenders
+dropped huge bombs that sent up dense vapors--the deadly gasses of the
+foe--but they caused little harm, for the French were protected. Now and
+then a man fell, however; perhaps he had failed to adjust his helmet
+properly, or perhaps it was not perfect. But for the most part the gas
+bombs had little effect.
+
+The first concerted attack of the German troops availed little; and after
+trying for half an hour to gain a foothold in the French lines they
+withdrew. But a second attack followed a few moments later. This also was
+beaten off. A third attack, however, met with better success.
+
+This time the Germans succeeded in gaining a hold in the French lines,
+and this they retained in spite of repeated counter assaults by the
+French. Bravely the men charged, but they could make no impression on the
+positions so recently won by the foe. The troops of the German Crown
+Prince stood firm.
+
+The French were forced to retreat toward the summit of the hill.
+
+Here the big French guns opened violently upon the enemy, but the
+invaders remained in spite of the hail of death.
+
+Chester had been carried back with the French retreat and he now found
+himself almost in the first line. He was sadly disappointed, for he had
+felt sure that the French effort to repel the attack would be successful.
+
+His men still falling back before the German advance, General Domont
+determined upon a bold stroke. Orders were given thick and fast. Hal and
+Chester, returning from their first missions of the day, found themselves
+again near the front. The orders to the various French divisional
+commanders were explicit. As the Germans advanced again to the attack,
+the French, too, all along the line, were to take the offensive.
+
+The men awaited the word eagerly.
+
+At last it came. With a shout the French, still wearing their gas masks,
+hurled themselves forward with the troops.
+
+Halfway down the hill the lines met with a crash. Rifles and small arms
+were fired point blank into the very faces of the foe and then the men
+fell to the work with bayonets. Both sides fought desperately.
+
+Hal and Chester had drawn their swords and found themselves engaged with
+the troops. So close was the fighting that had it not been for the
+difference in uniform it would have been practically impossible to
+distinguish friend from foe.
+
+Hal found himself engaged with a German officer of huge stature, who was
+endeavoring to bring the lad to earth by fierce sweeping blows of his
+officer's sword. Hal was hard pressed to defend himself.
+
+As the German's sword descended in a stroke of extra violence, Hal
+stepped lightly aside and evaded the blow. Before the German could
+recover himself, Hal moved quickly forward. There was a sudden, quick
+movement of his arm and the German officer toppled over, to rise no more.
+
+Hal turned just in time to see a second German officer level a revolver
+straight at his head. The lad ducked and the ball passed harmlessly over
+his head. Before the German's finger could press the trigger again Hal
+had raised his arm and struck.
+
+Chester, in the meantime, had his own hands full. He had accounted for a
+German trooper who had sought to bring his rifle butt down on the lad's
+head and was now engaged with two other troopers, who sought to end his
+career with bayonets.
+
+Chester sprang nimbly back as the two men advanced on him. One tripped
+and stumbled over a fallen comrade and as he did so Chester took
+advantage of his misfortune to strike with his sword. But the second
+German protected his fellow by catching Chester's stroke with his bayonet
+and for a moment Chester was at a disadvantage.
+
+Even as the bayonet of the first trooper, who had regained his balance,
+would have pierced him, however, Chester dropped flat on the ground and
+seized one of the man's legs. The German dropped his bayonet and crashed
+to the ground. Chester sprang up quickly and jumped to one side to escape
+the point of the bayonet in the hands of the second trooper.
+
+Chester thrust with his sword, but the effort was futile. The point of
+the lad's sword fell short. Again the lad was at a disadvantage and the
+German grinned as he stepped forward to end the combat. His bayonet was
+pointed straight at the lad's breast and it seemed as though nothing but
+a miracle could save the boy.
+
+But the miracle happened. Suddenly the German dropped his bayonet with a
+crash and threw up both arms. He spun on his heel and then fell to the
+ground without an outcry. A stray bullet had done what Chester had been
+unable to accomplish, and for the moment the lad was safe.
+
+The second trooper now returned to the attack and engaged Chester
+fiercely. All this time the French were gradually being forced back, and
+of a sudden Chester found himself the center of a mass of German troops.
+
+But the lad had no mind to give up. Throwing caution to the winds, he now
+struck out swiftly and sharply with his sword. Once or twice the thrusts
+went home. Chester felt a sting in his left shoulder. The bayonet of a
+German trooper had pricked him slightly. Chester whirled about and seized
+the bayonet with his left hand. A powerful wrench and it was wrested from
+the hands of the German soldier, who had been caught off his guard.
+
+Without taking time to reverse the weapon, Chester hurled it in the faces
+of the foe who pressed in about him. It struck one man squarely on the
+forehead and he toppled over with a groan.
+
+Again Chester laid about him with his sword, retreating slowly as he did
+so. The gas helmet that he wore impeded his progress somewhat, for it was
+strange to his head and felt uncomfortable. Now the lad realized for the
+first time that the Germans before him also wore the heavy helmets.
+
+He aimed a blow at one man's breast and it went home. At the same moment
+a second German brought his rifle butt down upon the lad's sword and the
+weapon snapped off. Chester felt a second sting in his arm and then he
+felt a blow across the helmet.
+
+There was a sudden roaring sound, Chester saw a million stars flash
+through the air; then he threw up his arms, made a move to step forward
+and crashed to the ground.
+
+The last blow had broken open Chester's gas helmet and the lad was at the
+mercy of the poisonous vapors!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+HAL TO THE RESCUE
+
+
+At the same moment that Chester fell to the ground, the clear note of
+a bugle rang out from the German rear, sounding the recall. The
+attack was to be given up. The resistance of the French had been too
+much for the foe.
+
+Hal, who had been retreating with the other French troops, turned a
+second before the recall was sounded just in time to see a single form
+that had been struggling with a knot of the enemy crash to the ground.
+Hal gave a loud cry, which was stifled by his gas helmet, for he felt
+sure that it was Chester.
+
+It was at that moment the German bugle sounded the recall.
+
+Hal dashed toward the spot where Chester had fallen. A score of enemy
+troops, perceiving his approach, stayed their retreat and offered him
+battle. Hal was nothing loath. He dashed toward them at top speed.
+
+Other French troops, seeing one of their numbers dashing forward, and
+perceiving his peril, jumped to the rescue. Still more Germans turned and
+more French dashed forward. For a moment it seemed that the struggle
+would be renewed in spite of the order for a German recall.
+
+Hal dashed among the foe with sword flashing aloft. Right and left he
+slashed and the Germans gave way before his fury. Then they closed in.
+Almost at the same moment the French troops came to his assistance.
+Again the recall was sounded from the German rear. The few of the foe
+who apparently had Hal at their mercy heeded this second call
+reluctantly. They drew off slowly, opening upon the advancing French
+with their rifles as they did so. The French returned the fire and the
+Germans retreated faster.
+
+Apparently it was not the plan of General Domont to follow up the
+retreating Germans, for there came no order for a charge. Instead, the
+French commander apparently was satisfied with having broken down the
+German attack. He had no intention of sacrificing more of his men in a
+useless pursuit that would bring them again under the mouths of the big
+German guns.
+
+Quickly Hal bent over Chester. The latter had fallen with his face on the
+ground, and this fact undoubtedly had saved his life. He was unconscious
+and his nose was buried in the dirt. He had almost suffocated, but this
+fact had saved him from the poisonous gases. Hal stripped the gas helmet
+from a dead French soldier and slipped it over Chester's head. Then he
+lifted his chum from the ground and started toward the rear, supporting
+the unconscious figure as well as he could.
+
+Several French troopers ran to his assistance. Hal lowered Chester to the
+ground and put both hands under his chum's head. He motioned one of the
+French soldiers to take Chester's feet, and in this manner they carried
+Chester from the danger zone.
+
+Hal did not rest easily until after a French surgeon had pronounced
+Chester little the worse for his experience. Two bayonet wounds in the
+lad's arm were found to be mere scratches.
+
+"He'll pull round in a day or two," said the surgeon. "In the
+meantime it would be well to keep him as quiet as possible, though he
+is in no danger."
+
+Hal thanked the surgeon, and leaving Chester in safe hands, sought out
+General Domont and explained the circumstances to him.
+
+"And I would like to get him back to my own quarters," he concluded.
+
+"Very well," said General Domont. "I shall place an automobile at your
+disposal."
+
+The French officer was as good as his word and in a high-power motor car
+Hal and Chester, the latter having regained consciousness, were soon on
+their way to headquarters, Hal bearing General Domont's report on the
+morning's encounter.
+
+Hal went first to the quarters of General Petain, where he delivered
+General Domont's report; then he accompanied Chester to their own
+quarters, where he made Chester as comfortable as possible.
+
+He was just about to leave Chester alone, when another figure entered the
+tent. It was Stubbs.
+
+"Hello, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester from his cot. "Where have you been
+all summer?"
+
+"Summer?" said Mr. Stubbs, removing his overcoat. "This is the month of
+February."
+
+"All right; have it your own way," said Chester.
+
+"Well, I've just been having a look around," said Stubbs.
+
+"Find out anything more about the conspiracy?" asked Hal.
+
+"What conspiracy?" demanded Stubbs.
+
+"Why, the one you were telling us about the other night," exclaimed
+Chester.
+
+Stubbs looked at the lad critically.
+
+"Wounded to-day, weren't you?" he asked.
+
+"A trifle," returned Chester.
+
+"Any fever?" asked Stubbs.
+
+"No," said Hal. "Why?"
+
+"Why? He's dreaming things. What's this conspiracy he's talking about?"
+
+Chester sat up in his cot.
+
+"You don't mean to tell me you don't remember what you told us about it?"
+he demanded.
+
+Stubbs tapped his head with a significant gesture and nodded to Hal.
+
+"Did you have a surgeon look at him?" he asked.
+
+"Look here, Stubbs--" began Chester angrily.
+
+"Here, here," interposed Hal. "You lie down there, Chester. I'll talk to
+our friend here."
+
+At this Mr. Stubbs moved toward the outside.
+
+"I've got to be going now," he announced.
+
+"Well, you're not going to go until you tell me what all this foolishness
+is about," declared Hal.
+
+"Foolishness?"
+
+"Yes, foolishness. You can't deny, can you, that you told us the other
+night you had unearthed a conspiracy of some kind?"
+
+"I can," said Stubbs, "but I won't. It's my belief that there is
+something wrong with both of you. What would I know about a conspiracy?"
+
+"That's what I would like to know," returned Chester, from his cot.
+"If you won't tell us, I've a notion to tell General Petain what
+you told us."
+
+"I wouldn't if I were you," said Stubbs. "It wouldn't do you any
+good. He probably would think your wound had affected your mind.
+That's what I think."
+
+"Oh, no you don't," said Hal. "You are just trying to keep the thing to
+yourself, whatever it is. Maybe you're going to slip it by the censor to
+the _Gazette_, eh?"
+
+Stubbs made no reply.
+
+"If I thought that, I would tell General Petain," declared Chester.
+
+"It must be a great thing to have such imaginations," said Stubbs with
+something like a sigh. "Some of these days, if you like, I'll get you
+both jobs on the _Gazette_."
+
+"Now look here, Stubbs," said Hal. "Laying all joking aside, are you
+going to tell us about this thing or not?"
+
+"What thing?" demanded Stubbs.
+
+"By George!" ejaculated Hal in exasperation. "You're the limit, Stubbs."
+
+"Sure I am," was the little man's smiling response. "Otherwise, I
+wouldn't be in this tent with you."
+
+"Stubbs," said Chester, a sudden idea striking him, "have we done
+something you don't like?"
+
+"You have," was Stubbs' reply.
+
+"By Jove!" said Hal. "We're sorry for that, Stubbs. We apologize. Will
+you tell us what we've done?"
+
+Stubbs looked at the lad with a peculiar smile on his face. He was silent
+several moments before replying:
+
+"You don't know, eh?"
+
+"Of course not."
+
+Stubbs shrugged his shoulders and started out of the tent.
+
+"Say!" Chester called after him, "are you going to tell us or not?"
+
+"Not!" said Stubbs briefly, and was gone.
+
+"Now what do you think of that?" demanded Chester of his chum.
+
+"There's something wrong with him," was Hal's reply. "I haven't any idea
+what it can be."
+
+"Suppose it is because we were poking fun at him the other night?"
+
+"I don't know. I don't believe he would take a thing like that to heart.
+However, you can't tell."
+
+"Anyhow," said Chester, "we're not likely to find out what it's all about
+until he gets good and ready to tell us."
+
+"You're right, there," returned Hal. "He can be as mum as an oyster when
+he wants to. Well, old boy, I'll leave you alone now and go out and look
+around a bit. Maybe I can stumble on this conspiracy Stubbs talks about."
+
+"You mean the one he won't talk about," said Chester with a smile. "All
+right. Go ahead. I'll take a little snooze."
+
+He rolled over on his side as Hal left the tent.
+
+How long Chester slept he did not know, but it was dark in the tent when
+he opened his eyes.
+
+"Wonder what can be keeping Hal?" he muttered to himself.
+
+He had hardly had spoken the words when a form came through the entrance
+to the tent. Chester was about to speak, for he thought at first that it
+was Hal, but something seemed to tell him to remain silent. The lad,
+therefore, said nothing.
+
+At second glance Chester realized that the figure that had entered the
+tent was not Hal. Neither was it Stubbs.
+
+"Great Scott!" muttered the lad to himself. "Wonder who he is and
+what he wants here? He hasn't seen me though. Guess I'll wait and see
+what happens."
+
+The lad stretched out a hand carefully and drew toward him a camp stool
+upon which he had laid his clothes before going to bed. Without a sound
+he secured one of his revolvers and straightened to a sitting posture.
+
+"I'm ready for whatever happens," he told himself.
+
+The intruder had now taken up such a position in the tent as to command a
+view of the entrance, shielded from sight himself. Chester saw something
+glisten in the man's hand.
+
+"Gun," said the boy to himself. "Guess I can beat him to it."
+
+Came footsteps without. They stopped just outside the tent. Chester
+saw the nocturnal visitor in the tent raise his revolver arm. Chester
+did likewise.
+
+"I'll just shoot that gun out of your hand, my friend," he said quietly.
+
+He took deliberate aim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN UNKNOWN ENEMY
+
+
+The footsteps outside came nearer the entrance. Chester's finger
+tightened on the trigger of his revolver, as he saw the stranger in the
+tent draw himself taut.
+
+At that moment Hal's figure appeared in the entrance.
+
+There were two sharp cracks, so close that they seemed as one, and two
+spurts of flame in the darkness. Came a cry of pain from the stranger in
+the tent and Hal dashed forward.
+
+"Quick, Hal! Grab him!" shouted Chester.
+
+But quick as he was, Hal was not quick enough. With a snarl the man
+jumped toward Hal even as Hal leaped himself. The stranger was of much
+greater bulk than Hal and the lad was hurled to the ground. When he
+regained his feet the stranger had disappeared.
+
+Chester, unmindful of his wound, had leaped from his cot and now ran
+outside. Some distance away he saw a figure disappear in the darkness.
+The lad did not fire a second shot, for at that distance he could not be
+sure of a hit and he did not wish further to alarm the camp.
+
+Hal struck a light and the two chums looked at each other.
+
+"Did you get a look at him, Hal?" asked Chester.
+
+"No, did you?"
+
+"No. He was in the tent for some time, but I waited until I was sure
+what he was going to do before I fired, though I had him covered all
+the time."
+
+"You must be losing your eye. At that distance you should you should have
+potted him without trouble."
+
+"I guess I could have done it this time had I tried," returned Chester.
+"I shot at his revolver."
+
+"Well, I guess you hit it," said Hal. "There it is, right where he
+dropped it. But his bullet whistled pretty close to my ear."
+
+"I suppose I shouldn't have taken a chance," said Chester. "Next time
+I'll shoot to hit something better than a pistol."
+
+"Well, it doesn't make any difference now," said Hal. "He didn't get me.
+I wonder who he is and what he wanted to shoot me for?"
+
+"You've got me, look at the gun and see if there is any mark of
+identification on it."
+
+Hal stooped over and picked up the revolver. He examined it carefully and
+then passed it to Chester.
+
+"Can't find anything," he said.
+
+Chester examined the weapon with no better success.
+
+"Well," he said at last, slowly, "there is one thing certain. You've an
+enemy of some kind in the camp. It will behoove you to be careful in
+the future."
+
+"I suppose the bullet was meant for me," said Hal, "although, of course
+it might have been meant for either you or Stubbs."
+
+"Great Scott! What would anybody want to shoot Stubbs for?"
+
+"Well, you can search me," said Hal with a shrug of his shoulders, "which
+may not be very good English, but expresses my sentiments just the same."
+
+"How about Stubbs' conspiracy? Maybe one of the conspirators has caught
+Stubbs nosing about."
+
+"By Jove! It might be that, after all," said Hal. "I wonder!"
+
+"At all events, we shall all have to be on our guard," declared
+Chester. "We don't know for which of us the bullet was meant. We'll
+have to warn Stubbs."
+
+"So we shall, and if I mistake not here he comes now."
+
+Hal was right. A moment later the rotund face of the little war
+correspondent appeared in the tent entrance.
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal gravely, "you missed getting killed by just about
+five minutes."
+
+The little man started back in alarm.
+
+"Wha--what's that?" he demanded.
+
+"I said you just escaped getting killed."
+
+"But who would want to kill me?" demanded Stubbs, plainly very nervous.
+
+"It might have been one of your conspirators," said Hal. He displayed the
+weapon from which a bullet had sped toward his own head.
+
+"Hey!" shouted Stubbs. "Put that gun down! Don't shoot!"
+
+The little man was so visibly frightened that Hal looked at him in
+surprise.
+
+"Surely you didn't think I was going to shoot you, Mr. Stubbs?" he asked
+in some surprise.
+
+"I don't know," returned Stubbs, wiping a moist brow with his
+handkerchief. "I don't understand you fellows at all. First you said you
+wanted to kill me five minutes ago and there you stand with a gun in your
+hand. What am I to think?"
+
+"Stubbs, you're crazy," said Hal, calmly. "I didn't say I wanted to kill
+you. When I came into the tent just now there was a man took a shot at
+me. I don't know whether he wanted to kill me, or whether he wanted to
+kill you. He may even have been trying to kill Chester. He didn't take
+time to investigate. He fired at the first figure to enter the tent. I
+don't know who he was. Have you any enemies?"
+
+"I--I--Why I don't know," said Stubbs.
+
+"How about the conspirators. Do any of them know you?"
+
+"What conspirators?" demanded Stubbs, and added, "I wish you would quit
+harping on that subject. It's all right to have a little fun with me once
+in a while. I don't mind it; but enough is enough."
+
+Chester was about to make an angry retort, but Hal stayed him with a
+word.
+
+"All right, Stubbs," he said. "If you don't know anything about a
+conspiracy you don't and that's all there is about that. But if you do, I
+should advise you to be careful. I believe that shot was meant for you."
+
+"I am afraid that this tent is going to be dangerous for me," said
+Stubbs, slowly. "I shall remain here no longer."
+
+"What! Not going to leave us, Stubbs?" exclaimed Chester.
+
+"Yes," returned the little man quietly. "If I remain here I'm liable to
+wake up dead some morning, and I wouldn't like that. There's an
+expression in New York that hits me just right. 'Safety first!' I'm going
+to get out of this tent, and I'm going to get out right now, while I'm
+all together."
+
+He hurried to the far side of the tent and got his belongings together.
+Then he moved toward the door. There he paused a moment, as if undecided,
+then walked up to Hal and extended a hand.
+
+"Good-bye, Hal," he said quietly. "I may not see you for some time and
+then again it may be soon."
+
+Hal took the hand as he said:
+
+"Look here, Stubbs, we don't like to lose you."
+
+"I know, I know," said the little man, "but it will be better for all
+concerned."
+
+He approached Chester and extended a hand to him also.
+
+"Come now, Stubbs," said Chester. "Drop those things back down there and
+go to bed."
+
+"Not much," replied Stubbs grimly. "I'm going to hunt a safer spot
+than this."
+
+He released Chester's hand and made his way to the door. There, just
+before moving away, he turned and spoke.
+
+"Boys," he said, "we've been pretty good friends, the three of us,
+haven't we?"
+
+"You bet we have, Stubbs," returned Chester warmly.
+
+"We certainly have, Mr. Stubbs," Hal agreed.
+
+"All right, then," said the little man. "You both have been good enough
+to tell me once or twice that I have been of some service to you."
+
+"You certainly have, Mr. Stubbs," declared Hal, "and anything we can do
+to repay you--"
+
+"Never mind that," said Stubbs with a wave of the hand. "All I want to
+say is this: If, at any time, within a day or two or within a month or
+two, I do anything you don't like, anything that puts you to some
+inconvenience--you will know that I am doing it for your own
+good--because I am fond of both of you and don't want to see you get
+in trouble."
+
+"Say, Stubbs, what on earth are you talking about?" asked Chester in
+great surprise.
+
+"Never mind what I'm talking about," returned Stubbs, half angrily. "I
+just want you to remember what I am saying."
+
+"We'll remember, if that will do you any good," said Chester, "but I wish
+you would tell me what it is all about."
+
+"I may not be talking about anything, and then I may be talking about a
+whole lot," was Stubbs' enigmatical response. "Time will tell."
+
+"Time will tell what, Mr. Stubbs?" demanded Hal.
+
+"Oh, rats!" said Stubbs. "I haven't time to stay here and talk to you
+fellows all night. Just remember what I said. That's all."
+
+He stepped out the tent and was gone.
+
+Hal and Chester gazed at one another in the utmost surprise.
+
+"What in the time of the Czar do you suppose he was talking about?"
+asked Chester.
+
+"I'm not good at conundrums," replied Hal. "He's got something on his
+mind, all right."
+
+"Providing he has a mind left," agreed Chester.
+
+Hal smiled.
+
+"From the way he talked that fact is open to doubt," he replied.
+
+"I didn't think he was a drinking man," said Chester.
+
+"Oh, he was sober enough. By the way, did you notice his hesitation when
+I asked him if he had any enemies?"
+
+"By George! I did. He couldn't answer. I'll bet he knows more about the
+man that fired that shot at you than he is willing to admit."
+
+"It looks like it," Hal agreed. "From his actions, I would judge that the
+shot was meant for him."
+
+"Exactly," said Chester, "and he knows who it was that fired it."
+
+"Well, there is no use talking about it," declared Hal. "We can't
+possibly figure it out ourselves. One thing, though, we shall have to be
+on our guard. The unknown enemy may not know that Stubbs has moved and
+may try again."
+
+"Right," said Chester. "We'll have to sleep with one eye open."
+
+"Oh, we're safe enough to-night," said Hal. "He'll figure we'll be on the
+watch and will postpone his next visit for a day or two. By the way, old
+man, how do you feel?"
+
+"First rate. I'll be as good as new in the morning."
+
+"I hope so. In that event we had better get a little sleep."
+
+"Then you don't think it necessary for one of us to stand watch?"
+
+"No; here goes for bed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+IN THE TRENCHES
+
+
+In some manner, known only to himself, Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent
+of the New York _Gazette_, had ingratiated himself with General Petain,
+the French commander at Verdun. General Petain, upon Stubbs' request,
+agreed that the little war correspondent should be allowed to make a tour
+of the city of Verdun and the surrounding fortifications and view for
+himself the effects of the siege thus far.
+
+An officer of the general staff was assigned by the French commander to
+show Stubbs about. It was the first time a war correspondent had been
+admitted to Verdun and the surrounding fortifications; and because of the
+things that Stubbs learned on the tour, it is fitting that the reader
+take the trip with him.
+
+The officer first led Stubbs to the highest point on the walls encircling
+Verdun and there explained the lay-out of the contending forces. From
+this point of vantage, commanding the battlefield, Verdun looked like the
+center of a huge saucer, with the town lying very low, while all around
+rose an even circle of crests forming the outer edge of the saucer.
+
+The dangerous proximity of the Germans was apparent. At the time that
+Stubbs viewed the battlefield the armies of the Kaiser held a goodly
+portion of these crests, though the battle of Verdun was less than two
+weeks old.
+
+An intermittent bombardment was in progress from Fort Tavennes, Fort
+Soueville, Fort St. Michael and Fort Belleville, which were barking
+steadily and giving off jets of black smoke. The German cannonade sounded
+like a distant roar. The shelling of Verdun was continuing.
+
+Three hundred shells a day had been hurled into Verdun itself during the
+battle, Stubbs was informed by the French officer, upon one day as many
+as 750 having been counted; but the average was 300. As the two stood
+there a French aeroplane was attacked by a German gun, shrapnel bursting
+all around as the machine turned from the German positions and darted
+back to French cover.
+
+The terrible course of the destruction was pointed out by the French
+officer. The town itself had been abandoned by the civil population,
+and even few troops were to be found there. Such shops and houses as
+had escaped the shells were closed and barricaded; and the shells
+continued to fall.
+
+The streets were crumbling ruins, with only jagged walls remaining here
+and there. The cathedral had two shell holes in the roof; the main altar
+was a mass of debris and the side altar was littered with broken
+carvings, statues and chandeliers.
+
+One wing of the handsome military club was torn off and the whole
+establishment was a wreck. The archbishop's residence had its famous
+sculptured walls peppered with shell holes and the adjoining College of
+Marguerite had its delicate stone filigree reduced almost to powder.
+The houses along the Meuse, flanking the principal bridge, were
+literally wrecked.
+
+Sixteen great shells had struck the town hall; one corner of the building
+had been torn off and the clock tower smashed. The mayor's office was
+being used as an emergency butcher shop.
+
+Stubbs' guide now led him to one of the inner forts of the
+fortifications, which was still shelling the Germans. From here Stubbs
+gained a view of the fighting ground of Fleury at close range. Over the
+entrance of the fort was a notice to the garrison that the fort was to be
+levelled in extremity and never surrendered.
+
+Fleury, lying to the right of Verdun, showed not a house standing. The
+great German guns had carried all before them. The whole village was a
+mass of ruins. At the moment the village was in the hands of the French.
+It had been occupied twice by the Germans, but only the day before had
+again been captured by the French. Although Stubbs did not know it, the
+little village was to change hands a score of times more in the months
+that were to follow.
+
+As Stubbs' guide pointed out the various points destroyed by German
+shells, he gave the little man an account of the fighting in each spot.
+He pointed out the advantages of earthen breastworks as against the solid
+walls of fortresses. The effectiveness of the former was very plain.
+
+Stubbs and his guide now returned to the citadel of Verdun, where
+Stubbs thanked General Petain for being allowed to make the tour of
+inspection. Gathered about the commander were many members of his
+staff, who joined in the conversation. Stubbs could not but be
+impressed by the confidence manifested by the officers that Verdun
+could be kept from the Germans, and this in the face of the reverses of
+the past few days. The feeling was summarized in the closing word of
+General Petain, as he bade Stubbs farewell.
+
+"_Au revoir_, Monsieur Stubbs," he said, "until you come back when our
+victory is complete!"
+
+By a series of fierce counter assaults, the French now had driven the
+seasoned veterans of the German Crown Prince from Dead Man's Hill; from
+Hill No. 265, to the north, from Chattancourt and Charny. Back across the
+Meuse the Germans fled from the vicious attacks of the French. Second and
+third line trenches were re-won.
+
+But the French did not stop there. The third day of March found them
+still pushing the Germans and as darkness fell that night, the troops of
+General Petain entrenched themselves just to the east of Thiaumont farm
+and Hill No. 320. A trifle to the south, Fleury was once more in German
+hands, the opposition in this sector having been too much for the French
+to overcome. Almost due east, German guns, wheeled into position at Fort
+Vaux, captured the preceding day, shelled the reconquered positions of
+the French; but the latter stood firm. All night the artillery duel raged
+and the coming of morning found both armies ready for the day's work.
+
+The French opened the day by concentrating heavy artillery upon the
+German positions at Fort Vaux. After a two hours' bombardment, the
+infantry was ordered to the attack. Fresh troops took the places in
+the trenches vacated by the attacking forces and heavy guns covered
+their advance.
+
+A hundred yards or so from the hastily constructed German trenches, the
+thin French lines charged. Their ranks had been sadly depleted as they
+marched across the open ground, but they stuck to the work bravely. Clear
+to the German trenches they ran, a second and still a third line close
+behind; and then the Germans swarmed out to meet them. A fierce
+hand-to-hand encounter ensued with victory crowning German arms. What was
+left of the French attacking party scurried back to their own lines.
+
+The Germans did not wait for a second attack. German buglers sounded an
+advance. Again the Germans swarmed out of their trenches in countless
+thousands and rushed the French trenches.
+
+Hal and Chester at this moment found themselves at the front with orders
+for respective divisional commanders. They remained as the Germans
+charged, sheltered by the huge earthen breastworks.
+
+The fate of the German charge was the same as that of the French a short
+while before. Beaten off after a half hour of fierce fighting, the
+Germans retired to the shelter of their own lines. The great German guns,
+silent while the infantry was engaged, opened up anew on the French
+trenches, dropping shells in profusion.
+
+Hal and Chester stood elbow to elbow watching the destructive work of the
+giant shells. Of a sudden a shell dropped close to them. Hal uttered a
+cry of alarm and made a desperate attempt to drag Chester out of harm's
+way. In this he was partly successful and they had dashed forward a few
+yards before the shell exploded.
+
+With the fury of the blast, great clouds of earth flew high in the air.
+Hal and Chester felt the ground open up beneath them and they gasped for
+breath as they were precipitated into what seemed a bottomless pit. How
+far they fell they could not tell, but it seemed a long ways; and hardly
+had they struck bottom when a shower of earth fell upon them.
+
+Fortunately for them, they were in a section of the trench that was
+protected on either side by artificial abuttments of hard dirt and stones
+thrown up by the troops and these caught heavy beams and rocks and other
+debris that would have showered down upon them and crushed them to death.
+A great log, or such it appeared, came down lengthwise and struck the
+abuttments on either side of the pit into which the lads had fallen; a
+second did likewise and these prevented the shower of rocks and pieces of
+big guns from going through. It was all that saved the lads.
+
+Then more earth fell and covered these and the pit was effectually
+sealed. Below there was no light, and when Hal and Chester regained their
+feet neither could see light above. They groped for each other in the
+dark and at last clasped hands.
+
+"Great Scott! What's happened?" gasped Chester. "Where are we?"
+
+"We are in a pit caused by the explosion of that shell," said Hal,
+quietly. "The next question is how to get out."
+
+He put a hand above his head, but could touch nothing. He tried jumping,
+but with no better success.
+
+"I can't reach the top," he said.
+
+The lads felt around the sides of the pit. The walls were sheer. It was
+useless to think of getting up that way.
+
+"Well, we're up against it," said Hal. "I don't know how we are to get
+out of here. By Jove! It's lucky we weren't killed by the shell."
+
+"We might just as well have been as to die down here," said Chester.
+
+"Buck up, old man," said Hal. "We're not dead yet and while there's life
+there's hope. We've been in some ticklish positions before and pulled
+through all right."
+
+"We were never in a hole like this before," said Chester.
+
+Hal had made his way to one side of the pit.
+
+"Here," he called to Chester, "you climb up on my shoulders and see if
+you can reach the top."
+
+Chester did as Hal suggested and his efforts were rewarded by touching
+something overhead.
+
+"What luck?" asked Hal.
+
+"Good," said Chester. "I have touched something. Feels like a log."
+
+"Can you pull it loose?"
+
+"If I do we're likely to be crushed down here."
+
+"If you don't we're likely to suffocate down here," returned Hal. "I can
+scarcely get my breath now. We'll have to take a chance."
+
+"Then I'll have a try at it," said Chester. "Be ready to crouch close to
+the side of the pit when I give the word. I'll come down on top of you
+and we'll trust to luck that the debris falls clear."
+
+"All right," said Hal. "Yell when you're ready."
+
+Again Chester tested the covering with his hands. At last he struck a
+spot where he could obtain a grip. He decided to throw his weight on it
+and see if it would come down. He took a firm hold and then called:
+
+"All right, Hal! Stoop quickly!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+UNEXPECTED VISITORS
+
+
+Came a low, rumbling sound from overhead and a shower of dirt poured
+down on Hal as he crouched in his corner. Chester still swung to and fro
+from above. The lad felt something give, and believing that the mass
+above was about to fall, he dropped quickly alongside Hal and buried his
+face in his arms.
+
+But nothing happened.
+
+Directly Chester rose to his feet.
+
+"I thought it was coming," he said to Hal. "Guess I didn't hang on long
+enough. I'll have another try. Lend me your shoulders again."
+
+Hal also stood up and took his position. Chester clambered up and again
+explored the covering with his fingers. At the first touch there was
+another shower of earth.
+
+"Won't take a whole lot to move it, I guess," he said.
+
+"Hurry, then," enjoined Hal. "The air is stifling down here."
+
+Chester himself felt that he was suffocating and realized the need
+for haste.
+
+"All right," he said. "Here's hoping we're not crushed to death. Down
+when I give the word."
+
+Again his fingers found a hold and he braced himself for the shock.
+
+"Down!" he cried suddenly.
+
+Hal dropped.
+
+A second time came the dull rumbling from above as Chester swayed to and
+fro in his precarious position. Then the lad felt the covering give. One
+instant longer he hung on, for he felt that he would have no strength for
+a third attempt should this fail.
+
+And then, with a roar, the mass of debris above came tumbling down.
+
+Chester swung himself close to the side of the pit even as he felt the
+covering give and came down a short distance from Hal. He covered his
+head as well as he could and waited for he knew not what.
+
+It was not long coming.
+
+Something struck the lad a sharp blow upon the shoulder, numbing it.
+Behind him the lad heard rocks and other debris crashing to the bottom.
+Holding his breath, he waited for the blow he felt sure must come from
+above and unconsciously his right hand stretched out toward where he knew
+Hal to be.
+
+But nothing struck him. After five seconds of the terrible roaring, there
+was silence. Chester looked up. There was light above. Chester uttered a
+short prayer of thankfulness and rose to his feet.
+
+"All right, Hal," he said, still looking above, while he rubbed his
+injured shoulder.
+
+There was no reply.
+
+Chester looked quickly about him. There was no sign of Hal.
+
+"Great Scott! What can have happened to him?" he asked himself anxiously.
+
+Quickly he fell to hands and knees and explored the bottom of the pit.
+There, where he knew Hal should be, he felt a mound of earth.
+
+"Great Scott! He's buried!" cried Chester.
+
+Frantically he set to work with his bare hands to uncover Hal.
+
+In a few moments his efforts were rewarded. He exposed Hal's arm. From
+the position the arm was in Chester was able to locate his chum's head.
+This he uncovered quickly, for he feared that his friend might suffocate.
+Then he bent over Hal and listened.
+
+Hal was breathing faintly.
+
+Chester uttered a cry of relief and proceeded to uncover the rest of his
+friend's body. This done, he set about reviving Hal, who was unconscious.
+
+Chester rubbed Hal's hands vigorously, and was at last rewarded by
+hearing Hal sigh. A moment later Hal spoke.
+
+"What's happened?" he asked.
+
+"Well, it looks like the world caved in on you," returned Chester.
+"Fortunately, appearances are deceitful. I yanked the log loose from
+above and you were buried in the dirt. Fortunately, I got you out in
+time. How do you feel?"
+
+"I don't feel very chipper," was the faint reply; "but I guess I'm
+all right."
+
+"Can you get up?"
+
+"Don't know; I'll try."
+
+He made the effort, and with Chester's assistance, soon stood leaning
+against one side of the pit. He looked up.
+
+"Quite a ways up there," he said. "How are we going to make it?"
+
+"Think you can climb up on my shoulders, pull yourself out and then lend
+me a hand?"
+
+"I don't believe so. Guess I can brace myself while you climb up,
+though."
+
+"Good, we'll try it."
+
+Once more Chester climbed to Hal's shoulder while the latter braced
+himself against one wall of the pit. He took a firm hold on the edge
+above and drew himself up with little difficulty. He was about to reach
+down and lend Hal a hand when he happened to look toward the east.
+
+"Good night!" he exclaimed and disappeared into the pit in a hurry.
+
+"What's the matter?" demanded Hal, who had not overheard his friend's
+ejaculation.
+
+"Matter!" echoed Chester. "There are about ten millions coming this way
+on the dead run. The French have retreated!"
+
+"Hm-m-m," said Hal; "and what are we going to do?"
+
+"Bide here for a spell, I expect," was Chester's answer.
+
+"Guess you're right. They may not notice us down here. We'll play we're a
+couple of mice and see how still we can keep."
+
+"Good! Listen! I hear 'em coming!"
+
+Above them, to one side, they could hear the trampling of many feet as
+the Germans passed the pit.
+
+"Guess we're safe enough so long as we stay down here," said Chester.
+
+"But we're going to have trouble reaching the French lines if the Germans
+are permitted to camp out hereabouts," declared Hal.
+
+"Well, maybe the French will chase them back again," said Chester,
+hopefully.
+
+"Maybe," Hal repeated, "and then maybe not. Now, if we--hello!"
+
+He broke off suddenly. From above there had come muttered exclamations of
+alarm, two bodies came hurtling through space and struck the bottom of
+the pit with loud thumps.
+
+"Grab 'em, Hal!" shouted Chester, and leaped across the pit.
+
+Hal followed suit, for the two bodies that had tumbled through space
+were nothing less than German soldiers who had failed to see the
+opening above.
+
+They were taken by surprise when two forms leaped on them below, but they
+put up a fight.
+
+"Tap 'em over the head with your gun!" shouted Chester.
+
+He had drawn his revolver as he leaped forward and now suited the action
+to the word. The German toppled over with a groan.
+
+Hal, however, had not drawn his weapon, and was now locked in the arms of
+the second German, as they rolled over and over in the bottom of the pit.
+Weakened by his recent experience he was getting the worst of it.
+
+Chester took in the situation at a glance and leaped forward. At the
+moment Hal was on top and the German stared up at Chester. Seeing a
+second foe he raised a loud cry for help.
+
+This was what Chester had been afraid of. He didn't want any more Germans
+down there if he could help it.
+
+"Turn him over, Hal!" he cried. "Let me get a whack at him with my gun."
+
+By a desperate effort Hal obeyed and the German rolled on top of him. One
+more loud cry he gave and then Chester silenced him with a sharp blow of
+his revolver butt.
+
+Chester stepped back with an exclamation of relief and Hal dragged
+himself from beneath his now unconscious adversary.
+
+"A tough customer, that fellow," he remarked.
+
+"You'd have done for him if you hadn't been so weak," Chester replied. "I
+didn't think we might have callers down here."
+
+"Neither did I," returned Hal, "but I'm glad they came."
+
+"Why?" demanded Chester in surprise.
+
+"We can borrow their uniforms if it's necessary," Hal explained.
+
+"By Jove! I hadn't thought of that," exclaimed Chester. "A good plan."
+
+"Of course it may not be necessary," said Hal. "If the Germans
+should be driven back it would be unnecessary. We'll wait until
+after dark and see."
+
+"In the meantime we had better tie these fellows up," said Chester. "One
+of them is coming to now. He may not know when he's properly licked and
+want to continue the fight."
+
+"Better gag 'em, too," said Hal. "I noticed that one fellow had pretty
+good lungs."
+
+The lads removed their belts and with these bound the hands of their
+captives. They had nothing to tie their legs, but they didn't feel there
+was much danger of the men crawling out of the pit with their arms bound.
+They gagged them with their handkerchiefs.
+
+A few moments later one of the Germans staggered to his feet and gazed at
+the two lads in astonishment. The second also soon regained consciousness
+and apparently was no less surprised. Both lads kept their revolvers
+handy, for they weren't sure whether the Germans might not attack them,
+bound and gagged as they were.
+
+Hal addressed them.
+
+"We expect to keep you company for some time," he said, "and we don't
+want any foolishness. The first false move will be your last. Get over
+there in the corner."
+
+The men obeyed, growling to themselves.
+
+Hal and Chester listened for sounds above that would indicate the retreat
+of the Germans and the advance of the French. No such sounds came; and
+with the fall of darkness Hal said:
+
+"Well, I guess we had better change clothes with these fellows and make a
+break for it."
+
+"Good!" agreed Chester. "We'll have to unbind them while they disrobe.
+We'll strip one at a time. You hold the gun while I do the work."
+
+"Well, I guess everything is all ready," said Chester, when they were at
+last garbed in the German uniforms and the men were safely tied up again.
+"We may as well be moving."
+
+"All right," said Hal, "climb up on my shoulders. I'll keep my gun on
+these two fellows in the meantime. Can't trust 'em."
+
+Chester followed Hal's instructions and a moment later gazed out of
+the pit. Ahead he could see moving forms, but there was no one close
+to the pit.
+
+"Coast clear," he called to Hal. "Here I go. Be ready when I reach
+down for you."
+
+He pulled himself up.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THROUGH THE LINES
+
+
+"Ready, Hal?"
+
+"All ready."
+
+Hal stretched up his hands, and Chester, leaning far over the pit, seized
+them and pulled. Hal came slowly upwards.
+
+Suddenly he gave a cry of pain and twisted and squirmed vigorously.
+Chester became alarmed.
+
+"What's the matter?" he asked quickly.
+
+"One of those fellows bit me in the leg!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+It was true.
+
+As Hal had soared upward, one of the Germans had sprung forward, and
+being unable to free his hands, had seized the fleshy part of Hal's leg
+between his teeth. Evidently the gag had not been properly adjusted.
+
+"Kick him loose!" cried Chester.
+
+Hal obeyed instructions. The German uttered a loud cry--another sign that
+the lads had gagged him too carelessly.
+
+In kicking out at the German, Hal had used too much violence and had
+jerked loose from Chester's hold. Down into the pit he plunged again.
+Apparently believing that Hal had come back with the intention of
+silencing him forever, the ungagged German gave vent to a series of
+loud cries.
+
+"Quick, Chester!" called Hal. "Pull me out of here before this fellow
+brings down the whole German army."
+
+Chester leaned over and again seized Hal by the hands and pulled. Once
+more the German below sprang forward and attempted to sink his teeth in
+Hal's leg. Hal, realizing what the man was about, kicked out suddenly
+before the German could obtain his hold, and the lad's heavy shoe caught
+the man squarely in the mouth. One more cry the German gave and then
+toppled over.
+
+"Quick Chester!" cried Hal, again.
+
+With an effort Chester dragged Hal from the pit.
+
+Hal stood up and both lads dusted the dirt from their clothes.
+
+"Now the sooner we get away from this spot the better," said Chester.
+
+They advanced directly west toward the extreme German front.
+
+"We'll have to depend on boldness to take us through," said Hal. "It is
+unlikely that we shall be questioned until we reach the outposts and then
+we'll have to make a break for it."
+
+"Suits me," said Chester.
+
+They walked along leisurely, passing countless German soldiers standing
+about; but little attention was paid to them. Occasionally a man nodded
+to them and the lads returned the salutation.
+
+Gradually they drew away from the main body of troops and neared the
+outposts. Here German troopers were engaged in throwing up breastworks
+against a possible attack by the French in the morning.
+
+"Guess we won't have far to go if we can get beyond the outposts,"
+muttered Hal. "These preparations indicate the Germans have just won this
+ground. The French can't be far away."
+
+Chester nodded in token of assent, and at that moment they came up to the
+workers. Casually they stood and watched the German soldiers digging for
+a few moments; then wandered in among them, keeping close together.
+
+"When I give the word!" whispered Hal.
+
+Chester nodded.
+
+"Now!"
+
+Hal gave the word suddenly.
+
+Immediately the two lads took to their heels.
+
+For a moment the Germans were stunned by the very audacity of the two
+lads. Then entrenching tools dropped to the ground and the men seized
+their rifles and fired a volley after the two boys. But in the time it
+had taken them to lay aside their tools and pick up their weapons the
+lads had disappeared in the darkness and now hurled themselves to the
+ground, anticipating such a volley.
+
+In the darkness the Germans could hope to hit them only by accident.
+
+Springing to their feet again, the lads ran forward, bearing off slightly
+to the north, and soon felt they were safe.
+
+They slowed down and approached the French lines cautiously. Presently
+they beheld the first French entrenchment. As they drew close a French
+soldier poked up his head and levelled a rifle at them.
+
+"Halt!" he cried. "Who goes there?"
+
+"Friends!" returned Hal.
+
+"Advance friends," came the soldier's next words while he still held his
+rifle ready.
+
+Hal and Chester advanced to the very edge of the trench. There the
+soldier took a good look at their faces and noticed the German uniforms.
+Up went his rifle again and he would have pulled the trigger with the gun
+aimed squarely at Hal had not Chester leaped quickly forward and struck
+up the weapon.
+
+The two clinched.
+
+"You fool!" cried Chester. "We are not Germans!"
+
+Other soldiers now came running up. They gathered about the two figures
+in German uniforms. An officer approached. Fortunately, he recognized the
+two boys and waved the men away.
+
+"These men are all right," he said.
+
+The soldiers drew off, satisfied, all but the man who would have fired
+point blank at Hal. He stood there and eyed the lad sullenly. Then, for
+the first time, Hal obtained a good look at him. The lad recognized him
+instantly. He was the same man who had directed the hazing of young Jules
+Clemenceau a short time before.
+
+As the Frenchman leered at him evilly, Hal walked close to him.
+
+"It's my belief you knew me all the time," he declared quietly.
+
+"What of it?" the Frenchman demanded.
+
+"Why," said Hal, "only that if I were sure, I'd pull your nose for you."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed the Frenchman. "I'd like to see you try it. You caught me
+off my guard the other night. You can't do it again."
+
+"I don't particularly care to do it," returned Hal, quietly, "because
+you're not worth it; but if I start I'll probably go through with it."
+
+Again the Frenchman sneered at him.
+
+Further conversation was prevented by the appearance of a French
+lieutenant who had observed the trouble.
+
+"Matin!" he ordered. "Back to your post at once, sir."
+
+The latter saluted respectfully enough, but he gave Hal another evil look
+as he walked away.
+
+"He's no friend of yours, that's sure," said the young French officer to
+Hal, with a smile.
+
+"I am glad to say he's not," replied Hal, quietly. "I don't believe I'd
+care for a friend like that."
+
+"I don't blame you," was the young officer's response. "Matin has a bad
+reputation and I would advise you to keep your eye on him."
+
+"Thanks," said Hal. "I shall remember that. By the way, can you tell me
+just where we are?"
+
+"Thiaumont farm," returned the French officer; "or, rather, I should say,
+just east of Thiaumont farm. You two fellows look somewhat done up. If
+you will go to the farm you will find a place to sleep in the farmhouse.
+By some trick of fate the house and barn still stand, although everything
+else in this vicinity has been knocked to pieces by the big guns."
+
+"Thanks," said Hal, again. "We shall take your advice. We are pretty
+tired and a sleep will help out. It's too far back to our own quarters
+when there is a place to bunk so handy."
+
+The two lads left the young officer and made their way to the farmhouse.
+Here they found a number of French officers already installed, but the
+latter gladly made room for them.
+
+"No beds," said one with a laugh, "but there is plenty of room on
+the floor."
+
+"I guess a bed would be too much to expect," said Chester, also
+laughing. "Besides, it's been so long since I slept in one I don't
+believe I could rest."
+
+"The floor is plenty good enough for me," Hal agreed.
+
+"Help yourselves then. You can pick out your own room."
+
+"Guess we'll go upstairs then," said Hal. "It'll probably be more quiet
+up there. These fellows down here are having too much fun to care about
+sleep," and he waved his arm toward one corner of the room, where a group
+of young French officers were engaged in a game of cards.
+
+The two boys made their way upstairs and found a room to their liking in
+the rear of the house. Here they stretched themselves out on the floor
+and were asleep immediately. There were no other occupants of the room.
+
+Outside the moon was shining, and it cast a beam of light into the room
+where the two chums lay asleep. Several hours after the boys had closed
+their eyes in sleep, the figure of a man appeared in the window without.
+After some experimenting he opened the window softly and came in. He
+closed the window gently behind him.
+
+Chester stirred in his sleep and the man shrank back against the wall in
+the darkness. For perhaps five minutes he remained there, and then, as
+there was no further move by the sleeper, he advanced into the center of
+the room. The light fell upon his face, and had the boys been awake, they
+would have recognized in the intruder, Matin, the man who had attempted
+to shoot Hal a short time before.
+
+Matin approached the two sleepers quietly, seeking to make sure which was
+Hal. He examined each closely and then grinned as he stepped back a pace
+or two, apparently satisfied.
+
+From the next room there came the sound of footsteps and again Matin
+shrank back against the wall. Directly the footsteps moved away and Matin
+drew a breath of relief.
+
+From his pocket now he produced a knife, examined it carefully and
+grinned again. Looking carefully about to make sure that there was no one
+in the room to observe him, he stepped forward.
+
+Had he turned his head at that moment he would have seen a second figure
+lowering itself just inside the room. But so intent was Matin upon the
+dark deed ahead of him that, after his one observation of the room, he
+did not look again.
+
+The second figure was creeping after Matin now. He was not far behind,
+but still he was not close enough to touch the first intruder. Matin took
+two quick steps forward and raised his arm. Then he bent on one knee.
+
+The arm flashed down!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM
+
+
+But the knife never reached its mark.
+
+There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered
+to the floor. Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second
+intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
+
+Hal arose to his feet slowly. In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
+Chester, awakened by the shot, leaped quickly to his feet and his
+revolver flashed in his hand.
+
+"What's happened?" he exclaimed.
+
+"My friend Matin here tried to do for me," said Hal, pointing. "I
+shot him."
+
+Chester rushed to the side of the two figures across the room. Then, for
+the first time, the identity of the second figure was established. It was
+Jules Clemenceau.
+
+Hal also approached and bent over. He took Jules by the arm.
+
+"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
+
+"I followed Matin," replied Jules, rising to his feet. "I saw you when
+you entered the trench from the German lines. After you had gone I
+heard Matin threaten to kill you. We were relieved at the same time,
+and suspecting that he might be up to some mischief, I followed him. I
+was too far behind to do any good. I was so frightened that I could
+not cry out."
+
+"How did you happen to see him, Hal?" asked Chester.
+
+"I don't know," was Hal's reply. "I was awakened just as Jules here came
+through the window. I was about to call out when I saw Matin coming
+toward me with drawn knife. I drew my revolver quietly and waited. I
+wanted him to get close enough so I would not miss. My arm was doubled
+under me and I wasn't certain at that distance."
+
+"Is he dead?" asked Chester as Hal bent over the body.
+
+"No," said Hal. "I didn't shoot to kill him. I shot him through the
+shoulder."
+
+"Then he should regain consciousness pretty quick," declared Chester.
+
+"Oh, he's conscious right now," said Hal. "He's just shamming a bit.
+Isn't that so, Matin?"
+
+Matin sat up.
+
+"What of it?" he demanded.
+
+"Nothing," returned Hal, "except that the next time you come near me,
+except in the performance of duty, you will not get off so lightly."
+
+"Are you going to let him go?" asked Jules, in surprise.
+
+"What did you expect me to do with him?" demanded Hal.
+
+"Shoot him again."
+
+Hal was forced to smile at the grimness of the boy's tones.
+
+"No," he said quietly, "I have done him injury enough for one time.
+Let him go."
+
+"But he will try to kill you again!"
+
+"If he does, he will wish he hadn't," was Hal's reply.
+
+He turned and prodded Matin with the toe of his boot. "Get up and get out
+of here," he said sharply.
+
+Cringingly, Matin obeyed. He slunk out of the room without a word.
+
+"Now I can breath easier," declared Hal. "His presence contaminated
+the air."
+
+"I am afraid you let him off too easily, Hal," said Chester. "You at
+least should report him and have him put in a safe place."
+
+"I guess I am big enough to fight my own battles, Chester," said Hal.
+"The French officers have enough to do without worrying about men like
+Matin. Besides, I don't really believe he will bother me again."
+
+And so the subject was dismissed. Jules took his departure and Hal and
+Chester again lay down to sleep. Chester was just about to doze when a
+sudden thought struck him.
+
+"I say, Hal," he called.
+
+"What's the trouble now?"
+
+"Do you suppose it could have been Matin who shot at you that night in
+our quarters?"
+
+"I don't know. I hardly think so, though. I believe that gentleman called
+to pay his respects to Stubbs."
+
+"But--"
+
+"Come, Chester," said Hal, "it's getting late and I am going to get six
+good hours' sleep."
+
+But Hal was mistaken. There was to be yet another interruption to the
+slumber of the two lads. It came suddenly and unexpectedly.
+
+It was still an hour before dawn when the German artillery broke forth
+afresh, thousands of guns hurling death upon the sleeping French lines.
+The men were awake in an instant and rushed to their positions. Out of
+the first confusion order came promptly as officers issued sharp
+commands. Officers and men had the same thought. The heavy bombardment
+presaged a new German assault.
+
+Hal and Chester had sprung from the floor at the sound of the first
+salvo. Rushing from the farmhouse, they watched the troops form and move
+forward. The defenders of the first line trenches already were engaged by
+the German infantry when Hal and Chester reached the open, and
+reinforcements were being rushed forward as rapidly as possible.
+
+Unassigned for the moment, Hal and Chester were undecided as to what to
+do. Chester settled the matter.
+
+"We'll stay here," he decided. "There is no need of our going forward. We
+will only be in the way now. If we are needed, of course, it will be
+different."
+
+Hal agreed with his chum and the two remained where they were.
+
+The terrible thunder of the great guns ceased now and there broke out the
+crash of rifle fire. This told Hal and Chester that the German infantry
+was charging the trenches.
+
+And this was indeed the case. In great waves of humanity the German
+assault poured on. Into the trenches the men threw themselves, dying by
+the hundreds; but there were always more to take their places. While the
+attack had not been exactly a surprise, the French nevertheless had been
+caught off their guard and the first advantage was with the Germans.
+
+As wave after wave of humanity poured into the trenches, the French broke
+and fled. Toward Hal and Chester they came, making for the protection of
+the next line of entrenchments just beyond Thiaumont farm. Hal and
+Chester stepped within the farmhouse to watch the flight.
+
+"We can't remain here long," Chester shouted to make himself heard above
+the din and crash of musketry.
+
+Hal nodded his understanding and turned again to the window.
+
+At that moment a body of French infantry, perhaps 200 strong, dashed
+directly for the farmhouse. Through the doors they poured and rushed to
+the windows and manned them.
+
+Some rushed upstairs, under the direction of the single officer with them
+and others descended into the basement.
+
+"By Jove! They are going to make a stand here!" cried Chester.
+
+"Right!" Hal agreed. "Here is a chance for us to do some good. We'll
+offer our services to this officer."
+
+The lads had discarded their German uniforms soon after their return to
+the French lines and were again attired in regulation French costume,
+with which they had been provided. They now approached the French officer
+who was busy directing the disposition of his men.
+
+"We would be glad, sir," said Hal, "if you would put us to work."
+
+The officer glanced at them keenly.
+
+"Officers, I perceive," he said. "Your names, please?"
+
+The boys gave them.
+
+"Good," said the Frenchman. "Lieutenant Paine, you shall take charge of
+the second floor. Lieutenant Crawford, you will command in the basement.
+I have orders to hold this position, come what may."
+
+"Very good, sir."
+
+The two boys saluted.
+
+"To your posts, then!"
+
+Hal dashed upstairs and Chester descended quickly below.
+
+Hal gazed quickly about the front room upstairs as he entered it.
+There were three windows. It was the only room facing east. There were
+two other rooms on the floor, and Hal quickly posted men at the
+windows of each.
+
+In the basement Chester found that the only two windows fronted east. He
+had not much to guard. He gazed upon the men under his command and
+quickly selected five.
+
+"The rest of you go upstairs," he commanded. "Six of us will be enough
+here. The hard fighting will be done above, if it is done at all."
+
+The five men selected nodded their approval of the boys' understanding of
+the situation. They could see he was young in years, but from the way in
+which he issued orders they realized that he was old in experience.
+
+A moment later the French officer in command came downstairs. He
+approached Chester.
+
+"In the excitement," he said, "I forgot to tell you my name. I am Captain
+Leroux. I came down to see if you are all ready."
+
+"All ready, sir," said Chester, saluting.
+
+"Good!" The officer took his departure.
+
+On the first floor he attended to several important details in the matter
+of placing his men to best advantage and then ascended to where Hal was
+in command. He gave his name to the latter and commended the manner in
+which Hal had stationed his men.
+
+"Very good, Lieutenant Paine," he said. "I see that I may depend
+upon you."
+
+"And upon my friend below, sir," replied Hal; "and upon the men
+with me here."
+
+The soldiers gave a cheer at these words and Hal knew that they would
+fight to the last.
+
+Captain Leroux peered from the window.
+
+"Not in sight yet," he muttered. He turned again to Hal. "Two hours,
+Lieutenant," he said.
+
+"We'll hold 'em, sir," was Hal's quiet response. "We'll hold them if it
+can be done."
+
+"My instructions," returned the captain, "are that they must be held."
+
+"Very well, sir. Then they shall be held."
+
+Hal saluted and turned to the window.
+
+And now there hove into sight in the early morning light countless
+numbers of German infantrymen at a charge. They had discovered the fact
+that the French held the farmhouse, and although their officers had no
+means of ascertaining the French strength at that point, they realized
+that it must be won before there could be a general advance. So they
+ordered the charge.
+
+"Here they come, sir," said Hal, quietly.
+
+Captain Leroux dashed down the stairs without making reply.
+
+"Let them come close, men," ordered Hal, "and when I give the word let
+them have it for all you're worth. Make every shot count."
+
+His words were greeted with a cheer. Each man was in position. Each man's
+finger was on the trigger. A moment of silence and then Hal ordered:
+
+"Fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE FIGHT
+
+
+The front of the farmhouse broke into a sheet of flame.
+
+At almost the same moment, Captain Leroux on the floor below, and Chester
+in the basement, gave the command to fire and the first line of
+approaching Germans seemed to crumple up.
+
+But the men behind came on.
+
+Again and again effective volleys were fired from the farmhouse; but
+despite their heavy losses and urged on by commands of their
+officers, the Germans pressed forward until they were at the very
+side of the house.
+
+As they approached they fired volley after volley at the windows behind
+which the defenders stood calmly; and the French had not gone unscathed.
+
+In the basement, where Chester was in command, no German bullet had gone
+so far, but Hal had lost three men and Captain Leroux five. As quickly as
+these fell others took their places at the windows and continued to fire
+steadily into the German ranks.
+
+Came a heavy battering at the front door. A force of Germans had reached
+this point in spite of the fire of the French and now were attempting to
+batter it down. Without exposing themselves too recklessly the French
+could not reach this party of Germans with rifle fire.
+
+Captain Leroux quickly told off ten men to guard the entrance the moment
+the door should give beneath the kicks and blows of the enemy.
+
+"Ten men should be as good as a hundred there," he explained. "Pick them
+off as they rush through. Aim carefully and make every shot count."
+
+He turned back to the work of directing the fire from the windows.
+
+The battering at the door continued. One of the defenders, thinking to
+dispose of a member of the enemy in such close proximity, stuck his head
+out and brought his rifle to bear upon the foe in the doorway; but before
+he could accomplish his object he fell back inside with a groan. A German
+bullet had done its work.
+
+"No more of that!" ordered Captain Leroux, sharply. "I need every man I
+have. No need to expose yourselves uselessly."
+
+After that no French head appeared above the window sill farther than was
+necessary to aim and fire.
+
+In the basement Chester and his men had had little to do so far. True,
+they had been able to pick off a German or two, but their position was
+such that they could be of little value at the moment. Their time was to
+come later.
+
+On the top floor Hal, because of his position, was better able to command
+a view of the open field ahead than Captain Leroux in the room below. The
+fire of Hal's men, therefore, was more effective than of the French on
+the ground floor.
+
+Below there was a crash as the door splintered beneath the battering
+tactics brought into play by the Germans who had gained the shelter of
+the house and were able to continue work without molestation. The ten
+Frenchmen told off by Captain Leroux to defend the entrance held their
+rifles ready, waiting for the first German head to appear in the opening.
+
+But the door was of stout oak, and though it seemed on the point of
+giving under each succeeding blow, it still held. Hoarse guttural cries
+from without indicated that the Germans were becoming impatient to get at
+the French within. Came an extra violent crash and the door suddenly gave
+way. Three Germans, who had been leaning against the door, caught off
+their balance, were precipitated headlong into the room. It was
+unfortunate--for them.
+
+Before they could scramble to their feet, the French had placed them
+beyond all hopes of further fighting. Their days of war were over.
+
+But other Germans poured into the door behind them and leaped forward
+over the prostrate forms of their comrades. Calmly, the ten French
+soldiers, far back against the wall and a little to one side, so as to be
+out of direct line of fire from the open doorway, fired into the surging
+mass of humanity. And their fire was deadly and effective. In almost less
+time than it takes to tell it the doorway was choked with German dead.
+
+It was a gruesome sight and even the French soldiers, used as they were
+to such spectacles, shuddered inwardly. It seemed foolhardy for the enemy
+to seek entrance to the house through that blocked door. Even the Germans
+realized it and would have drawn back but for the fact that their
+officers, farther back, urged them on with cries and imprecations.
+
+Again there was a concerted rush for the door.
+
+The pile of prostrate German forms served as a shield for the defenders
+and behind this barrier of bodies the men took their posts and poured a
+withering fire into the ranks of the attackers. This deadly fire was more
+than the Germans could face, and in spite of the frantic efforts of their
+officers, they drew off.
+
+"I didn't think they could make it," shouted Captain Leroux. "Good
+work, men!"
+
+A cheer went up from the defenders. But the men knew the calibre of these
+German veterans and they realized that the attack had not been given up.
+They knew that the Germans, with their superior numbers, would not desist
+and that eventually they must be overwhelmed.
+
+"Two hours!" Captain Leroux had said.
+
+Hardly a quarter of that time had flown and in it had been crowded
+desperate work that well would have been enough for the day. The men were
+tired, but they were not willing to admit it. Each had told himself that
+he would die at his post rather than surrender.
+
+There came a lull in the fighting.
+
+To the war-seasoned veterans of France this lull told a story of its own.
+It presaged a new and more violent attempt on the part of the Germans to
+force the farmhouse. Captain Leroux knew it. So did Hal and Chester, and
+at their various stations they gave quick commands to their men.
+
+Taking care not to expose himself too much, he gazed from the window. His
+action did not even bring a shot. This increased the lad's suspicions.
+
+"Trying to draw us out," he muttered. "Want us to think they have given
+up the attempt. Never mind, Mr. German, you are not shrewd enough."
+
+The defenders waited patiently; and presently the Germans again advanced
+to the attack, even as Hal and Chester had known they would.
+
+Forward came the Teuton horde in a charge. From a distance of perhaps 500
+yards, they dashed across the open at full speed, apparently bent upon
+overawing the defenders by the very appearance of such numbers.
+
+But the French did not quail. The weight of numbers meant nothing to
+them. It was not the first time they had stood firmly against
+overwhelming odds, and there was not a man in the farmhouse who did not
+fully expect to survive the present battle and be ready to face
+overwhelming odds again. Each man knew well enough that before the
+fighting was over it was ten to one that there would be but a handful
+of the defenders left, but each man was confident he would be one of
+that number.
+
+They poured a galling fire into the ranks of the Germans as they advanced
+to the charge.
+
+The effect of this steady stream of rifle fire, accurate and deadly at
+such close range, was bound to tell. In spite of the urging of their
+officers, the Germans wavered. The lines behind the first surged forward,
+however, pushing the men in front closer to the deadly fire of the
+French. Those in front pushed back and for a moment there was wild
+confusion without.
+
+In vain German officers rushed in among the troops, trying to rally them.
+It was too late. The Germans had become demoralized. A moment and they
+broke and fled. It was every man for himself.
+
+The French within the farmhouse raised a wild cheer and poured volley
+after volley into the fleeing Germans. Men tumbled right and left. The
+German losses in the retreat were greater even than they had been in
+the advance.
+
+Hal, who had been working like a Trojan, wiped the beads of perspiration
+from his forehead with his shirt sleeve--the work had become so hot that
+the lad had removed his coat, though it was still cold without--and spoke
+words of encouragement to his men.
+
+"Good work, boys," he said quietly. "A few more like that and they will
+bother us no more."
+
+Even as he spoke the lad knew that his words meant nothing. He knew the
+Germans would not give up until they had captured the farmhouse or had
+been driven back by the weight of superior numbers, and at that moment it
+did not appear that reinforcements would arrive.
+
+The troops also knew that Hal's words meant nothing, but they cheered
+him anyhow. They realized that he had spoken as he did merely to
+encourage them; and they liked the spirit that inspired the words. They
+knew that Hal was fully competent of judging the hopelessness of the
+task ahead of them.
+
+"The captain said to hold them two hours, sir," said one grizzled old
+veteran to Hal. "How long has it been now, sir?"
+
+Hal glanced at his watch. "One hour exactly."
+
+"Good!" exclaimed the French soldier. "One half of the work done and most
+of us are still here. We'll hold them!"
+
+"Of course we'll hold them, Francois," exclaimed another. "Surely you
+didn't think we couldn't do it?"
+
+"Well," was the reply. "It's a pretty big job and--"
+
+"But we were ordered to hold them for two hours," protested the other.
+
+"Of course," returned the man addressed as Francois. "That settles it.
+Two hours are two hours."
+
+"Right," said the other. "Also two hours are only two hours, which makes
+it that much better."
+
+"But at the end of two hours, then what?" asked a third soldier.
+
+The man who had first engaged Francois in conversation shrugged his
+shoulders.
+
+"That," he said, "is not for us to decide. But we will not be forgotten,
+you may be sure of that. Our general will see that we are relieved."
+
+"You may rest assured on that score," Hal agreed. "Having picked you as
+the men to defend this important position, it is not to be expected that
+he will see you all sacrificed."
+
+There was another cheer from the men, followed a moment later by a shout
+from one at the front window.
+
+"Here they come again, sir!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+HAL LEADS A SORTIE
+
+
+Hal sprang forward and gave a quick look at the enemy.
+
+Apparently, the assault was to be made on the same plan as before. After
+the last retreat of the enemy, their officers had succeeded in re-forming
+them beyond the zone of French fire and now were about to hurl the troops
+forward in another grand offensive against the farmhouse. The Germans
+moved forward silently and doggedly.
+
+"It'll be a little warmer this time," Hal muttered to himself.
+
+And the lad was right.
+
+Straight on came the Germans at the charge in spite of the withering fire
+poured in among them by the French; straight up to the side of the house
+they rushed, though there were many men who did not get that far; and
+then the German troops deployed.
+
+While perhaps a hundred men remained at the front of the house,
+apparently to seek entrance through the doorway blocked with their own
+dead, the others divided and dashed round the house, some to the right
+and some to the left.
+
+Now, for the first time, French troops who had not been posted at the
+front windows came into action.
+
+As the Germans rushed around the house, these French troops leaned from
+their windows on the side of the house and poured volley after volley
+into the German ranks. They were almost directly above the Germans and
+the latter were at a great disadvantage; for they could not return the
+fire of the French without pausing in their mad rush; and when they did
+pause and bring their rifles to bear upon the windows above, there were
+no French heads to be seen there.
+
+But when they dashed on again, the French heads reappeared and again the
+Germans fell in large numbers.
+
+But the losses of the French by this time, in spite of the comparative
+safety afforded by their position, had been extremely heavy, considering
+the size of the original force. Chester, in the basement, still had
+suffered no casualties, but fully a third of the men on the two floors
+above had been killed or wounded.
+
+And there had been no time to care for these wounded, except for the
+brief respites occasioned by the retreat of the Germans. Now that the
+fighting was on again the wounded were left to shift for themselves; and
+the air was filled with moans and groans.
+
+The Germans in front of the house again had tried in vain to force a
+passage of the doorway, choked with their own dead and dying. This had
+failed, for the French, under the direction of Captain Leroux, had poured
+in such a galling fire that the Germans dropped as fast as they appeared
+in the doorway.
+
+From above, the defenders at the front of the house, also, had done heavy
+execution among the enemy below. Again the Germans wavered; then
+retreated; and the French mowed them down as they ran.
+
+Suddenly Hal bethought himself of a daring plan. Dashing down stairs he
+confided it to Captain Leroux. The latter clapped his hands in approval.
+
+"You shall direct the move," he exclaimed. "I'll take your post and see
+that the Germans in front continue to fall back; also I shall be able to
+cover you to some extent."
+
+He ran quickly upstairs.
+
+Quickly Hal picked fifty men.
+
+"Clear away those bodies," he said, pointing to the German dead that
+blocked the doorway.
+
+It was the work of but a few minutes.
+
+"Now," said Hal, "when we go out the door, I want half of you to go
+around the house to the left. The others follow me."
+
+He divided the men into two squads.
+
+"We'll catch the fellows who got behind us by surprise," the lad
+explained. "They are still engaged with the men at the windows above. We
+can't afford to be surrounded. We must drive them off."
+
+Silently, the men filed from the house.
+
+The strategy of Hal's plan was at once apparent. The Germans who had
+circled the house, after dividing after the grand assault, still were
+unaware of the retreat of their fellows. They did not know that this
+support had been lost to them. Therefore, they were sure to be at a great
+disadvantage when attacked from a position that they believed to be held
+by their comrades.
+
+Above, the defenders still continued to fire rapidly, seeking to keep up
+the delusion.
+
+There was only one thing that worried Hal--one thing that he felt
+possibly might bring disaster following his surprise attack. He knew that
+the Germans who had recently retreated from before the farmhouse would
+understand his plan the minute he led his men from the farmhouse. This
+would mean another grand assault. The question in Hal's mind was whether
+he could get his men back inside the house before the main force of the
+enemy could advance and cut him off.
+
+But he was depending upon the French still within the house to hold the
+foe off until he could get back.
+
+As the French dashed suddenly around the house, there came a wild cry
+from the distant German lines to the east. The ruse had been discovered
+and Hal realized that the bulk of the enemy would be upon them before
+long. Therefore, he knew he must hurry.
+
+"Quick!" he cried to his men.
+
+The latter needed no urging.
+
+Swiftly they dashed around the house in either direction and fell upon
+the Germans, who had sought shelter at the far side, with their bayonets.
+The enemy, taken completely by surprise, uttered cries of consternation
+and sought to retreat; for their officers had no means of telling the
+numbers of these new foes.
+
+But the French pressed them closely. Although the Germans were taken at a
+great disadvantage because of the suddenness of the attack, they,
+nevertheless fought bravely.
+
+No quarter was asked.
+
+For safety's sake the enemy pressed close to the French, engaging them
+hand-to-hand. In this was their only hope of success, for every time a
+man strayed from the struggling mass, a keen-eyed French soldier above
+dropped him with a rifle bullet.
+
+But the struggle could have only one end. Bewildered by the sudden
+appearance of the French, the Germans never gained time to recover
+themselves. The French pushed the fighting; and soon it was all over.
+
+There remained now only half a score of Germans standing.
+
+"Surrender!" called Hal.
+
+With the exception of one, the men threw down their weapons. The
+exception was a German officer, who evidently had been in command. He
+sprang toward Hal with a cry and thrust with his sword.
+
+The move had been so unexpected that the lad was caught completely off
+his guard and the sword must have pierced him had it not been for the
+quickness of a French soldier who stood near. Without taking thought to
+his own danger, this man sprang forward and grappled with the German.
+
+The latter hurled the French soldier from him with a sudden powerful move
+and again advanced on Hal. But now the lad was ready for him and his
+sword met the sword of the German officer neatly.
+
+In vain the German officer sought to break down Hal's guard. Hal foiled
+him at every turn. The German was furiously angry, but Hal was smiling
+easily. The lad realized that he probably owed his life to the German's
+anger, for at the first touch of swords the lad had realized that the
+German was clearly his master. Therefore, the lad jeered at the officer
+as he fought.
+
+Hal became more certain of the outcome of the duel as it continued, for
+with every thrust and parry the German became more and more angry because
+he could not overcome this boy. Perspiration rolled down his face and he
+panted with rage.
+
+"I'll get you!" he cried.
+
+"Oh, not for some time yet," Hal grinned back at him.
+
+The German swore.
+
+"Now! Now!" said Hal. "That's no way for a nice German officer to do.
+What would the emperor say?"
+
+The duel was interrupted at this point by a sudden cry from the
+farmhouse.
+
+"Never mind him, Lieutenant! Back into the house quickly!"
+
+It was the voice of Captain Leroux and the tone told Hal how urgent was
+the call. Taking a quick step forward, he caused the German officer to
+retreat a few paces. Then Hal lowered his sword, and calling to his men
+to follow him, dashed toward the front of the house.
+
+Behind, the German officer broke into a torrent of abuse and would have
+continued it had not a French soldier, who cared nothing for the
+etiquette of duelling, put an end to him with a rifle bullet.
+
+To the half score of men who had thrown down their arms, Hal cried:
+
+"Back to your own lines quickly or you shall be shot down! No," pausing
+and levelling his revolver as one of the Germans sought to stoop and pick
+up his discarded rifle, "never mind the gun. Another move like that and
+you'll all be shot down. Move, now!"
+
+The Germans wasted no further time and made for the shelter of their own
+lines at top speed.
+
+And their own lines were advancing rapidly to meet them.
+
+"Quick, men!" cried Hal. "Into the house!"
+
+They had now reached the front door again and Hal stood to one side that
+his men might enter first.
+
+Above, the fire of the defenders had broken out afresh, but the Germans
+rushed forward in spite of it. Bullets hummed close about Hal's head as
+he stood beside the doorway, but none struck him; and at last all the men
+were inside.
+
+Hal went in after them.
+
+From without came a cry of rage as the advancing Germans realized that,
+for the moment, at least, they had been deprived of their prey.
+
+"Guard the door there, men!" shouted Hal. "Get back and to one side out
+of the line of fire. Save your bullets until they cross the threshold,
+then shoot them down."
+
+The men moved into position. Hal glanced quickly around to make sure
+that all was in readiness and at that moment Captain Leroux descended
+the stairs.
+
+"Good work, Mr. Paine," he said quietly. "If I live, I shall report this
+piece of work. I will take command here now. Return to your post above."
+
+Hal saluted and did as commanded.
+
+Hardly had he reached position above when he heard Captain Leroux below
+give the command:
+
+"Fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+LEFT BEHIND
+
+
+The Germans had drawn off again.
+
+The last assault had met with no better success than had the attacks that
+had gone before. True, the defenders had suffered considerably, for the
+German fire had been accurate; but the losses of the French had been as
+nothing compared with those of the Teutons.
+
+This last assault had been more severe than the others. The Germans had
+shown even greater tenacity and courage than before. In vain had their
+officers sought to hold them to the attack. Once, twice, thrice had the
+human sea surged against the farmhouse, only to be thrown back; so at
+last the Germans had withdrawn.
+
+Dead and wounded men strewed the floor. There were still some who had not
+been touched by the bullets of the foe, but the majority of the defenders
+of the top floor lay prone.
+
+Hal shook his head sadly.
+
+"Don't believe we can withstand another such charge," he said aloud.
+
+"How long yet, sir?" asked the grizzled old veteran, Francois, who,
+though he had kept his place at the window through the last attack, had
+escaped the German bullets.
+
+Again Hal gazed closely at his watch.
+
+"Twelve minutes to go," he said quietly.
+
+The face of Francois brightened.
+
+"Then we are all right, sir," he said. "They will hardly attack again in
+that time, sir."
+
+Hal shook his head.
+
+"They are likely to attack at any moment," he replied slowly. "Besides,
+if we do succeed in beating them off once more, there is nothing to
+assure us that we will be relieved then."
+
+"Nothing sir," returned Francois, "except Captain Leroux's word that we
+have only to hold this house two hours, sir."
+
+"True," said Hal, brightening visibly. "I shouldn't have spoken as I did.
+We must trust to the others, and if they fail, why, we'll know it is not
+their fault."
+
+"Right, sir," said Francois. "If they fail, it will not be their fault."
+
+He returned to his place at the window.
+
+On the floor below Captain Leroux also had taken account of his
+casualties. Merely a handful of men remained unwounded. Some of the
+men who had felt the effects of the German fire were still in
+condition to continue the fight should their services be necessary,
+but their number was few.
+
+The captain shook his head dubiously as he glanced at his watch.
+
+"Ten minutes," he muttered. "Well, we'll hold it that long, but
+afterwards I can't be held accountable, there will be none of us left."
+
+In the basement Chester and his five men still were unmarked. Though they
+had stood at the small windows and fired at whatever German forms came
+within view, they had had little work to do, the men were beginning to
+murmur among themselves.
+
+"We're not needed down here," said one. "We should be upstairs where the
+fighting is being done. No Germans will seek to come in here."
+
+"That's right," said another, "we might do some good above. Here we are
+doing nothing at all. Why, we have hardly seen a German. I don't believe
+any of the enemy have spotted this opening yet, either."
+
+"Nor I; wish they had let me stay upstairs."
+
+"What's all this?" demanded Chester, suddenly. "You men have been in the
+ranks long enough to know better than to question your officers' orders.
+You have been posted here and here you shall remain until I get orders to
+the contrary."
+
+"But, sir," said one of the men, "we would like--"
+
+"Silence!" said Chester. "Back to your places."
+
+The men obeyed, though they continued to murmur. Chester softened a few
+minutes later and again addressed his men.
+
+"I have no doubt you fellows will have all the fighting you want before
+this thing is over," he said quietly. "As nearly as I can make out from
+here the men upstairs must be about done for. I question whether they
+will be able to beat off another attack."
+
+"And are the two hours up, sir," asked one of the men.
+
+Chester glanced at his watch.
+
+"Not quite," he returned.
+
+"How much to go, sir?"
+
+"A little more than five minutes."
+
+The man's face darkened.
+
+"And we'll be relieved at the end of that time without having done any
+fighting," he said. "Here we sit down here in the dark and the other
+fellows have all the fun."
+
+"You're liable to get yours yet," said Chester. "If I mistake not,
+the Germans are returning to the attack. I hear the sounds of firing
+from above."
+
+Chester was right. The Germans again had advanced to the charge.
+
+Above, Hal and Captain Leroux were issuing orders to their men for what
+each believed would be the final effort. Should this attack be repulsed,
+both had some slight hopes that they would not be compelled to face
+another--that French reinforcements would arrive before the Germans could
+advance again. But, also, neither was sure in his own mind that the
+approaching attack of the foe could be beaten off.
+
+And this time the Germans seemed to be advancing in even greater numbers
+than before.
+
+"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!" came the spatter of German bullets
+against the side of the house; and occasionally a bullet struck home and
+left no sound, unless it was the sound of a man toppling over backwards
+to the floor, or a man as he clapped his hand to his head. The rifle
+bombardment was having its effect.
+
+The sharp crack of French rifles answered the challenge of the Germans,
+though, because of the fact that the ranks of the defenders had been
+sadly depleted, their weapons spoke not so often. But when they did
+speak, men fell; for, at this crucial stage of the battle, they were
+making every shot count.
+
+But this time, it seemed, the Germans were not to be denied. Men as
+well as officers understood the slowness of the French fire. The
+Germans were flushed with the spirit of victory, despite the fact that
+the field on all sides of the farmhouse was covered with their own dead
+and dying. The German soldiers realized, as did their officers, that
+the end of the courageous defense was near. Another effort and the
+farmhouse would be theirs.
+
+For some reason, in spite of the fact that the German troops appeared to
+be making fair progress, their advance was suddenly stayed. At some
+distance they halted and continued to pepper the house with rifle
+bullets, doing little damage at that distance.
+
+Horses dashed suddenly into view, dragging behind them a rapid-fire gun.
+
+Hal guessed the answer.
+
+"That's to mow us down when we try to run," he told himself. "Well--"
+
+He broke off and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+Now the Germans came on again, the rapid-fire gun covering their
+advance. A moment later the side of the farmhouse resembled a sieve, it
+was so full of holes. For a man to stick his head out the window meant
+instant death.
+
+But as the Germans drew closer, the rapid firer became silent, for,
+without risking the lives of Germans as well as French, it was of no
+value now. At the same moment the heads of the defenders again
+appeared at the windows and renewed the work of picking off the
+Germans as they charged.
+
+For some reason Hal took the time to glance at his watch once more.
+
+"Time's up!" he told himself gravely, "and no help in sight."
+
+But the lad was wrong; for, could he have looked from the rear of the
+house at that moment, he would have seen advancing several columns of
+French cavalry, coming to their relief.
+
+The Germans saw the approach of reinforcements and redoubled their
+efforts to gain the farmhouse before the reinforcements could arrive. But
+it was too late. With wild cries, the French cavalrymen swept down and
+about the house. Cheers from the defenders greeted them. The men left
+their places at the windows and ran from the house. Hurriedly the wounded
+were carried out and the retreat begun.
+
+And at that moment the Germans, also reinforced, charged again. Greatly
+outnumbered the French retreated, firing as they went.
+
+Then, for the first time, Hal noticed Chester's absence.
+
+"Great Scott!" he exclaimed to Captain Leroux, "we have come away without
+notifying the men in the basement."
+
+Quickly the two made their way to the French commander and laid the
+situation before him. The latter shook his head sadly.
+
+"It's too late now," he said quietly. "Look at the number of the foe. We
+could not make headway against them."
+
+He was deaf to all Hal's entreaties that he make the effort.
+
+In the basement, Chester and his five men had been unable to ascertain
+the cause of the increased firing at one moment and the lull a moment
+later. Chester had about decided that the defenders had given up and that
+he and his men in the cellar were all that remained.
+
+From his window he could see the Germans only when they came into a
+certain position; and what went on above he had no means of telling. But
+that the others would go and leave him and his men behind had not entered
+his head. Therefore, he decided to remain quiet with his men.
+
+But when an hour had passed and there came no more sounds of firing from
+above, Chester decided it was time to investigate. Accordingly, he
+ascended the steps quietly.
+
+There was no one above. The lad gazed about quickly. Except for the dead,
+there was no Frenchman in the house. Bloodstains on the floor showed that
+the wounded had been removed.
+
+Then Chester realized what had happened.
+
+Quickly he ran to the door and peered out. Far in the rear he could see
+the French retreating, pursued by the foe. Chester uttered an exclamation
+of dismay and called to his men. He explained the situation to them. All
+were dumbfounded.
+
+At that moment Chester espied an object a short distance from the
+farmhouse. There was no living form near. With a sudden cry of hope,
+Chester dashed from the house.
+
+"Come on, men!" he called over his shoulder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+CHESTER'S GALLANT FEAT
+
+
+The object upon which Chester's eyes had fallen and which was the cause
+of the sudden activity on the lad's part was nothing less than the
+rapid-fire gun the Germans so recently had brought up to bombard the
+farmhouse and cut off the retreat of its French defenders. Its crew had
+been killed, picked off by the accurate shooting of the French before
+they abandoned the house, and the gun had not been remanned. Apparently
+the Germans had overlooked the small field piece in their haste to give
+chase to the retreating French.
+
+The horses were standing a short distance away, unhurt, as Chester could
+see. The lad dashed toward the gun at top speed, his five men following
+him as fast as they could run.
+
+There was a light of anticipation on Chester's face as he reached the gun
+and examined it carefully.
+
+"Plenty of ammunition," he said with a grin, as his men came up to him.
+
+The others grinned also.
+
+"What are you going to do with it, sir?" asked one.
+
+Chester waved his arm in the direction of the retreating French and
+pursuing Germans.
+
+"Give those fellows a little surprise party when they turn back," he
+said.
+
+The men caught the idea and were immediately filled with enthusiasm.
+
+"We'd better get away from here before we're discovered, though," said
+Chester. "Catch those horses, some of you."
+
+This was an easy matter, for the horses stood still as two of the French
+soldiers approached them.
+
+"Hook 'em up," cried Chester.
+
+This, too, was the work of a moment.
+
+"I'll do the driving," said Chester. "You fellows climb aboard."
+
+The others needed no urging and a moment later this strange battery moved
+toward the French lines at a gallop.
+
+The Germans in pursuit of the French were still in plain view and Chester
+intended to keep close behind. He reasoned that the distance was too
+great for the Germans to make out the uniforms of the men on the gun and
+he intended to turn off the roadway at the first sign that the Germans
+were ready to give up the chase.
+
+Along the road ran a fringe of trees, sparse in some places and thicker
+in others. It was Chester's plan to wheel the gun in among the trees at
+the proper moment and open on the foe when they came back.
+
+And the plan was to be put in execution sooner than the lad had
+hoped for.
+
+Chester saw the Germans slow down. Then they turned and came toward him.
+The lad could not make out at once the cause of their sudden decision to
+retreat, but it came to him a moment later with the sound of heavy rifle
+firing. Apparently, French infantry had advanced to the support of the
+cavalry and the Germans were not strong enough in numbers to contest
+effectively.
+
+Immediately, Chester swung the horses to the right in among the trees,
+which, fortunately, happened to be dense at this particular point.
+
+"Guess we'll give 'em a little surprise," said Chester, with a grin.
+
+Dismounting, he motioned the men to unhitch the horses, which was done.
+Then the gun was whirled into position where it commanded the roadway.
+
+"We're ready for them," said Chester, quietly.
+
+The Germans drew on apace. Suddenly a thought struck Chester.
+
+"Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "I can't shoot them down in cold blood, I'll
+have to give them a chance. Here!" he motioned to one of his men and the
+latter approached. "Take this gun," the lad commanded. "I'm going to give
+these fellows a chance to surrender. If they refuse I'll duck back here
+and you let them have it. I'll keep out of range, but don't turn this gun
+until I get back. Understand?"
+
+The man signified that he did.
+
+Chester walked some distance back to where the road curved a bit. He was
+out of the direct line of fire, but still in such position to make his
+demand for the surrender of the Germans without allowing them to pass the
+sweep of the rapid-firer.
+
+With the Germans still some distance down the road, Chester stepped
+directly into the highway and raised a hand.
+
+The leading Germans pulled up and an officer demanded:
+
+"What's the matter?"
+
+"Surrender!" exclaimed Chester, "or you shall all be killed."
+
+The German officer gave a great laugh.
+
+"Hear the boy talk," he exclaimed. "He asks us to surrender when we have
+just chased all the French back to their own lines."
+
+There was a roar of laughter from the troop.
+
+"Surrender!" called Chester again.
+
+Again there was a laugh and the German officer called:
+
+"Throw up your hands, boy, or you shall be shot!"
+
+"Well," said Chester, "I've done all I can. I've warned you. Your blood
+be upon your own heads."
+
+With a sudden leap he disappeared among the trees. With a fierce cry, the
+German officer made after him, firing as he did so.
+
+At the same moment there was a crash as of a thousand rifles.
+Germans fell from their saddles like chaff before a storm. Horses
+reared, screamed, stampeded and fell down dead, crushing their
+riders beneath them.
+
+By this time Chester had returned to his men and took charge of the
+rapid-fire gun himself. He turned it this way and that, sweeping the
+roadway clear, where the foe was in range.
+
+And from far behind the German line at this moment broke out the crack of
+rifles. The French infantry had advanced in pursuit of the Germans, a
+squadron of cavalry showing the way.
+
+The Germans were caught between two fires.
+
+Unable to estimate the number of men in the force that had ambushed them,
+the Germans threw down their arms.
+
+"We surrender!" cried a German officer.
+
+Instantly the fire of the machine gun ceased and Chester advanced to the
+road again. The same German officer who, a moment ago, had scorned the
+lad's warning, now advanced and tendered his sword to Chester.
+
+"Tell your men to throw down their arms," commanded Chester.
+
+The officer did so, and swords and pistols rattled to the ground.
+
+"Now," said Chester, "you will about face and march toward the French
+lines. There must be no foolishness. My army here is rather small, but we
+still have the rapid-fire gun and it will be trained upon you until you
+are safe."
+
+The lad signalled to his men, who had already hitched up the horses, and
+these now advanced.
+
+"What!" exclaimed the German officer, when he had taken a glance at
+Chester's "army," "are these all the men you had when you attacked us?"
+
+"They seemed to be enough," said Chester, with a smile.
+
+"No wonder we haven't beaten you a long while ago," the German officer
+mumbled to himself. "When five men and one a boy perform a feat like
+this, I begin to have my doubts as to the outcome of this war."
+
+"Well," said Chester, "I don't have any such doubts. But come, now;
+forward march."
+
+Slowly the German troopers marched ahead, Chester and his machine gun
+bringing up the rear.
+
+And in this manner they came directly upon the French cavalry and
+infantry advancing in pursuit of the Germans.
+
+Great were the exclamations among the French troops when it was found
+that five men and a young officer had made such an important capture, to
+say nothing of the terrible execution inflicted upon the enemy with their
+own rapid-fire gun. The French officers were loud in the praises of
+Chester's gallantry.
+
+And with the troop of French cavalry Chester found Hal and Captain
+Leroux.
+
+"By Jove! I'm glad to see you, Chester," said Hal, advancing with
+outstretched hand. "I was afraid we wouldn't get back in time."
+
+"I guess you wouldn't have, if we had waited for you," said Chester,
+dryly. "I wasn't going to take any more chances if I could help it. When
+you left us there by ourselves, I was sure if we wanted to come away,
+we'd have to do it by ourselves."
+
+"We didn't do it intentionally," said Captain Leroux.
+
+"Who said you did?" demanded Chester, somewhat angrily.
+
+The French captain flushed. He drew himself up, seemed about to make an
+angry reply; then cooled down and said:
+
+"I'm sorry."
+
+With that he walked away.
+
+"Look here, Chester," said Hal, "you know that I wouldn't have left
+you behind for anything if I had only thought of it. But in the
+excitement and--"
+
+"That's it," said Chester. "There was too much excitement and you were
+having it all. I get buried down in a cellar with five men and sit there
+in the dark till the fun's all over. Then you don't even take the trouble
+to tell me it's time to go home. I don't like it."
+
+"Great Scott! You're not mad, are you, Chester?"
+
+"Mad? Sure I'm mad. Next time you get in a hole I'm going to walk away
+and leave you there."
+
+Hal smiled.
+
+"Oh, I guess not," he returned.
+
+"You do, eh? Well, you try it and see what happens."
+
+"Come, now, Chester, you know how this thing happened," said Hal. "We
+didn't do it purposely."
+
+Chester seemed about to make an angry retort; but a moment later a smile
+broke over his face and he extended a hand to his chum.
+
+"I know you didn't," he replied, "but can't a fellow have a little fun?"
+
+Hal took the hand as he exclaimed:
+
+"You've offended Captain Leroux."
+
+"Well," said Chester, "Captain Leroux has offended me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+A QUEER SITUATION
+
+
+"Somebody following us, Hal!"
+
+"That so?" said Hal; "and why should we be followed along here?"
+
+"I don't know," was Chester's reply, "but I have noticed a shadow
+following us wherever we go."
+
+"We'll see about it," was Hal's rejoinder.
+
+It was the night succeeding the day on which the lads had taken part in
+the defense of Thiaumont farmhouse. They had returned to their quarters
+late in the day, had reported to General Petain and had been relieved of
+duty until the following morning. It was now after 8 o'clock and they
+were strolling about the camp.
+
+They had made their way well back into the heart of the armed settlement
+when Chester had made the announcement that they were being followed.
+
+With Hal to reach a decision was to act. Chester let his friend do the
+leading in this instance.
+
+Hal quickened his steps and walked quickly down the row of tents,
+which, well back of the trenches, were laid out in the form of streets,
+and which, in fact, were called streets by the soldiers themselves.
+Chester followed.
+
+At the first cross street, for so they may be called, Hal led the way
+sharply to the left and stopped suddenly. A moment later a figure came
+slinking around after them. Hal reached out an arm and grabbed him.
+
+"Here," he said, "what are you following us for?"
+
+The man tried to free himself, but Hal held him tight.
+
+"If you'll let me loose, I'll explain," he said finally.
+
+Hal considered this a moment; then with a shrug of his shoulders
+released his hold.
+
+"Stand behind him, Chester," he said.
+
+Chester followed Hal's injunction, but the man made no effort to escape.
+
+"Well?" said Hal, questioningly.
+
+The man thrust a hand into his pocket.
+
+"Hold on there!" cried Hal, sharply, producing his revolver. "No
+tricks now."
+
+The man smiled and withdrew his hand from his pocket.
+
+"I wasn't after a gun," he said.
+
+He opened his hand and in the palm Hal saw a little round object.
+
+"Can you match that?" the man demanded.
+
+Hal peered closer and made out the nature of the object in the
+man's hand.
+
+"A black pea!" he exclaimed. "Yes, I can match it."
+
+He thrust a hand in his pocket and produced a black pea, which not many
+days before had rolled from the pocket of Jules Clemenceau.
+
+The stranger looked at it closely.
+
+"All right," he said. He turned to Chester. "And you?" he demanded.
+
+Chester's reply was to produce his black pea, which he exhibited
+to the man.
+
+"Good!" said the stranger. "Follow me."
+
+"Follow you where?" Chester wanted to know.
+
+"Yes; what's all this funny business, anyhow?" demanded Hal.
+
+The man smiled enigmatically.
+
+"Best to be careful," he said. "Come on."
+
+Chester looked at Hal and the latter nodded.
+
+"Might as well see what it's all about," said the latter.
+
+They fell into step behind the stranger.
+
+With many turns and twists the man walked for perhaps half an hour.
+Apparently he was bent on beclouding the lads' sense of direction.
+
+"I say!" Hal called a halt finally. "Where are you taking us?"
+
+"It's not much farther," the man protested, "and I have been instructed
+to bring you."
+
+"Instructed to bring us?" echoed Chester, "and by whom?"
+
+"You'll learn that later," was the stranger's response. "Are you coming?"
+
+Again Hal and Chester exchanged glances. The latter shrugged.
+
+"We've started; may as well see it through," he said.
+
+"All right," Hal agreed and turned to the stranger, "but cut out all this
+winding about," he demanded. "There is a quicker way of reaching our
+destination, wherever it may be."
+
+The stranger smiled, but made no reply. He moved off and the boys
+followed him, and at last they came to their journey's end.
+
+Before an army tent the man stopped a few moments later.
+
+"In here," he said.
+
+He entered and Hal and Chester paused long enough to look at each other.
+
+"I guess it's all right," said Hal. "Can't much happen right in the heart
+of the camp. Come on."
+
+He entered the tent with Chester close behind him.
+
+Within powerful arms seized them and dragged them down; and before they
+could cry out gags were stuffed in their mouths. In vain the lads
+struggled to free themselves. They were soon safely bound.
+
+Up to this time the tent had been in darkness, but now someone struck a
+light. Hal and Chester gazed at their captors. All were attired in
+regulation army uniforms, but their faces were masked. One man, who
+seemed to be the leader, was short and chunky. The others were taller.
+The small man approached the lads and spoke.
+
+"If you will give me your words to make no outcry, I shall have the gags
+removed," he said in a shrill, quavering voice, plainly disguised.
+
+Hal considered this point a moment; then nodded his head in token of
+assent. Chester did likewise.
+
+"All right," said the little man and beckoned the others to remove the
+gags.
+
+Their mouths free of the evil-tasting cloths, Hal and Chester
+breathed easier.
+
+"Now," said Chester, "perhaps you will explain what this is all about."
+
+The little man shook his head.
+
+"No," he replied, "all I can tell you is this! You shall be kept confined
+here until your removal to Paris can be arranged. Then you will be sent
+to London and put aboard a vessel for New York. That's all I can say."
+
+"But what for?" demanded Hal, angrily.
+
+"That you will not be told," was the reply, "although I guess you don't
+need to be told."
+
+"By George!" exclaimed Chester, "I don't know what you are talking about,
+but you can take my word that somebody is going to suffer for this
+night's work. How long do you intend to hold us here?"
+
+"I can't say. Possibly a day or two; at all events, until your removal
+can be arranged."
+
+"Do you know who we are?" demanded Hal.
+
+The little man nodded.
+
+"Perfectly," he replied.
+
+"You know that we are attached to the staff of General Petain?"
+
+Again their captor nodded.
+
+"And still you've got the nerve to hold us here?"
+
+"Yes, I've got the nerve."
+
+"Don't you know you shall suffer for this?"
+
+The man shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"At least I shall have done my duty," he replied.
+
+"Duty! Great Scott! Duty! What are you talking about?" demanded Hal,
+angrily. "Are you a German sympathizer?"
+
+"No, my sympathies are French," was the reply.
+
+"Well, if you call this doing your duty," said Chester, sarcastically,
+"let's hope you don't have too many duties to perform in the service of
+France. For if you do, the Germans certainly will win."
+
+"Well," said their captor, "I guess I shall have to leave you now. I must
+make my report."
+
+"Who are you going to report to?" demanded Hal, suddenly, thinking to
+take the man off his guard.
+
+The latter only grinned.
+
+"I'm too old a bird for that trick," he said, showing that he understood
+what had been in Hal's mind. "I'm going to report to the proper person."
+
+"Improper person, I guess you mean," Chester growled.
+
+"At any rate, I must report," said their captor. "Now if you'll promise
+to make no outcry while I'm gone, I will not have the gags replaced in
+your mouths. Otherwise, I am afraid--"
+
+He closed with a shrug of the shoulders.
+
+"You put one of those things in my mouth again, and I'll make you eat
+it--some day," said Chester.
+
+"Not for some time to come, I'm afraid," was the little man's rejoinder.
+"I believe I can guarantee you will be kept out of mischief for the
+duration of the war."
+
+Hal had been gazing at the little man closely.
+
+"Seems to me," he said at last, "that I have seen you some place before.
+There is something familiar about you."
+
+"You've probably seen me," was the reply. "I've been around here for
+some time."
+
+Chester was now struck with a sudden thought.
+
+"Is Matin mixed up in this thing?" he demanded, believing that, after
+all, the capture might have been concocted by the French soldier who had
+sought to kill Hal.
+
+"Matin? Who is Matin?" asked their captor.
+
+Chester explained.
+
+"No, he has nothing to do with it," was the reply.
+
+"Then, in the name of the Great Czar, what's it all about?"
+
+"I can't tell you," was the firm reply.
+
+Chester groaned.
+
+"Of all the fool predicaments," he said, "this is the worst."
+
+The little man had now moved toward the door of the tent.
+
+"I go now," he said, "to make my report. Pleasant dreams to you."
+
+"Hold on a minute," shouted Hal.
+
+"No; I think I had better go. Good-bye, boys!"
+
+There was such a familiar ring to these words that Hal was struck with a
+great light. He uttered a loud exclamation, so loud, in fact, that the
+little man came running back in the tent.
+
+Even Chester was surprised--but for a moment only--for the words that
+escaped Hal were these:
+
+"By all that's holy! If it isn't Stubbs!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+STUBBS REFUSES TO EXPLAIN
+
+
+With two bounds the little man covered the distance to Hal's side and
+bent over. Quickly he placed a hand across Hal's mouth and whispered:
+
+"Sh-h-h. Not so loud!"
+
+Hal shook his head free--his hands were tied--and exclaimed:
+
+"So! This is the thanks we get from you, eh! Why, you little fat--"
+
+"Names won't help any," said Anthony Stubbs, quietly. "I've got you here
+and, as I told you, here you are going to stay until I arrange for your
+transportation back to the good old town where stands the _Gazette_."
+
+"New York, eh?" said Chester. "But why, Stubbs, that's what I want to
+know. Come on, be a good fellow and tell us what this is all about."
+
+"If I wasn't so sure you know, I might be tempted to do so," said Stubbs.
+"But you do know and there is no need to ask me again. I refuse."
+
+"But I tell you, Stubbs, we don't know," declared Hal. "What's gone wrong
+with you? Are you in the employ of the Kaiser?"
+
+"Not by a long shot," was the answer. "That's one reason I want to get
+you away from here. I want to see the Kaiser licked properly."
+
+"You don't mean to insinuate--"
+
+"That you are aiding the Kaiser?" Stubbs broke in. "I guess not. But you
+know as well as I do that with you here something is sure to go wrong. No
+sir. You've got to go back to the old U.S.A. and you're going to go if it
+lies in my power to get you there."
+
+"By Jove!" said Chester, suddenly. "I know the answer."
+
+"Well, you're a good guesser if you do," said Hal, dryly. "Let's hear
+it."
+
+"Uncle John is the answer," declared Chester. "In some manner he has
+learned we are here; he has come up from Italy and bribed Stubbs to get
+us sent home."
+
+"By Jove!" exclaimed Hal. "Is that it, Stubbs?"
+
+Stubbs grinned at them.
+
+"Come," he said, "I'm too old to be fooled with such innocence as that.
+You know what you're here for and that's all there is about it. Now I'm
+going to arrange for your removal."
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal, quietly, "I wonder if you could guess what I
+think of you?"
+
+"I'm afraid I could," returned the little man seriously. "But now let me
+ask you something. Do you remember, not so many nights ago, that I told
+you both that if ever you found me doing something you didn't approve of,
+I would be doing it for your own good--because I am fond of you? Do you
+remember that?"
+
+"You bet I remember it," declared Hal; "and all I've got to say is that
+if you call this thing for our own good you're mightily mistaken. If we
+don't report to General Petain to-morrow morning we're likely to be court
+martialed."
+
+"Oh, no, you're not," said Stubbs.
+
+"Oh, yes we are."
+
+"I say you're not."
+
+"Say," said Hal, "you talk like you knew something about it."
+
+"I do," returned Stubbs.
+
+"Well, Stubbs," interposed Chester, "if you are bent on showing your
+fondness for us in this manner all right; but I want to say that, for my
+part, you can take all your affection and go hang with it."
+
+"Same here," growled Hal.
+
+"I'm sorry you feel that way about it, boys," said Stubbs, seriously,
+"but I know that some time you will forgive me. Of course, you are
+angry now because I have spoiled your plans, but some time you will
+overlook it."
+
+"But where do you come in for all this fairy godfather stuff, Stubbs?"
+demanded Chester. "What iron have you in the fire? You've got some reason
+besides just trying to keep us out of trouble, now haven't you?"
+
+"Why, yes, I have," was Stubbs' quiet reply.
+
+"I thought so. Would you mind telling me what it is?"
+
+"I've already told you. I want to see the Kaiser properly licked."
+
+Chester was about to make an angry retort; then changed his mind and gave
+a snort of pure disgust.
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal, "I know what it's all about. If I ask you a question
+will you answer it?"
+
+"Depends on the question," was the reply. "Let's hear it."
+
+"Well, here it is, and I think it's the answer to the whole thing: Are
+you crazy?"
+
+Stubbs gave a snort.
+
+"Crazy!" he shouted. "No, I'm not crazy! Who says I'm crazy?"
+
+"I do, Stubbs," declared Hal.
+
+"And I agree with him," exclaimed Chester.
+
+The little war correspondent became suddenly very angry. He stamped up
+and down the tent muttering to himself. Then he whirled on the lads.
+
+"You make me tired!" he exclaimed. "Here I've gone and got myself in a
+mess just to keep you two out of trouble and what thanks do I get for it?
+You say I'm crazy! Why, you ought to bow down and thank me for doing what
+I am doing. You both make me sick."
+
+"Well, we're not going to do any bowing down to you, Stubbs," said Hal;
+"but there is one thing I'll promise you."
+
+"What's that?" demanded Stubbs, eagerly.
+
+"That, Mr. Stubbs," said Hal, "is a good first-class thrashing when I get
+hold of you again."
+
+"Guess we had better make it two," declared Chester. "Remember he's got
+me here with you, Hal."
+
+"All right, Chester. We'll make it a double-handed affair. Hear
+that, Stubbs?"
+
+Stubbs snapped his fingers at them.
+
+"You can do what you please when you get free," he declared. "But I'm
+going to make it a point to see that you don't get free on this side of
+the English Channel. Now, good-night."
+
+The little man turned, ordered his men out ahead of him and disappeared
+from the tent.
+
+For some moments Hal and Chester lay silent without a word. Then Hal
+said:
+
+"Chester, if you can tell me what's at the bottom of all this, I'll give
+you a million dollars."
+
+"If you had the million, Hal, you'd lose."
+
+"You don't mean to tell me--"
+
+"Of course I know. I thought you did by this time. There are two things
+at the bottom of this and they are--two little black peas!"
+
+"Well, by Jove!" said Hal, "and to think I didn't get that through my
+head sooner. Then you think these peas--"
+
+"Yes; there is some kind of a conspiracy brewing and Stubbs thinks we
+have a hand in it. Whatever it is, he's against it. You remember how he
+shut up in the middle of his tale that night when he first saw the peas
+in our possession?"
+
+"By Jove! That's so!"
+
+"Sure; but have you any idea what the conspiracy may be?"
+
+"Not the slightest; but if we can get out of here we'll have a look. We
+know one of the band, I think."
+
+"You mean?"
+
+"Jules Clemenceau. I don't suppose he ever missed the two peas. He
+probably had more. At the first opportunity we'll display our peas where
+he can see them and then maybe he will say something that will tip us off
+where to look next."
+
+"Not a bad idea; but he seems to be so young to be mixed up in
+such a thing."
+
+"He's no younger than we are; and we've been mixed up in a whole lot
+of things."
+
+"That's so, too. I would like to know, though, what this plot is. I don't
+believe it has anything to do with treachery."
+
+"Depends upon what you mean by treachery. I suppose you mean nothing that
+will aid the Germans to defeat us?"
+
+"Exactly; then, too, don't you remember, when Stubbs was telling us about
+the conspiracy, that he said he had reason to believe there were plotters
+in the German ranks as well as the British and French?"
+
+"He didn't say it just that way, I think, but I remember what you mean.
+By Jove! I wonder what it can all be about?"
+
+"Well, it's too deep for me; and unless something happens, I am half
+afraid Stubbs may be as good as his word and have us sent back to
+New York."
+
+"By George! We can't stand for that."
+
+"I should say not. See if you can wiggle your hands loose."
+
+Hal tried. So did Chester.
+
+"They did a pretty fair job, if you ask me," said the latter.
+
+"I should say they did. However, we'll keep trying. Something may give.
+Perseverance is a great medicine, you know."
+
+And they did keep trying; but here was one place where it seemed that
+perseverance was about to fail. An hour's tugging at their bonds failed
+to loosen them to any noticeable degree.
+
+"I guess it's no use, Chester," said Hal.
+
+"I'm not having much luck, either," was Chester's reply.
+
+They took a brief rest and then fell to tugging at their bonds again. But
+they had no better luck than before.
+
+"Well, it's no use," said Chester at last. "I'm going to sleep."
+
+Hal was also forced to admit that he was unable to loosen his own bonds
+and he followed Chester's example and sought repose.
+
+How long they slept neither knew, but both were awakened by a hand on
+their shoulders. Looking up in the darkness the lads saw a form bending
+over them. They could not distinguish the features.
+
+"Hello!" said Hal, in a whisper. "We have company, Chester."
+
+"So we have," was the latter's reply. "Wonder what he wants?"
+
+The figure in the darkness explained his presence in the tent in a
+few words.
+
+"Come with me!" he whispered.
+
+"Can't. We're tied up," said Hal.
+
+"I have unloosened your bonds," said the voice in a whisper. "Come, and
+make no noise."
+
+The lads found that their deliverer had told the truth. They were no
+longer bound. They got to their feet and followed him from the tent. They
+had not recognized the voice that had called them; but as they passed
+without, Hal caught sight of the man's features.
+
+"Jules Clemenceau!" he exclaimed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE CONSPIRATORS
+
+
+Chester, who had been unable to catch a sight of their deliverer's face,
+was surprised.
+
+"Great Scott! Jules," he exclaimed. "You have a knack of turning up in
+the nick of time."
+
+"Sh-h-h!" whispered Jules. "No talk until we get away from here."
+
+The others obeyed this injunction to keep silence and followed the young
+Frenchman without further words.
+
+Jules approached his own quarters and led the way inside.
+
+"Make yourselves at home," he said with a wave of his hand. "In here we
+may talk."
+
+Hal and Chester found seats and then the former asked a question.
+
+"How did you happen to find us, Jules?"
+
+"I chanced to be near when the stranger showed you his pea," returned
+Jules. "I knew that there had been no summons sent out for an immediate
+meeting and that something must be wrong. Therefore, I followed you.
+Having learned where you were held I returned later to release you.
+That's all."
+
+"Well, we certainly thank you," said Chester. "There is no telling what
+would have happened to us."
+
+"I was never more surprised," said Jules, "than when I saw you both
+exhibit black peas. I had no idea that you were with us."
+
+"Then you, too," said Hal, "are--"
+
+"Yes," Jules interrupted. "I am one of you. I suppose you have received
+the summons?"
+
+"Summons? What summons?" asked Chester.
+
+"Why, for the meeting to-night, or, rather, I should say in the morning."
+
+"No, we have received no summons," said Hal.
+
+"Then it is twice good that I arrived," said Jules. "You shall
+accompany me."
+
+"And where is the rendezvous?" asked Chester.
+
+"I'll show you," said Jules. He drew his watch from his pocket and
+glanced at it in the semi-light of the tent. "Twelve fifteen," he said.
+"We have forty-five minutes still, but it will do no harm if we are a few
+minutes early. Come."
+
+He picked up his cap from the cot where he had thrown it and led the way
+from the tent. Hal and Chester followed without a word. The same thought
+was in the mind of each. At last they would be able to learn the nature
+of the conspiracy which, although they knew nothing of it, had caused
+them so much trouble.
+
+After a walk of perhaps twenty minutes, in which time they had not been
+challenged, Jules pulled up before a tent somewhat larger than the rest.
+
+"General Pombrey's quarters," he said, "and for that reason
+comparatively safe."
+
+"You mean that the general is one of us?" demanded Hal in no
+little surprise.
+
+"Yes," said Jules, briefly.
+
+Chester gave a low whistle. Evidently this conspiracy, whatever it might
+be, was more widespread than he had imagined.
+
+Jules entered the tent and the two lads followed him.
+
+Inside a large number of men already had assembled. Apparently, their
+anticipation had been so great that they had been unable to control their
+impatience until nearer the appointed hour. The lads were impressed with
+one peculiar feature. Unlike most plotters--and Hal and Chester already
+had come into contact with many--these men wore no masks. Apparently,
+they were not afraid of their identities being known by their fellow
+conspirators.
+
+There were no remarks when Jules and Hal and Chester entered the tent.
+The former led the way to the far side and there stood quietly in the
+half light. Hal and Chester took their places beside him.
+
+As time passed other men appeared in the tent and Hal and Chester were
+surprised to see that some were officers of high rank; but neither lad
+said anything aloud.
+
+Came the voice of a sentry without:
+
+"One o'clock and all's well!"
+
+A moment later the apathy that had gripped the interior of the tent where
+the conspirators were assembled disappeared. General Pombrey addressed
+the others.
+
+"I am glad to see so many of you here to-night," he said earnestly. "I
+note several new faces amongst us and I am pleased to know that others
+are joining this great movement every day. It shows that even in the
+midst of this warlike camp the spirit of peace has not died."
+
+His words were greeted with a murmur of approval, though no man spoke.
+
+The general continued:
+
+"Now, I have to inform you that the crisis is near. I have had word from
+the enemy's lines that the spirit of peace there has grown. It would
+appear that we are on the eve of success. Another battle or two--a few
+thousand more lives lost--and this great war may end. When the spirit of
+peace has overcome the spirit of war in the ranks, then will the war end.
+I have called you together to-night to instruct you to sound even deeper
+than you have done the sentiment of the men who stand by your side. The
+time to stop this war is almost at hand."
+
+Again there was a murmur of approval as the general became silent. He
+gazed upon the faces about him a few moments in silence, and then
+spoke again:
+
+"I need not caution you to silence. A false move and all would be lost.
+But if we can command 10,000 more men when the crisis arrives, men who,
+like the rest of us, will refuse to fight more when the word is given, we
+shall be strong enough; and if I told you how many already are pledged
+you could scarcely believe me. Now here," the general exposed to view a
+large box, "I have many more of the little peas that are our bond of
+membership. I want each of you to take as many as you please; and pass
+them around when you have convinced yourselves the men you approach are
+acting in good faith."
+
+One after another the men in the tent stepped forward and dipped a hand
+into the box of peas and put the little round pellets into their own
+pockets. Then the general signified that he had yet a few remarks to
+make. The men stood about respectfully as he addressed them.
+
+"Men," he said, "there may be some among you who question the justice of
+this move. To those I say that we are engaged in a great effort. To
+prevent further war and bloodshed among ourselves and our enemies is a
+great duty; for nothing can possibly be gained by the loss of millions of
+lives and the destruction of billions of dollars worth of property.
+However, if there are any among you who would draw out of this movement,
+I would ask that you do so now."
+
+The general paused and looked keenly at the faces about him. No
+man spoke.
+
+"Good," said the general, "then I know you are with me."
+
+"And the time? When will the time come?" asked one man in the crowd.
+
+"That I cannot say," responded the general, quietly. "But I can assure
+you that it will be before long. You will all be notified by the
+messengers, that you may be ready. Now are there any other questions?"
+
+"If we fail, then what?" asked another man.
+
+General Pombrey shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Probably court martial and a firing squad," he said indifferently. "But
+you will have died in a glorious cause, whereas now--"
+
+A glimpse of happiness stole over the general's face. To Hal and Chester
+it meant but one thing. General Pombrey was a fanatic; and the men who
+had come under his spell were fanatics. In that instant Hal and Chester
+both realized that this matter must be brought to General Petain
+immediately.
+
+After some few other words, General Pombrey signified that the meeting
+was over, and the men filed from the tent singly and in pairs, discussing
+the matter in low tones.
+
+Outside Hal and Chester were accosted again by Jules Clemenceau.
+
+"And what do you think of General Pombrey?" asked the young Frenchman,
+his face shining.
+
+For a moment Hal considered what was best to say. Should he try and
+convince Jules that his present course was wrong; that there was to be
+considered the honor of his country rather than the opinion of General
+Pombrey? The lad decided on the side of caution.
+
+"A good man," he replied quietly. "A man who will face a firing squad
+without a tremor, secure in the belief he is dying for a good cause."
+
+"And do you not think the cause good, and just?" demanded Jules,
+anxiously.
+
+"If not, why should I be the bearer of a pocket-full of black peas?" was
+Hal's reply.
+
+Jules, apparently, was satisfied.
+
+Alone in their own quarters later Hal and Chester discussed the situation
+seriously.
+
+"To tell the truth," said Chester, "I am half inclined to agree with
+General Pombrey. But if for no other reason, there is one thing that
+would make me reveal this plot to General Petain."
+
+"And that?" asked Hal.
+
+"That," said Chester, "is the fact that General Pombrey and the others
+engaged in this conspiracy are lacking upon the German troops to throw
+down their arms and refuse to fight at the same moment the French and
+British do."
+
+"Well?" asked Hal, but he was beginning to catch Chester's drift.
+
+"Well," said Chester, "you and I know the Germans won't do that. It's a
+ten to one bet that the German general staff knows all about this
+conspiracy. The peace talk has been carried from one army to the other by
+the prisoners. The Germans will take advantage of it. Should the French
+really follow General Pombrey's plan, they would be slaughtered by the
+thousands. The Germans could not keep faith. You know that."
+
+"Yes, I know it," said Hal with a nod of his head. "They have never
+kept faith in this war, save in individual cases. It doesn't seem to
+be in them."
+
+"Exactly," agreed Chester. "Then, if for no other reason than to save
+these deluded French and British soldiers, the matter must be brought to
+the attention of General Petain, that he may act promptly and not only
+save them, but the whole army of France; and the cause of the Allies."
+
+"Good!" Hal agreed. "Then we shall see that it's brought to his
+attention."
+
+"The first thing in the morning," said Chester.
+
+"Right you are, Chester. The first thing in the morning."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+UNDER ARREST
+
+
+It was morning. Hal and Chester, refreshed by a good night's rest, had
+just completed their toilets and were about to repair to the quarters of
+General Petain, there to report for the day's duty and also to inform the
+French commander of what they had learned the night before. But, as it
+transpired, their good intentions were to go for naught and they were to
+be ushered into the presence of General Petain in a manner that neither
+would have believed possible.
+
+Came the sound of many footsteps approaching without. They stopped before
+the boys' tent. A French officer thrust his head in the entrance.
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford! Lieutenant Paine!" he said sharply.
+
+"Sir!" exclaimed both lads in a single breath.
+
+They stepped from the tent.
+
+"You are under arrest!" were the French officer's next words.
+
+Hal and Chester stepped back in complete bewilderment.
+
+"Wha--what's that, sir?" asked Hal, believing that he could not have
+heard aright.
+
+"You are under arrest," was the sharp reply. "I am ordered to conduct you
+before General Petain at once."
+
+Both lads had recovered themselves by this time; they stepped forward
+coolly enough, in spite of the fact that their hearts were fluttering
+strangely.
+
+"The general might have spared himself the trouble of sending for us,"
+said Hal, quietly. "Even now we were about to report to him."
+
+The French officer said nothing. He motioned to the file of soldiers whom
+he commanded and Hal and Chester stepped in between the men.
+
+"One moment," said the French soldier.
+
+He approached the lads.
+
+"I must ask for your swords and revolvers," he said.
+
+Without a word the lads surrendered their weapons.
+
+"Good!" said the French officer. Then to his men: "Forward, march!"
+
+And in this manner Hal and Chester came before the French commander at
+Verdun. The latter was busy with a pile of papers when they entered his
+quarters and did not look up immediately. For perhaps fifteen minutes the
+lads stood there, firmly erect, their eyes upon the general.
+
+Suddenly General Petain wheeled about.
+
+"Leave these men with me," he instructed the French officer who
+had escorted the lads to his tent; "but attend me outside within
+call, Captain."
+
+The French officer saluted and withdrew.
+
+General Petain gazed frowningly at Hal and Chester for perhaps a full
+minute. The lads returned his look without flinching, though there was
+nothing that might be construed as defiance in their manner; rather,
+nothing but respectful attention.
+
+"So!" said General Petain at last. "So! I find you two lads, whom I have
+trusted, among a band of conspirators, eh?"
+
+"Among them, sir," said Hal, quietly, "but not of them."
+
+"What's that?" demanded the general. "You admit you were with them and
+then claim innocence? Impossible!"
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir," said Hal, "but it is not impossible. It is
+the truth."
+
+"But I have it on high authority," returned the general, "that you have
+been the possessors of the emblem of the conspirators for some days now."
+
+"That is true enough, sir," Hal agreed; "but we came into the possession
+of those black peas accidentally and with no thought of their
+significance."
+
+The general sniffed contemptuously.
+
+"My information regarding you boys comes from a source that I am afraid I
+must believe," he said.
+
+"Will you tell us the source, sir?" asked Hal.
+
+General Petain shook his head.
+
+"It would do no good," he returned. "It would not alter the facts in the
+case. Now, I know you boys have been of great value to the cause of the
+Allies. My informant is authority for that statement also. You have
+accomplished much and France and the other allied countries must thank
+you. But it appears now that you have been led from the proper way of
+thinking; and my informant in your case says, and rightly, that from
+young men who have done much to advance the cause of the Allies, there is
+much to be feared when they embark upon some other venture.
+
+"You are both resourceful; I know that. That is the reason that I have
+had you placed under arrest--that you may not turn your energies against
+us. I shall have you sent to Paris, thence to London, and I hope that
+before long you will be back in your own country, the United States."
+
+"Pardon me, sir," said Hal, respectfully, "but I do not need to ask you
+again to name the man who has caused us to be in this predicament. His
+name is Stubbs."
+
+"Well, I see no need to deny it," said General Petain.
+
+"General," said Chester, now stepping forward, "I would be glad if you
+would give me an opportunity to explain this matter."
+
+"It shall not be said that I denied any man a hearing," was the general's
+reply. "Proceed."
+
+As briefly as possible Chester recounted the manner in which they had
+come into possession of the two peas; of why they decided to keep them;
+of their capture the night before by Anthony Stubbs and of their escape;
+and last, of their attendance at the meeting of the conspirators, where,
+for the first time, they learned the true significance of the little
+black peas.
+
+As Chester proceeded with his story the general listened attentively.
+When Chester spoke of being captured by Stubbs, the general smiled
+quietly, and Hal, noting the smile, guessed rightly that General Petain
+had had a hand in the capture himself--or rather, that he at least had
+sanctioned it; and when Chester spoke of the meeting of the conspirators
+and mentioned the name of General Pombrey, General Petain frowned.
+
+"So," he said when Chester had concluded, "General Pombrey is mixed up in
+this thing, eh?"
+
+"He seems to be the leader of the movement, sir," replied Chester. "I
+should say that he is without doubt the directing hand."
+
+"And what do you hope to gain by telling me all this?" asked General
+Petain, eyeing the lad shrewdly.
+
+"I hope to see the conspiracy crushed, sir, before it gains further
+momentum," was Chester's reply.
+
+General Petain eyed the lad peculiarly.
+
+"Can it be that I have been misinformed?" he muttered to himself.
+
+Hal's keen ears caught the words.
+
+"I can assure you that you have been misinformed, sir," he replied
+firmly.
+
+For several moments more the general eyed the lads sternly and they
+returned his gaze without flinching. Suddenly the general clapped his
+hands together. The French officer who had arrested the two lads entered
+he tent and saluted.
+
+"Captain," said General Petain. "my compliments to Mr. Anthony Stubbs and
+say that I desire his presence here at once."
+
+The French officer saluted and took his departure.
+
+The hearts of the two lads beat high now. Apparently General Petain had
+been convinced of the truth of their stories. They believed that when
+Stubbs confronted them he would weaken.
+
+"I don't know what to think about this matter," said General Petain as
+they waited for Stubbs' arrival. "I am loath to believe you would be
+mixed up in anything of this nature."
+
+"How did Mr. Stubbs happen to mention us as being implicated in this
+conspiracy, sir?" asked Chester.
+
+"He said he wanted to see you get home safely and not be mixed up in
+anything that might mean a firing squad," said General Petain, calmly. "I
+promised him your safe return to America for his news of the conspiracy."
+
+"I see," said Chester.
+
+At this moment Stubbs was announced. General Petain looked at him
+sharply.
+
+"These officers," he said, indicating Hal and Chester with a wave of his
+hand, "deny the charges you have made against them, sir."
+
+"Surely, you didn't expect them to admit it, sir?" questioned
+Stubbs, shifting from one foot to another, as Hal and Chester bent
+their gaze on him.
+
+"Well, no, I didn't," was General Petain's reply, "but they tell such a
+straightforward story that I am of the opinion you must be mistaken as to
+their part in this conspiracy."
+
+"But the peas," said Stubbs. "They had them."
+
+"Well, somebody might have slipped one into your pocket, as far as that
+goes," said General Petain; "and then you might be standing here under
+suspicion."
+
+"Tha--that's so, too," Stubbs stammered. "I hadn't thought of that."
+
+"Well, you should have thought of it," exclaimed General Petain.
+"It's no small thing to cast suspicion upon a man and then be able to
+prove nothing."
+
+"But the peas--"
+
+"Never mind about the peas," stormed the general. "By any chance, when
+you had these officers in your tent last night, did they admit connection
+with the plot?"
+
+"No, sir; they professed ignorance. But they had the peas--"
+
+"_Mon Dieu_! Can't you think of anything but peas? What kind of a war
+correspondent are you, anyhow?"
+
+Stubbs was offended. He drew himself up and would have made reply, but
+General Petain silenced him with a gesture.
+
+"I don't question your loyalty," he said, "and I know that you acted with
+the good of these lads at heart. But I am convinced you have been
+mistaken. I am going to release these boys. Lieutenant Paine! Lieutenant
+Crawford! you are--"
+
+"Sir!" exclaimed Stubbs at this juncture.
+
+The general eyed him closely.
+
+"Well?" he demanded.
+
+"Please, General, do not let them go until I have a few moments' start. I
+don't know what they will do to me." Stubbs looked nervous.
+
+"Very well," said General Petain with a smile. "Then hurry and take your
+departure, Mr. Stubbs."
+
+Stubbs needed no urging and he disappeared from the general's tent with
+agility; and Hal called after him:
+
+"Better hunt a hole, Mr. Stubbs; we'll be on your trail in a few
+minutes!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE TURNING OF THE TIDE
+
+
+In the days immediately following their interview with General Petain,
+the lads saw much fighting; and with the close of each day there came
+bitterness to them, to the French troops, their officers and to the
+people of France and of all the allied nations.
+
+For the armies of the German Crown Prince continued to advance steadily
+in spite of the heroic resistance of the French; and it began to appear
+that the "Gateway to France" must ere long fall into alien hands.
+
+Day after day the Germans hurled themselves forward in herculean efforts
+to break the French lines; and most every day found them fighting a
+little nearer to Verdun. In vain the French attempted to stem the
+onslaught of the invading forces; the Germans were not to be denied.
+
+On the days when the fiercest of the German assaults were made, it was
+learned that the Emperor of Germany had directed the assaults in person.
+From the top of a small hill, surrounded by his staff, the Kaiser looked
+down upon the battlefield for days at a time, showing no signs of emotion
+as his countrymen fell right and left, that the German flag might be
+planted a few yards--sometimes only a few feet--farther westward.
+
+While the German losses were something terrible in this continuous
+fighting, the French suffered untold hardships. The effect of the great
+German shells, which fell within the French lines almost incessantly, was
+tremendous. It did not seem that flesh and blood could survive their
+deadly effect--and yet the French fought back gamely.
+
+At last the Germans reached a point only three miles and a half from the
+city of Verdun itself.
+
+Then began the fiercest of the fighting.
+
+After having been pushed back many miles by the German hordes, the French
+now braced suddenly and gave as good as they received. Instead of waiting
+for the German attacks, General Petain launched offensives of his own. At
+first these broke down easily under the German shells, but as they
+continued, the drives began to meet with more and more success. It became
+apparent that at this point the advantage usually rested with the
+attacking party.
+
+Battles--or what would have been called battles in any other war of
+history, but now, in the official reports were merely referred to as
+skirmishes--raged for hours at a stretch, some of the most important
+continuing for days, first with advantage to one side and then to
+the other.
+
+In vain the German Crown Prince hurled his men forward to pierce the
+French lines that now separated him from Verdun, less than four
+miles away.
+
+While the German guns still continued to shell the city and the
+fortifications, there was little they could accomplish now. All walls and
+houses in the path of the great guns had crumbled under their terrible
+fire days ago; there was nothing left to destroy, except at intervals
+where a small fort still stood and breathed defiance to the enemy.
+
+But the German guns served one purpose. They afforded protection for the
+infantry as it advanced to the attack. Only when the Germans advanced
+close enough to come to hand grips with the French did the big guns
+become silent.
+
+But now came the turning of the tide.
+
+From far back the French threw out reinforcements to the hard pressed men
+in front. Huge new field guns were brought up. Great masses of
+ammunition, which the French had been storing up for just such a chance,
+were rushed to the front. Soon the French guns were speaking as loudly
+and as often as the great German 42-centimetres themselves.
+
+The first work of the new French offensive was to clear the Germans from
+Dead Man's Hill, Hill No. 320 and Hill No. 304. These battles, among the
+fiercest of all history, however, were really little more than
+skirmishes, when the entire movement was taken into consideration.
+Terrible though they were, after all they were nothing more than small
+parts of the great battle of Verdun itself.
+
+From Dead Man's Hill and the other two elevations captured by the French,
+the Germans now were pushed clear back to the banks of the river Meuse;
+and then they were driven beyond. Thiaumont farm, where Hal and Chester
+had seen hard fighting, came once more beneath the French tricolor; and
+the German eagle went back farther still.
+
+There was little or no rest for the men in the trenches on either side.
+Out would rush the Germans from their trenches in a grand attack upon the
+trenches of the French. Hand-to-hand fighting would ensue. Perhaps the
+Germans would be driven back. If they were they would make a new effort
+an hour or so later.
+
+Perhaps the French would give way and the Germans would occupy the
+trenches. A short time later the French would re-form under the very
+rifles of the enemy, and, by a grand charge, oust the Germans from their
+newly won positions. Then came the work of concentrating and fortifying
+the trenches all over again.
+
+It was terrible work, these days before Verdun.
+
+Hal and Chester played no small part in the advance of the French army.
+More than once they were despatched upon important missions; and their
+fortune had been of the best. Not once had they failed to accomplish a
+piece of work entrusted to them. General Petain began to look upon them
+as among his best men. Many a piece of work that, a month before, he
+would have entrusted to an older head now fell to the lot of either Hal
+or Chester; and the boys did not complain. In fact, the more they had to
+do the better they liked it.
+
+Nor, for the matter of that, was there complaint from any of the men in
+the French army, officers or men. They stood to their work bravely and
+never flinched under fire. Nor did they protest when they were forced to
+go for long hours without sleep, other than that they could catch between
+the battles that raged almost incessantly and seemed to be nothing less
+than one continuous struggle.
+
+Now came the day when the Germans had been pushed far east of the
+Meuse. For the moment the French, flushed with victory, paused for a
+breathing spell. It had been work well done, in the days that had just
+passed, and men and officers alike realized it. Preparing their lines
+against attacks, under the command of General Petain, the French paused
+for breath.
+
+The German Crown Prince, realizing the cause of this lull by the French,
+thought to take advantage of the foe, and launched assault after assault;
+but, tired out as the French were, there was still energy and courage
+enough among them to resist successfully the fierce charges of the foe.
+
+And after awhile the Crown Prince gave up these attacks, realizing that
+he could not hope, at that moment, to penetrate the French positions,
+and, for once, doing away with the needless sacrifice of men.
+
+Upon an afternoon when the battle of Verdun was a little more than three
+months old, Hal and Chester were summoned to the quarters of General
+Petain. They went eagerly, for they realized that there was important
+work ahead.
+
+"Boys," said General Petain, for thus he had come to address them when
+alone, after the official salutes had been returned, "I have here a piece
+of work, that, because of the danger attached, I hesitate to select a
+man, or men, to perform."
+
+Hal and Chester both smiled.
+
+"And you want to give us the first chance at it, sir?" said Hal.
+
+"Yes; I know that if you accept the mission it is more certain of success
+than if I entrusted it to other hands."
+
+"We shall be glad of the chance, sir," said Chester, quietly.
+
+General Petain clapped his hands in satisfaction.
+
+"I knew it," he said, "and yet I did not like to order you to perform it.
+You boys are true blue."
+
+Both lads flushed with pleasure at this remark, but they made no
+reply. They stood quietly waiting until the general should tell them
+what was required.
+
+"Boys," said the general, "it is absolutely essential to the success of
+this campaign that I have a more accurate knowledge of the enemy's lines
+and strength. My aviators have been sent in search of such information,
+but they have met with little success. The only man who got close enough
+to learn what I am after, according to others who followed him, was shot
+down. He failed to return. What he learned, of course, I do not know.
+But it is that which I must know. Do you think you can gain this
+information for me?"
+
+"We can at least have a try at it," said Chester, with a smile.
+
+"We'll get it if it is humanly possible," agreed Hal.
+
+"I am more confident of success than I would be if the mission were in
+other hands," said General Petain, quietly.
+
+"And when do you wish us to start, sir?" asked Hal.
+
+"Immediately," was the reply, "though I believe it would be better to
+wait until dark."
+
+"And you would suggest an aeroplane?" asked Hal.
+
+"I leave the means to you," returned the general. "I'll give you a
+written order that will put anything in the French lines at your
+disposal, aeroplane, automobile or horses. You may take your choice."
+
+The general turned to his desk and scribbled on a piece of paper. To what
+he had written he affixed his signature and then passed the paper to Hal.
+
+"I have no further instructions," he said. "But, be as quick as you can,
+and be careful."
+
+He arose and extended a hand to each lad. He had come to be very fond of
+them, and he patted each on the back affectionately.
+
+"May good fortune attend you," he said quietly.
+
+The lads drew themselves up, saluted and left the tent. The general
+stepped to the door and gazed after them.
+
+"Good boys, those," he said quietly to himself. "May they return safely!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE PARTY IS INCREASED
+
+
+"I guess an aeroplane is the best way after all," said Hal, when they
+were back in their own quarters.
+
+"Sure," Chester agreed. "It's swifter, and if we have any luck at all,
+it's a pretty good contraption to get away in after we have gained our
+information. Now about clothes. Shall we keep on these uniforms?"
+
+"What would you suggest?"
+
+"Well, I don't know. Thought maybe we would take some German
+clothes along."
+
+"Might not be a bad idea, though we won't put them on unless we have to.
+I don't want to be shot as a spy if I can help it."
+
+"Nor I. Don't suppose there would be any use in taking civilian
+costumes?"
+
+"I don't know. Guess it wouldn't do any harm, though. The more clothes
+the better. We may need a change of costume most any time."
+
+"All right. We'll load up, if we can find what we want."
+
+"I guess there won't be any trouble about that."
+
+The lad was right. Soon they had a large army plane at their disposal and
+had stocked it with all they thought they would need in the way of
+clothing and food. Then they returned to their own quarters. Hal glanced
+at his watch.
+
+"Only five o'clock," he said. "We've a good three hours yet. We
+don't want to go up until well after dark. Let's go out and have a
+look around."
+
+Chester was agreeable and they made their way from the tent. They had
+walked about for probably an hour, when suddenly Hal took Chester by the
+coat sleeve.
+
+"Look there!" he exclaimed.
+
+Chester looked; and there, perhaps fifty yards away, was Anthony Stubbs,
+slinking along, now and then casting an eye at Hal and Chester.
+
+"He's seen us," said Chester. "Let's have a little talk with him. Maybe
+we can have some fun."
+
+It was the first time they had seen the little war correspondent since
+the talk in General Petain's tent more than two months before.
+
+"Come on, then," said Hal.
+
+They increased their stride; but Stubbs, with a quick glance over his
+shoulder, observed this and also increased his pace.
+
+"He doesn't want to see us, Hal," said Chester, with a grin.
+
+"I see he doesn't," Hal grinned back. "Well, we want to see him." He
+raised his voice in a shout "Hey, there, Stubbs!"
+
+The little man glanced quickly back over his shoulder. Then, seeing that
+Hal and Chester were gaining on him, he broke into a run.
+
+"After him, Hal!" cried Chester, and also broke into a run.
+
+Hal followed suit.
+
+Around turn after turn they darted after the little man, who was making
+the best time his short legs would permit. At a word from Hal, Chester
+slowed down, for they didn't want to catch Stubbs too easily.
+
+"Let him run himself out," Hal said.
+
+And that was what the little man was doing. His tongue was literally
+hanging out as Hal and Chester continued to gain slowly. He was puffing
+like a locomotive and his arms were working like pistons. Once or twice
+he staggered and it seemed to him that he could not run another step. But
+he set his teeth and plodded on.
+
+"I've got to get away," he told himself. "There is no knowing what these
+young ruffians will do to me."
+
+In vain he tried to increase his pace. It could not be done. Every step
+cost him an effort and it seemed that he could not take another. He
+waddled crazily from one side to the other; and at last he came to a
+stop, and with what strength remained, he faced his pursuers and threw up
+his hands in an attitude of defense.
+
+At arm's length, Hal and Chester came to a pause.
+
+"So we have you at last, eh!" said the former.
+
+"You--you keep a-away from me," gasped Stubbs, panting for breath. "I
+don't want to have any tro--trouble with you."
+
+"Perhaps not, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester, "but we want to have a little
+trouble with you."
+
+"Let me a-alone," gasped Stubbs.
+
+Hal moved a step closer.
+
+"Remember what you did to us?" he asked.
+
+Stubbs stepped backward quickly.
+
+"Don't you come any closer," he gasped. "Let me alone."
+
+"Had us tied up, didn't you, Stubbs?" demanded Chester.
+
+"Yes; but it was for your own good!" Stubbs had regained his wind now.
+
+"For our own good, eh? Well, we have come after you for your own good."
+
+"What have you got to say for yourself, Stubbs?" demanded Hal.
+
+"Nothing," snapped the little man angrily, "except that I want to be let
+alone. You hoodwinked the general, all right, but you can't hoodwink me.
+Now go on away from here."
+
+Again Chester stepped forward, and this time the lad was treated to an
+unpleasant surprise. Instead of moving backward, Stubbs suddenly lowered
+his head and charged Chester.
+
+Taken by surprise, the lad was unable to get out of the way and the top
+of Stubbs' head rammed him squarely in the stomach. Chester doubled up
+and fell to the ground with a cry of pain.
+
+Stubbs turned and started to run; but before he had taken half a dozen
+steps, Hal had reached him and taken him by the arm. In vain the little
+man struggled to shake off the lad's grasp.
+
+"Hey, Stubbs!" cried Hal, laughing at the predicament in which Chester
+found himself, "what's the matter that you've turned so pugnacious all of
+a sudden? Getting to be a regular fighter, aren't you?"
+
+"Well, he was just about to swat me," declared Stubbs.
+
+Chester had now picked himself up and advanced upon Stubbs,
+threateningly.
+
+"Say!" he exclaimed; "what do you mean by using your head as a battering
+ram on me?"
+
+"I told you to keep away," returned Stubbs.
+
+"I know you did; but that's no sign you should try to kill me. I wasn't
+going to hurt you."
+
+"Maybe not," said Stubbs, "but I wasn't going to take any more chances.
+Now you keep away from me."
+
+"Oh, Chester won't hurt you," said Hal, with a laugh. "You treated him
+just right, Stubbs. He's got no kick coming."
+
+"No, that's right, Stubbs," said Chester, with a grin. "No hard feelings,
+I'm sure. You're all right. Put her there."
+
+The lad extended a hand. Stubbs advanced doubtfully, but at last grasped
+Chester's hand.
+
+Immediately he began to dance about wildly, shouting:
+
+"Leggo! Leggo my hand! Ouch!"
+
+At last Chester relaxed his grip.
+
+"That makes it square all around, Stubbs," he said with a grin.
+
+For a moment Stubbs gazed at him angrily, the while he worked his fingers
+back and fro to chase away the stiffness. Then he smiled.
+
+"All right," he said. "Now we're square."
+
+"Where you bound, Stubbs?" asked Hal.
+
+"Hunting news," returned Stubbs.
+
+"By Jove!" said Chester. "Why not take him along with us, Hal?"
+
+"Suits me," was Hal's answer, "if he wants to go."
+
+"Where you going?" demanded Stubbs.
+
+"Sailing," returned Chester. "Sailing over the German lines. Want to
+go along?"
+
+"Not me," said Stubbs, briefly.
+
+"Come now, Stubbs, don't be afraid. Nothing is going to hurt you, and we
+might need you."
+
+"That's what I thought," said Stubbs. "I knew there was some reason you
+wanted me to go along. I knew you didn't just want to take me along to
+show me the sights. Want me to stand in the gap when the trouble comes
+up. I know you."
+
+"I assure you I had no such thoughts."
+
+"Well, maybe you didn't have them, but that is what would happen all
+the same."
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal, quietly. "It's my belief that you're afraid."
+
+"Hal," said Stubbs, "you can bet your life I'm afraid to go up in the air
+with you two."
+
+"Come on, Stubbs," said Chester, seriously. "Honestly, we would be glad
+of your company. We haven't seen much of you for some time."
+
+"I know you haven't," returned Stubbs, "and that's why my health
+happens to be so good right now. But what are you going to do over the
+German lines?"
+
+"Get the lay of the land," said Hal. "Find out the German strength and a
+few other things, if possible."
+
+"Hm-m-m," muttered Stubbs. "Ought to be some news for the _Gazette_ over
+there, don't you think?"
+
+"Lots of it, Stubbs," replied Chester.
+
+"The only trouble," said Stubbs, "is that if I go after it, will I be
+able to come back and tell the _Gazette_ about it?"
+
+"If you don't mind, Mr. Stubbs," said Hal, "one of us will take it upon
+himself to see that the _Gazette_ gets the news."
+
+"After my job, are you?" said Stubbs, with a smile.
+
+"Well, not exactly. We just offered to help you out."
+
+"I can't see where that would do me any good. However, I guess I'll take
+you up on this bet. I might be able to learn something of importance. The
+next thing would be to get it by the censor."
+
+"Why, Stubbs," said Chester, "with your pull with General Petain, I can't
+see that you should have any trouble."
+
+"My pull, eh?" said Stubbs, with rather a sickly grin. "You two went and
+smashed my pull all to smithereens."
+
+"Oh, well," said Hal, "a newspaper man always finds a way."
+
+Stubbs looked at Hal, suspiciously.
+
+"If you're making fun of me--" he began.
+
+"Far from it, Mr. Stubbs," replied Hal. "I was just stating a fact. Why,
+you've told us that yourself."
+
+"Come, come, Stubbs," said Chester. "Are you going along or not? It's
+time to be moving."
+
+The little war correspondent made his decision.
+
+"I'll go," he said quietly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+FLYING
+
+
+"You know I don't think much of these contraptions," said Stubbs.
+
+With Hal and Chester he was flying aloft in a large army biplane. The
+little war correspondent had climbed into the machine with the same
+trepidation he always manifested when about to ascend into the air, but
+he had not spoken until the machine was a full half mile aloft and Hal
+had sent it moving swiftly toward the distant German lines.
+
+"Just sit tight and you will be all right," Chester replied.
+
+"Never fear, I'll sit tight," returned Stubbs and became silent.
+
+It was very dark aloft. Because he feared he might encounter an air craft
+of the enemy, Hal had not turned on the searchlight with which the
+machine was equipped. He had taken his bearings before making a start and
+was now trusting to his judgment of distances to guide him to the spot he
+had selected to return to the ground.
+
+This point, which Hal and Chester had decided upon after some
+deliberation, was well behind the most advanced German lines. According
+to Hal's calculations, it was possible that at the place selected there
+would be few German troops. He had figured to descend between the German
+lines. Under the cover of darkness he felt there was little to fear
+should they avoid all enemy aircraft.
+
+Accordingly, it was about an hour later when Hal reduced the speed of the
+biplane and then shut off the motor altogether. A moment later the
+machine began to glide slowly to earth.
+
+Chester, peering over the side of the aeroplane, was the first to see the
+ground below.
+
+"Land below!" he called to Hal.
+
+"Anything in sight?" asked Hal.
+
+"Not a thing. Coast seems to be perfectly clear. Trees near, too; so we
+can hide the plane, if you go almost straight down."
+
+Hal followed directions and a moment later the biplane came to rest upon
+the ground as lightly as a bird.
+
+Hal, Chester and Stubbs climbed out quickly.
+
+"Guess we had better run the machine back among the trees," said Hal.
+"Lend me a hand here."
+
+It was the work of but a few moments. Hal walked some distance away and
+surveyed the spot where the machine had been rolled. He walked around it
+on all sides.
+
+"O.K.," he said. "You wouldn't know it was there unless you happened to
+be looking for it."
+
+"Well, what now?" asked Chester.
+
+"Guess we had better don those German uniforms and prowl about a bit."
+
+"Snoop, eh," said Stubbs.
+
+"Now look here, Stubbs," said Hal, "you just keep quiet and get into this
+uniform we brought along for you."
+
+Mumbling to himself, Stubbs obeyed.
+
+Arrayed in the German uniforms--the attire of lieutenants--the three
+advanced toward where they felt sure the main German entrenchments must
+be. Hal glanced at his watch in the moonlight.
+
+"Ten o'clock," he said. "Within three hours we should have learned all we
+need to. As soon as we reach the German lines we shall separate. We'll
+meet here again at two o'clock. Is that satisfactory?"
+
+"Suits me," said Chester.
+
+"Want to lose me, do you?" grumbled Stubbs. "Never mind, though. I'll be
+here by the time you are."
+
+"Pick up every scrap of information possible," Hal enjoined his
+companions. "Don't take the trouble to write it down. Just impress it on
+your memory."
+
+The others nodded their understanding.
+
+The three came now upon a light in the distance.
+
+"Germans ahead, I guess," Chester whispered. "Careful and let all further
+conversation be in German."
+
+The lad was right. Advancing two hundred yards farther, the three friends
+came upon the outlying sections of the big German camp. Sentinels moved
+about in the darkness, their forms lighted up now and then by the flare
+of campfires--for the night was very cold.
+
+Once they were challenged by a sentry, but when the man looked at their
+uniforms in the moonlight, he lowered his rifle and passed on.
+
+"I'll go straight ahead," said Chester in a low voice. "Hal, you go north
+and let Stubbs go south."
+
+And thus it was arranged without further talk. The three friends
+separated.
+
+Walking between the rows of German tents, Chester, after perhaps half an
+hour, was arrested by the sound of voices in a tent that seemed, in the
+darkness, to be much larger than the ones which surrounded it. He paused
+and listened attentively.
+
+"Then everything is in readiness," came a voice.
+
+"Everything. When the French see that we have weakened our lines on the
+left wing, they naturally will press forward in masses. The pressure on
+the right wing probably will be lessened. Also in the center. General
+Petain, in all probabilities, will seek to take advantage of what he will
+believe is our carelessness."
+
+"And then?" asked the first voice.
+
+"Why, then we shall push forward in the center and on the right,
+leaving enough men on the left to make a show of force. Taken at a
+disadvantage, the French will be cut off on our left, and our center,
+sweeping around, suddenly, will envelop them. As I estimate it, the
+French wing, which will be thus enveloped, will be 100,000 strong. It
+will be a telling blow."
+
+Chester, while this conversation was in progress, had shrunk close up
+against the tent. Now, thinking to gain a view of the occupants, he
+drew his knife from his pocket and made a little slit in the canvas.
+To this opening he applied his eye; and then gave an exclamation under
+his breath.
+
+In the center of the group of officers in the tent was none other than
+the German Crown Prince, the directing head of the German attack on
+Verdun, and son of the Emperor himself.
+
+The conversation continued and the lad stored up mentally the knowledge
+he gained by listening to the conversation.
+
+The gathering within now seemed about to break up; but Chester delayed in
+his precarious position, thinking to gather every possible iota of
+information. And this almost proved his undoing.
+
+Although Chester did not know it, one of the German officers had, for
+some moments, been gazing at the little slit in the tent made by the
+point of Chester's knife. Now, with a murmured apology to the other
+officers, he strode from the tent. Chester still had his eyes glued to
+the opening and did not hear soft footsteps behind him.
+
+A harsh voice sounded in the lad's ear.
+
+"Get up from there!"
+
+Chester did not lose his nerve, although he realized immediately that he
+was in a ticklish position, indeed. His hand reached for his pocket as he
+rose slowly to his feet.
+
+But one glance at the figure that confronted him told the lad that it
+would be useless for him to attempt to draw his revolver; for the
+German held a pistol in a steady hand and it was levelled straight at
+Chester's head.
+
+"What are you doing here?" was the officer's next question.
+
+"Why, I heard voices," said Chester, "and I thought I would see what was
+going on."
+
+"Curiosity has got a man into trouble many a time," said the German
+quietly. "March on ahead of me."
+
+There was nothing for it but to obey. Under the muzzle of the German
+officer's revolver, Chester was marched around to the front of the tent
+and then inside.
+
+"Hello!" It was the Crown Prince who spoke. "What have we here?"
+
+"I caught this man eavesdropping outside the tent," replied the man who
+had captured Chester.
+
+"So!" said the Crown Prince in an angry tone. He whirled upon Chester.
+"And what were you doing there, sir?" he asked.
+
+"I--why, I--" Chester stammered.
+
+The lad was thankful in that minute for his German uniform; though he
+knew it probably would go hard with him anyhow, he believed that the fact
+that he was, ostensibly, a German lieutenant would give him more time;
+possibly it would give Hal enough time to find and rescue him. At least,
+it would preclude a search for more possible French spies.
+
+"To what regiment are you attached?" asked the Crown Prince.
+
+Chester took a long chance.
+
+"Fortieth Hussars, sir," he replied quietly.
+
+"Then what are you doing here?" demanded the Crown Prince, but continued
+without giving Chester time to reply: "Surely you know the penalty of
+such actions?"
+
+"All I can say, sir," the lad declared, "is that my curiosity
+overcame me."
+
+For a moment it seemed that the face of the Crown Prince softened. Then
+it became stern again.
+
+"I can see that you are little more than a boy," he said, "but that is no
+excuse. You are a soldier and you know a soldier's duty. That is not
+prying into the business of your superiors." He turned to the group of
+officers. "What do you say, sirs," he said, "shall I have this man court
+martialed, or shall I have him returned to his regiment with a warning?"
+
+But there was no mercy on the faces of the others and Chester
+realized it.
+
+"He should be court martialed and shot," said one.
+
+"I agree with you," said another.
+
+"I'm not so sure," said the Crown Prince. "The lad is young. How do I
+know what I would have done in his place? No; I am tempted to have him
+returned to his regiment and placed under arrest indefinitely."
+
+"Lieutenant Hollsein, I shall leave this man in your charge. See that he
+is returned to his regiment immediately."
+
+Chester breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that he was still in a
+perilous situation, for when he should be taken to the commander of the
+Fortieth Hussars, his deception must be learned. But at least it gave him
+more time.
+
+But Chester's sigh of relief came too soon.
+
+"Hold on!" said one of the German officers. "This man is no German!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+STUBBS AS A STRATEGIST
+
+
+Anthony Stubbs, after leaving Hal and Chester, pushed off to the south
+slowly, absolutely unconscious of the adventures that were to come his
+way. Mindful of the fact that there was a certain degree of safety in the
+German uniform he wore, and rather proud of himself thus attired, Stubbs
+walked on more boldly than he would have done otherwise.
+
+And thus it was that, without warning, he walked suddenly into the midst
+of a group of German officers who sat about a campfire a short distance
+from where he had left his two young friends.
+
+Stubbs pulled up suddenly and would have drawn back had not one of the
+German officers sprung suddenly to his feet.
+
+"Here, Hans, is another man now!" exclaimed the officer. "A moment ago
+you were bemoaning the fact that there was not another man to take a hand
+in a game of cards. Here is one come in answer to your prayers."
+
+Two other German officers sprang to their feet.
+
+"Four of us; that's enough," said one. He turned to Stubbs. "What
+do you say?"
+
+"Say to what?" asked Stubbs, bravely.
+
+"A game of cards."
+
+"What kind of a game of cards?"
+
+"An American game," was the reply. "Hans learned it when he was in the
+United States and has taught us something about it. It's called poker."
+
+"I've played it," said Stubbs.
+
+"Good! Then you will join us?"
+
+"I should be elsewhere," said Stubbs, hesitatingly.
+
+Be it known that Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent of the New York
+_Gazette_, had, in his day, liked to play a game of poker, whether it was
+right or whether it was wrong. Even to this day the lure of the game
+held, and in spite of the danger such a game entailed, Stubbs was not
+loath to play. Besides, the little man bethought himself that while the
+game was in progress he might learn something of value, so he said:
+
+"All right. I'll play."
+
+The man called Hans now sprang to his feet.
+
+"I want to warn you," he said, "that I am extremely lucky at this game."
+
+"Well, I used to be fairly lucky myself," said Stubbs. To himself
+he said: "Whoever heard of a German trying to play the American
+game of poker?"
+
+The man called Hans now led the way to his quarters, where he produced a
+table, chairs and a pack of cards. The four men ranged themselves around
+the table.
+
+As the game progressed there was considerable talk of the status of the
+opposing armies and Stubbs gained much information that he felt would be
+of use. As time passed other officers dropped in to witness the game; and
+chancing to look over his shoulder, Stubbs was startled to see the face
+of Hal. He gave a slight start, but quickly covered this up as he saw a
+look of annoyance on Hal's face.
+
+"Hal objects to my gambling, I guess," Stubbs muttered to himself. "But
+what do I care? I'm glad to gather in a few German coins. Fortunate that
+I had some in my pocket."
+
+The manner in which Hal came to be in the tent was very simple. He had
+walked north for some distance, and finding nothing that would prove of
+value, he had turned back. He had been attracted by the sound of
+conversation and had joined the group of German officers near the tent
+where the game of poker was in progress. When one of the officers had
+suggested going in and watching the game Hal had acquiesced. That is how
+he found himself standing behind Stubbs and scanning the latter's cards.
+
+At that moment Stubbs had lost a hand to the man called Hans. Stubbs was
+considerably nettled, for he felt sure he should have won. He turned an
+eye on Hal, who stood directly behind him.
+
+"Don't stand behind me," the little man snapped.
+
+"What's the matter?" demanded Hal. "Superstitious?"
+
+"Yes, if you want to call it that," Stubbs answered.
+
+Hal shifted his position slightly.
+
+Again Stubbs scanned a hand that he felt sure would win. Hans was the
+dealer. As he drew two more cards, Stubbs suddenly gave a start. He had
+seen Hans slip a card from his sleeve.
+
+Now Stubbs was not a fighter. He had shown that on more than one
+occasion. But the little man objected to being imposed upon. Also he had
+always stood for a square deal in a friendly game of cards. He had proven
+that more than once in his younger days. And now, seeing the man called
+Hans cheating made Stubbs' blood boil.
+
+Quietly he leaned across the table and spoke.
+
+"You," he said, shaking his forefinger in the man's face, "no wonder you
+say you are lucky."
+
+"Why, what do you mean?" demanded Hans, his face turning pale, for he
+well realized the import of Stubbs' words.
+
+"I mean," said Stubbs, and at that moment his hand dropped to his
+revolver butt, "I mean that you are a cheat!"
+
+Stubbs produced his revolver and levelled it straight at Hans. Then he
+swept the circle of surprised faces about him with his eyes.
+
+"Sir!" exclaimed Hans, "I demand an apology for those words."
+
+"Well, you won't get it," returned Stubbs, decisively. He turned to the
+man next to Hans. "Reach up his sleeve there," he said, "and if you
+don't find a card or two I'll make you a present of all the money I have
+in my pocket."
+
+Surprised, the other obeyed and the result vindicated Stubbs. Two cards
+fluttered from Hans' sleeve. Stubbs got to his feet.
+
+"You see, gentlemen," he said, "with what kind of a man you have been
+playing. No wonder he calls himself lucky."
+
+The others were very angry. Seeing that the matter would be taken out of
+his hands, Stubbs restored his revolver to its place.
+
+Hans stood up.
+
+"If you think I have cheated," he said, "you are welcome to all the money
+I have won. As for you," he turned on Stubbs, "you shall die!"
+
+A revolver appeared in his hand as if by magic and Stubbs shrank back.
+
+But before the man could fire Hal leaped quickly forward and struck up
+the weapon.
+
+"You are not only a cheat but a coward!" said the lad quietly.
+
+"And who are you?" screamed Hans, now beside himself with rage. "What
+have you to do with this?"
+
+"Nothing more than to prevent murder," replied Hal.
+
+Now the other German officers took a hand in the trouble.
+
+"Lieutenant Darnhart," said one. "I wish you never to speak to me again."
+
+"Nor to me," from the other man who had taken part in the game, and
+added: "If you are wise, you will know what to do."
+
+For a moment Hans gazed at them hardly knowing what to say. Then, slowly,
+he emptied the contents of his pockets upon the table.
+
+"You are right, gentlemen," he said quietly. "I have cheated. Therefore,
+this money belongs to you. And do not fear that I do not know what to do.
+The honor of the regiment shall be kept clean."
+
+With that he bowed low to the others and stalked from the tent.
+The others stood stiffly erect until he had disappeared; then
+turned to Stubbs.
+
+"We have to thank you, sir," said one, "for opening our eyes. Long we
+have wondered why Darnhart was so lucky, why he always arose from the
+game the only winner. Now we know."
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I used to play considerably when I lived in the
+United States, and for that reason, I guess, I was on my guard."
+
+"At all events," said the second German, "you have done us a service and
+we wish to thank you."
+
+"Why, that's all right," said Stubbs. "I am sure either of you would have
+done the same thing under the circumstances. And with your permission, I
+shall leave you now."
+
+The others bowed and Stubbs turned toward the door.
+
+"If you will wait a moment, sir, I shall accompany you," said a voice.
+
+It was Hal who spoke and Stubbs waited obediently.
+
+"First," said Hal, "I have something else to do." He addressed the
+Germans: "Which of you is upon the staff of General Ludwig?"
+
+"Why, I am," said one of the men, stepping forward.
+
+"Good!" said Hal. "I would have spoken sooner, but I was absorbed in the
+game. I did not remember your name, but I was sent for you. Will you
+follow me?"
+
+The German nodded his head.
+
+"Very well," said Hal. "Come."
+
+He led the way from the tent and the German and Stubbs followed. The
+latter was astonished at Hal's words, but he did not show his surprise in
+his actions. He walked after the others without a word.
+
+"Something up," he muttered to himself. "I guess I had better keep my
+gun handy."
+
+Outside, they walked along slowly.
+
+Five minutes later, when they reached a place that was somewhat
+secluded, Hal suddenly produced his revolver and pressed it against the
+German's head.
+
+"You will give me immediately what papers you have in your pockets,"
+the lad said quietly. "If you make an outcry I shall be compelled to
+shoot you."
+
+The German stared aghast.
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
+
+"It means that I must have whatever papers you possess," said Hal,
+calmly, "even if I have to shoot you to get them."
+
+"Ah!" cried the German, "I see! A spy!"
+
+He made a move as though to seize Hal, but the lad was too quick for him.
+
+With his left hand he grabbed the German's elbow in a tight grip and
+squeezed. Then, even before the man had time to cry out, the lad released
+his hold, reversed his revolver quickly and brought the butt down on the
+German's head with all his force.
+
+The man crumpled up without a word and lay still.
+
+Stubbs, who had witnessed this proceeding in open-eyed wonder, now
+uttered an exclamation.
+
+"What are you doing? Trying to get us both killed?" he demanded.
+
+Hal did not reply. Stooping over the prostrate German he ran his hand
+quickly through the man's pockets. Then he straightened up, and by the
+soft light of the moon, ran through the papers hurriedly. He gave an
+exclamation of satisfaction.
+
+"I thought I should find something," he muttered. "Come on now,
+Stubbs!" he said.
+
+The little war correspondent hurried after him without another word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+IN GRAVE PERIL
+
+
+Chester's sigh of relief almost choked in his throat. But he determined
+to brave out the situation as well as he could.
+
+"No," exclaimed the man who had spoken, "this boy is no German!"
+
+Even the Crown Prince was surprised.
+
+"Not a German!" he exclaimed. "Then what is he? A--"
+
+"A spy!" the other concluded for him.
+
+"Impossible!" declared the Crown Prince. "How could there be a spy
+among us?"
+
+"Well, he's here. Surely you can look at the boy and tell he is not
+a German."
+
+The Crown Prince approached Chester and scrutinized him closely.
+
+"Who are you?" he demanded at length.
+
+"I have told you, sir," replied Chester, quietly.
+
+"But you have not told the truth," was the Crown Prince's reply. "I can
+see you are not French. Are you British?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then what?"
+
+"Well," said Chester, at length, realizing that subterfuge was useless,
+"I am an American."
+
+"With the French army, eh?" said the Crown Prince.
+
+Chester did not reply. He could see no reason for incriminating himself,
+though he realized, too, that it made no particular difference whether he
+replied or remained silent. He was convicted either way.
+
+"You don't answer," exclaimed the Crown Prince. "That is evidence
+sufficient of your guilt."
+
+Chester shrugged his shoulders. The Crown Prince eyed him angrily.
+
+"You are one of these indifferent ones, are you?" he said. "Well, we know
+how to cure that. Do you realize what is in store for you?"
+
+"Perfectly," replied Chester. "The firing squad."
+
+"No; you are wrong," was the Crown Prince's answer. "The firing squad
+is too good for spies. You have been captured within our lines in
+disguise; therefore, there can be no doubt that you are a spy. You
+shall be hanged."
+
+Chester took a step backward. He had realized what his fate would be
+should he fall into the hands of the enemy, but this was more than he had
+bargained for. And at that moment there seemed little possibility that
+Hal would find and be able to rescue him.
+
+"Looks like the end of my rope," the lad muttered.
+
+He made no reply to the Crown Prince's words. He knew a reply would
+be useless.
+
+"So you decline to talk?" said the Crown Prince. "Well, it matters not."
+He motioned to one of his staff. "See that this prisoner is hanged by the
+neck at sunrise," he said.
+
+The officer saluted and motioned to Chester to precede him from the tent.
+There was nothing for it but to obey and the lad walked out.
+
+Now it happened that in some unaccountable manner the Germans had
+neglected to relieve Chester of his revolvers. The lad's right hand
+rested upon the weapon in his belt. But he was unable at this moment to
+draw with any degree of hope, for the German officer was directly behind
+him and Chester knew he would be shot down before he could turn and fire.
+Also, should he succeed in gaining the drop on the German by a quick
+move, he was in the very heart of the German camp and the sound of a shot
+would bring a thousand men on his heels.
+
+The lad bided his time.
+
+Perhaps half a mile from the quarters of the German Crown Prince,
+Chester's captor motioned him into a tent. Chester entered without a
+word. What hopes he might have had of suddenly flashing his revolver on
+his captor disappeared, for the man entered close behind him.
+
+He clapped his hands.
+
+A moment later a second officer appeared in the tent and stood at
+attention.
+
+"Call a guard of four men and have this tent surrounded," instructed
+Chester's captor.
+
+The man saluted and left the tent. He was back within a few moments,
+however, and saluting said:
+
+"The tent is surrounded, sir."
+
+"Very well," said Chester's captor. "You may go."
+
+Again the man left the tent; then Chester's captor said:
+
+"Now, I guess you will be safe here until morning; after that you will be
+safe for all time."
+
+"Thanks," said Chester, dryly.
+
+The German left the tent.
+
+Chester now took stock of his surroundings. Outside he could hear his
+guards pacing up and down.
+
+"If I could get one of them in here at a time," the lad told himself,
+"perhaps I could dispose of them. I'll try it."
+
+Approaching the entrance, he poked his head out.
+
+"Get back inside there," a gruff voice exclaimed, and Chester beheld a
+large German soldier with his rifle pointed squarely at his head.
+
+"Look here," said Chester. "I want a drink of water."
+
+"Get back inside," was the sharp reply. "I'll get it for you."
+
+Chester moved back in the tent. Five minutes later the German soldier
+stuck his head inside.
+
+"Here's your water," he said, holding forth a tin cup.
+
+Chester's right hand rested on his belt as he extended his left to take
+the cup. The German had lowered his gun at that moment; and he paid
+dearly for his carelessness.
+
+Chester made a sudden movement and the cup of water went clattering to
+the ground. At the same moment Chester brought the butt of his revolver
+down on the head of the German soldier with a crunch. The man fell to
+the ground.
+
+Hastily now Chester seized the man by the feet and dragged him inside.
+Then the lad quickly stripped him of his clothes and donned them himself.
+They were large, but Chester made them fit by turning up the trousers and
+drawing his belt tight. Then he picked up the German's gun and stepped
+from the tent.
+
+The lad had intended to move away from the tent immediately, but even as
+he would have walked off a second of the guards approached and engaged
+him in conversation. Chester muffled his voice as well as possible and
+imitated the hoarse tones of the man he had disposed of.
+
+"Nice night," said the German.
+
+"Nice night," Chester agreed.
+
+"What is to be done with the prisoner inside?"
+
+"Hang him in the morning," said Chester.
+
+"Good! It's the way all spies should be treated."
+
+"Of course; unless they chance to be German spies."
+
+"That's different," muttered the guard.
+
+"Of course it is," Chester agreed and added: "You'd better get back to
+your place. The prisoner might escape under your nose."
+
+"Not much chance," was the reply. "I wouldn't care if he did try, though.
+I'd like to have a shot at him."
+
+"Nice pleasant sort of a customer," Chester muttered to himself. Aloud,
+he said: "Well, I was just giving you a word of warning. You can't tell
+about these fellows. They're pretty slippery customers."
+
+"Well, this one won't slip out of our clutches," declared the guard. "I
+wonder if I hadn't better go in and have a look at him?"
+
+"Can't be done," said Chester. "My instructions are to let no one pass."
+
+"So are mine, but what has that to do with it?"
+
+"A whole lot. I'm on guard in front here and I say you can't go in."
+
+"Come now, be a good fellow, I want to have a look at the prisoner."
+
+"Can't be done," returned Chester.
+
+"You are a deucedly uncivil sort of a fellow," said the guard. "I don't
+seem to know you. What's your name?"
+
+"None of your business," returned Chester.
+
+"Is that so? Suppose I make it some of my business," and the guard took a
+threatening step forward.
+
+"You'll be sorry, that's all."
+
+"Think so, do you? Let me tell you something. I'm going to hunt you up in
+the morning and have it out with you."
+
+"All right," said Chester. "You can suit yourself about that. But wait
+until morning. Remember we're guarding this prisoner now."
+
+"Well, I've a notion to settle with you right now, prisoner or no
+prisoner. I don't like you."
+
+"To tell the truth, I don't think a whole lot of you," said Chester. "I
+would a great deal rather be without your company. You had better get
+back where you belong."
+
+"Think so, do you? Well, I'll show you."
+
+With these words the German guard forgot all about the prisoner
+supposed to be inside and everything else save that he wanted to get at
+Chester. He dropped his rifle with a clatter and struck at Chester with
+his right fist.
+
+"Well, if you must have it," Chester muttered to himself.
+
+He, too, dropped his gun and his right fist shot forth. The German
+staggered back with a grunt; but Chester's blow had not reached a vital
+spot and the guard leaped forward again.
+
+This time Chester timed his blow a little more carefully.
+
+"Smack!"
+
+The lad's fist landed flush on the guard's jaw. The man rolled over
+like a log.
+
+Chester looked around quickly.
+
+"Now to get out of this," he muttered.
+
+He picked up his rifle and turned to move away. But even as he would have
+started the sound of hurrying footsteps halted him; and he began to pace
+up and down in front of the tent.
+
+Two figures dashed toward him; behind them came the sound of shots.
+
+"Hello!" said Chester to himself. "More trouble in camp. Wonder
+what's up now?"
+
+The answer was to come sooner than he could have expected. As the two
+figures came closer, other figures appeared in the distance. There came
+the sound of revolver shots.
+
+"This way!" cried a voice.
+
+Chester raised his rifle, ready to take a hand in the proceedings himself
+should the occasion demand.
+
+"This thing is getting rather complicated," he told himself.
+
+The two approaching figures came closer rapidly. Chester gave an
+exclamation of pure astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
+
+
+When Hal and Stubbs took to their heels after the former had relieved the
+German officer of his papers, they had run some distance before coming
+across anyone in the darkness. Then they came upon another figure so
+suddenly that it almost resulted in their capture.
+
+Hal, in the lead, had been just about to slacken his pace, when, rounding
+a corner suddenly, he had crashed into a form in the night. The two went
+down in a heap; and Stubbs, turning a moment later, had stumbled over the
+pair of struggling forms before he could check himself. In a moment he
+found himself mixed up in the struggling mass.
+
+A fist struck Stubbs squarely upon the nose.
+
+"Hey! Quit that," said Stubbs, and struck out with his right.
+
+This blow came almost ending the fight right there and in a manner not at
+all advantageous to Stubbs and Hal. In the darkness the little war
+correspondent had been unable to distinguish friend from foe and his fist
+caught Hal just above the right eye.
+
+Now Anthony Stubbs had considerable power in his right arm and for a
+moment Hal was dazed by the blow. Before he could clear his head, his
+opponent had struck him a heavy blow on the other side of the neck and
+leaped to his feet.
+
+At that instant Stubbs realized what he had done and a sickening
+sensation struck him in the pit of the stomach; but the little man
+determined to give the best that was in him to undo his work.
+
+With an angry bellow he charged his German opponent. The latter stepped
+back a pace and sought to draw his revolver, but Stubbs was too quick
+for him. Almost at the moment that Stubbs crashed into his foe he
+lowered his head, as would a steer, and his head caught the German in
+the region of the belt.
+
+Came a gasp from the German as he doubled up and collapsed. He rolled
+over upon the ground several times in a vain attempt to gain his breath;
+then lay still.
+
+The victory was with Stubbs!
+
+Hal had now regained consciousness and sat up just in time to see the
+effect of Stubbs' charge.
+
+"Good work, Stubbs!" the lad cried. "Now lend me a hand and we'll get
+away from here!"
+
+Stubbs did as requested and a moment later Hal was on his feet. The lad
+felt the bump over his eye tenderly.
+
+"Stubbs," he said, "it was rather dark and we were so mixed up on the
+ground that I couldn't see, but I would be willing to wager a whole lot
+that it wasn't a German who gave me this crack over the eye. Now was it?"
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I--I--"
+
+"Just as I thought," declared Hal. "So you tried to do me up as well as
+the German, eh?"
+
+"It was an accident," declared Stubbs. "You know I wouldn't have done it
+on purpose, Hal."
+
+"It came very near being a costly accident, Stubbs. Suppose the German
+had laid you out? Then what? We would have been nabbed, sure."
+
+"I'll be more careful next time," said Stubbs, apologetically.
+
+"You won't have to be," said Hal. "Next time I'm going to get in the
+first blow. Then we'll see how you like it. But come. We must be moving
+away from here. See. The German is regaining consciousness. I don't want
+to kill him, and we mustn't be here when he comes to. Come now."
+
+Hal led the way rapidly along the row of tents.
+
+"Looks as though we should be safe enough now," the lad said, after they
+had walked for perhaps fifteen minutes.
+
+The lad produced his watch, and by the soft light of the moon, took note
+of the time.
+
+"By Jove! half past one o'clock," he said. "We shall have to hurry back
+or Chester will be worried."
+
+"Let's hope Chester will be there when we arrive," said Stubbs.
+
+"Oh, he'll be there, all right. Come on."
+
+"Say," said Stubbs as they walked along, "what I want to know is how you
+knew the German officer you knocked down had any valuable papers?"
+
+"That's easy," was Hal's response. "Before entering the tent where your
+little game was in progress, I overheard one of the officers without
+mention the fact that an aide of General Ludwig's was in the tent and
+that he carried important papers. The rest was very simple."
+
+"I see," said Stubbs. "Now what--look there, Hal."
+
+The little man broke off suddenly and pointed directly ahead. Advancing
+toward them were perhaps a dozen German soldiers, with an officer at
+their head.
+
+"We'll have to get out of the way," said Hal, quietly. "We haven't time
+to answer questions now."
+
+He turned between the rows of tents and hurried on, with Stubbs close
+behind him. And from the German officer came the command to halt.
+
+Instead, Hal increased his speed and a moment later he and Stubbs were
+running quietly between the rows of German tents. Behind came the sound
+of pursuing footsteps.
+
+"We're in for it now, Stubbs," panted Hal. "I was a fool to run. They
+know now that there is something wrong and they won't rest until they
+have scoured the entire camp."
+
+"Then we are done for!" exclaimed Anthony Stubbs.
+
+"Not yet!" replied Hal. "While there's life there's hope. Never say
+die, Stubbs."
+
+The little man did not reply. He saved all the breath he had left for
+running purposes, for he felt that he was likely to have to run the rest
+of the night.
+
+Suddenly, making another short turn, Hal pulled up. Stubbs did likewise
+and both listened attentively.
+
+The footsteps were some distance back.
+
+"We've gained a bit, Stubbs," said Hal.
+
+"Well, what's the use of waiting here then?" demanded the war
+correspondent. "Let's gain a bit more."
+
+"Hold on!" exclaimed Hal, as Stubbs would have taken to his heels again.
+"We can't run clear through the German camp like this, you know. We're
+bound to be caught if we try it. It must be strategy rather than
+fleetness of foot if we hope to get out of this situation safely."
+
+"All right," Stubbs agreed. "Whatever you say suits me. But if it is
+strategy that is going to get us out of this, tell me some strategy
+real quick."
+
+Hal considered a moment. Every second the pursuing footsteps were coming
+closer. Stubbs squirmed about uneasily.
+
+"Say," he said at last; "hear those fellows coming? I'm going to get away
+from here."
+
+Again he took to his heels; and there was nothing for Hal to do but
+follow, for he did not wish to lose sight of the little man. Besides, in
+that moment's pause, Hal had decided upon a plan that he believed had a
+fair chance of success.
+
+For perhaps five minutes more they ran on, Hal fearful at every moment
+that German soldiers would pour from their tents and interrupt their
+flight. Fortunately, this did not happen, however.
+
+Hal, fleet of foot as he was, was hard pressed to catch up with
+Stubbs, who had gained a slight lead and was covering the ground with
+rapid strides. But at last the lad overtook him and laid a hand on
+his shoulder.
+
+"Slow down, there," he commanded. "First thing you know you'll have the
+whole camp after us. Those shoes of yours must be at least number
+elevens. They shake the whole earth when you run."
+
+"Well, they have come in pretty handy to-night," said Stubbs. "What are
+you stopping here for?"
+
+"Because I don't want to arouse every German in the camp. I'll tell you
+about that strategy now."
+
+"Well, let's hear it real quick," said Stubbs, impatiently. "I want to
+get away from here."
+
+"So do I," said Hal, "but I want to get away all in one piece. Here's
+my plan: We can't hope to get away by running. Sooner or later, before
+we are clear of the German lines, we are certain to bump into some one.
+That would settle it. We'll go ahead a little more, then we'll enter
+one of these tents, tap the occupants on the head with our revolver
+butts and crawl into their cots. Then when our pursuers have gone by
+we'll go back."
+
+"By Jove!" said Stubbs, "that's not half bad. Wonder why I can't think of
+things like that?"
+
+"Because you're too busy running," returned Hal.
+
+The first of the pursuers came into sight at that moment and uttered a
+cry. This told the others following that the prey had been sighted and
+they dashed forward.
+
+"Come as fast as you can, Stubbs," shouted Hal. "We've got to get out
+of sight."
+
+In the distance Hal saw a solitary figure standing before a tent. He knew
+that this figure had seen him and decided that the man must be disposed
+of before he could give the alarm, Therefore, he headed straight for him.
+
+As he ran, Hal expected every moment that the figure before the tent
+would open fire on him and his own revolver was held ready should the
+man's first shot go wild. Hal did not wish to fire if he could
+possibly avoid it.
+
+Close behind Hal, Stubbs panted and puffed along. Once Hal was forced to
+reduce his speed in order that Stubbs might keep up with him. The little
+man was doing his best, but his short legs were not built to maintain a
+pace that Hal could set. Besides, he had long since lost his youthfulness
+and he could not run as he had done in his earlier days.
+
+"I can't go much farther, Hal," he gasped.
+
+"Just a little ways, Stubbs," Hal urged him on. "See that man in the tent
+there? That's where we'll hide. I'll knock him out if he doesn't get me
+first. The fool! He is taking a long chance. He should fire."
+
+At that moment there came a fusillade of shots from behind.
+
+In his anxiousness to get the man in the door of the tent out of the way,
+Hal had continued a straight course longer than he had realized; and this
+had allowed the pursuers to come within sight again. There was nothing to
+do but make the best of it now.
+
+Hal dashed straight for the figure in the tent.
+
+Drawing close, Hal raised his revolver, reversed, and held it ready to
+bring down on the figure's head the moment they should come together.
+There was a sudden exclamation from the figure in the tent; and with it
+Hal dropped his arm; the exclamation was a single word:
+
+"Hal!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+A HARD BLOW TO THE ENEMY
+
+
+It was the voice of Chester.
+
+Hal stopped abruptly. Stubbs also panted up and came to a halt.
+
+"What on earth are you doing here, Chester?" asked Hal.
+
+For answer Chester pointed to the men who were pursuing his friends.
+
+"Are those fellows after you?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," was Hal's answer.
+
+"Then let's get away from here," said Chester. "Come on."
+
+He took to his heels and Hal and Stubbs followed him. Gaining his
+friend's side, Hal, in a few quick words, explained his plan as he had
+outlined it to Stubbs only a few moments before.
+
+"Then we shall have to get out of sight of our pursuers," said Chester.
+"Come, Stubbs," he called back over his shoulder, "a little spurt now and
+we shall be safe."
+
+Stubbs tried to respond to this command; and he did succeed in getting up
+a little more speed as he turned about a tent after Hal and Chester.
+Twice more the three doubled on their tracks and then Hal pulled up
+before a tent.
+
+"This will do as well as another, I guess," he said.
+
+"Waste no time," said Chester. "Revolvers ready and come on."
+
+With weapons reversed the three entered the tent quietly. Deep snores
+within led the friends to the cots of the occupants of the tent.
+
+"I hate to do this," said Chester, as he stood over a German soldier,
+"but there is no help for it."
+
+His arm rose and fell.
+
+Across the tent Hal performed a similar operation. Then they explored
+carefully in the darkness for signs of another figure.
+
+There was none.
+
+"Only two cots, Hal," whispered Chester. "Now let's get to bed until
+things have quieted down."
+
+Quickly the three threw off their clothes and clambered into the cots,
+first throwing the men they had overcome beneath them. Stubbs had a cot
+to himself, while Hal and Chester climbed in together.
+
+"When they fail to find trace of us they likely will come back and ask if
+we have been seen," said Hal. "We must pretend to be asleep."
+
+A few moments later the sound of their pursuers' feet were audible as
+they passed the tent on the run. Then they died away in the distance.
+
+"Had we better wait or try to get out before they come back?"
+asked Chester.
+
+Hal was undecided, but the question was answered for him.
+
+Only a few minutes had passed when there came the sound of returning
+footsteps. The boys could hear them stop before the different tents and
+also the sound of voices. Directly a man poked his head into the tent.
+
+"Awake in here?" he asked.
+
+There was no answer.
+
+The man advanced into the tent and approached Stubbs' cot which was
+nearest the entrance. He laid a hand on Stubbs' shoulder and shook him.
+
+"Hello," said the little man sleepily. "What's the matter. Time to get
+up already?"
+
+"No," was the reply. "Have you seen anything of three men, whose
+appearance would indicate they had been running?"
+
+"I've been asleep," protested Stubbs. "I had a dream. But I guess the men
+I saw in my dreams are not the ones you want."
+
+"These are not dream men," was the response. "I thought possibly you
+might have heard them run by this tent."
+
+"No," said Stubbs, truthfully, "I didn't hear them run by this tent."
+
+"All right," said the German and withdrew.
+
+For perhaps an hour the three fugitives lay in the shelter of the German
+tent. From time to time they heard voices without but after awhile these
+died away. After there had been absolute silence without for perhaps
+fifteen minutes, Chester slipped from the cot.
+
+"May as well move, I guess," he whispered.
+
+Hal also arose.
+
+"All right," he said. "Come, Stubbs."
+
+There was no reply from Stubbs' cot. Hal walked quickly across the tent,
+laid a hand on Stubbs' shoulder and shook him vigorously.
+
+"Come, Stubbs!" he exclaimed. "Time to get out of here."
+
+Stubbs muttered something unintelligible and turned over.
+
+"By Jove! if he isn't asleep," said Chester, who came to Hal's side now.
+
+"That's what he is," agreed Hal. "Well, we've got to get him up. Grab
+hold of his feet."
+
+Chester did so and together the boys picked the little man up bodily.
+
+"I say!" said Stubbs, sleepily, "let me alone, will you? I want to sleep
+a little more."
+
+"You'll find an eternal sleep if you don't get out of here, Stubbs," said
+Hal. "Don't you know you are in a German tent and that you'll be shot if
+you're found here?"
+
+This awoke Stubbs instantly. He stood up and rubbed his eyes.
+
+"Great Scott!" he ejaculated. "How on earth did I go to sleep in a
+predicament like this?"
+
+"I don't know how you did it," returned Hal, "but you did. Come on,
+Chester, let's get out of here while we have a chance."
+
+He led the way cautiously to the door of the tent and poked his head
+carefully outside.
+
+"Coast seems to be clear," he announced. "Come on and walk quietly."
+
+The others followed him.
+
+Hal made a direct line for the place where they had hidden the large army
+aeroplane. Fortunately, the lad was blessed with an almost uncanny sense
+of direction and he knew the course he laid out would take them to the
+hiding spot of the plane as directly as if he could see the huge machine
+from where he stood.
+
+All was silence in the big camp as the lads walked cautiously along,
+stopping now and then and straining their ears for a sound that would
+indicate the presence of a watchful German sentry. No such sound came and
+the three had almost reached the outskirts of the camp when Hal, who was
+leading, stopped and pointed to an object that loomed up large in the
+darkness a short distance away.
+
+"What is it?" asked Stubbs in a hoarse whisper.
+
+"Looks to me like a place where ammunition might be stored," said Hal,
+quietly. "I shall have a look."
+
+"Let it alone, Hal," said Stubbs, anxiously. "Don't go fooling around
+there. You're likely to blow us all up."
+
+"I guess not," returned Hal, "but I wouldn't mind blowing all the
+ammunition up that the place may contain."
+
+"By Jove!" said Chester. "A good idea! I'm with you."
+
+"Well, I'm not," declared Stubbs. "I know where our aeroplane is and
+that's where I'm going right this minute. I don't know how to fly the
+thing, and if you fellows go fooling around that ammunition depot I'll
+probably have to hunt another pilot; but Anthony Stubbs is not going to
+be blown up with his eyes open when he can help it."
+
+"Better wait here, Stubbs," said Chester.
+
+"Not me," returned the little man, decisively. "You'll find me at the
+plane when you get there; or if you get there, I should say."
+
+"But there is nothing sure that the building contains ammunition," said
+Hal. "I just guessed at it, Stubbs. Come and have a look."
+
+"Oh, it contains ammunition, all right."
+
+"How do you know?" demanded Chester.
+
+"Well, if it didn't you fellows wouldn't have spied it. You call it good
+luck. I call it hard luck. I tell you that every time I go any place with
+you I risk my neck. Sure the building contains ammunition! It was put
+there for the sole purpose of having you blow it up. That's the way it
+looks to me. But I can see all the fireworks I want to from a distance.
+Good-bye."
+
+"All right, Stubbs, if you are such a coward," said Chester,
+somewhat nettled.
+
+"I'd rather be a live coward than a dead fool," was Stubbs' reply.
+
+He walked off.
+
+"Come on, Chester," said Hal. "We'll have a look at this place."
+
+He led the way close to the building. Going slowly and cautiously they
+advanced to within a short distance of the building without being
+observed, although they could see an occasional dark shape as it moved
+about in front of the building.
+
+"Guards there," said Hal, briefly.
+
+"Sure," said Chester. "I believe you have guessed right. I am sure the
+place is filled with ammunition. Now if we could just dispose of the
+guards and place a time fuse--"
+
+"It would be a hard blow to the Germans," Hal agreed. "We'll try it."
+
+Still cautiously they approached. A guard arose from in front of the
+building. He stretched his arms. Apparently he had been asleep. Then he
+sat down again.
+
+"We'll wait a minute," Hal whispered. "Perhaps he'll doze again."
+
+Fortune was with the boys. A few moments later there came the sound of a
+gentle snore. The man was asleep. Immediately the lads sprang to action.
+Quickly they dashed across the open space to the side of the large
+building, which was made of wood and seemed to be nothing more than a
+huge barn.
+
+Chester stopped beside the guard and raised his revolver. He hesitated a
+moment and then lowered the weapon.
+
+"Let him be," he muttered. "He won't be with us long anyhow."
+
+Hal, in the meantime, had been exploring the barn. Coming back he picked
+up the guard's rifle.
+
+"I can pry a board loose with this," he told Chester, in a whisper.
+
+This proved easier work than it looked. The board came loose without much
+trouble. Hal disappeared inside.
+
+"Ammunition?" Chester asked, as he poked his head in.
+
+"Yes," Hal whispered back.
+
+"Find a fuse?" asked Chester.
+
+Again Hal's reply was in the affirmative.
+
+"Stretch it out here then, and hurry," ordered Chester.
+
+Hal appeared on the outside a moment later, carrying a fuse. One end
+still remained in the barn. The other Hal carried some distance.
+
+"Guess you'd better dispose of that guard first," he said. "He might wake
+up and extinguish the fuse."
+
+It was the work of but a moment, much as Chester hated to perform it.
+
+Then Hal struck a light, shielding the match with his cap. He applied the
+match to the fuse. Then he sprang to his feet and called to Chester:
+
+"Run!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+FLIGHT
+
+
+Both lads fled through the night knowing that their lives depended upon
+it. For safety's sake it was absolutely necessary that they put as great
+a distance as possible between them and the barn.
+
+According to Hal's calculations, the spot where the aeroplane was hidden
+was far enough away so that the machine would not be disabled by the
+force of the explosion; and it was for this point that the lads made at
+full speed.
+
+They reached there safely; and still there had been no explosion.
+
+"How much time did you allow, Hal?" asked Chester.
+
+"Ten minutes, as nearly as I could judge," was the reply.
+
+"Then we still have a few minutes, I guess. Had we better wait here until
+after the blast, or shall we run out the machine and get up in the air."
+
+"We'd better stay here," returned Hal, positively, "I don't know how much
+ammunition there is in that barn. It's going to kick up a terrible fuss.
+My advice is that we lay flat on the ground, hold our ears and bury our
+faces. Immediately after the blast we'll run the machine out and get up
+as swiftly as possible."
+
+"I can imagine the effect of the explosion," said Chester.
+
+"Well, I can't," returned Hal; "nor can you. How many men it may kill,
+how many it may maim and what damage it will do cannot be estimated. But
+one thing sure, immediately afterwards every sleepy German soldier within
+fifty miles will be on the alert. The Germans will know it was not an
+accident. They will attribute the explosion to a bomb dropped from the
+air. We may have trouble reaching our lines."
+
+"I wish you hadn't done it, Hal," mumbled Stubbs, whom the lads had
+found hiding beside the aeroplane. "It will dig a hole a mile deep in
+the ground. Rocks, guns and everything will come down like hail. We may
+be killed."
+
+"Quiet, Stubbs!" ordered Hal. "Flat on the ground with you now. Hold your
+ears and bury your faces until I tell you to get up."
+
+He suited the action to the word. Chester and Stubbs followed his
+example.
+
+For long moments, it seemed to them, they waited for the sound of the
+blast that would shake the country. Each was anxious, for there was no
+telling what the result of the explosion might be. Stubbs squirmed
+uneasily as he burrowed in the ground, while Chester and Hal were by no
+means easy in their minds.
+
+So long did they wait that it seemed to Chester something must have gone
+wrong. Perhaps the fuse had gone out. Perhaps another German guard had
+discovered it in time and pinched out the fire. There were many
+possibilities, and the lad considered them all as he lay prostrate on
+the ground.
+
+He was about to raise his head and ask Hal a question, when, suddenly,
+the blast came.
+
+There was, at first, a long grumbling roar, which, it seemed, would never
+end. Gradually the roar increased until it reached such proportions as to
+be beyond all description; it was a roar the like of which neither of the
+three figures who lay there had ever heard before--probably never would
+hear again.
+
+Louder and louder it grew and then ended in a final blast that was louder
+than many thousand times the loudest peal of thunder--louder than the
+simultaneous firing of thousands of guns.
+
+Then it became suddenly quiet--so quiet that Hal, Chester and Stubbs, who
+had now leaped to their feet, felt a queer sensation hovering all about
+them; so quiet that it was, for the moment, impossible to hear.
+
+Then something descended not five yards from where the three stood with a
+terrible roar. Instinctively, all fell to the ground again, crowding
+themselves into the smallest possible space.
+
+For the rain of debris had begun. And for several minutes it continued.
+Pieces of guns, of rocks and of all objects imaginable fell upon all
+sides of the three; but, fortunately, none struck them. Then the rain of
+debris ceased.
+
+In the great German camp all was hideous confusion. Thousands of lives
+had been snuffed out by the force of the titanic blast; thousands of
+others had perished in the rain of steel and iron and rock that followed.
+It was the greatest catastrophe that had befallen the Germans for many a
+long day. The effect of the explosion was appalling.
+
+Hal's first thought after the rain of steel and iron had ceased was for
+the aeroplane. If it had been smashed they were, indeed, in a serious
+situation. If it had gone through the storm safely they were
+comparatively safe.
+
+Together the three friends rushed toward the machine. Quickly they rolled
+it out into the open. Hal examined the engine and steering apparatus
+carefully.
+
+"All right, Hal?" asked Chester, anxiously.
+
+Hal shook his head.
+
+"Something wrong with the engine."
+
+"Can you fix it?"
+
+"I haven't been able to determine just what's wrong yet."
+
+Hal worked rapidly; and at last he gave an exclamation of satisfaction.
+
+"Find it?" asked Chester.
+
+"Yes; I'll have it fixed in a quarter of an hour."
+
+"If we're not away from here in five minutes we're likely to be dead,"
+said Stubbs, plaintively.
+
+"Don't croak, Stubbs," said Chester. "We've done a good day's work and
+you should be proud to have a hand in it."
+
+"Should I?" said Stubbs. "Well, all right, if you say so; but I would be
+a whole lot more proud if I could get back and tell somebody about it."
+
+"A man deserves no particular credit for doing his duty," said
+Chester, quietly.
+
+"Maybe not," agreed Stubbs. "But I haven't done mine yet."
+
+"Why--"
+
+"My duty," said Stubbs, "is to get back to some place where I can send an
+account of this feat to the New York _Gazette_. Believe me, it will be
+some scoop."
+
+"Scoop?"
+
+"Yes. I mean no other paper will have the facts as I have them."
+
+"All right, Stubbs," said Chester. "I hope you get your scoop."
+
+"I'm going to get it," said Stubbs, excitedly, "if I have to walk over
+the body of the Kaiser himself to do it."
+
+"That's the way to talk," said Chester. "Confidence is the greatest asset
+in the world."
+
+"It's not confidence," said Stubbs. "I've just got to do it. Why, if my
+boss knew I had something like this in my hands and I didn't get it to
+him I'd lose my job."
+
+Chester made no reply to this; instead, he bent over Hal who was still
+tinkering with the engine of the aeroplane.
+
+"How are you making it?" he asked.
+
+"I don't seem to be able to fix it," returned Hal. "Say! you two fellows
+walk away a bit and keep an eye open for possible enemies. We don't want
+to be caught off our guard here."
+
+Chester and Stubbs did as Hal directed, though the latter mumbled to
+himself as he took his position some distance away.
+
+"That's the trouble with these contraptions," he said. "Always out of
+whack. If a man had a good horse now--"
+
+He broke off and continued to mumble something unintelligible to himself.
+
+"I've found it," cried Hal now, from the aeroplane. "I was working on the
+wrong part. I'll have it fixed in a jiffy."
+
+Chester made no reply, but Stubbs brightened up wonderfully.
+
+"That's the talk!" he cried. "Fix her up, Hal, and get a move on."
+
+Hal smiled to himself as he tinkered with the engine.
+
+Hal was deep in his work when his attention was attracted by a sudden cry
+of alarm from Stubbs.
+
+"Germans!" cried the little man, and without stopping to look again, he
+dashed toward Hal.
+
+At almost the same moment Chester saw a force of the enemy advancing
+toward him. He, too, uttered a cry of alarm and dashed toward the place
+where Hal still bent over the aeroplane.
+
+Stubbs danced up and down and chanted excitedly:
+
+"Hurry up, Hal! Hurry up! Here they come!"
+
+"Shut up, Stubbs!" exclaimed Hal, straining all his energies to fix the
+break in the plane. "I'll have it in a minute."
+
+"A minute will be too late!" cried Stubbs.
+
+"Be still, Stubbs!" said Chester, quietly. "Give Hal a chance. There is
+still time to run if it's necessary."
+
+And at that moment Hal sprang to his feet.
+
+"Fixed!" he cried joyfully. "Climb in here, quickly!"
+
+The others needed no urging and soon all were in their places. It was now
+that Hal thanked his stars that the plane was one of the few that could
+rise from the ground.
+
+Slowly the large army plane gathered headway as he moved along the
+ground. Hal increased the speed slowly in spite of the close proximity,
+for he realized that too great haste might spell disaster, and he wished
+to test the engine carefully before soaring into the air.
+
+"Up, Hal!" cried Stubbs. "Here they come!"
+
+Hal paid no heed to this frantic exclamation. Instead, for a moment, he
+reduced the speed of the craft as something seemed not to be working
+exactly right. Calmly he bent over the engine and tinkered with it a
+moment later. Then he sat straight and exclaimed:
+
+"All right now!"
+
+Stubbs gave a great sigh of relief.
+
+Hal increased the speed of the machine until it fairly flew over the
+ground. And then his hand touched the elevating lever.
+
+Immediately the plane soared in the air like a big bird.
+
+And from the ground came exclamations of surprise; for it was not until
+that moment that the Germans who had been advancing toward the friends
+had discovered their presence; although they had been espied by Chester
+and Stubbs some moments before.
+
+A volley of rifle bullets was fired at the rapidly rising machine.
+
+One flew by Stubbs' ear and he dropped to the bottom of the car with a
+howl of fright.
+
+A moment later, however, the machine was beyond reach of the rifles of
+the German troops, and Hal laid the craft out on a straightaway course,
+heading directly west.
+
+"Nothing can stop us now but enemy aeroplanes," he said quietly.
+
+He increased his speed. The big army plane flew toward the distant French
+lines with a speed greater than that of the fastest express train.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE END OF MATIN
+
+
+"You have done well, sirs. President Poincare shall hear of this."
+
+The speaker was General Petain. Before him stood Hal, Chester and Anthony
+Stubbs. Hal, acting as spokesman, had just concluded an account of their
+adventures within the enemy lines, a venture from which they had returned
+successfully and safely only an hour before.
+
+For, after the aeroplane had descended above the French lines and headed
+for the French positions, the journey had been without important event.
+True, there had been a brush with one enemy aircraft; but this had been
+worsted. A second, which had given chase, was distanced with ease and the
+three friends had returned to the French lines unscathed.
+
+"So!" said General Petain, "you blew up the enemy's ammunition depot, eh?
+The explosion was felt even here. We knew the foe had suffered some hard
+blow, but I had no idea that it had been delivered by your hand."
+
+Both lads flushed at the praise of General Petain. Stubbs was pleased.
+
+"Now tell me what else you did, if anything," said the general. "Did you
+get the information after which you went?"
+
+"We did, sir," returned Hal.
+
+He passed to the general the documents he had taken from the young German
+aide. General Petain scanned them carefully.
+
+"These will be invaluable to me," he said quietly.
+
+Then Chester told the French commander of the conversation he had
+overheard in the quarters of the German Crown Prince.
+
+"Now that I have escaped," the lad concluded, "it may be possible, of
+course, that the German plans will be altered."
+
+"You have done well," said the general again, "and as I have said, your
+work shall be brought to the personal attention of the President." He
+turned to Stubbs. "You, sir," he said, "are not a soldier, yet I have to
+thank you for your part in this mission."
+
+Stubbs blushed like a school boy.
+
+"I didn't do anything deserving of credit, sir," he said. "My young
+friends here were the directing heads and performed all the
+dangerous work."
+
+"Nevertheless," returned the general, "you are deserving of praise and if
+there is anything I can do for you, you have but to ask it."
+
+Stubbs hesitated. There was something he wanted very much but he did not
+know whether to make the request or not. General Petain saw the little
+man's indecision, and said with a smile:
+
+"You have something on your mind, sir. Come, out with it. Be sure it will
+be granted if it lies in my power."
+
+Still Stubbs hesitated. Chester stepped forward, smiling.
+
+"I believe I can tell you what it is, sir," he said.
+
+"Speak," said the general.
+
+"Why, sir," said Chester, "Mr. Stubbs would have your permission to send
+an account of the great explosion to his newspaper uncensored. He would
+have the people of the United States know, through his paper, of the
+severe blow the enemy has suffered."
+
+"H-m-m-m," muttered the general. "The United States will hear of the
+disaster, of course. Mr. Stubbs, with the other correspondents, will be
+allowed to file his despatches after the official report has been made."
+
+"But that's the point, sir," said Stubbs, stepping forward. "I would like
+to have my paper get the news first."
+
+"Oho! I see," exclaimed General Petain. "You want for your paper what you
+Americans' call a--a--a--"
+
+"Scoop."
+
+Chester supplied the word.
+
+"Exactly," said Stubbs.
+
+The general considered the matter for a moment. Then he threw wide his
+arms in a gesture of consent.
+
+"It shall be done," he said.
+
+"Thank you, General," said Stubbs. "Then, with your permission, I will
+retire to my own quarters to prepare my despatches."
+
+"One minute, Stubbs," said Chester. "You may perhaps remember that until
+a short time ago you shared quarters with Hal and me. We would like to
+have you come back."
+
+Stubbs grinned.
+
+"That was before the discovery of the great conspiracy," he said. "By the
+way, General, may I make so bold as to ask what has been done toward
+crushing the move?"
+
+"It has been crushed, sir," replied General Petain, quietly. "That shall
+have to suffice. And, by the way, Mr. Stubbs, I must tell you that if you
+refer to that matter in your despatches they will be strictly censored."
+
+"I shall not mention the matter, General."
+
+Stubbs bowed and took his departure, first stopping to say to Hal
+and Chester:
+
+"You'll find me back in our old quarters when you arrive."
+
+"Now, boys," said General Petain, after Stubbs had gone, "you are
+relieved of duty for the rest of the day. To-morrow morning, however, I
+shall have need of you; for to-morrow--and I am telling you something few
+know--we shall launch a new drive, basing our attacks upon the
+information which you have just now furnished me. Good-bye until
+to-morrow."
+
+The general walked to the door of the tent with the two boys and waved a
+hand to them as they turned away.
+
+"Well," said Hal, as they walked along, "we apparently have accomplished
+something worth while."
+
+"To hear the general talk you would think we had," agreed Chester, "and
+still we didn't do so much, after all."
+
+"That's what I think."
+
+"By the way," said Chester, "I'm going to hunt up Stubbs' old quarters.
+Perhaps he hasn't moved his things yet. I'll lend a hand."
+
+"All right," said Hal. "I'll go along without you. I'll probably be
+taking a nap when you reach our quarters. Don't awaken me. I'm tired."
+
+The lads parted and Hal continued on his way to his quarters.
+
+Stubbs had not yet arrived. Hal sat down on the edge of his cot to remove
+his shoes. As he did so he thought he heard a sound from behind him. He
+whirled suddenly and there, a few feet away, his revolver trained right
+upon Hal's heart, stood Matin, the French soldier who already had tried
+once to kill him.
+
+"A visitor, I see," said Hal, quietly. "You will pardon me a moment while
+I remove my shoes. That is what I started to do and when I start a thing
+I always like to finish it."
+
+"Take them off if you want to," returned Matin, grinning evilly. "You
+won't need to put them on again."
+
+"Think not?" said Hal. "You never can tell about those things, Matin."
+
+"Trying to be funny, are you?" returned Matin. "Well, go ahead. You won't
+lie funny long--not to anyone but me. I'm going to shoot you."
+
+"Don't suppose you would let me draw my own gun first, would you?"
+asked Hal.
+
+"No. What do you think I am?"
+
+"Just a coward; that's all," said Hal, quietly.
+
+"Coward, am I?" exclaimed Matin, taking a quick step forward.
+
+"Correct," replied Hal. "It's about your size to shoot a man in the
+back. I have had dealings with your kind before. You're afraid to take
+an even chance."
+
+"It's not that I'm afraid," said Matin. "It's just that I want to make
+sure. I failed twice before."
+
+"Then it was you who tried to shoot me in here one night, eh?" asked Hal.
+
+"Yes; and I would have succeeded had it not been for your friend. When I
+have disposed of you I shall settle with him also."
+
+"I don't think so, Matin."
+
+"You don't? What's to prevent me?"
+
+"Why," said Hal, "when I am through with you, you will be in no condition
+to settle with anyone. Now, if you will take my advice, you'll put that
+gun in your pocket and leave this tent."
+
+"Talk pretty big, don't you?" said Matin, with a sneer. "Well, I'll
+show you!"
+
+He raised his revolver so that the muzzle pointed squarely between Hal's
+eyes. His finger tightened on the trigger.
+
+"One moment, Matin," said Hal, quietly. "Don't you know that before you
+can pull the trigger my friend in the doorway will kill you?"
+
+A look of fright and disappointment passed over Matin's face. Slowly he
+lowered his revolver and turned toward the doorway. It was the moment for
+which Hal had been waiting.
+
+With a bound he leaped upon Matin and with his left hand seized Matin's
+right wrist. Matin uttered a snarl of rage.
+
+"Tricked me, did you?" he shouted. "You shall pay for it."
+
+It had been Hal's intention at first simply to wrest the revolver
+from his opponent's hands and then turn the man over to the officer
+of the guard.
+
+But Matin's strength was greater than the lad had imagined; also he was
+wild with rage. With his free hand he struck viciously at Hal, while he
+kicked with his feet and sought to bury his teeth in Hal's arm.
+
+But Hal held him back.
+
+Vainly, Matin sought to move his right arm around so as to bring the
+muzzle upon Hal's heart. With a quick move Hal suddenly released his hold
+upon Matin's pistol wrist and seized the pistol hand. His finger covered
+Matin's finger on the trigger.
+
+Matin's hand at that moment was extended straight from him. Slowly now,
+as Hal exerted his utmost pressure, the arm described a semicircle. Now
+it pointed almost straight forward. Then, as Hal brought more strength
+into play, the arm curved inward; and directly the revolver pointed
+squarely at Matin's heart.
+
+The perspiration stood out in great beads on Matin's forehead. He was
+panting and gasping for breath. Hal was breathing easily, though the
+manner in which the sinews on his forehead and arms stood out showed to
+what extent he had extended himself.
+
+When the mouth of the revolver pointed at Matin's heart, Hal said
+quietly:
+
+"Now, Matin, if you will release your hold on this gun I will let
+you go free."
+
+Matin's answer was a snarl of rage.
+
+Whether the man went suddenly insane or whether he knew fully what he was
+about, Hal can not say to this day; but under his own finger, the finger
+on the trigger tightened. There was a flash, a muffled report and the
+form of Matin fell limp in the lad's arms. Hal stepped back and Matin
+slid to the floor. Hal stooped over and laid a hand over the man's heart.
+
+"Dead!" the lad exclaimed, and added: "but not by my hand. He pressed the
+trigger himself!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+THE ADVANCE
+
+
+A bugle sounded.
+
+The sleeping French camp sprang suddenly to life. Men, half dressed,
+sprang from their cots--they had not disrobed entirely the night
+before--and hurried to their positions, adjusting their clothing as they
+did so. Regiments formed hurriedly in the darkness that is always more
+intense just before dawn. Officers shouted and swore; horses whinnied
+from the distance, indicating that the French cavalry, as well as the
+infantry was forming.
+
+A second bugle sounded; then many more. More commands from the various
+officers. Aides rushed hither and yon delivering sharp orders to division
+commanders. The men stood quietly in line. Came other sharp commands all
+down the line:
+
+"_En avant_!"
+
+The troops began to move.
+
+Overhead, screaming French shells from the big guns in the rear flew as
+they raced for the distant German lines. This was no new sound. For
+more than twenty-four hours now these big guns had been hurling shells
+into the German ranks; and the men had become so used to the sounds of
+their voices that they would have been almost unable to sleep had they
+become silent.
+
+This bombardment, continuing for more than twenty-four hours as it had,
+was the opening of the greatest offensive by the French at Verdun--an
+offensive by which General Petain, the French commander, hoped to drive
+back the foe that for months had pressed on so hard, and thus to insure
+the safety of Verdun, "The gateway to France," against the German invader
+for all time to come.
+
+Each move of this gigantic effort had been thought out well in advance.
+All contingencies had been provided for and against. The blow was to be
+struck at the psychological moment, when it would be deemed by the French
+general staff that it was sure of success.
+
+And now this moment had come.
+
+The information placed in the hands of General Petain days before by Hal
+and Chester had been the one link in the chain that had been missing. Now
+the general staff felt sure of the success of this great effort, though
+there was not a man who had taken part in the preparations who did not
+know that the victory--if victory there should be--would be won at
+tremendous cost.
+
+But, with the fate of Verdun in the balance, it had been the opinion of
+each member of the general staff that now was no time to hesitate.
+
+So, upon this morning in June, just before dawn, the French advanced all
+along their entire front.
+
+Under the protection of their big guns they would be able to progress for
+some time; and as they attacked the German first line trenches in a
+charge, the fire of the big guns would continue, firing overhead at the
+German second and third line trenches beyond.
+
+And it was in this manner that the advance was made.
+
+The day dawned while the French were still some distance from the German
+first line trenches; and the German guns, far to the east, and the German
+defenders in the trenches opened on them with a vengeance. But the French
+were prepared for this. There had been no thought of a surprise attack in
+the plans of the general staff. It was known that the Germans would
+realize what was about to happen when the duel of big guns began more
+than twenty-four hours before.
+
+Before sun-up the French infantry sprang forward in its first charge. It
+was thrown back. Immediately a second charge was ordered. This met the
+same fate as had the first. A third brought no better results.
+
+On the next charge, as the French advanced the Germans left their
+trenches and sprang forward to meet them. The big German guns became
+still as the infantry struggled hand to hand.
+
+There issued from the French left at this juncture, heavy bodies of
+French cavalry. Into the thick of the struggling mass the horsemen
+charged. This attack had been a surprise. The Germans were cut down in
+large numbers. As they scrambled back to the protection of their
+trenches, French troops scrambled over with them. Again the infantry
+alone was engaged, but this time in the enemy trenches.
+
+Whole squadrons of cavalry were ordered from their horses and also sprang
+into the German trenches. Reinforcements were hurried up. The Germans
+also rushed up supports; but they had delayed too long.
+
+The Germans broke and fled for safety to the second line trenches.
+
+Immediately the French turned the field pieces captured with the German
+trenches upon the fleeing enemy and mowed them down in great numbers.
+Others of the French troops fell to work consolidating the newly won
+trenches. The big German guns opened again; but by this time the French
+were pretty well secured against this arm of fire.
+
+More French reinforcements were rushed up to hold the captured trenches.
+Batteries of field guns braved the German shell fire and dashed across
+the open to the captured trenches. Immediately these guns were brought
+into position, they opened upon the German second line of defense.
+
+From their posts of vantage, mounted upon slight elevations, and from
+behind trees and other secure places, the great French guns protected the
+advance of the cavalry and infantry.
+
+Hal and Chester, who had stood close to General Petain during most of
+this battling, had watched the conflict with the greatest interest.
+
+"Look at them fall!" exclaimed Chester, as through his glasses, he
+witnessed the last desperate attack of the French.
+
+"It's a terrible sight," agreed Hal, "and yet there will be many more
+just as terrible before this war is won."
+
+"Indeed there will," agreed Chester.
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford! Lieutenant Paine!"
+
+It was General Petain who spoke.
+
+"My compliments to General Bordeaux, Lieutenant Paine, and tell him that
+the left of the newly won trenches must be held at all hazzards!"
+
+Hal sprang upon a nearby motorcycle and soon was speeding toward
+the front.
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford! The same instructions to General Ducal on
+the right!"
+
+A moment later Chester was speeding forward.
+
+His message delivered, Hal stopped for a moment to gaze about the
+trenches won at such terrible cost.
+
+There had been no time to bury the dead, or even to have the bodies
+removed; and the trenches were piled high with French and German dead. In
+between the rows of corpses, which had hurriedly been pushed to one side,
+the other troops worked, apparently without thought of their fallen
+comrades. Red Cross physicians and nurses were working among the wounded,
+lightening the suffering.
+
+Hal looked at his watch.
+
+"Twelve o'clock!" he muttered. "It seems as if this single battle had
+been going on for days!"
+
+He made his way slowly back to General Petain.
+
+Chester, his message delivered, also had taken account of the French
+position on the right. There the fighting had been particularly severe,
+and the newly won positions presented ghastly spectacles. Chester
+shuddered:
+
+"And this is war!" he said.
+
+He made his way back to headquarters and rejoined Hal.
+
+"Wonder if we shall try for the second line defenses to-day?" Hal said
+to his chum.
+
+"I don't know; but I wouldn't be surprised to hear the order at any
+minute now. Look at the masses of reinforcements being rushed forward.
+Surely, they are not being sent there just to hold the trenches. No; I
+believe that to-day General Petain hopes to carry at least the second and
+third line of trenches on our whole front."
+
+And, as it transpired, Chester was right.
+
+At four o'clock in the afternoon the French had established
+themselves firmly in the German second line trenches, although at
+great cost. Dense masses of reinforcements were immediately rushed
+forward. To Hal and Chester this signified that there was still to be
+another effort that day.
+
+And at five o'clock in the evening the effort was made.
+
+Under a sun that beat down with terrific force, despite the lateness of
+the hour, the French infantry again advanced to the attack. Flushed with
+two victories earlier in the day, they went forward confidently and with
+eagerness and enthusiasm. Cheers broke out along the whole line as they
+advanced. Farther back, a band--many bands--played "The Marseillaise."
+
+The German troops, twice driven back before the victorious French,
+nevertheless stood firm in their trenches. They had learned a dear lesson
+at the hands of their enemy this day; and while they realized fully that
+they were getting the worst of the battle, they still stuck bravely to
+their task.
+
+Terrible as it was, it was an awe-inspiring sight that Hal and Chester,
+far back with General Petain and staff, witnessed through their glasses
+that late afternoon.
+
+In dense masses the French hurled themselves against the German trenches;
+and in great masses they were hurled back again--those of them who did
+not lie upon the ground. Time after time the French charged what appeared
+to be impregnable trenches. Then, on their fifth effort, they reached
+their goal and surged into the trenches.
+
+Immediately all was confusion there. An unguarded moment meant a man's
+death. Struggling as they were, it was, at times, almost impossible to
+tell friend from foe. But the troops distinguished somehow, and for what
+seemed ages they battled there, hand-to-hand.
+
+German reinforcements rushed up in a valiant effort to save the day.
+General Petain threw out supports for his own infantry. All these surged
+into the trenches and added their quota to the terrible din.
+
+Several times the German cavalry charged, their riders dismounting when
+they reached the struggling mass of humanity and plunging into the fray
+with sabres and revolvers. But each time they were beaten off.
+
+Gradually the French cleared the trenches. The Germans gave slowly at
+first; then more swiftly. The French pursued them with loud cries. The
+enemy broke and fled.
+
+Again German reinforcements rushed to the attack. The French met them in
+the open, beyond the third line German trenches. The fighting was
+something terrible; but flushed with victory as they were, there could be
+but one ending.
+
+A German bugle sounded a recall; and at almost the same moment the
+evening sun settled beyond the distant eastern hills.
+
+The French had won the day!
+
+Hal and Chester looked at each other. Then, even as the entire French
+staff broke into a loud cheer, the two lads grasped hands.
+
+"We've won!" said Hal.
+
+"Verdun is saved!" exclaimed Chester.
+
+So there, upon this historic field, we shall take our leave of these two
+friends for the time; but we shall renew our acquaintance later, in a
+succeeding volume, entitled: "The Boy Allies on the Somme; or, Courage
+and Bravery Rewarded."
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Boy Allies At Verdun, by Clair W. Hayes
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Allies At Verdun, by Clair W. Hayes
+
+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: The Boy Allies At Verdun
+
+Author: Clair W. Hayes
+
+Release Date: July 25, 2004 [EBook #13020]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                        The Boy Allies At Verdun
+
+                                   OR
+
+                      Saving France from the Enemy
+
+                           By CLAIR W. HAYES
+
+AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies At Liege" "The Boy Allies On the Firing Line"
+"The Boy Allies With the Cossacks" "The Boy Allies In the Trenches"
+"The Boy Allies On the Somme"
+
+                                  1917
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE EVE OF VERDUN
+
+
+On the twenty-second of February, 1916, an automobile sped northward
+along the French battle line that for almost two years had held back the
+armies of the German emperor, strive as they would to win their way
+farther into the heart of France. For months the opposing forces had
+battled to a draw from the North Sea to the boundary of Switzerland,
+until now, as the day waned--it was almost six o'clock--the hands of time
+drew closer and closer to the hour that was to mark the opening of the
+most bitter and destructive battle of the war, up to this time.
+
+It was the eve of the battle of Verdun.
+
+The occupants of the automobile as it sped northward numbered three. In
+the front seat, alone at the driver's wheel, a young man bent low. He was
+garbed in the uniform of a British lieutenant of cavalry. Close
+inspection would have revealed the fact that the young man was a youth of
+some eighteen years, fair and good to look upon. As the machine sped
+along he kept his eyes glued to the road ahead and did not once turn to
+join in the conversation of the two occupants on the rear seat. Whether
+he knew that there was a conversation in progress it is impossible to
+say, but the rush of wind would have made the conversation
+unintelligible, to say the least.
+
+This youth on the front seat was Hal Paine, an American.
+
+The two figures in the rear seat were apparently having a hard time
+to maintain their places, as they bounced from side to side as the
+car swerved first one way and then the other, or as it took a flying
+leap over some object in the road, which even the keen eye of the
+driver had failed to detect. But in spite of this, even as they
+bounced, they talked.
+
+One of the two figures was tall and slender and there was about him an
+air of youthfulness. He was in fact a second American boy. His name
+was Chester Crawford, friend and bosom companion of Hal Paine. Like
+the latter he, too, was attired in the uniform of a British lieutenant
+of cavalry.
+
+The second figure in the rear seat was built along different lines. He
+was short and chunky; also, he was stout. Had he been standing it would
+have been evident that he was almost as wide as he was long. He had a
+pleasant face and smiled occasionally, though upon each occasion this
+smile died away in a sickly grin as the car leaped high in the air after
+striking a particularly large obstruction in the road, or veering crazily
+to one side as it turned sharply. In each case the grin was succeeded by
+a gasp for breath.
+
+The figure was that of Mr. Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent of the New
+York _Gazette_, on the firing line in Europe to gather facts for his
+newspaper. He was attired in a riding suit of khaki.
+
+Said Mr. Stubbs:
+
+"Well, we may get there and we may not."
+
+"Oh, we'll get there all right, Mr. Stubbs!" Chester raised his voice to
+make himself heard.
+
+"We're likely to land out here in the ditch," was Stubbs' reply. "The way
+Hal runs this car, there is no telling what may happen."
+
+"Not frightened, are you, Mr. Stubbs?" asked Chester, grinning.
+
+"Frightened?" echoed Stubbs. "Why should I be frightened? We can't be
+going more than a couple of hundred miles an hour. No, I'm not
+frightened. I'm what you call scared. Wow!"
+
+This last ejaculation was drawn from the little man as he was pitched
+over into Chester's lap by an extra violent lurch of the car. He threw
+out a hand, seeking a hold, and his open palm came in contact with
+Chester's face. Chester thrust Stubbs away from him.
+
+"I say, Stubbs!" said the lad half angrily. "If you want to jump out of
+here, all right; but don't try and push me out ahead of you. Keep your
+hands out of my face."
+
+"I wasn't trying to push you out," gasped Stubbs. "I was hunting
+something to hang on to."
+
+"Well, my face is no strap," declared Chester.
+
+The automobile slowed down suddenly and a moment later came to a stop at
+a fork in the road.
+
+"I'll have to have a look at this chart," Hal called over his shoulder to
+his companions, as he thrust a hand into a pocket. "Forget which way we
+head from here."
+
+"We're headed for the happy hunting grounds no matter which road we
+take," mumbled Stubbs.
+
+"Don't croak, Mr. Stubbs," said Hal. "Barring accidents, we'll reach
+General Petain at Verdun in time to deliver these despatches before it's
+too late."
+
+"What I don't understand," said Chester, "is why it is necessary to
+deliver these despatches by courier. What's the matter with the wire?"
+
+"I don't know," said Hal, as he returned the chart to his pocket after a
+quick scrutiny, "unless there is a leak of some kind."
+
+"Hardly," said Chester.
+
+Hal shrugged his shoulders as he settled his cap more firmly on his head
+and laid a hand on the wheel.
+
+"You never can tell," he said.
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I don't--hey! what're you trying to do, anyhow?"
+
+For the little man again had been hurled violently against Chester as Hal
+sent the car forward with a lurch. "Trying to leave me behind? What?"
+
+"Can't be done, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester.
+
+Mr. Stubbs glared at the lad angrily, but deigned to make no reply. So
+the big army automobile continued on its way in silence.
+
+Darkness fell. Hal stopped the car and lighted the lamps.
+
+"Can't take any chances while going at this speed," he said.
+
+Stubbs grinned feebly to himself, seemed as if about to speak, then
+thought better of it and remained silent. But he waved a hand in disgust.
+
+A moment later the car was rushing through the darkness at the speed of
+an express train; and while this journey in the night continues it will
+be well to explain the presence of the three companions in the big army
+car, how they came there and why, and the nature of the mission upon
+which they were bound.
+
+A month before the three had been in the Balkans. There the two lads,
+together with Anthony Stubbs, had gone through many dangerous adventures,
+finally reaching Greek soil in the nick of time, with a horde of
+Bulgarians just behind them. With them had been others--Ivan, a Cossack,
+a third British officer and a young girl. Ivan had elected to join the
+Anglo-French forces at Salonika; the other British officer had found his
+own regiment there and the girl, whom it had been the good fortune of the
+boys to save from the Bulgarians, found friends in the Greek city who had
+taken her in charge.
+
+Hal, Chester and Stubbs had embarked on a French battleship, homeward
+bound. After due time they landed in Marseilles.
+
+"Now," said Chester, when he once more felt French soil under his feet,
+"I suppose the thing for us to do is to return to the Italian lines and
+see if we can learn anything of Uncle John, then return to Rome and to
+New York."
+
+Uncle John was the brother of Chester's mother. All had been bound for
+home when Hal and Chester had become involved in a matter that took them
+forward with the Italian troops. Uncle John had been along to keep them
+out of mischief, if he could. He hadn't succeeded and had fallen into the
+hands of the Austrians. The boys had saved him. Later they had been
+forced to seek refuge in the Balkans, having found it impossible to get
+back into the Italian lines, and they had lost Uncle John. Their arrival
+in Marseilles had really been the first step toward a return to Rome,
+where they intended to try and find their mothers.
+
+But their plans to return to Rome did not materialize. As Hal said: "Luck
+was with us."
+
+In a little room in a Marseilles restaurant they had overheard a
+conversation between two men, plainly foreigners, that had resulted in
+their once more being sent on active service. While they had been unable
+to gather all the details, they had learned enough to know that the
+German Crown Prince had laid careful plans for an attack on Verdun. They
+had taken their information to the French commanding officer in
+Marseilles. The latter had been somewhat skeptical, but Colonel Derevaux,
+an old friend of the boys, had arrived at the psychological moment and
+vouched for them.
+
+Immediately the French officer decided that something must be done. The
+plans of the Germans, so far as he knew, had not been anticipated. For
+some reason he did not wish to trust the information to the telegraph
+wires, and the two lads had volunteered to deliver it in person to
+General Petain. Their offer had been accepted, which accounts for the
+fact that we find them upon the last leg of their journey to Verdun at
+the opening of this story.
+
+Stubbs had elected to accompany them, for, as he said, "I've got to get
+the news."
+
+The two lads had seen considerable active service. They had fought with
+the Belgians at Liege; with the British on the Marne; with the Cossacks
+in Russian Poland and in the Carpathians; with the Montenegrins and
+Serbians in the Balkans, and with the Italian troops in the Alps.
+
+They had been participants in many a hard blow that had been delivered by
+the Allies. They had won the confidence of Field Marshall John French,
+commander of the British forces in France until he was succeeded by
+General Sir Douglas Haig after the battle of the Champagne, and of
+General Joffre, the French commander-in-chief.
+
+While they ostensibly were British army officers, their titles were
+purely honorary, but they held actual lieutenancies in the Belgian army,
+these having been bestowed upon them by King Albert in recognition of
+services accomplished in and around Liege in the early days of the war.
+
+The boys had been chums since early childhood. They had been brought up
+together. They attended school together and were inseparable companions.
+Each spoke German and French fluently, and service with other armies had
+given them a knowledge of other tongues. Both were strong and sturdy,
+crack shots, good with sword and sabre, and particularly handy with their
+fists. These accomplishments had stood them in good stead in many a tight
+place. But better than all these accomplishments was the additional fact
+that each was clear-headed, a quick thinker and very resourceful. They
+depended upon brains rather than brawn to pull them through ticklish
+situations, though they did not hesitate to call on the latter force when
+occasion demanded.
+
+Hal, peering ahead by the glare of the searchlight on the large army car,
+suddenly slowed down; the car stopped. A group of mounted men rode up.
+Hal stood up and gave a military salute as one of the group advanced
+ahead of the others.
+
+"I am from General Durand at Marseilles, sir," he said. "I have important
+dispatches for General Petain."
+
+The French officer returned the salute.
+
+"Follow me," he said briefly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+VERDUN
+
+
+Rightly is the fortress of Verdun called the gateway to France. By reason
+of its strategic position, it is absolutely essential that an invading
+army have possession of Verdun before thought of a successful advance on
+Paris can be entertained; and it was upon the capture of Paris that the
+German emperor laid his hopes, in spite of the collapse of a similar
+offensive launched in the first days of the war.
+
+But Wilhelm II had learned a lesson. Verdun must be taken before he
+ordered his armies upon the French capital; and so it was that, upon
+February twenty-third, 1916, the German Crown Prince began a determined
+assault upon the historic French fortress.
+
+In sheer human interest the battle of Verdun surpassed all other
+individual events of the war. For six months and more the defenders of
+the gateway to France withstood a storm at the fury of which the world
+stood aghast.
+
+Foot by foot, almost inch by inch, the Germans forged ahead with a
+reckless disregard of their lives, a tenacity and cool courage which was
+only equalled by the cool determination of the French. Five months after
+the opening of this great battle, the unofficial estimate of German dead
+was a half million men. The assailants fought their way to within three
+miles and a half of the fortress itself, but there they were finally
+halted. It was then that the tide turned; and though the Germans surged
+forward day after day in heavy masses they progressed no further. It was
+the beginning of the end.
+
+The Germans advanced confidently. The destruction of the fortress
+presented no hard problem to them. The utter worthlessness of similarly
+fortified positions had been proven in the earlier days of the war--in
+the destruction of Louvain, Liege, Brussels and Antwerp, the latter the
+most strongly fortified city in the world, with the exception of Paris
+itself. The huge 42-centimetre guns of the Germans had battered them to
+pieces in little or no time at all.
+
+It was with the knowledge of the effectiveness of these great guns that
+the Crown Prince opened the battle of Verdun. The fortress of Verdun and
+the outlying fortifications, it was believed, would be shattered with
+little effort. With these facts in mind, the German Crown Prince opened
+with his big guns, first upon the fortresses guarding Verdun itself.
+
+These approaches shattered, the Crown Prince ordered his infantry and
+cavalry to the attack. But where the onrushing Germans, according to the
+reasoning of the Crown Prince, should have found no resistance, they
+encountered strenuous opposition. Abandoning the outlying artificial
+fortifications, the French had thrown up huge earthworks and from behind
+these received the German attacks coolly.
+
+Against these great earthworks the heavy guns of the attacking forces
+availed little. The force of even the great 42-centimetres was not great
+enough to penetrate the loosely built mounds of earth behind which the
+French reposed. The great shells struck the fresh earth, were embedded
+there and did no harm. The French general staff had realized the
+uselessness of fortresses as soon as had the Germans.
+
+Therefore, while the Germans were able to destroy forts and fortresses at
+will, almost, it availed them little. The defenders were secure behind
+their breastworks of earth. True, German guns dropped huge shells in the
+trenches, a veritable rain of death, but the gaps in the defending lines
+were filled promptly.
+
+There remained naught for the Germans but to try and carry the trenches,
+under the support of their artillery.
+
+Day after day the Crown Prince launched assault after assault. The French
+met them bravely. But the Germans were not to be denied; and urged on by
+the Crown Prince, and often by the presence upon the firing line of the
+German emperor himself, they continued the herculean task without regard
+to loss of life.
+
+Gradually the French were forced back. Hand-to-hand fighting for
+possession of the greatest strategical positions, fought daily, for a
+time resulted in advantage to neither side. Among the chief objectives of
+the German attack were two particularly important positions--Hill No 304
+(so called to distinguish it from numerous other elevated positions) and
+Le Mort Homme (Dead Man's Hill). This name, which was fated to become
+historic, was gained only after days and days of constant hand-to-hand
+fighting and is now recalled as one of the bloodiest battlefields of the
+titanic struggle.
+
+General Henri Phillip Petain, in direct command of the French operations
+at Verdun, endeared himself to the hearts of all his countrymen by his
+gallant conduct of the defense. While the decision of General Joffre, the
+French commander-in-chief, to give ground before the German attacks
+rather than to sacrifice his men in a useless defense of the fortresses,
+was criticized at first by the people, the resulting value of this move
+was soon apparent and censure turned to praise.
+
+While the heaviest assaults of the Germans were launched in the
+immediate vicinity of Verdun itself, the great battle line stretched far
+to the north and to the south. When it appeared at one time that the
+French must be hurled back, General Sir Douglas Haig, the British
+commander-in-chief, weakened his own lines to the far north to take over
+a portion of the ground just to his right and thus relieved the French
+situation at Verdun somewhat.
+
+General Petain thus was enabled to shorten his own lines, and from that
+moment, with few exceptions, the French stood firm.
+
+It seemed that the Germans, beaten off time after time as they were, must
+soon abandon the attempt to break the French lines at Verdun; but each
+repulse brought a new assault mightier than before. The Germans raced
+across the open ground under a veritable hail of lead. They fell by
+hundreds and thousands, but what few survived hurled themselves against
+the barbed wire entanglements of the French or into the trenches, there
+to die upon the points of the foes' bayonets, or to be shot down as they
+tumbled over the breastworks.
+
+The German general staff drew heavily from its forces on the east front
+and added these new legions to the already large army occupied before
+Verdun; but the result was always the same. So far they could progress
+and no farther.
+
+After almost five months of defensive tactics, General Petain began to
+launch assaults of his own. At first the Germans put these down with
+regularity, but at last the effort began to tell. The French made
+headway. Much of the lost ground was recovered. The French moved forward
+a bit day by day, occupied new positions and consolidated them. It was
+terrible work, but the French persevered.
+
+Around Hill No. 304 and Dead Man's Hill the fighting was especially
+severe. There men died by the hundreds and by the thousands that one of
+the opposing armies might advance a few yards. Gains even were counted by
+feet--almost by inches. Gain of a few yards was accounted a day's work
+well done.
+
+Not once did the French troops falter under fire; nor did the Germans,
+for that matter. Never was there greater bravery, loyalty and devotion.
+Called upon for tasks that seemed well nigh impossible, the men did not
+hesitate. They met death in such numbers as death was never met before.
+
+Almost daily, after the French had taken a brace three and a half miles
+from Verdun, it seemed that the Crown Prince must give up the effort. It
+appeared incomprehensible that the useless sacrifice of men could
+continue. But the attempt was not given up; rather, it was pressed with
+greater vigor each succeeding day.
+
+But, after five months, the fury of the German assaults gradually
+lessened. They were not delivered with the same effectiveness as before.
+The great guns continued to rage, scattering death over the field for
+miles, but the massed attacks of infantry, and cavalry charges, became
+more uncommon.
+
+Then came a day when the Germans failed to attack at all. For more than
+twenty-four hours there was a lull. Weeks passed with the Germans
+launching only occasional drives. The same held good for the French. It
+appeared that each side was content to rest on its laurels, biding the
+time when a grand assault could be delivered with some degree of
+effectiveness.
+
+The fighting was intermittent. It came spasmodically. Each side had
+fought itself out and had paused for breath. What advantage there had
+been, all things considered, rested with French arms. The losses on both
+sides, in killed and wounded, had been enormous--almost beyond
+comprehension. The number of prisoners taken by the French was large.
+Many French troops also had been captured, but not so many as Germans.
+Also, the French having been the defenders for the most part, they had
+suffered less in killed and wounded than had the foe.
+
+This, then, was the result of the battle of Verdun six months after it
+had begun. There had been no decisive victory. Each side retained its
+positions, but each was ready to strike whenever the opportune moment
+presented itself.
+
+Even while the fighting at Verdun was at its height there came the
+whisper of a grand offensive to be launched by the Allies. The whisper
+became louder as the days passed. There was more talk of Roumania and
+Greece throwing their armies to the support of the Allies, thus forming a
+steel cordon around the Central powers and their smaller allies, Bulgaria
+and Turkey, and forcing the Germans to shorten their lines. In the
+eastern war theater the Russians again were on the advance and were
+pushing the Germans and Austrians hard, threatening for a second time to
+invade Galicia and the plains of Hungary. It began to appear that the end
+was in sight.
+
+Italy, too, had launched a new offensive with Trieste as the objective
+and the driving power of the Italian troops was beginning to tell. It
+began to appear that the Central powers must before long be placed upon
+the defensive in all war zones.
+
+The world waited impatiently for the opening of the grand allied
+offensive that, it was expected, would be delivered simultaneously on all
+fronts. It was felt that it would not be long coming. There was talk of a
+new great field gun perfected by Great Britain--a gun that would be more
+effective than the German 42-centimetres--but so far it had come to play
+no part in the struggle.
+
+But of all battles, land or sea, that had been fought in the greatest war
+of history, the battle of Verdun stood head and shoulders as the most
+important. It was the greatest and bloodiest struggle of all time, up to
+that period.
+
+And it was in this battle that Hal and Chester, with the friend Anthony
+Stubbs, war correspondent, and other friends, old and new, were to play
+important roles. While each realized, as the three made their way to
+General Petain behind the French officer who had interrupted their wild
+automobile ride, that an important engagement was about to be fought,
+neither had, of course, means of knowing that they were to take part in
+one of the greatest of all battles.
+
+It was with the satisfaction that they had arrived in time to prevent a
+surprise attack that they made their way to General Petain's quarters.
+But, as it transpired, they had arrived a trifle too late. For even as
+they reached the general's tent the German guns spoke.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+GENERAL PETAIN
+
+
+To the soldier the voice of the great guns speaks plainly. Their ears
+accustomed to the various forms of bombardments, Hal and Chester
+realized as well as the rest that this was no mere resumption of an
+artillery duel. It was not a single salvo from a single German position
+that had been fired. The great guns boomed from north and south; and
+continued to boom.
+
+The officer who was conducting the three friends to the headquarters of
+General Petain turned and called a single word over his shoulder:
+
+"Hurry!"
+
+He broke into a run and the others did likewise. A short turn or two and
+they brought up before a tent somewhat larger than the rest. This the
+lads knew was General Petain's field headquarters.
+
+Even as the French officer approached the entrance, the general himself
+rushed from the tent, followed by members of his staff. The officer who
+had conducted the lads there accosted him.
+
+"Sir," he said, "despatch bearers from General Durand at Marseilles."
+
+General Petain waved them aside.
+
+"I've no time for them now," he said, and made as if to move on.
+
+Hal stepped forward.
+
+"Sir," he said, "the despatches we carry have to do with the
+impending action."
+
+General Petain stopped suddenly and eyed the lad keenly. Then he
+said abruptly:
+
+"Come with me."
+
+He led the way into the tent, and Hal, Chester and Stubbs followed
+him. The general seated himself at a desk at a far end of the tent
+and demanded:
+
+"The despatches."
+
+Hal produced several documents, which he passed to the general. The
+latter broke the seals quickly and read. Then suddenly he sprang to his
+feet and dashed outside. The lads could hear him delivering sharp orders
+to members of his staff. A moment later his voice became inaudible.
+
+After fifteen minutes' waiting, Chester grew fidgety.
+
+"Wonder where he went?" he said.
+
+"Don't know," returned Hal with a shrug.
+
+"Let's go out and see what's going on," said Stubbs, and moved
+toward the exit.
+
+"Hold on," said Hal. "We're under General Petain's orders now. We had
+better remain here until he returns."
+
+"You and Chester may be," said Stubbs, "but I'm not. I'm going out and
+have a look around."
+
+"Better stick around, Stubbs," said Chester grimly. "If they find you
+wandering about you're liable to be put under arrest. You can't go
+snooping around without permission, you know."
+
+"Snooping!" repeated Stubbs. "Snooping! Who's going snooping? I want to
+find out what's going on."
+
+"Same thing," said Chester.
+
+The little man was offended.
+
+"Call it snooping when I go out hunting news for my paper?" he asked.
+
+"It's snooping when you go sticking your nose into other people's
+business," declared Chester.
+
+"This is my business," exclaimed Stubbs.
+
+"Oh, no, it's not. It's just a plain case--"
+
+"I tell you it is my business. It's the business of the New York
+_Gazette_. The people in the United States want to know what is going on
+over here."
+
+"I'm afraid General Petain wouldn't agree with you, Stubbs," interposed
+Hal. "He doesn't care what the people in the United States want. All he
+cares about right now is to lick the Germans."
+
+"Well, maybe you're right," Stubbs admitted, "but just the same--I want
+you fellows to know that hunting news is not snooping."
+
+"Stubbs," said Chester, "I've got to give you credit. In my opinion
+you're a first class snooper."
+
+"What?" exclaimed the little man, fairly dancing with rage. "Snooper? Me
+a snooper? What do you mean?"
+
+"Of course you are," replied Chester; "and a good one. Why, I can
+remember once or twice that if you hadn't been a good snooper Hal and I
+wouldn't be here now. Remember?"
+
+"Well, yes," said Stubbs, somewhat mollified, "but I don't know whether
+that's what you meant or not."
+
+"Why, Stubbs," said Chester, "what else could I have meant?"
+
+Stubbs looked at Chester coldly; then turned and walked to the far end
+of the tent.
+
+"Now see what you've done, Chester," said Hal, in a whisper meant for
+Stubbs to overhear. "You've made him mad."
+
+Stubbs whirled about angrily.
+
+"You bet you've made me mad," he declared. "You can bet, too, that I
+won't ever do any more snooping on behalf of either of you. The next time
+you get in trouble you'll have to depend on someone besides Anthony
+Stubbs to get you out of it."
+
+"See," said Hal. "I told you not to do it, Chester. He's liable to let us
+both get killed. He--"
+
+Stubbs could stand no more. He turned on his heel and made his way from
+the tent. But even as he would have moved away he became involved in
+more trouble.
+
+With head down and not looking where he was going, he collided with
+another figure and was pushed violently backwards. Stubbs looked up
+angrily and was about to say something when he glanced at the other. It
+was General Petain. The latter spoke before Stubbs could apologize.
+
+"What's the matter with you?" he demanded. "Can't you see where you're
+going? What were you doing in my tent, anyhow? Who are you? What's your
+business here?"
+
+The questions, came so fast that Stubbs was confused.
+
+"I--why--I--" he stuttered.
+
+"Come inside here," said the general.
+
+He stretched forth a hand, seized Stubbs by the collar and pushed him in
+the tent. Stubbs, caught off his balance, went stumbling and almost fell
+into Hal's arms. General Petain entered the tent immediately behind him.
+
+When his eyes fell upon Hal and Chester he gave a start of surprise.
+Evidently he had forgotten all about them. Then he remembered.
+
+"So you're still here?" he said. "I had forgotten all about you."
+
+"We are awaiting your orders, sir," said Hal.
+
+"I don't know as I have any for you," was the reply. "I have taken what
+precautions I can. Had you arrived a day earlier it might have been
+different. I would have had more time."
+
+"We came as fast as we could, sir," said Chester.
+
+"I've no doubt of that," said the general. "Your information is of great
+value, of course. I suppose you will return to Marseilles?"
+
+"We had rather remain here a while, sir," said Hal.
+
+"So," said the general. "It's fighting you want, eh? Well, I guess I can
+accommodate you. I probably shall need every man I can get hold of. I
+shall attach you to my staff temporarily. But tell me, who is this man
+here?" He pointed to Stubbs.
+
+"War correspondent," replied Hal briefly.
+
+"What?" roared the general, "and in my tent! I'll have him court
+martialed!"
+
+Stubbs quailed visibly.
+
+"A war correspondent, eh," continued the general, "and walking about
+within my lines as free as air. He may be a spy. I'll have him shot."
+
+"Look here, general," said Stubbs, "I--"
+
+"Silence!" thundered General Petain. He turned to Hal. "Your name, sir?"
+
+"Paine, sir."
+
+"A lieutenant, I see."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+General Petain turned to Chester.
+
+"And your name?"
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford, sir."
+
+"Good. I'll turn this man over to you. You may do as you please with him.
+I see he is a friend of yours."
+
+"Yes, sir," returned Hal. "He's a good friend of ours, sir. He's rendered
+us several valuable services. Also, sir, he is to be trusted. He will
+seek to send out no information which you desire suppressed."
+
+"I never heard of one like that," said the general.
+
+"He's the only one in captivity, sir. His name is Stubbs, sir, of the New
+York _Gazette_"
+
+"His name will be Mudd, sir, if he doesn't conduct himself properly while
+within my lines," declared General Petain. "Take him with you. Find
+Lieutenant Maussapant and tell him to find quarters for you. Report to me
+at midnight. I probably shall have work for you."
+
+The lads saluted and made their way from the tent. Stubbs followed them.
+Chester glanced at his watch.
+
+"Great Scott!" he ejaculated. "I had no idea it was so late."
+
+"How late?" asked Chester.
+
+"Ten-thirty."
+
+"Nor I," said Chester. "Where do you suppose we are going to find
+Maussapant?"
+
+"You've got me. However, here comes a young officer; we'll ask him."
+
+Hal did so.
+
+"That is my name," was the young man's smiling response.
+
+"Then we're in luck," said Hal. "General Petain requests that you find
+quarters for me."
+
+"As it happens," said the young Frenchman, "two of my brother officers
+have been transferred and I can ask you to bunk with me."
+
+"How about Stubbs?" asked Hal.
+
+"Stubbs?"
+
+"Yes; our friend here, a war correspondent."
+
+"Oh, I guess we can find room for him. Come with me."
+
+The three friends followed the young Frenchman and presently were
+installed in a large, comfortable tent.
+
+"Turn in whenever you're ready," said the Frenchman.
+
+"We must report to the general at midnight," was Hal's reply.
+
+"What's up?"
+
+"You've got me," said Hal. "Hope it's something good, though."
+
+"Probably is, or he wouldn't want you at that hour."
+
+"Well," said Stubbs at this point, "you boys can do what you please. I'm
+going to get a little sleep."
+
+"All right," said Chester. "If we shouldn't be around in the morning,
+don't worry. We'll turn up sooner or later."
+
+Stubbs nodded and made ready for bed.
+
+At five minutes to twelve o'clock, Hal and Chester started for the
+headquarters of General Petain.
+
+"Here's where we get busy again, old man," said Chester.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE BATTLE OPENS
+
+
+For forty-eight hours the greatest of modern artillery duels had raged
+incessantly. German guns swept the French positions in all sections of
+the Verdun region. Fortresses protecting the approach to the city of
+Verdun had been shattered. The Germans had hurled two and three shells to
+each one by the French.
+
+But after the first day the French had entrenched themselves behind
+their earth breastworks, hastily dug and thrown up, and now remained
+secure. Into these the German guns now poured their fire. The defenders
+were ready for the first attack by infantry, which it was realized would
+come soon.
+
+And it came even sooner than was expected.
+
+Hal, with a despatch for the officer in command of the first line troops
+just to the north of Verdun, was about to return when there came a
+sudden shout:
+
+"Here they come!"
+
+Hal turned quickly.
+
+There, perhaps half a mile away, stretched out a long thin line, barely
+visible through the dense cloud of smoke that overhung the ground. Hal
+took in the situation, instantly. The German infantry was advancing to
+the charge under artillery support.
+
+Behind the first long line stretched out a second and beyond that a third
+and a fourth and many more. They advanced slowly in the face of a rain of
+lead turned on them by the men in the trenches. Men fell to the right and
+to the left, Hal could see, but the gaps were filled instantly and the
+long lines pressed forward.
+
+Now they were within three hundred yards and the heavy German guns became
+silent. The advance now must be made without further artillery support,
+for the German batteries could not fire without imminent danger of
+shooting down their own men. The Germans broke into a run.
+
+From behind the French earthworks was poured a hail of lead, but it did
+not serve to check the approaching foe. On to the breastworks they came
+and clambered up. Behind the first line came many more and they swarmed
+upon the defenders like bees in a hive.
+
+Bayonet met bayonet and revolvers cracked. Men struggled with their bare
+hands. Friend and foe went down together, struggling to the last. On the
+right and on the left, though Hal could not see these actions, similar
+scenes were being enacted. The Germans had made their initial advance
+upon a front of almost fifteen miles.
+
+A bugle sounded.
+
+French reinforcements were rushed forward to aid the hard-pressed men in
+the first line trenches. More Germans poured in. The struggling mass
+surged backward and forward. Then the French broke and fled, and Hal
+found himself among a panic-stricken mass of humanity, running for life
+for the protection of the second line trenches. From behind, the
+victorious Germans fell to their knees and poured a steady rifle fire
+upon the vanquished. Over the heads of their fleeing countrymen the
+second line French troops returned the fire.
+
+Hastily the Germans fell to work throwing up earthworks facing the second
+French line. Under experienced hands the breastworks sprang up as if by
+magic. They entrenched calmly under the rifles of the French infantry and
+the heavy guns of the French batteries, though men fell upon all hands.
+
+Far away, but coming closer, the German batteries now opened fire on the
+second French trenches, firing above the heads of the victorious German
+infantry. The infantry action subsided. The duel of big guns was resumed.
+
+Chester, who had been despatched by General Petain with orders, arrived
+there to witness a scene similar to the one Hal had seen in the center.
+The German assaults had been successful all along the line. The French
+had lost their first line trenches on a front of approximately twelve
+miles. Only at one or two isolated spots had the Germans met reverses;
+and these few points that the French still held were doubly dangerous
+now. They could not be given the proper support. Later in the day they
+were abandoned.
+
+Hal and Chester returned to their posts about the same time. Each was
+sadly disappointed at the result of the first infantry fighting. For
+several hours they were kept on the jump carrying despatches, and it was
+after dark before they found themselves alone together after the
+strenuous day.
+
+"Pretty hard," said Hal, shaking his head sadly.
+
+"I should say so," Chester agreed. "It seems to me that those fellows
+could have been stopped."
+
+"It doesn't to me," declared Hal. "The way they swept into our trenches
+seemed to me beyond human power to stop. I'm glad they stopped when they
+did. They probably could have gone farther."
+
+"They'll try again to-morrow," said Chester positively.
+
+"I'm afraid so," agreed Hal; "and if they do, I'm afraid they'll drive us
+back again."
+
+"And what's the reason?" demanded Chester.
+
+Hal shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I don't know," he said. "Of course they can only progress so far.
+They'll wear themselves out by their own exertions. They lost a great
+deal more heavily than we did to-day; but certainly it seemed as if
+nothing could stop them."
+
+There was little rest for Hal and Chester that night. It seemed to both
+that they had hardly closed their eyes when they were again summoned to
+General Petain. Assembled there they found the entire staff. The French
+commander was reviewing the events of the day and issuing orders and
+instructions rapidly. He realized that there would be more and probably
+harder fighting on the next day and he was laying his plans
+accordingly. Hal and Chester received their instructions for the morrow
+along with the rest.
+
+Returning to their own quarters again, they were attracted by the sound
+of confusion a short distance away.
+
+"Something up," said Chester. "Let's have a look."
+
+Nothing loath, Hal followed his chum.
+
+In the light of a large camp fire they made out a crowd of soldiers
+gathered about in a large circle. Howls of amusement and hilarious
+laughter rose on the air. Hal and Chester pushed closer and were able to
+ascertain the cause of merriment.
+
+In the center six French soldiers held a blanket and in the center of
+this blanket was a man. He rose and fell as the six men alternately
+released the blanket and then drew it taut again. He was yelling at the
+top of his voice to be let alone and threatening dire vengeance on his
+tormentors when he would be able to get at them. But he was laughing and
+taking the joke good naturedly.
+
+Hal and Chester joined the circle of spectators and derived as much
+amusement as the others from the proceedings. At length, tiring of their
+present victim, the men lowered him to the ground. One of them, a large,
+strapping fellow, perhaps thirty years of age, cast his eye around the
+circle of faces.
+
+"Let's get another one," he shouted.
+
+There was a chorus of assent from the others and all six set to looking
+about for a victim who would not prove too willing. As Hal said to
+Chester, apparently there was no fun tossing a man who took it good
+naturedly.
+
+At last the big fellow gave a howl of delight and dashed forward. Hal
+gazed after him. As the big fellow bounded forward, a slight figure in
+the first row turned and ran. But the big fellow overtook him and
+dragged him back.
+
+"Here's one, men," he cried. "See, he doesn't want to come with me. He
+doesn't know what a good time he is going to have. We'll give him a
+good one."
+
+The others lent a hand and dragged the unwilling captive forward. As they
+would have put him on the blanket, the youngster--for such the captive
+proved to be--protested.
+
+"Some other time, fellows," he said. "I'm sick to-night. I hadn't ought
+to be out at all, but I couldn't stay in the tent any longer. I'll let
+you toss me in the blanket some other time, but please let me alone
+to-night."
+
+From where Hal and Chester stood it was plain to see that the boy was
+telling the truth. His face was deathly pale and he looked very ill.
+
+"Great Scott," said Hal, "they shouldn't torment him. He is telling
+the truth."
+
+"Certainly he is," Chester agreed. "I believe the boy is very ill."
+
+But the young French boy's protest fell on unheeding ears.
+
+With loud guffaws the men grabbed hold of the blanket and sent the
+captive spinning aloft. Two, three times he rose and fell, and upon the
+last was still in the blanket. Apparently the men who held the blanket
+had not noticed this, however, for they were preparing to toss him aloft
+again. But Hal had detected the lad's condition. He decided it was time
+for some one to interfere, and as no one else apparently was ready to
+call a halt on the proceeding, he determined to take a hand himself.
+
+Quickly he shed his overcoat and then tossed off his jacket and passed
+them to Chester.
+
+"Hold 'em!" he said, and sprang forward.
+
+At the edge of the circle he halted and gazed at the big Frenchman, who
+had chanced to turn in his direction.
+
+"Let the boy go," he said. "Can't you see that he is unconscious?"
+
+The big Frenchman grinned at him. When Hal had taken off his coat, he had
+removed all signs of his rank and the soldier had no means of knowing he
+was an officer.
+
+"One more toss," said the Frenchman.
+
+Hal stepped close to him.
+
+"The boy is unconscious," said the Frenchman, and added: "Then we'll
+take you."
+
+He nodded to the others in signal that it was time to toss; but before he
+could move, Hal had seized him by the wrist and whirled him around.
+
+"You heard me," the lad said quietly. "I meant what I said."
+
+He gave the Frenchman's arm a quick twist and the man dropped his hold on
+the blanket. The Frenchman's hold on the blanket released, the lad upon
+it tumbled to the ground, where he lay still. Instantly several others
+bent over and gave their attention to bringing him to. The man whom Hal
+had confronted turned on him angrily.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
+
+"I told you to let the boy alone and I meant it," said Hal quietly.
+
+For answer the Frenchman struck at him. Hal dodged the blow and stepped
+back. He would have avoided a fight if possible. But the Frenchman
+stepped after him and struck again. Again Hal dodged and the blow passed
+harmlessly over his head. The lad struck out quickly with his right and
+caught the Frenchman a hard blow upon the side of the neck. Big man
+though he was, the Frenchman toppled over. Hal walked back to where he
+had left Chester, donned his coat and the two moved away.
+
+Behind them, as the big Frenchman staggered to his feet there was a howl
+of merriment. The Frenchman shook a fist angrily at Hal's back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE BLACK PEAS
+
+
+The howling without continued when Hal and Chester reached their
+own quarters.
+
+"Well, you've made another enemy, Hal," said Chester.
+
+"Can't help that," was his chum's reply. "It had to be done. By the way,
+I wonder what's happened to Stubbs?"
+
+"Oh, I guess he is spooking around some place. He'll turn up
+before long."
+
+The lad was right. Hal and Chester had hardly composed themselves to
+sleep when the flap to the tent was lifted and Stubbs' head appeared. He
+struck a match and looked at the two lads.
+
+"Asleep?" he asked.
+
+Neither lad was, but neither replied. They were both too sleepy to
+care to enter into a conversation with Stubbs, so they maintained a
+discreet silence.
+
+"All right, then," said Stubbs, "if you're asleep I'll soon be with you."
+
+He removed his clothing and went to bed.
+
+Stubbs was up early the following morning and when the lads arose
+entertained them with an account of his wanderings.
+
+"And," he concluded, "I've stumbled across a story that's a wonder."
+
+"A story?" repeated Chester.
+
+"Yes. A 'story' is a newspaper man's way of expressing something big."
+
+"Something to do with the battle?" asked Hal.
+
+"It may have and it may not," declared Stubbs. "It may have something to
+do with the whole war--and it may not. I don't know."
+
+"What is it, Stubbs?" asked Chester.
+
+Stubbs winked one eye at him.
+
+"As I happened to stumble across this while I was snooping," he
+said, "and as you don't think much of snooping, I am going to keep
+this to myself."
+
+"Come, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester, "you know I was just fooling."
+
+"Well, I may be just fooling now, for all you know," said Stubbs.
+
+In vain did the lads plead to know what he was talking about. Stubbs was
+obdurate and took his departure, announcing that he was going to do some
+more "snooping," without enlightening them.
+
+Hardly had he gone when the lads received a caller. It was none other
+than the young French boy whom Hal had rescued from the hands of his
+tormentors the night before.
+
+"They told me you came to my aid," he said to Hal, "so I have come to
+thank you."
+
+"Who are they?" asked Hal.
+
+"Some of the men. It was true that I was ill last night. Jules Clemenceau
+will not forget."
+
+The young French boy had stood with one hand in his pocket, and now
+withdrew the hand and extended it to Hal. As he did so, two small objects
+fell from his pocket. Apparently Jules did not notice them. Hal shook
+hands with the boy and the Frenchman took his departure.
+
+Chester, in the meantime, had picked up the two little objects and now he
+called to Jules, but the young Frenchman did not hear him.
+
+"Oh, I guess he doesn't want these things, anyhow," the lad muttered.
+
+"What things?" asked Hal, who had not seen the objects drop from
+Jules' pocket.
+
+Chester passed one of the objects to him.
+
+"Know what it is?" he asked.
+
+"Sure," returned Hal, "don't you?"
+
+"No. What is it?"
+
+"A pea."
+
+"I never saw a pea like that."
+
+"Probably not. They are rather rare. A black pea, that's what it is.
+Where did you get it?"
+
+"Jules dropped it out of his pocket."
+
+"Well, as he seems to think I have done him a favor, I am just going to
+keep this. I guess he won't mind. I'll carry it as a pocket piece."
+
+"Then I'll carry the mate to it," said Chester.
+
+He put the little round pea in his pocket and Hal followed suit.
+
+Although neither could possibly have suspected it, these two little peas
+were to be the means of getting them into all kinds of trouble.
+
+There was heavy fighting that day and when night fell it found the
+Germans safely entrenched in the French second line trenches along a
+seven-mile front. For some reason or other Hal and Chester did not get to
+the front, their duties confining them close to General Petain's
+headquarters. They were kept busy most of the day, however, and were
+tired out when they returned to their own quarters late that night.
+
+Ready as they were for bed, they consented to sit up a while and talk
+with Stubbs, who announced that he had a wonderful tale to unfold.
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I have discovered a strange thing. It's a big
+thing and there are many men in the French army implicated in it. Most
+likely in the British, too, and I know that it has touched the ranks of
+the enemy."
+
+"What is it, a conspiracy?" asked Chester.
+
+"It is," said Stubbs, "and it's a whopper. I haven't been able to find
+the names of any of the leaders and I wouldn't know what to do if I did
+learn who they are. This one thing, rather than anything else, is likely
+to disrupt the aims of the Allies."
+
+"Then you had better tell General Petain about it," declared Hal.
+
+"I suppose I should," said Stubbs, as he drew out his pipe and proceeded
+to fill it.
+
+He was quiet a moment as he ran his fingers in his vest pocket,
+seeking a match.
+
+"Say, I'm a good one, ain't I?" he demanded, forgetting his grammar
+absolutely.
+
+"What's the matter now?" asked Hal.
+
+"Matter is that I can never keep a match. Have you got one?"
+
+"Fortunately for you, I have," said Chester. "I don't carry them, as a
+rule, having no use for them, but I chanced to find a box of safety
+matches to-day."
+
+He reached in his pocket and produced the box; and as he did so the
+little black pea rolled from his pocket. It rolled toward Stubbs and the
+little man caught it. He would have returned it to Chester, but as he
+started to do so he took a close look at it. He gave a sudden start and
+the box of matches Chester had extended to him dropped to the floor even
+as his fingers would have closed on it.
+
+"H-m-m-m," he muttered to himself. "I wonder. I suppose it would be a
+great thing. I wonder."
+
+Stubbs picked up the box of matches and proceeded to light his pipe with
+deliberation.
+
+"Well, now that you have that pipe puffing," said Hal, "what's the rest
+of this story of yours?"
+
+"On second thought," said Stubbs calmly, "I have decided to keep it
+to myself."
+
+"You're not going to tell us?" demanded Chester.
+
+"No," said Stubbs. "By the way, here's your black pea," for Chester had
+not noticed that he had dropped it.
+
+"Thanks," said Chester, taking the pea and dropping it in his pocket, "I
+wouldn't want to lose it."
+
+"No, I guess not," said Stubbs mysteriously. "Pretty scarce articles. I
+don't suppose you could find another one in some distance."
+
+"Oh, yes, you could," said Hal. "I have one myself."
+
+"That so?" said Stubbs, and added to himself: "I thought so, but I wanted
+to make sure."
+
+Hal produced his black pea. Stubbs examined it carefully and passed it
+back to him.
+
+"Better keep it in a safe place," he said. "As I say, they are scarce
+and it never does a fellow any good to lose anything when there is
+anyone around."
+
+Hal and Chester started guiltily. How could Stubbs know they had found
+the peas when they fell from the pocket of Jules Clemenceau? Stubbs, who
+had been watching the two closely, observed these sudden starts and
+interpreted them to his own satisfaction.
+
+"Come now, Stubbs," said Chester, "tell us the rest of this story
+of yours."
+
+"No," said Stubbs, "I am going to keep it to myself." He added under his
+breath: "The young cubs! Trying to pump an old-timer like me to see how
+much I know!"
+
+"You mean you are not even going to tell the general?" asked Hal.
+
+"That's what I mean," said Stubbs.
+
+Hal and Chester exchanged glances. They wondered what had come over the
+little man so suddenly. Stubbs caught the interchange of glances and
+again he read it wrong. To Stubbs it appeared that there was relief on
+their features.
+
+Stubbs shook his head.
+
+"I'm going to turn in," he said.
+
+Not another word could the lads get out of him, try as they would. But
+Stubbs, on his cot, did not sleep immediately. Covertly he watched the
+two lads as they talked in tones too low for him to hear, strain his ears
+as he would.
+
+"Well, I guess I don't need to hear 'em," he told himself. "I can guess
+what it's all about."
+
+He rolled over and went to sleep.
+
+But the nature of the lads' conversation was a whole lot different from
+what Stubbs thought it was, though it concerned the little man himself.
+
+"Something wrong with him," said Chester.
+
+"Right you are," agreed Hal. "Talks like we had offended him or
+something."
+
+"Maybe he just wants to keep us guessing."
+
+"That might be it. Anyhow, if he doesn't tell us to-morrow, I'm going to
+tell him what I think of him."
+
+"Then he won't talk," said Chester.
+
+"We might be able to get him mad enough to make him talk," returned Hal.
+
+"By Jove! so we might," said Chester. "We'll have a try at it to-morrow
+if it's necessary."
+
+"All right. Then let's turn in. I've a feeling it's going to be a
+strenuous day to-morrow."
+
+And it was; though not strenuous in the way Hal had expected.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A PERILOUS SITUATION
+
+
+Hal and Chester held no conversation with Anthony Stubbs the following
+day, and therefore were unable to learn more than they already knew of
+the war correspondent's great "story."
+
+Before they rose Stubbs was up and gone, and when he returned, several
+hours later, Hal and Chester were receiving orders from General Petain.
+
+The German advance had continued the day before in spite of the heroic
+stand of the French troops. Successive charges by the Teuton hordes had
+driven the defenders back along practically the entire front. Here, with
+the coming of night, they had taken a brace with the arrival of
+reinforcements and had stemmed the tide; but not a man failed to realize
+that there would be more desperate work on the morrow.
+
+The French lines now had been pushed back well to the west of the city
+of Verdun itself and the civil population of the town had fled. The town
+had been swept by the great German guns until hardly one stone remained
+upon another. North of the city, the French had been bent back as the
+Germans thrust a wedge into the defending lines almost to the foot of
+Dead Man's Hill.
+
+This hill was of particular importance to the Germans, for it commanded
+the approach on all sides; and now the German Prince had determined upon
+its capture. General Petain anticipated the move and acted promptly.
+
+It was toward this point, then, that Hal and Chester found themselves
+moving upon the sixth day of the great battle. They bore despatches from
+General Petain and each bestrode a high-powered motorcycle, which the
+French commander had placed at their disposal. The two lads rode swiftly,
+for there was no time to be lost.
+
+Even above the "pop-pop" of their motorcycles could be heard the
+terrible roar of the German guns as they were brought to bear on Dead
+Man's Hill, paving the way for an infantry advance, which was to come a
+few hours later. It was risky business upon which the lads were bent,
+for the great shells struck on all sides of them, throwing huge masses
+of dirt in the air like giant fountains and digging immense excavations
+in the hard ground.
+
+But the lads reached their destination in safety; and here, for the
+first time, Hal and Chester were to come in contact with a new method
+of fighting.
+
+General Domont, in command at Dead Man's Hill, having read the despatches
+the lads carried, announced that they would remain with him during the
+day, acting as members of his staff. He ordered Hal forward with
+instructions for the troops holding the crest of the hill to the north
+and Chester was despatched upon a similar mission to the south.
+
+Hardly had Chester delivered his message when a shout told him the German
+infantry was advancing to the attack. The lad glanced around, and as he
+did so, a sharp order rang out and a moment later the French troops
+clamped queer-looking devices over their faces and heads.
+
+Chester knew what they were--gas masks to protect the defenders from
+the poisonous vapors of German gas bombs, which, had the defenders not
+been protected by masks, would have killed them instantly. A passing
+officer said something unintelligible to the lad as he passed and
+pointed to the ground. Glancing down, the lad perceived a mask and then
+understood that the officer had meant for him to put it on. Chester did
+so, though not without some difficulty, for he had trouble adjusting
+it. But with his nostrils protected at last, Chester turned to watch
+the approach of the enemy.
+
+The Germans came forward in a dense mass, despite the fearful execution
+worked in their ranks by the French guns. In the lines of the defenders
+dropped huge bombs that sent up dense vapors--the deadly gasses of the
+foe--but they caused little harm, for the French were protected. Now and
+then a man fell, however; perhaps he had failed to adjust his helmet
+properly, or perhaps it was not perfect. But for the most part the gas
+bombs had little effect.
+
+The first concerted attack of the German troops availed little; and after
+trying for half an hour to gain a foothold in the French lines they
+withdrew. But a second attack followed a few moments later. This also was
+beaten off. A third attack, however, met with better success.
+
+This time the Germans succeeded in gaining a hold in the French lines,
+and this they retained in spite of repeated counter assaults by the
+French. Bravely the men charged, but they could make no impression on the
+positions so recently won by the foe. The troops of the German Crown
+Prince stood firm.
+
+The French were forced to retreat toward the summit of the hill.
+
+Here the big French guns opened violently upon the enemy, but the
+invaders remained in spite of the hail of death.
+
+Chester had been carried back with the French retreat and he now found
+himself almost in the first line. He was sadly disappointed, for he had
+felt sure that the French effort to repel the attack would be successful.
+
+His men still falling back before the German advance, General Domont
+determined upon a bold stroke. Orders were given thick and fast. Hal and
+Chester, returning from their first missions of the day, found themselves
+again near the front. The orders to the various French divisional
+commanders were explicit. As the Germans advanced again to the attack,
+the French, too, all along the line, were to take the offensive.
+
+The men awaited the word eagerly.
+
+At last it came. With a shout the French, still wearing their gas masks,
+hurled themselves forward with the troops.
+
+Halfway down the hill the lines met with a crash. Rifles and small arms
+were fired point blank into the very faces of the foe and then the men
+fell to the work with bayonets. Both sides fought desperately.
+
+Hal and Chester had drawn their swords and found themselves engaged with
+the troops. So close was the fighting that had it not been for the
+difference in uniform it would have been practically impossible to
+distinguish friend from foe.
+
+Hal found himself engaged with a German officer of huge stature, who was
+endeavoring to bring the lad to earth by fierce sweeping blows of his
+officer's sword. Hal was hard pressed to defend himself.
+
+As the German's sword descended in a stroke of extra violence, Hal
+stepped lightly aside and evaded the blow. Before the German could
+recover himself, Hal moved quickly forward. There was a sudden, quick
+movement of his arm and the German officer toppled over, to rise no more.
+
+Hal turned just in time to see a second German officer level a revolver
+straight at his head. The lad ducked and the ball passed harmlessly over
+his head. Before the German's finger could press the trigger again Hal
+had raised his arm and struck.
+
+Chester, in the meantime, had his own hands full. He had accounted for a
+German trooper who had sought to bring his rifle butt down on the lad's
+head and was now engaged with two other troopers, who sought to end his
+career with bayonets.
+
+Chester sprang nimbly back as the two men advanced on him. One tripped
+and stumbled over a fallen comrade and as he did so Chester took
+advantage of his misfortune to strike with his sword. But the second
+German protected his fellow by catching Chester's stroke with his bayonet
+and for a moment Chester was at a disadvantage.
+
+Even as the bayonet of the first trooper, who had regained his balance,
+would have pierced him, however, Chester dropped flat on the ground and
+seized one of the man's legs. The German dropped his bayonet and crashed
+to the ground. Chester sprang up quickly and jumped to one side to escape
+the point of the bayonet in the hands of the second trooper.
+
+Chester thrust with his sword, but the effort was futile. The point of
+the lad's sword fell short. Again the lad was at a disadvantage and the
+German grinned as he stepped forward to end the combat. His bayonet was
+pointed straight at the lad's breast and it seemed as though nothing but
+a miracle could save the boy.
+
+But the miracle happened. Suddenly the German dropped his bayonet with a
+crash and threw up both arms. He spun on his heel and then fell to the
+ground without an outcry. A stray bullet had done what Chester had been
+unable to accomplish, and for the moment the lad was safe.
+
+The second trooper now returned to the attack and engaged Chester
+fiercely. All this time the French were gradually being forced back, and
+of a sudden Chester found himself the center of a mass of German troops.
+
+But the lad had no mind to give up. Throwing caution to the winds, he now
+struck out swiftly and sharply with his sword. Once or twice the thrusts
+went home. Chester felt a sting in his left shoulder. The bayonet of a
+German trooper had pricked him slightly. Chester whirled about and seized
+the bayonet with his left hand. A powerful wrench and it was wrested from
+the hands of the German soldier, who had been caught off his guard.
+
+Without taking time to reverse the weapon, Chester hurled it in the faces
+of the foe who pressed in about him. It struck one man squarely on the
+forehead and he toppled over with a groan.
+
+Again Chester laid about him with his sword, retreating slowly as he did
+so. The gas helmet that he wore impeded his progress somewhat, for it was
+strange to his head and felt uncomfortable. Now the lad realized for the
+first time that the Germans before him also wore the heavy helmets.
+
+He aimed a blow at one man's breast and it went home. At the same moment
+a second German brought his rifle butt down upon the lad's sword and the
+weapon snapped off. Chester felt a second sting in his arm and then he
+felt a blow across the helmet.
+
+There was a sudden roaring sound, Chester saw a million stars flash
+through the air; then he threw up his arms, made a move to step forward
+and crashed to the ground.
+
+The last blow had broken open Chester's gas helmet and the lad was at the
+mercy of the poisonous vapors!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+HAL TO THE RESCUE
+
+
+At the same moment that Chester fell to the ground, the clear note of
+a bugle rang out from the German rear, sounding the recall. The
+attack was to be given up. The resistance of the French had been too
+much for the foe.
+
+Hal, who had been retreating with the other French troops, turned a
+second before the recall was sounded just in time to see a single form
+that had been struggling with a knot of the enemy crash to the ground.
+Hal gave a loud cry, which was stifled by his gas helmet, for he felt
+sure that it was Chester.
+
+It was at that moment the German bugle sounded the recall.
+
+Hal dashed toward the spot where Chester had fallen. A score of enemy
+troops, perceiving his approach, stayed their retreat and offered him
+battle. Hal was nothing loath. He dashed toward them at top speed.
+
+Other French troops, seeing one of their numbers dashing forward, and
+perceiving his peril, jumped to the rescue. Still more Germans turned and
+more French dashed forward. For a moment it seemed that the struggle
+would be renewed in spite of the order for a German recall.
+
+Hal dashed among the foe with sword flashing aloft. Right and left he
+slashed and the Germans gave way before his fury. Then they closed in.
+Almost at the same moment the French troops came to his assistance.
+Again the recall was sounded from the German rear. The few of the foe
+who apparently had Hal at their mercy heeded this second call
+reluctantly. They drew off slowly, opening upon the advancing French
+with their rifles as they did so. The French returned the fire and the
+Germans retreated faster.
+
+Apparently it was not the plan of General Domont to follow up the
+retreating Germans, for there came no order for a charge. Instead, the
+French commander apparently was satisfied with having broken down the
+German attack. He had no intention of sacrificing more of his men in a
+useless pursuit that would bring them again under the mouths of the big
+German guns.
+
+Quickly Hal bent over Chester. The latter had fallen with his face on the
+ground, and this fact undoubtedly had saved his life. He was unconscious
+and his nose was buried in the dirt. He had almost suffocated, but this
+fact had saved him from the poisonous gases. Hal stripped the gas helmet
+from a dead French soldier and slipped it over Chester's head. Then he
+lifted his chum from the ground and started toward the rear, supporting
+the unconscious figure as well as he could.
+
+Several French troopers ran to his assistance. Hal lowered Chester to the
+ground and put both hands under his chum's head. He motioned one of the
+French soldiers to take Chester's feet, and in this manner they carried
+Chester from the danger zone.
+
+Hal did not rest easily until after a French surgeon had pronounced
+Chester little the worse for his experience. Two bayonet wounds in the
+lad's arm were found to be mere scratches.
+
+"He'll pull round in a day or two," said the surgeon. "In the
+meantime it would be well to keep him as quiet as possible, though he
+is in no danger."
+
+Hal thanked the surgeon, and leaving Chester in safe hands, sought out
+General Domont and explained the circumstances to him.
+
+"And I would like to get him back to my own quarters," he concluded.
+
+"Very well," said General Domont. "I shall place an automobile at your
+disposal."
+
+The French officer was as good as his word and in a high-power motor car
+Hal and Chester, the latter having regained consciousness, were soon on
+their way to headquarters, Hal bearing General Domont's report on the
+morning's encounter.
+
+Hal went first to the quarters of General Petain, where he delivered
+General Domont's report; then he accompanied Chester to their own
+quarters, where he made Chester as comfortable as possible.
+
+He was just about to leave Chester alone, when another figure entered the
+tent. It was Stubbs.
+
+"Hello, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester from his cot. "Where have you been
+all summer?"
+
+"Summer?" said Mr. Stubbs, removing his overcoat. "This is the month of
+February."
+
+"All right; have it your own way," said Chester.
+
+"Well, I've just been having a look around," said Stubbs.
+
+"Find out anything more about the conspiracy?" asked Hal.
+
+"What conspiracy?" demanded Stubbs.
+
+"Why, the one you were telling us about the other night," exclaimed
+Chester.
+
+Stubbs looked at the lad critically.
+
+"Wounded to-day, weren't you?" he asked.
+
+"A trifle," returned Chester.
+
+"Any fever?" asked Stubbs.
+
+"No," said Hal. "Why?"
+
+"Why? He's dreaming things. What's this conspiracy he's talking about?"
+
+Chester sat up in his cot.
+
+"You don't mean to tell me you don't remember what you told us about it?"
+he demanded.
+
+Stubbs tapped his head with a significant gesture and nodded to Hal.
+
+"Did you have a surgeon look at him?" he asked.
+
+"Look here, Stubbs--" began Chester angrily.
+
+"Here, here," interposed Hal. "You lie down there, Chester. I'll talk to
+our friend here."
+
+At this Mr. Stubbs moved toward the outside.
+
+"I've got to be going now," he announced.
+
+"Well, you're not going to go until you tell me what all this foolishness
+is about," declared Hal.
+
+"Foolishness?"
+
+"Yes, foolishness. You can't deny, can you, that you told us the other
+night you had unearthed a conspiracy of some kind?"
+
+"I can," said Stubbs, "but I won't. It's my belief that there is
+something wrong with both of you. What would I know about a conspiracy?"
+
+"That's what I would like to know," returned Chester, from his cot.
+"If you won't tell us, I've a notion to tell General Petain what
+you told us."
+
+"I wouldn't if I were you," said Stubbs. "It wouldn't do you any
+good. He probably would think your wound had affected your mind.
+That's what I think."
+
+"Oh, no you don't," said Hal. "You are just trying to keep the thing to
+yourself, whatever it is. Maybe you're going to slip it by the censor to
+the _Gazette_, eh?"
+
+Stubbs made no reply.
+
+"If I thought that, I would tell General Petain," declared Chester.
+
+"It must be a great thing to have such imaginations," said Stubbs with
+something like a sigh. "Some of these days, if you like, I'll get you
+both jobs on the _Gazette_."
+
+"Now look here, Stubbs," said Hal. "Laying all joking aside, are you
+going to tell us about this thing or not?"
+
+"What thing?" demanded Stubbs.
+
+"By George!" ejaculated Hal in exasperation. "You're the limit, Stubbs."
+
+"Sure I am," was the little man's smiling response. "Otherwise, I
+wouldn't be in this tent with you."
+
+"Stubbs," said Chester, a sudden idea striking him, "have we done
+something you don't like?"
+
+"You have," was Stubbs' reply.
+
+"By Jove!" said Hal. "We're sorry for that, Stubbs. We apologize. Will
+you tell us what we've done?"
+
+Stubbs looked at the lad with a peculiar smile on his face. He was silent
+several moments before replying:
+
+"You don't know, eh?"
+
+"Of course not."
+
+Stubbs shrugged his shoulders and started out of the tent.
+
+"Say!" Chester called after him, "are you going to tell us or not?"
+
+"Not!" said Stubbs briefly, and was gone.
+
+"Now what do you think of that?" demanded Chester of his chum.
+
+"There's something wrong with him," was Hal's reply. "I haven't any idea
+what it can be."
+
+"Suppose it is because we were poking fun at him the other night?"
+
+"I don't know. I don't believe he would take a thing like that to heart.
+However, you can't tell."
+
+"Anyhow," said Chester, "we're not likely to find out what it's all about
+until he gets good and ready to tell us."
+
+"You're right, there," returned Hal. "He can be as mum as an oyster when
+he wants to. Well, old boy, I'll leave you alone now and go out and look
+around a bit. Maybe I can stumble on this conspiracy Stubbs talks about."
+
+"You mean the one he won't talk about," said Chester with a smile. "All
+right. Go ahead. I'll take a little snooze."
+
+He rolled over on his side as Hal left the tent.
+
+How long Chester slept he did not know, but it was dark in the tent when
+he opened his eyes.
+
+"Wonder what can be keeping Hal?" he muttered to himself.
+
+He had hardly had spoken the words when a form came through the entrance
+to the tent. Chester was about to speak, for he thought at first that it
+was Hal, but something seemed to tell him to remain silent. The lad,
+therefore, said nothing.
+
+At second glance Chester realized that the figure that had entered the
+tent was not Hal. Neither was it Stubbs.
+
+"Great Scott!" muttered the lad to himself. "Wonder who he is and
+what he wants here? He hasn't seen me though. Guess I'll wait and see
+what happens."
+
+The lad stretched out a hand carefully and drew toward him a camp stool
+upon which he had laid his clothes before going to bed. Without a sound
+he secured one of his revolvers and straightened to a sitting posture.
+
+"I'm ready for whatever happens," he told himself.
+
+The intruder had now taken up such a position in the tent as to command a
+view of the entrance, shielded from sight himself. Chester saw something
+glisten in the man's hand.
+
+"Gun," said the boy to himself. "Guess I can beat him to it."
+
+Came footsteps without. They stopped just outside the tent. Chester
+saw the nocturnal visitor in the tent raise his revolver arm. Chester
+did likewise.
+
+"I'll just shoot that gun out of your hand, my friend," he said quietly.
+
+He took deliberate aim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN UNKNOWN ENEMY
+
+
+The footsteps outside came nearer the entrance. Chester's finger
+tightened on the trigger of his revolver, as he saw the stranger in the
+tent draw himself taut.
+
+At that moment Hal's figure appeared in the entrance.
+
+There were two sharp cracks, so close that they seemed as one, and two
+spurts of flame in the darkness. Came a cry of pain from the stranger in
+the tent and Hal dashed forward.
+
+"Quick, Hal! Grab him!" shouted Chester.
+
+But quick as he was, Hal was not quick enough. With a snarl the man
+jumped toward Hal even as Hal leaped himself. The stranger was of much
+greater bulk than Hal and the lad was hurled to the ground. When he
+regained his feet the stranger had disappeared.
+
+Chester, unmindful of his wound, had leaped from his cot and now ran
+outside. Some distance away he saw a figure disappear in the darkness.
+The lad did not fire a second shot, for at that distance he could not be
+sure of a hit and he did not wish further to alarm the camp.
+
+Hal struck a light and the two chums looked at each other.
+
+"Did you get a look at him, Hal?" asked Chester.
+
+"No, did you?"
+
+"No. He was in the tent for some time, but I waited until I was sure
+what he was going to do before I fired, though I had him covered all
+the time."
+
+"You must be losing your eye. At that distance you should you should have
+potted him without trouble."
+
+"I guess I could have done it this time had I tried," returned Chester.
+"I shot at his revolver."
+
+"Well, I guess you hit it," said Hal. "There it is, right where he
+dropped it. But his bullet whistled pretty close to my ear."
+
+"I suppose I shouldn't have taken a chance," said Chester. "Next time
+I'll shoot to hit something better than a pistol."
+
+"Well, it doesn't make any difference now," said Hal. "He didn't get me.
+I wonder who he is and what he wanted to shoot me for?"
+
+"You've got me, look at the gun and see if there is any mark of
+identification on it."
+
+Hal stooped over and picked up the revolver. He examined it carefully and
+then passed it to Chester.
+
+"Can't find anything," he said.
+
+Chester examined the weapon with no better success.
+
+"Well," he said at last, slowly, "there is one thing certain. You've an
+enemy of some kind in the camp. It will behoove you to be careful in
+the future."
+
+"I suppose the bullet was meant for me," said Hal, "although, of course
+it might have been meant for either you or Stubbs."
+
+"Great Scott! What would anybody want to shoot Stubbs for?"
+
+"Well, you can search me," said Hal with a shrug of his shoulders, "which
+may not be very good English, but expresses my sentiments just the same."
+
+"How about Stubbs' conspiracy? Maybe one of the conspirators has caught
+Stubbs nosing about."
+
+"By Jove! It might be that, after all," said Hal. "I wonder!"
+
+"At all events, we shall all have to be on our guard," declared
+Chester. "We don't know for which of us the bullet was meant. We'll
+have to warn Stubbs."
+
+"So we shall, and if I mistake not here he comes now."
+
+Hal was right. A moment later the rotund face of the little war
+correspondent appeared in the tent entrance.
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal gravely, "you missed getting killed by just about
+five minutes."
+
+The little man started back in alarm.
+
+"Wha--what's that?" he demanded.
+
+"I said you just escaped getting killed."
+
+"But who would want to kill me?" demanded Stubbs, plainly very nervous.
+
+"It might have been one of your conspirators," said Hal. He displayed the
+weapon from which a bullet had sped toward his own head.
+
+"Hey!" shouted Stubbs. "Put that gun down! Don't shoot!"
+
+The little man was so visibly frightened that Hal looked at him in
+surprise.
+
+"Surely you didn't think I was going to shoot you, Mr. Stubbs?" he asked
+in some surprise.
+
+"I don't know," returned Stubbs, wiping a moist brow with his
+handkerchief. "I don't understand you fellows at all. First you said you
+wanted to kill me five minutes ago and there you stand with a gun in your
+hand. What am I to think?"
+
+"Stubbs, you're crazy," said Hal, calmly. "I didn't say I wanted to kill
+you. When I came into the tent just now there was a man took a shot at
+me. I don't know whether he wanted to kill me, or whether he wanted to
+kill you. He may even have been trying to kill Chester. He didn't take
+time to investigate. He fired at the first figure to enter the tent. I
+don't know who he was. Have you any enemies?"
+
+"I--I--Why I don't know," said Stubbs.
+
+"How about the conspirators. Do any of them know you?"
+
+"What conspirators?" demanded Stubbs, and added, "I wish you would quit
+harping on that subject. It's all right to have a little fun with me once
+in a while. I don't mind it; but enough is enough."
+
+Chester was about to make an angry retort, but Hal stayed him with a
+word.
+
+"All right, Stubbs," he said. "If you don't know anything about a
+conspiracy you don't and that's all there is about that. But if you do, I
+should advise you to be careful. I believe that shot was meant for you."
+
+"I am afraid that this tent is going to be dangerous for me," said
+Stubbs, slowly. "I shall remain here no longer."
+
+"What! Not going to leave us, Stubbs?" exclaimed Chester.
+
+"Yes," returned the little man quietly. "If I remain here I'm liable to
+wake up dead some morning, and I wouldn't like that. There's an
+expression in New York that hits me just right. 'Safety first!' I'm going
+to get out of this tent, and I'm going to get out right now, while I'm
+all together."
+
+He hurried to the far side of the tent and got his belongings together.
+Then he moved toward the door. There he paused a moment, as if undecided,
+then walked up to Hal and extended a hand.
+
+"Good-bye, Hal," he said quietly. "I may not see you for some time and
+then again it may be soon."
+
+Hal took the hand as he said:
+
+"Look here, Stubbs, we don't like to lose you."
+
+"I know, I know," said the little man, "but it will be better for all
+concerned."
+
+He approached Chester and extended a hand to him also.
+
+"Come now, Stubbs," said Chester. "Drop those things back down there and
+go to bed."
+
+"Not much," replied Stubbs grimly. "I'm going to hunt a safer spot
+than this."
+
+He released Chester's hand and made his way to the door. There, just
+before moving away, he turned and spoke.
+
+"Boys," he said, "we've been pretty good friends, the three of us,
+haven't we?"
+
+"You bet we have, Stubbs," returned Chester warmly.
+
+"We certainly have, Mr. Stubbs," Hal agreed.
+
+"All right, then," said the little man. "You both have been good enough
+to tell me once or twice that I have been of some service to you."
+
+"You certainly have, Mr. Stubbs," declared Hal, "and anything we can do
+to repay you--"
+
+"Never mind that," said Stubbs with a wave of the hand. "All I want to
+say is this: If, at any time, within a day or two or within a month or
+two, I do anything you don't like, anything that puts you to some
+inconvenience--you will know that I am doing it for your own
+good--because I am fond of both of you and don't want to see you get
+in trouble."
+
+"Say, Stubbs, what on earth are you talking about?" asked Chester in
+great surprise.
+
+"Never mind what I'm talking about," returned Stubbs, half angrily. "I
+just want you to remember what I am saying."
+
+"We'll remember, if that will do you any good," said Chester, "but I wish
+you would tell me what it is all about."
+
+"I may not be talking about anything, and then I may be talking about a
+whole lot," was Stubbs' enigmatical response. "Time will tell."
+
+"Time will tell what, Mr. Stubbs?" demanded Hal.
+
+"Oh, rats!" said Stubbs. "I haven't time to stay here and talk to you
+fellows all night. Just remember what I said. That's all."
+
+He stepped out the tent and was gone.
+
+Hal and Chester gazed at one another in the utmost surprise.
+
+"What in the time of the Czar do you suppose he was talking about?"
+asked Chester.
+
+"I'm not good at conundrums," replied Hal. "He's got something on his
+mind, all right."
+
+"Providing he has a mind left," agreed Chester.
+
+Hal smiled.
+
+"From the way he talked that fact is open to doubt," he replied.
+
+"I didn't think he was a drinking man," said Chester.
+
+"Oh, he was sober enough. By the way, did you notice his hesitation when
+I asked him if he had any enemies?"
+
+"By George! I did. He couldn't answer. I'll bet he knows more about the
+man that fired that shot at you than he is willing to admit."
+
+"It looks like it," Hal agreed. "From his actions, I would judge that the
+shot was meant for him."
+
+"Exactly," said Chester, "and he knows who it was that fired it."
+
+"Well, there is no use talking about it," declared Hal. "We can't
+possibly figure it out ourselves. One thing, though, we shall have to be
+on our guard. The unknown enemy may not know that Stubbs has moved and
+may try again."
+
+"Right," said Chester. "We'll have to sleep with one eye open."
+
+"Oh, we're safe enough to-night," said Hal. "He'll figure we'll be on the
+watch and will postpone his next visit for a day or two. By the way, old
+man, how do you feel?"
+
+"First rate. I'll be as good as new in the morning."
+
+"I hope so. In that event we had better get a little sleep."
+
+"Then you don't think it necessary for one of us to stand watch?"
+
+"No; here goes for bed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+IN THE TRENCHES
+
+
+In some manner, known only to himself, Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent
+of the New York _Gazette_, had ingratiated himself with General Petain,
+the French commander at Verdun. General Petain, upon Stubbs' request,
+agreed that the little war correspondent should be allowed to make a tour
+of the city of Verdun and the surrounding fortifications and view for
+himself the effects of the siege thus far.
+
+An officer of the general staff was assigned by the French commander to
+show Stubbs about. It was the first time a war correspondent had been
+admitted to Verdun and the surrounding fortifications; and because of the
+things that Stubbs learned on the tour, it is fitting that the reader
+take the trip with him.
+
+The officer first led Stubbs to the highest point on the walls encircling
+Verdun and there explained the lay-out of the contending forces. From
+this point of vantage, commanding the battlefield, Verdun looked like the
+center of a huge saucer, with the town lying very low, while all around
+rose an even circle of crests forming the outer edge of the saucer.
+
+The dangerous proximity of the Germans was apparent. At the time that
+Stubbs viewed the battlefield the armies of the Kaiser held a goodly
+portion of these crests, though the battle of Verdun was less than two
+weeks old.
+
+An intermittent bombardment was in progress from Fort Tavennes, Fort
+Soueville, Fort St. Michael and Fort Belleville, which were barking
+steadily and giving off jets of black smoke. The German cannonade sounded
+like a distant roar. The shelling of Verdun was continuing.
+
+Three hundred shells a day had been hurled into Verdun itself during the
+battle, Stubbs was informed by the French officer, upon one day as many
+as 750 having been counted; but the average was 300. As the two stood
+there a French aeroplane was attacked by a German gun, shrapnel bursting
+all around as the machine turned from the German positions and darted
+back to French cover.
+
+The terrible course of the destruction was pointed out by the French
+officer. The town itself had been abandoned by the civil population,
+and even few troops were to be found there. Such shops and houses as
+had escaped the shells were closed and barricaded; and the shells
+continued to fall.
+
+The streets were crumbling ruins, with only jagged walls remaining here
+and there. The cathedral had two shell holes in the roof; the main altar
+was a mass of debris and the side altar was littered with broken
+carvings, statues and chandeliers.
+
+One wing of the handsome military club was torn off and the whole
+establishment was a wreck. The archbishop's residence had its famous
+sculptured walls peppered with shell holes and the adjoining College of
+Marguerite had its delicate stone filigree reduced almost to powder.
+The houses along the Meuse, flanking the principal bridge, were
+literally wrecked.
+
+Sixteen great shells had struck the town hall; one corner of the building
+had been torn off and the clock tower smashed. The mayor's office was
+being used as an emergency butcher shop.
+
+Stubbs' guide now led him to one of the inner forts of the
+fortifications, which was still shelling the Germans. From here Stubbs
+gained a view of the fighting ground of Fleury at close range. Over the
+entrance of the fort was a notice to the garrison that the fort was to be
+levelled in extremity and never surrendered.
+
+Fleury, lying to the right of Verdun, showed not a house standing. The
+great German guns had carried all before them. The whole village was a
+mass of ruins. At the moment the village was in the hands of the French.
+It had been occupied twice by the Germans, but only the day before had
+again been captured by the French. Although Stubbs did not know it, the
+little village was to change hands a score of times more in the months
+that were to follow.
+
+As Stubbs' guide pointed out the various points destroyed by German
+shells, he gave the little man an account of the fighting in each spot.
+He pointed out the advantages of earthen breastworks as against the solid
+walls of fortresses. The effectiveness of the former was very plain.
+
+Stubbs and his guide now returned to the citadel of Verdun, where
+Stubbs thanked General Petain for being allowed to make the tour of
+inspection. Gathered about the commander were many members of his
+staff, who joined in the conversation. Stubbs could not but be
+impressed by the confidence manifested by the officers that Verdun
+could be kept from the Germans, and this in the face of the reverses of
+the past few days. The feeling was summarized in the closing word of
+General Petain, as he bade Stubbs farewell.
+
+"_Au revoir_, Monsieur Stubbs," he said, "until you come back when our
+victory is complete!"
+
+By a series of fierce counter assaults, the French now had driven the
+seasoned veterans of the German Crown Prince from Dead Man's Hill; from
+Hill No. 265, to the north, from Chattancourt and Charny. Back across the
+Meuse the Germans fled from the vicious attacks of the French. Second and
+third line trenches were re-won.
+
+But the French did not stop there. The third day of March found them
+still pushing the Germans and as darkness fell that night, the troops of
+General Petain entrenched themselves just to the east of Thiaumont farm
+and Hill No. 320. A trifle to the south, Fleury was once more in German
+hands, the opposition in this sector having been too much for the French
+to overcome. Almost due east, German guns, wheeled into position at Fort
+Vaux, captured the preceding day, shelled the reconquered positions of
+the French; but the latter stood firm. All night the artillery duel raged
+and the coming of morning found both armies ready for the day's work.
+
+The French opened the day by concentrating heavy artillery upon the
+German positions at Fort Vaux. After a two hours' bombardment, the
+infantry was ordered to the attack. Fresh troops took the places in
+the trenches vacated by the attacking forces and heavy guns covered
+their advance.
+
+A hundred yards or so from the hastily constructed German trenches, the
+thin French lines charged. Their ranks had been sadly depleted as they
+marched across the open ground, but they stuck to the work bravely. Clear
+to the German trenches they ran, a second and still a third line close
+behind; and then the Germans swarmed out to meet them. A fierce
+hand-to-hand encounter ensued with victory crowning German arms. What was
+left of the French attacking party scurried back to their own lines.
+
+The Germans did not wait for a second attack. German buglers sounded an
+advance. Again the Germans swarmed out of their trenches in countless
+thousands and rushed the French trenches.
+
+Hal and Chester at this moment found themselves at the front with orders
+for respective divisional commanders. They remained as the Germans
+charged, sheltered by the huge earthen breastworks.
+
+The fate of the German charge was the same as that of the French a short
+while before. Beaten off after a half hour of fierce fighting, the
+Germans retired to the shelter of their own lines. The great German guns,
+silent while the infantry was engaged, opened up anew on the French
+trenches, dropping shells in profusion.
+
+Hal and Chester stood elbow to elbow watching the destructive work of the
+giant shells. Of a sudden a shell dropped close to them. Hal uttered a
+cry of alarm and made a desperate attempt to drag Chester out of harm's
+way. In this he was partly successful and they had dashed forward a few
+yards before the shell exploded.
+
+With the fury of the blast, great clouds of earth flew high in the air.
+Hal and Chester felt the ground open up beneath them and they gasped for
+breath as they were precipitated into what seemed a bottomless pit. How
+far they fell they could not tell, but it seemed a long ways; and hardly
+had they struck bottom when a shower of earth fell upon them.
+
+Fortunately for them, they were in a section of the trench that was
+protected on either side by artificial abuttments of hard dirt and stones
+thrown up by the troops and these caught heavy beams and rocks and other
+debris that would have showered down upon them and crushed them to death.
+A great log, or such it appeared, came down lengthwise and struck the
+abuttments on either side of the pit into which the lads had fallen; a
+second did likewise and these prevented the shower of rocks and pieces of
+big guns from going through. It was all that saved the lads.
+
+Then more earth fell and covered these and the pit was effectually
+sealed. Below there was no light, and when Hal and Chester regained their
+feet neither could see light above. They groped for each other in the
+dark and at last clasped hands.
+
+"Great Scott! What's happened?" gasped Chester. "Where are we?"
+
+"We are in a pit caused by the explosion of that shell," said Hal,
+quietly. "The next question is how to get out."
+
+He put a hand above his head, but could touch nothing. He tried jumping,
+but with no better success.
+
+"I can't reach the top," he said.
+
+The lads felt around the sides of the pit. The walls were sheer. It was
+useless to think of getting up that way.
+
+"Well, we're up against it," said Hal. "I don't know how we are to get
+out of here. By Jove! It's lucky we weren't killed by the shell."
+
+"We might just as well have been as to die down here," said Chester.
+
+"Buck up, old man," said Hal. "We're not dead yet and while there's life
+there's hope. We've been in some ticklish positions before and pulled
+through all right."
+
+"We were never in a hole like this before," said Chester.
+
+Hal had made his way to one side of the pit.
+
+"Here," he called to Chester, "you climb up on my shoulders and see if
+you can reach the top."
+
+Chester did as Hal suggested and his efforts were rewarded by touching
+something overhead.
+
+"What luck?" asked Hal.
+
+"Good," said Chester. "I have touched something. Feels like a log."
+
+"Can you pull it loose?"
+
+"If I do we're likely to be crushed down here."
+
+"If you don't we're likely to suffocate down here," returned Hal. "I can
+scarcely get my breath now. We'll have to take a chance."
+
+"Then I'll have a try at it," said Chester. "Be ready to crouch close to
+the side of the pit when I give the word. I'll come down on top of you
+and we'll trust to luck that the debris falls clear."
+
+"All right," said Hal. "Yell when you're ready."
+
+Again Chester tested the covering with his hands. At last he struck a
+spot where he could obtain a grip. He decided to throw his weight on it
+and see if it would come down. He took a firm hold and then called:
+
+"All right, Hal! Stoop quickly!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+UNEXPECTED VISITORS
+
+
+Came a low, rumbling sound from overhead and a shower of dirt poured
+down on Hal as he crouched in his corner. Chester still swung to and fro
+from above. The lad felt something give, and believing that the mass
+above was about to fall, he dropped quickly alongside Hal and buried his
+face in his arms.
+
+But nothing happened.
+
+Directly Chester rose to his feet.
+
+"I thought it was coming," he said to Hal. "Guess I didn't hang on long
+enough. I'll have another try. Lend me your shoulders again."
+
+Hal also stood up and took his position. Chester clambered up and again
+explored the covering with his fingers. At the first touch there was
+another shower of earth.
+
+"Won't take a whole lot to move it, I guess," he said.
+
+"Hurry, then," enjoined Hal. "The air is stifling down here."
+
+Chester himself felt that he was suffocating and realized the need
+for haste.
+
+"All right," he said. "Here's hoping we're not crushed to death. Down
+when I give the word."
+
+Again his fingers found a hold and he braced himself for the shock.
+
+"Down!" he cried suddenly.
+
+Hal dropped.
+
+A second time came the dull rumbling from above as Chester swayed to and
+fro in his precarious position. Then the lad felt the covering give. One
+instant longer he hung on, for he felt that he would have no strength for
+a third attempt should this fail.
+
+And then, with a roar, the mass of debris above came tumbling down.
+
+Chester swung himself close to the side of the pit even as he felt the
+covering give and came down a short distance from Hal. He covered his
+head as well as he could and waited for he knew not what.
+
+It was not long coming.
+
+Something struck the lad a sharp blow upon the shoulder, numbing it.
+Behind him the lad heard rocks and other debris crashing to the bottom.
+Holding his breath, he waited for the blow he felt sure must come from
+above and unconsciously his right hand stretched out toward where he knew
+Hal to be.
+
+But nothing struck him. After five seconds of the terrible roaring, there
+was silence. Chester looked up. There was light above. Chester uttered a
+short prayer of thankfulness and rose to his feet.
+
+"All right, Hal," he said, still looking above, while he rubbed his
+injured shoulder.
+
+There was no reply.
+
+Chester looked quickly about him. There was no sign of Hal.
+
+"Great Scott! What can have happened to him?" he asked himself anxiously.
+
+Quickly he fell to hands and knees and explored the bottom of the pit.
+There, where he knew Hal should be, he felt a mound of earth.
+
+"Great Scott! He's buried!" cried Chester.
+
+Frantically he set to work with his bare hands to uncover Hal.
+
+In a few moments his efforts were rewarded. He exposed Hal's arm. From
+the position the arm was in Chester was able to locate his chum's head.
+This he uncovered quickly, for he feared that his friend might suffocate.
+Then he bent over Hal and listened.
+
+Hal was breathing faintly.
+
+Chester uttered a cry of relief and proceeded to uncover the rest of his
+friend's body. This done, he set about reviving Hal, who was unconscious.
+
+Chester rubbed Hal's hands vigorously, and was at last rewarded by
+hearing Hal sigh. A moment later Hal spoke.
+
+"What's happened?" he asked.
+
+"Well, it looks like the world caved in on you," returned Chester.
+"Fortunately, appearances are deceitful. I yanked the log loose from
+above and you were buried in the dirt. Fortunately, I got you out in
+time. How do you feel?"
+
+"I don't feel very chipper," was the faint reply; "but I guess I'm
+all right."
+
+"Can you get up?"
+
+"Don't know; I'll try."
+
+He made the effort, and with Chester's assistance, soon stood leaning
+against one side of the pit. He looked up.
+
+"Quite a ways up there," he said. "How are we going to make it?"
+
+"Think you can climb up on my shoulders, pull yourself out and then lend
+me a hand?"
+
+"I don't believe so. Guess I can brace myself while you climb up,
+though."
+
+"Good, we'll try it."
+
+Once more Chester climbed to Hal's shoulder while the latter braced
+himself against one wall of the pit. He took a firm hold on the edge
+above and drew himself up with little difficulty. He was about to reach
+down and lend Hal a hand when he happened to look toward the east.
+
+"Good night!" he exclaimed and disappeared into the pit in a hurry.
+
+"What's the matter?" demanded Hal, who had not overheard his friend's
+ejaculation.
+
+"Matter!" echoed Chester. "There are about ten millions coming this way
+on the dead run. The French have retreated!"
+
+"Hm-m-m," said Hal; "and what are we going to do?"
+
+"Bide here for a spell, I expect," was Chester's answer.
+
+"Guess you're right. They may not notice us down here. We'll play we're a
+couple of mice and see how still we can keep."
+
+"Good! Listen! I hear 'em coming!"
+
+Above them, to one side, they could hear the trampling of many feet as
+the Germans passed the pit.
+
+"Guess we're safe enough so long as we stay down here," said Chester.
+
+"But we're going to have trouble reaching the French lines if the Germans
+are permitted to camp out hereabouts," declared Hal.
+
+"Well, maybe the French will chase them back again," said Chester,
+hopefully.
+
+"Maybe," Hal repeated, "and then maybe not. Now, if we--hello!"
+
+He broke off suddenly. From above there had come muttered exclamations of
+alarm, two bodies came hurtling through space and struck the bottom of
+the pit with loud thumps.
+
+"Grab 'em, Hal!" shouted Chester, and leaped across the pit.
+
+Hal followed suit, for the two bodies that had tumbled through space
+were nothing less than German soldiers who had failed to see the
+opening above.
+
+They were taken by surprise when two forms leaped on them below, but they
+put up a fight.
+
+"Tap 'em over the head with your gun!" shouted Chester.
+
+He had drawn his revolver as he leaped forward and now suited the action
+to the word. The German toppled over with a groan.
+
+Hal, however, had not drawn his weapon, and was now locked in the arms of
+the second German, as they rolled over and over in the bottom of the pit.
+Weakened by his recent experience he was getting the worst of it.
+
+Chester took in the situation at a glance and leaped forward. At the
+moment Hal was on top and the German stared up at Chester. Seeing a
+second foe he raised a loud cry for help.
+
+This was what Chester had been afraid of. He didn't want any more Germans
+down there if he could help it.
+
+"Turn him over, Hal!" he cried. "Let me get a whack at him with my gun."
+
+By a desperate effort Hal obeyed and the German rolled on top of him. One
+more loud cry he gave and then Chester silenced him with a sharp blow of
+his revolver butt.
+
+Chester stepped back with an exclamation of relief and Hal dragged
+himself from beneath his now unconscious adversary.
+
+"A tough customer, that fellow," he remarked.
+
+"You'd have done for him if you hadn't been so weak," Chester replied. "I
+didn't think we might have callers down here."
+
+"Neither did I," returned Hal, "but I'm glad they came."
+
+"Why?" demanded Chester in surprise.
+
+"We can borrow their uniforms if it's necessary," Hal explained.
+
+"By Jove! I hadn't thought of that," exclaimed Chester. "A good plan."
+
+"Of course it may not be necessary," said Hal. "If the Germans
+should be driven back it would be unnecessary. We'll wait until
+after dark and see."
+
+"In the meantime we had better tie these fellows up," said Chester. "One
+of them is coming to now. He may not know when he's properly licked and
+want to continue the fight."
+
+"Better gag 'em, too," said Hal. "I noticed that one fellow had pretty
+good lungs."
+
+The lads removed their belts and with these bound the hands of their
+captives. They had nothing to tie their legs, but they didn't feel there
+was much danger of the men crawling out of the pit with their arms bound.
+They gagged them with their handkerchiefs.
+
+A few moments later one of the Germans staggered to his feet and gazed at
+the two lads in astonishment. The second also soon regained consciousness
+and apparently was no less surprised. Both lads kept their revolvers
+handy, for they weren't sure whether the Germans might not attack them,
+bound and gagged as they were.
+
+Hal addressed them.
+
+"We expect to keep you company for some time," he said, "and we don't
+want any foolishness. The first false move will be your last. Get over
+there in the corner."
+
+The men obeyed, growling to themselves.
+
+Hal and Chester listened for sounds above that would indicate the retreat
+of the Germans and the advance of the French. No such sounds came; and
+with the fall of darkness Hal said:
+
+"Well, I guess we had better change clothes with these fellows and make a
+break for it."
+
+"Good!" agreed Chester. "We'll have to unbind them while they disrobe.
+We'll strip one at a time. You hold the gun while I do the work."
+
+"Well, I guess everything is all ready," said Chester, when they were at
+last garbed in the German uniforms and the men were safely tied up again.
+"We may as well be moving."
+
+"All right," said Hal, "climb up on my shoulders. I'll keep my gun on
+these two fellows in the meantime. Can't trust 'em."
+
+Chester followed Hal's instructions and a moment later gazed out of
+the pit. Ahead he could see moving forms, but there was no one close
+to the pit.
+
+"Coast clear," he called to Hal. "Here I go. Be ready when I reach
+down for you."
+
+He pulled himself up.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THROUGH THE LINES
+
+
+"Ready, Hal?"
+
+"All ready."
+
+Hal stretched up his hands, and Chester, leaning far over the pit, seized
+them and pulled. Hal came slowly upwards.
+
+Suddenly he gave a cry of pain and twisted and squirmed vigorously.
+Chester became alarmed.
+
+"What's the matter?" he asked quickly.
+
+"One of those fellows bit me in the leg!" exclaimed Hal.
+
+It was true.
+
+As Hal had soared upward, one of the Germans had sprung forward, and
+being unable to free his hands, had seized the fleshy part of Hal's leg
+between his teeth. Evidently the gag had not been properly adjusted.
+
+"Kick him loose!" cried Chester.
+
+Hal obeyed instructions. The German uttered a loud cry--another sign that
+the lads had gagged him too carelessly.
+
+In kicking out at the German, Hal had used too much violence and had
+jerked loose from Chester's hold. Down into the pit he plunged again.
+Apparently believing that Hal had come back with the intention of
+silencing him forever, the ungagged German gave vent to a series of
+loud cries.
+
+"Quick, Chester!" called Hal. "Pull me out of here before this fellow
+brings down the whole German army."
+
+Chester leaned over and again seized Hal by the hands and pulled. Once
+more the German below sprang forward and attempted to sink his teeth in
+Hal's leg. Hal, realizing what the man was about, kicked out suddenly
+before the German could obtain his hold, and the lad's heavy shoe caught
+the man squarely in the mouth. One more cry the German gave and then
+toppled over.
+
+"Quick Chester!" cried Hal, again.
+
+With an effort Chester dragged Hal from the pit.
+
+Hal stood up and both lads dusted the dirt from their clothes.
+
+"Now the sooner we get away from this spot the better," said Chester.
+
+They advanced directly west toward the extreme German front.
+
+"We'll have to depend on boldness to take us through," said Hal. "It is
+unlikely that we shall be questioned until we reach the outposts and then
+we'll have to make a break for it."
+
+"Suits me," said Chester.
+
+They walked along leisurely, passing countless German soldiers standing
+about; but little attention was paid to them. Occasionally a man nodded
+to them and the lads returned the salutation.
+
+Gradually they drew away from the main body of troops and neared the
+outposts. Here German troopers were engaged in throwing up breastworks
+against a possible attack by the French in the morning.
+
+"Guess we won't have far to go if we can get beyond the outposts,"
+muttered Hal. "These preparations indicate the Germans have just won this
+ground. The French can't be far away."
+
+Chester nodded in token of assent, and at that moment they came up to the
+workers. Casually they stood and watched the German soldiers digging for
+a few moments; then wandered in among them, keeping close together.
+
+"When I give the word!" whispered Hal.
+
+Chester nodded.
+
+"Now!"
+
+Hal gave the word suddenly.
+
+Immediately the two lads took to their heels.
+
+For a moment the Germans were stunned by the very audacity of the two
+lads. Then entrenching tools dropped to the ground and the men seized
+their rifles and fired a volley after the two boys. But in the time it
+had taken them to lay aside their tools and pick up their weapons the
+lads had disappeared in the darkness and now hurled themselves to the
+ground, anticipating such a volley.
+
+In the darkness the Germans could hope to hit them only by accident.
+
+Springing to their feet again, the lads ran forward, bearing off slightly
+to the north, and soon felt they were safe.
+
+They slowed down and approached the French lines cautiously. Presently
+they beheld the first French entrenchment. As they drew close a French
+soldier poked up his head and levelled a rifle at them.
+
+"Halt!" he cried. "Who goes there?"
+
+"Friends!" returned Hal.
+
+"Advance friends," came the soldier's next words while he still held his
+rifle ready.
+
+Hal and Chester advanced to the very edge of the trench. There the
+soldier took a good look at their faces and noticed the German uniforms.
+Up went his rifle again and he would have pulled the trigger with the gun
+aimed squarely at Hal had not Chester leaped quickly forward and struck
+up the weapon.
+
+The two clinched.
+
+"You fool!" cried Chester. "We are not Germans!"
+
+Other soldiers now came running up. They gathered about the two figures
+in German uniforms. An officer approached. Fortunately, he recognized the
+two boys and waved the men away.
+
+"These men are all right," he said.
+
+The soldiers drew off, satisfied, all but the man who would have fired
+point blank at Hal. He stood there and eyed the lad sullenly. Then, for
+the first time, Hal obtained a good look at him. The lad recognized him
+instantly. He was the same man who had directed the hazing of young Jules
+Clemenceau a short time before.
+
+As the Frenchman leered at him evilly, Hal walked close to him.
+
+"It's my belief you knew me all the time," he declared quietly.
+
+"What of it?" the Frenchman demanded.
+
+"Why," said Hal, "only that if I were sure, I'd pull your nose for you."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed the Frenchman. "I'd like to see you try it. You caught me
+off my guard the other night. You can't do it again."
+
+"I don't particularly care to do it," returned Hal, quietly, "because
+you're not worth it; but if I start I'll probably go through with it."
+
+Again the Frenchman sneered at him.
+
+Further conversation was prevented by the appearance of a French
+lieutenant who had observed the trouble.
+
+"Matin!" he ordered. "Back to your post at once, sir."
+
+The latter saluted respectfully enough, but he gave Hal another evil look
+as he walked away.
+
+"He's no friend of yours, that's sure," said the young French officer to
+Hal, with a smile.
+
+"I am glad to say he's not," replied Hal, quietly. "I don't believe I'd
+care for a friend like that."
+
+"I don't blame you," was the young officer's response. "Matin has a bad
+reputation and I would advise you to keep your eye on him."
+
+"Thanks," said Hal. "I shall remember that. By the way, can you tell me
+just where we are?"
+
+"Thiaumont farm," returned the French officer; "or, rather, I should say,
+just east of Thiaumont farm. You two fellows look somewhat done up. If
+you will go to the farm you will find a place to sleep in the farmhouse.
+By some trick of fate the house and barn still stand, although everything
+else in this vicinity has been knocked to pieces by the big guns."
+
+"Thanks," said Hal, again. "We shall take your advice. We are pretty
+tired and a sleep will help out. It's too far back to our own quarters
+when there is a place to bunk so handy."
+
+The two lads left the young officer and made their way to the farmhouse.
+Here they found a number of French officers already installed, but the
+latter gladly made room for them.
+
+"No beds," said one with a laugh, "but there is plenty of room on
+the floor."
+
+"I guess a bed would be too much to expect," said Chester, also
+laughing. "Besides, it's been so long since I slept in one I don't
+believe I could rest."
+
+"The floor is plenty good enough for me," Hal agreed.
+
+"Help yourselves then. You can pick out your own room."
+
+"Guess we'll go upstairs then," said Hal. "It'll probably be more quiet
+up there. These fellows down here are having too much fun to care about
+sleep," and he waved his arm toward one corner of the room, where a group
+of young French officers were engaged in a game of cards.
+
+The two boys made their way upstairs and found a room to their liking in
+the rear of the house. Here they stretched themselves out on the floor
+and were asleep immediately. There were no other occupants of the room.
+
+Outside the moon was shining, and it cast a beam of light into the room
+where the two chums lay asleep. Several hours after the boys had closed
+their eyes in sleep, the figure of a man appeared in the window without.
+After some experimenting he opened the window softly and came in. He
+closed the window gently behind him.
+
+Chester stirred in his sleep and the man shrank back against the wall in
+the darkness. For perhaps five minutes he remained there, and then, as
+there was no further move by the sleeper, he advanced into the center of
+the room. The light fell upon his face, and had the boys been awake, they
+would have recognized in the intruder, Matin, the man who had attempted
+to shoot Hal a short time before.
+
+Matin approached the two sleepers quietly, seeking to make sure which was
+Hal. He examined each closely and then grinned as he stepped back a pace
+or two, apparently satisfied.
+
+From the next room there came the sound of footsteps and again Matin
+shrank back against the wall. Directly the footsteps moved away and Matin
+drew a breath of relief.
+
+From his pocket now he produced a knife, examined it carefully and
+grinned again. Looking carefully about to make sure that there was no one
+in the room to observe him, he stepped forward.
+
+Had he turned his head at that moment he would have seen a second figure
+lowering itself just inside the room. But so intent was Matin upon the
+dark deed ahead of him that, after his one observation of the room, he
+did not look again.
+
+The second figure was creeping after Matin now. He was not far behind,
+but still he was not close enough to touch the first intruder. Matin took
+two quick steps forward and raised his arm. Then he bent on one knee.
+
+The arm flashed down!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM
+
+
+But the knife never reached its mark.
+
+There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered
+to the floor. Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second
+intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
+
+Hal arose to his feet slowly. In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
+Chester, awakened by the shot, leaped quickly to his feet and his
+revolver flashed in his hand.
+
+"What's happened?" he exclaimed.
+
+"My friend Matin here tried to do for me," said Hal, pointing. "I
+shot him."
+
+Chester rushed to the side of the two figures across the room. Then, for
+the first time, the identity of the second figure was established. It was
+Jules Clemenceau.
+
+Hal also approached and bent over. He took Jules by the arm.
+
+"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
+
+"I followed Matin," replied Jules, rising to his feet. "I saw you when
+you entered the trench from the German lines. After you had gone I
+heard Matin threaten to kill you. We were relieved at the same time,
+and suspecting that he might be up to some mischief, I followed him. I
+was too far behind to do any good. I was so frightened that I could
+not cry out."
+
+"How did you happen to see him, Hal?" asked Chester.
+
+"I don't know," was Hal's reply. "I was awakened just as Jules here came
+through the window. I was about to call out when I saw Matin coming
+toward me with drawn knife. I drew my revolver quietly and waited. I
+wanted him to get close enough so I would not miss. My arm was doubled
+under me and I wasn't certain at that distance."
+
+"Is he dead?" asked Chester as Hal bent over the body.
+
+"No," said Hal. "I didn't shoot to kill him. I shot him through the
+shoulder."
+
+"Then he should regain consciousness pretty quick," declared Chester.
+
+"Oh, he's conscious right now," said Hal. "He's just shamming a bit.
+Isn't that so, Matin?"
+
+Matin sat up.
+
+"What of it?" he demanded.
+
+"Nothing," returned Hal, "except that the next time you come near me,
+except in the performance of duty, you will not get off so lightly."
+
+"Are you going to let him go?" asked Jules, in surprise.
+
+"What did you expect me to do with him?" demanded Hal.
+
+"Shoot him again."
+
+Hal was forced to smile at the grimness of the boy's tones.
+
+"No," he said quietly, "I have done him injury enough for one time.
+Let him go."
+
+"But he will try to kill you again!"
+
+"If he does, he will wish he hadn't," was Hal's reply.
+
+He turned and prodded Matin with the toe of his boot. "Get up and get out
+of here," he said sharply.
+
+Cringingly, Matin obeyed. He slunk out of the room without a word.
+
+"Now I can breath easier," declared Hal. "His presence contaminated
+the air."
+
+"I am afraid you let him off too easily, Hal," said Chester. "You at
+least should report him and have him put in a safe place."
+
+"I guess I am big enough to fight my own battles, Chester," said Hal.
+"The French officers have enough to do without worrying about men like
+Matin. Besides, I don't really believe he will bother me again."
+
+And so the subject was dismissed. Jules took his departure and Hal and
+Chester again lay down to sleep. Chester was just about to doze when a
+sudden thought struck him.
+
+"I say, Hal," he called.
+
+"What's the trouble now?"
+
+"Do you suppose it could have been Matin who shot at you that night in
+our quarters?"
+
+"I don't know. I hardly think so, though. I believe that gentleman called
+to pay his respects to Stubbs."
+
+"But--"
+
+"Come, Chester," said Hal, "it's getting late and I am going to get six
+good hours' sleep."
+
+But Hal was mistaken. There was to be yet another interruption to the
+slumber of the two lads. It came suddenly and unexpectedly.
+
+It was still an hour before dawn when the German artillery broke forth
+afresh, thousands of guns hurling death upon the sleeping French lines.
+The men were awake in an instant and rushed to their positions. Out of
+the first confusion order came promptly as officers issued sharp
+commands. Officers and men had the same thought. The heavy bombardment
+presaged a new German assault.
+
+Hal and Chester had sprung from the floor at the sound of the first
+salvo. Rushing from the farmhouse, they watched the troops form and move
+forward. The defenders of the first line trenches already were engaged by
+the German infantry when Hal and Chester reached the open, and
+reinforcements were being rushed forward as rapidly as possible.
+
+Unassigned for the moment, Hal and Chester were undecided as to what to
+do. Chester settled the matter.
+
+"We'll stay here," he decided. "There is no need of our going forward. We
+will only be in the way now. If we are needed, of course, it will be
+different."
+
+Hal agreed with his chum and the two remained where they were.
+
+The terrible thunder of the great guns ceased now and there broke out the
+crash of rifle fire. This told Hal and Chester that the German infantry
+was charging the trenches.
+
+And this was indeed the case. In great waves of humanity the German
+assault poured on. Into the trenches the men threw themselves, dying by
+the hundreds; but there were always more to take their places. While the
+attack had not been exactly a surprise, the French nevertheless had been
+caught off their guard and the first advantage was with the Germans.
+
+As wave after wave of humanity poured into the trenches, the French broke
+and fled. Toward Hal and Chester they came, making for the protection of
+the next line of entrenchments just beyond Thiaumont farm. Hal and
+Chester stepped within the farmhouse to watch the flight.
+
+"We can't remain here long," Chester shouted to make himself heard above
+the din and crash of musketry.
+
+Hal nodded his understanding and turned again to the window.
+
+At that moment a body of French infantry, perhaps 200 strong, dashed
+directly for the farmhouse. Through the doors they poured and rushed to
+the windows and manned them.
+
+Some rushed upstairs, under the direction of the single officer with them
+and others descended into the basement.
+
+"By Jove! They are going to make a stand here!" cried Chester.
+
+"Right!" Hal agreed. "Here is a chance for us to do some good. We'll
+offer our services to this officer."
+
+The lads had discarded their German uniforms soon after their return to
+the French lines and were again attired in regulation French costume,
+with which they had been provided. They now approached the French officer
+who was busy directing the disposition of his men.
+
+"We would be glad, sir," said Hal, "if you would put us to work."
+
+The officer glanced at them keenly.
+
+"Officers, I perceive," he said. "Your names, please?"
+
+The boys gave them.
+
+"Good," said the Frenchman. "Lieutenant Paine, you shall take charge of
+the second floor. Lieutenant Crawford, you will command in the basement.
+I have orders to hold this position, come what may."
+
+"Very good, sir."
+
+The two boys saluted.
+
+"To your posts, then!"
+
+Hal dashed upstairs and Chester descended quickly below.
+
+Hal gazed quickly about the front room upstairs as he entered it.
+There were three windows. It was the only room facing east. There were
+two other rooms on the floor, and Hal quickly posted men at the
+windows of each.
+
+In the basement Chester found that the only two windows fronted east. He
+had not much to guard. He gazed upon the men under his command and
+quickly selected five.
+
+"The rest of you go upstairs," he commanded. "Six of us will be enough
+here. The hard fighting will be done above, if it is done at all."
+
+The five men selected nodded their approval of the boys' understanding of
+the situation. They could see he was young in years, but from the way in
+which he issued orders they realized that he was old in experience.
+
+A moment later the French officer in command came downstairs. He
+approached Chester.
+
+"In the excitement," he said, "I forgot to tell you my name. I am Captain
+Leroux. I came down to see if you are all ready."
+
+"All ready, sir," said Chester, saluting.
+
+"Good!" The officer took his departure.
+
+On the first floor he attended to several important details in the matter
+of placing his men to best advantage and then ascended to where Hal was
+in command. He gave his name to the latter and commended the manner in
+which Hal had stationed his men.
+
+"Very good, Lieutenant Paine," he said. "I see that I may depend
+upon you."
+
+"And upon my friend below, sir," replied Hal; "and upon the men
+with me here."
+
+The soldiers gave a cheer at these words and Hal knew that they would
+fight to the last.
+
+Captain Leroux peered from the window.
+
+"Not in sight yet," he muttered. He turned again to Hal. "Two hours,
+Lieutenant," he said.
+
+"We'll hold 'em, sir," was Hal's quiet response. "We'll hold them if it
+can be done."
+
+"My instructions," returned the captain, "are that they must be held."
+
+"Very well, sir. Then they shall be held."
+
+Hal saluted and turned to the window.
+
+And now there hove into sight in the early morning light countless
+numbers of German infantrymen at a charge. They had discovered the fact
+that the French held the farmhouse, and although their officers had no
+means of ascertaining the French strength at that point, they realized
+that it must be won before there could be a general advance. So they
+ordered the charge.
+
+"Here they come, sir," said Hal, quietly.
+
+Captain Leroux dashed down the stairs without making reply.
+
+"Let them come close, men," ordered Hal, "and when I give the word let
+them have it for all you're worth. Make every shot count."
+
+His words were greeted with a cheer. Each man was in position. Each man's
+finger was on the trigger. A moment of silence and then Hal ordered:
+
+"Fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE FIGHT
+
+
+The front of the farmhouse broke into a sheet of flame.
+
+At almost the same moment, Captain Leroux on the floor below, and Chester
+in the basement, gave the command to fire and the first line of
+approaching Germans seemed to crumple up.
+
+But the men behind came on.
+
+Again and again effective volleys were fired from the farmhouse; but
+despite their heavy losses and urged on by commands of their
+officers, the Germans pressed forward until they were at the very
+side of the house.
+
+As they approached they fired volley after volley at the windows behind
+which the defenders stood calmly; and the French had not gone unscathed.
+
+In the basement, where Chester was in command, no German bullet had gone
+so far, but Hal had lost three men and Captain Leroux five. As quickly as
+these fell others took their places at the windows and continued to fire
+steadily into the German ranks.
+
+Came a heavy battering at the front door. A force of Germans had reached
+this point in spite of the fire of the French and now were attempting to
+batter it down. Without exposing themselves too recklessly the French
+could not reach this party of Germans with rifle fire.
+
+Captain Leroux quickly told off ten men to guard the entrance the moment
+the door should give beneath the kicks and blows of the enemy.
+
+"Ten men should be as good as a hundred there," he explained. "Pick them
+off as they rush through. Aim carefully and make every shot count."
+
+He turned back to the work of directing the fire from the windows.
+
+The battering at the door continued. One of the defenders, thinking to
+dispose of a member of the enemy in such close proximity, stuck his head
+out and brought his rifle to bear upon the foe in the doorway; but before
+he could accomplish his object he fell back inside with a groan. A German
+bullet had done its work.
+
+"No more of that!" ordered Captain Leroux, sharply. "I need every man I
+have. No need to expose yourselves uselessly."
+
+After that no French head appeared above the window sill farther than was
+necessary to aim and fire.
+
+In the basement Chester and his men had had little to do so far. True,
+they had been able to pick off a German or two, but their position was
+such that they could be of little value at the moment. Their time was to
+come later.
+
+On the top floor Hal, because of his position, was better able to command
+a view of the open field ahead than Captain Leroux in the room below. The
+fire of Hal's men, therefore, was more effective than of the French on
+the ground floor.
+
+Below there was a crash as the door splintered beneath the battering
+tactics brought into play by the Germans who had gained the shelter of
+the house and were able to continue work without molestation. The ten
+Frenchmen told off by Captain Leroux to defend the entrance held their
+rifles ready, waiting for the first German head to appear in the opening.
+
+But the door was of stout oak, and though it seemed on the point of
+giving under each succeeding blow, it still held. Hoarse guttural cries
+from without indicated that the Germans were becoming impatient to get at
+the French within. Came an extra violent crash and the door suddenly gave
+way. Three Germans, who had been leaning against the door, caught off
+their balance, were precipitated headlong into the room. It was
+unfortunate--for them.
+
+Before they could scramble to their feet, the French had placed them
+beyond all hopes of further fighting. Their days of war were over.
+
+But other Germans poured into the door behind them and leaped forward
+over the prostrate forms of their comrades. Calmly, the ten French
+soldiers, far back against the wall and a little to one side, so as to be
+out of direct line of fire from the open doorway, fired into the surging
+mass of humanity. And their fire was deadly and effective. In almost less
+time than it takes to tell it the doorway was choked with German dead.
+
+It was a gruesome sight and even the French soldiers, used as they were
+to such spectacles, shuddered inwardly. It seemed foolhardy for the enemy
+to seek entrance to the house through that blocked door. Even the Germans
+realized it and would have drawn back but for the fact that their
+officers, farther back, urged them on with cries and imprecations.
+
+Again there was a concerted rush for the door.
+
+The pile of prostrate German forms served as a shield for the defenders
+and behind this barrier of bodies the men took their posts and poured a
+withering fire into the ranks of the attackers. This deadly fire was more
+than the Germans could face, and in spite of the frantic efforts of their
+officers, they drew off.
+
+"I didn't think they could make it," shouted Captain Leroux. "Good
+work, men!"
+
+A cheer went up from the defenders. But the men knew the calibre of these
+German veterans and they realized that the attack had not been given up.
+They knew that the Germans, with their superior numbers, would not desist
+and that eventually they must be overwhelmed.
+
+"Two hours!" Captain Leroux had said.
+
+Hardly a quarter of that time had flown and in it had been crowded
+desperate work that well would have been enough for the day. The men were
+tired, but they were not willing to admit it. Each had told himself that
+he would die at his post rather than surrender.
+
+There came a lull in the fighting.
+
+To the war-seasoned veterans of France this lull told a story of its own.
+It presaged a new and more violent attempt on the part of the Germans to
+force the farmhouse. Captain Leroux knew it. So did Hal and Chester, and
+at their various stations they gave quick commands to their men.
+
+Taking care not to expose himself too much, he gazed from the window. His
+action did not even bring a shot. This increased the lad's suspicions.
+
+"Trying to draw us out," he muttered. "Want us to think they have given
+up the attempt. Never mind, Mr. German, you are not shrewd enough."
+
+The defenders waited patiently; and presently the Germans again advanced
+to the attack, even as Hal and Chester had known they would.
+
+Forward came the Teuton horde in a charge. From a distance of perhaps 500
+yards, they dashed across the open at full speed, apparently bent upon
+overawing the defenders by the very appearance of such numbers.
+
+But the French did not quail. The weight of numbers meant nothing to
+them. It was not the first time they had stood firmly against
+overwhelming odds, and there was not a man in the farmhouse who did not
+fully expect to survive the present battle and be ready to face
+overwhelming odds again. Each man knew well enough that before the
+fighting was over it was ten to one that there would be but a handful
+of the defenders left, but each man was confident he would be one of
+that number.
+
+They poured a galling fire into the ranks of the Germans as they advanced
+to the charge.
+
+The effect of this steady stream of rifle fire, accurate and deadly at
+such close range, was bound to tell. In spite of the urging of their
+officers, the Germans wavered. The lines behind the first surged forward,
+however, pushing the men in front closer to the deadly fire of the
+French. Those in front pushed back and for a moment there was wild
+confusion without.
+
+In vain German officers rushed in among the troops, trying to rally them.
+It was too late. The Germans had become demoralized. A moment and they
+broke and fled. It was every man for himself.
+
+The French within the farmhouse raised a wild cheer and poured volley
+after volley into the fleeing Germans. Men tumbled right and left. The
+German losses in the retreat were greater even than they had been in
+the advance.
+
+Hal, who had been working like a Trojan, wiped the beads of perspiration
+from his forehead with his shirt sleeve--the work had become so hot that
+the lad had removed his coat, though it was still cold without--and spoke
+words of encouragement to his men.
+
+"Good work, boys," he said quietly. "A few more like that and they will
+bother us no more."
+
+Even as he spoke the lad knew that his words meant nothing. He knew the
+Germans would not give up until they had captured the farmhouse or had
+been driven back by the weight of superior numbers, and at that moment it
+did not appear that reinforcements would arrive.
+
+The troops also knew that Hal's words meant nothing, but they cheered
+him anyhow. They realized that he had spoken as he did merely to
+encourage them; and they liked the spirit that inspired the words. They
+knew that Hal was fully competent of judging the hopelessness of the
+task ahead of them.
+
+"The captain said to hold them two hours, sir," said one grizzled old
+veteran to Hal. "How long has it been now, sir?"
+
+Hal glanced at his watch. "One hour exactly."
+
+"Good!" exclaimed the French soldier. "One half of the work done and most
+of us are still here. We'll hold them!"
+
+"Of course we'll hold them, Francois," exclaimed another. "Surely you
+didn't think we couldn't do it?"
+
+"Well," was the reply. "It's a pretty big job and--"
+
+"But we were ordered to hold them for two hours," protested the other.
+
+"Of course," returned the man addressed as Francois. "That settles it.
+Two hours are two hours."
+
+"Right," said the other. "Also two hours are only two hours, which makes
+it that much better."
+
+"But at the end of two hours, then what?" asked a third soldier.
+
+The man who had first engaged Francois in conversation shrugged his
+shoulders.
+
+"That," he said, "is not for us to decide. But we will not be forgotten,
+you may be sure of that. Our general will see that we are relieved."
+
+"You may rest assured on that score," Hal agreed. "Having picked you as
+the men to defend this important position, it is not to be expected that
+he will see you all sacrificed."
+
+There was another cheer from the men, followed a moment later by a shout
+from one at the front window.
+
+"Here they come again, sir!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+HAL LEADS A SORTIE
+
+
+Hal sprang forward and gave a quick look at the enemy.
+
+Apparently, the assault was to be made on the same plan as before. After
+the last retreat of the enemy, their officers had succeeded in re-forming
+them beyond the zone of French fire and now were about to hurl the troops
+forward in another grand offensive against the farmhouse. The Germans
+moved forward silently and doggedly.
+
+"It'll be a little warmer this time," Hal muttered to himself.
+
+And the lad was right.
+
+Straight on came the Germans at the charge in spite of the withering fire
+poured in among them by the French; straight up to the side of the house
+they rushed, though there were many men who did not get that far; and
+then the German troops deployed.
+
+While perhaps a hundred men remained at the front of the house,
+apparently to seek entrance through the doorway blocked with their own
+dead, the others divided and dashed round the house, some to the right
+and some to the left.
+
+Now, for the first time, French troops who had not been posted at the
+front windows came into action.
+
+As the Germans rushed around the house, these French troops leaned from
+their windows on the side of the house and poured volley after volley
+into the German ranks. They were almost directly above the Germans and
+the latter were at a great disadvantage; for they could not return the
+fire of the French without pausing in their mad rush; and when they did
+pause and bring their rifles to bear upon the windows above, there were
+no French heads to be seen there.
+
+But when they dashed on again, the French heads reappeared and again the
+Germans fell in large numbers.
+
+But the losses of the French by this time, in spite of the comparative
+safety afforded by their position, had been extremely heavy, considering
+the size of the original force. Chester, in the basement, still had
+suffered no casualties, but fully a third of the men on the two floors
+above had been killed or wounded.
+
+And there had been no time to care for these wounded, except for the
+brief respites occasioned by the retreat of the Germans. Now that the
+fighting was on again the wounded were left to shift for themselves; and
+the air was filled with moans and groans.
+
+The Germans in front of the house again had tried in vain to force a
+passage of the doorway, choked with their own dead and dying. This had
+failed, for the French, under the direction of Captain Leroux, had poured
+in such a galling fire that the Germans dropped as fast as they appeared
+in the doorway.
+
+From above, the defenders at the front of the house, also, had done heavy
+execution among the enemy below. Again the Germans wavered; then
+retreated; and the French mowed them down as they ran.
+
+Suddenly Hal bethought himself of a daring plan. Dashing down stairs he
+confided it to Captain Leroux. The latter clapped his hands in approval.
+
+"You shall direct the move," he exclaimed. "I'll take your post and see
+that the Germans in front continue to fall back; also I shall be able to
+cover you to some extent."
+
+He ran quickly upstairs.
+
+Quickly Hal picked fifty men.
+
+"Clear away those bodies," he said, pointing to the German dead that
+blocked the doorway.
+
+It was the work of but a few minutes.
+
+"Now," said Hal, "when we go out the door, I want half of you to go
+around the house to the left. The others follow me."
+
+He divided the men into two squads.
+
+"We'll catch the fellows who got behind us by surprise," the lad
+explained. "They are still engaged with the men at the windows above. We
+can't afford to be surrounded. We must drive them off."
+
+Silently, the men filed from the house.
+
+The strategy of Hal's plan was at once apparent. The Germans who had
+circled the house, after dividing after the grand assault, still were
+unaware of the retreat of their fellows. They did not know that this
+support had been lost to them. Therefore, they were sure to be at a great
+disadvantage when attacked from a position that they believed to be held
+by their comrades.
+
+Above, the defenders still continued to fire rapidly, seeking to keep up
+the delusion.
+
+There was only one thing that worried Hal--one thing that he felt
+possibly might bring disaster following his surprise attack. He knew that
+the Germans who had recently retreated from before the farmhouse would
+understand his plan the minute he led his men from the farmhouse. This
+would mean another grand assault. The question in Hal's mind was whether
+he could get his men back inside the house before the main force of the
+enemy could advance and cut him off.
+
+But he was depending upon the French still within the house to hold the
+foe off until he could get back.
+
+As the French dashed suddenly around the house, there came a wild cry
+from the distant German lines to the east. The ruse had been discovered
+and Hal realized that the bulk of the enemy would be upon them before
+long. Therefore, he knew he must hurry.
+
+"Quick!" he cried to his men.
+
+The latter needed no urging.
+
+Swiftly they dashed around the house in either direction and fell upon
+the Germans, who had sought shelter at the far side, with their bayonets.
+The enemy, taken completely by surprise, uttered cries of consternation
+and sought to retreat; for their officers had no means of telling the
+numbers of these new foes.
+
+But the French pressed them closely. Although the Germans were taken at a
+great disadvantage because of the suddenness of the attack, they,
+nevertheless fought bravely.
+
+No quarter was asked.
+
+For safety's sake the enemy pressed close to the French, engaging them
+hand-to-hand. In this was their only hope of success, for every time a
+man strayed from the struggling mass, a keen-eyed French soldier above
+dropped him with a rifle bullet.
+
+But the struggle could have only one end. Bewildered by the sudden
+appearance of the French, the Germans never gained time to recover
+themselves. The French pushed the fighting; and soon it was all over.
+
+There remained now only half a score of Germans standing.
+
+"Surrender!" called Hal.
+
+With the exception of one, the men threw down their weapons. The
+exception was a German officer, who evidently had been in command. He
+sprang toward Hal with a cry and thrust with his sword.
+
+The move had been so unexpected that the lad was caught completely off
+his guard and the sword must have pierced him had it not been for the
+quickness of a French soldier who stood near. Without taking thought to
+his own danger, this man sprang forward and grappled with the German.
+
+The latter hurled the French soldier from him with a sudden powerful move
+and again advanced on Hal. But now the lad was ready for him and his
+sword met the sword of the German officer neatly.
+
+In vain the German officer sought to break down Hal's guard. Hal foiled
+him at every turn. The German was furiously angry, but Hal was smiling
+easily. The lad realized that he probably owed his life to the German's
+anger, for at the first touch of swords the lad had realized that the
+German was clearly his master. Therefore, the lad jeered at the officer
+as he fought.
+
+Hal became more certain of the outcome of the duel as it continued, for
+with every thrust and parry the German became more and more angry because
+he could not overcome this boy. Perspiration rolled down his face and he
+panted with rage.
+
+"I'll get you!" he cried.
+
+"Oh, not for some time yet," Hal grinned back at him.
+
+The German swore.
+
+"Now! Now!" said Hal. "That's no way for a nice German officer to do.
+What would the emperor say?"
+
+The duel was interrupted at this point by a sudden cry from the
+farmhouse.
+
+"Never mind him, Lieutenant! Back into the house quickly!"
+
+It was the voice of Captain Leroux and the tone told Hal how urgent was
+the call. Taking a quick step forward, he caused the German officer to
+retreat a few paces. Then Hal lowered his sword, and calling to his men
+to follow him, dashed toward the front of the house.
+
+Behind, the German officer broke into a torrent of abuse and would have
+continued it had not a French soldier, who cared nothing for the
+etiquette of duelling, put an end to him with a rifle bullet.
+
+To the half score of men who had thrown down their arms, Hal cried:
+
+"Back to your own lines quickly or you shall be shot down! No," pausing
+and levelling his revolver as one of the Germans sought to stoop and pick
+up his discarded rifle, "never mind the gun. Another move like that and
+you'll all be shot down. Move, now!"
+
+The Germans wasted no further time and made for the shelter of their own
+lines at top speed.
+
+And their own lines were advancing rapidly to meet them.
+
+"Quick, men!" cried Hal. "Into the house!"
+
+They had now reached the front door again and Hal stood to one side that
+his men might enter first.
+
+Above, the fire of the defenders had broken out afresh, but the Germans
+rushed forward in spite of it. Bullets hummed close about Hal's head as
+he stood beside the doorway, but none struck him; and at last all the men
+were inside.
+
+Hal went in after them.
+
+From without came a cry of rage as the advancing Germans realized that,
+for the moment, at least, they had been deprived of their prey.
+
+"Guard the door there, men!" shouted Hal. "Get back and to one side out
+of the line of fire. Save your bullets until they cross the threshold,
+then shoot them down."
+
+The men moved into position. Hal glanced quickly around to make sure
+that all was in readiness and at that moment Captain Leroux descended
+the stairs.
+
+"Good work, Mr. Paine," he said quietly. "If I live, I shall report this
+piece of work. I will take command here now. Return to your post above."
+
+Hal saluted and did as commanded.
+
+Hardly had he reached position above when he heard Captain Leroux below
+give the command:
+
+"Fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+LEFT BEHIND
+
+
+The Germans had drawn off again.
+
+The last assault had met with no better success than had the attacks that
+had gone before. True, the defenders had suffered considerably, for the
+German fire had been accurate; but the losses of the French had been as
+nothing compared with those of the Teutons.
+
+This last assault had been more severe than the others. The Germans had
+shown even greater tenacity and courage than before. In vain had their
+officers sought to hold them to the attack. Once, twice, thrice had the
+human sea surged against the farmhouse, only to be thrown back; so at
+last the Germans had withdrawn.
+
+Dead and wounded men strewed the floor. There were still some who had not
+been touched by the bullets of the foe, but the majority of the defenders
+of the top floor lay prone.
+
+Hal shook his head sadly.
+
+"Don't believe we can withstand another such charge," he said aloud.
+
+"How long yet, sir?" asked the grizzled old veteran, Francois, who,
+though he had kept his place at the window through the last attack, had
+escaped the German bullets.
+
+Again Hal gazed closely at his watch.
+
+"Twelve minutes to go," he said quietly.
+
+The face of Francois brightened.
+
+"Then we are all right, sir," he said. "They will hardly attack again in
+that time, sir."
+
+Hal shook his head.
+
+"They are likely to attack at any moment," he replied slowly. "Besides,
+if we do succeed in beating them off once more, there is nothing to
+assure us that we will be relieved then."
+
+"Nothing sir," returned Francois, "except Captain Leroux's word that we
+have only to hold this house two hours, sir."
+
+"True," said Hal, brightening visibly. "I shouldn't have spoken as I did.
+We must trust to the others, and if they fail, why, we'll know it is not
+their fault."
+
+"Right, sir," said Francois. "If they fail, it will not be their fault."
+
+He returned to his place at the window.
+
+On the floor below Captain Leroux also had taken account of his
+casualties. Merely a handful of men remained unwounded. Some of the
+men who had felt the effects of the German fire were still in
+condition to continue the fight should their services be necessary,
+but their number was few.
+
+The captain shook his head dubiously as he glanced at his watch.
+
+"Ten minutes," he muttered. "Well, we'll hold it that long, but
+afterwards I can't be held accountable, there will be none of us left."
+
+In the basement Chester and his five men still were unmarked. Though they
+had stood at the small windows and fired at whatever German forms came
+within view, they had had little work to do, the men were beginning to
+murmur among themselves.
+
+"We're not needed down here," said one. "We should be upstairs where the
+fighting is being done. No Germans will seek to come in here."
+
+"That's right," said another, "we might do some good above. Here we are
+doing nothing at all. Why, we have hardly seen a German. I don't believe
+any of the enemy have spotted this opening yet, either."
+
+"Nor I; wish they had let me stay upstairs."
+
+"What's all this?" demanded Chester, suddenly. "You men have been in the
+ranks long enough to know better than to question your officers' orders.
+You have been posted here and here you shall remain until I get orders to
+the contrary."
+
+"But, sir," said one of the men, "we would like--"
+
+"Silence!" said Chester. "Back to your places."
+
+The men obeyed, though they continued to murmur. Chester softened a few
+minutes later and again addressed his men.
+
+"I have no doubt you fellows will have all the fighting you want before
+this thing is over," he said quietly. "As nearly as I can make out from
+here the men upstairs must be about done for. I question whether they
+will be able to beat off another attack."
+
+"And are the two hours up, sir," asked one of the men.
+
+Chester glanced at his watch.
+
+"Not quite," he returned.
+
+"How much to go, sir?"
+
+"A little more than five minutes."
+
+The man's face darkened.
+
+"And we'll be relieved at the end of that time without having done any
+fighting," he said. "Here we sit down here in the dark and the other
+fellows have all the fun."
+
+"You're liable to get yours yet," said Chester. "If I mistake not,
+the Germans are returning to the attack. I hear the sounds of firing
+from above."
+
+Chester was right. The Germans again had advanced to the charge.
+
+Above, Hal and Captain Leroux were issuing orders to their men for what
+each believed would be the final effort. Should this attack be repulsed,
+both had some slight hopes that they would not be compelled to face
+another--that French reinforcements would arrive before the Germans could
+advance again. But, also, neither was sure in his own mind that the
+approaching attack of the foe could be beaten off.
+
+And this time the Germans seemed to be advancing in even greater numbers
+than before.
+
+"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!" came the spatter of German bullets
+against the side of the house; and occasionally a bullet struck home and
+left no sound, unless it was the sound of a man toppling over backwards
+to the floor, or a man as he clapped his hand to his head. The rifle
+bombardment was having its effect.
+
+The sharp crack of French rifles answered the challenge of the Germans,
+though, because of the fact that the ranks of the defenders had been
+sadly depleted, their weapons spoke not so often. But when they did
+speak, men fell; for, at this crucial stage of the battle, they were
+making every shot count.
+
+But this time, it seemed, the Germans were not to be denied. Men as
+well as officers understood the slowness of the French fire. The
+Germans were flushed with the spirit of victory, despite the fact that
+the field on all sides of the farmhouse was covered with their own dead
+and dying. The German soldiers realized, as did their officers, that
+the end of the courageous defense was near. Another effort and the
+farmhouse would be theirs.
+
+For some reason, in spite of the fact that the German troops appeared to
+be making fair progress, their advance was suddenly stayed. At some
+distance they halted and continued to pepper the house with rifle
+bullets, doing little damage at that distance.
+
+Horses dashed suddenly into view, dragging behind them a rapid-fire gun.
+
+Hal guessed the answer.
+
+"That's to mow us down when we try to run," he told himself. "Well--"
+
+He broke off and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+Now the Germans came on again, the rapid-fire gun covering their
+advance. A moment later the side of the farmhouse resembled a sieve, it
+was so full of holes. For a man to stick his head out the window meant
+instant death.
+
+But as the Germans drew closer, the rapid firer became silent, for,
+without risking the lives of Germans as well as French, it was of no
+value now. At the same moment the heads of the defenders again
+appeared at the windows and renewed the work of picking off the
+Germans as they charged.
+
+For some reason Hal took the time to glance at his watch once more.
+
+"Time's up!" he told himself gravely, "and no help in sight."
+
+But the lad was wrong; for, could he have looked from the rear of the
+house at that moment, he would have seen advancing several columns of
+French cavalry, coming to their relief.
+
+The Germans saw the approach of reinforcements and redoubled their
+efforts to gain the farmhouse before the reinforcements could arrive. But
+it was too late. With wild cries, the French cavalrymen swept down and
+about the house. Cheers from the defenders greeted them. The men left
+their places at the windows and ran from the house. Hurriedly the wounded
+were carried out and the retreat begun.
+
+And at that moment the Germans, also reinforced, charged again. Greatly
+outnumbered the French retreated, firing as they went.
+
+Then, for the first time, Hal noticed Chester's absence.
+
+"Great Scott!" he exclaimed to Captain Leroux, "we have come away without
+notifying the men in the basement."
+
+Quickly the two made their way to the French commander and laid the
+situation before him. The latter shook his head sadly.
+
+"It's too late now," he said quietly. "Look at the number of the foe. We
+could not make headway against them."
+
+He was deaf to all Hal's entreaties that he make the effort.
+
+In the basement, Chester and his five men had been unable to ascertain
+the cause of the increased firing at one moment and the lull a moment
+later. Chester had about decided that the defenders had given up and that
+he and his men in the cellar were all that remained.
+
+From his window he could see the Germans only when they came into a
+certain position; and what went on above he had no means of telling. But
+that the others would go and leave him and his men behind had not entered
+his head. Therefore, he decided to remain quiet with his men.
+
+But when an hour had passed and there came no more sounds of firing from
+above, Chester decided it was time to investigate. Accordingly, he
+ascended the steps quietly.
+
+There was no one above. The lad gazed about quickly. Except for the dead,
+there was no Frenchman in the house. Bloodstains on the floor showed that
+the wounded had been removed.
+
+Then Chester realized what had happened.
+
+Quickly he ran to the door and peered out. Far in the rear he could see
+the French retreating, pursued by the foe. Chester uttered an exclamation
+of dismay and called to his men. He explained the situation to them. All
+were dumbfounded.
+
+At that moment Chester espied an object a short distance from the
+farmhouse. There was no living form near. With a sudden cry of hope,
+Chester dashed from the house.
+
+"Come on, men!" he called over his shoulder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+CHESTER'S GALLANT FEAT
+
+
+The object upon which Chester's eyes had fallen and which was the cause
+of the sudden activity on the lad's part was nothing less than the
+rapid-fire gun the Germans so recently had brought up to bombard the
+farmhouse and cut off the retreat of its French defenders. Its crew had
+been killed, picked off by the accurate shooting of the French before
+they abandoned the house, and the gun had not been remanned. Apparently
+the Germans had overlooked the small field piece in their haste to give
+chase to the retreating French.
+
+The horses were standing a short distance away, unhurt, as Chester could
+see. The lad dashed toward the gun at top speed, his five men following
+him as fast as they could run.
+
+There was a light of anticipation on Chester's face as he reached the gun
+and examined it carefully.
+
+"Plenty of ammunition," he said with a grin, as his men came up to him.
+
+The others grinned also.
+
+"What are you going to do with it, sir?" asked one.
+
+Chester waved his arm in the direction of the retreating French and
+pursuing Germans.
+
+"Give those fellows a little surprise party when they turn back," he
+said.
+
+The men caught the idea and were immediately filled with enthusiasm.
+
+"We'd better get away from here before we're discovered, though," said
+Chester. "Catch those horses, some of you."
+
+This was an easy matter, for the horses stood still as two of the French
+soldiers approached them.
+
+"Hook 'em up," cried Chester.
+
+This, too, was the work of a moment.
+
+"I'll do the driving," said Chester. "You fellows climb aboard."
+
+The others needed no urging and a moment later this strange battery moved
+toward the French lines at a gallop.
+
+The Germans in pursuit of the French were still in plain view and Chester
+intended to keep close behind. He reasoned that the distance was too
+great for the Germans to make out the uniforms of the men on the gun and
+he intended to turn off the roadway at the first sign that the Germans
+were ready to give up the chase.
+
+Along the road ran a fringe of trees, sparse in some places and thicker
+in others. It was Chester's plan to wheel the gun in among the trees at
+the proper moment and open on the foe when they came back.
+
+And the plan was to be put in execution sooner than the lad had
+hoped for.
+
+Chester saw the Germans slow down. Then they turned and came toward him.
+The lad could not make out at once the cause of their sudden decision to
+retreat, but it came to him a moment later with the sound of heavy rifle
+firing. Apparently, French infantry had advanced to the support of the
+cavalry and the Germans were not strong enough in numbers to contest
+effectively.
+
+Immediately, Chester swung the horses to the right in among the trees,
+which, fortunately, happened to be dense at this particular point.
+
+"Guess we'll give 'em a little surprise," said Chester, with a grin.
+
+Dismounting, he motioned the men to unhitch the horses, which was done.
+Then the gun was whirled into position where it commanded the roadway.
+
+"We're ready for them," said Chester, quietly.
+
+The Germans drew on apace. Suddenly a thought struck Chester.
+
+"Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "I can't shoot them down in cold blood, I'll
+have to give them a chance. Here!" he motioned to one of his men and the
+latter approached. "Take this gun," the lad commanded. "I'm going to give
+these fellows a chance to surrender. If they refuse I'll duck back here
+and you let them have it. I'll keep out of range, but don't turn this gun
+until I get back. Understand?"
+
+The man signified that he did.
+
+Chester walked some distance back to where the road curved a bit. He was
+out of the direct line of fire, but still in such position to make his
+demand for the surrender of the Germans without allowing them to pass the
+sweep of the rapid-firer.
+
+With the Germans still some distance down the road, Chester stepped
+directly into the highway and raised a hand.
+
+The leading Germans pulled up and an officer demanded:
+
+"What's the matter?"
+
+"Surrender!" exclaimed Chester, "or you shall all be killed."
+
+The German officer gave a great laugh.
+
+"Hear the boy talk," he exclaimed. "He asks us to surrender when we have
+just chased all the French back to their own lines."
+
+There was a roar of laughter from the troop.
+
+"Surrender!" called Chester again.
+
+Again there was a laugh and the German officer called:
+
+"Throw up your hands, boy, or you shall be shot!"
+
+"Well," said Chester, "I've done all I can. I've warned you. Your blood
+be upon your own heads."
+
+With a sudden leap he disappeared among the trees. With a fierce cry, the
+German officer made after him, firing as he did so.
+
+At the same moment there was a crash as of a thousand rifles.
+Germans fell from their saddles like chaff before a storm. Horses
+reared, screamed, stampeded and fell down dead, crushing their
+riders beneath them.
+
+By this time Chester had returned to his men and took charge of the
+rapid-fire gun himself. He turned it this way and that, sweeping the
+roadway clear, where the foe was in range.
+
+And from far behind the German line at this moment broke out the crack of
+rifles. The French infantry had advanced in pursuit of the Germans, a
+squadron of cavalry showing the way.
+
+The Germans were caught between two fires.
+
+Unable to estimate the number of men in the force that had ambushed them,
+the Germans threw down their arms.
+
+"We surrender!" cried a German officer.
+
+Instantly the fire of the machine gun ceased and Chester advanced to the
+road again. The same German officer who, a moment ago, had scorned the
+lad's warning, now advanced and tendered his sword to Chester.
+
+"Tell your men to throw down their arms," commanded Chester.
+
+The officer did so, and swords and pistols rattled to the ground.
+
+"Now," said Chester, "you will about face and march toward the French
+lines. There must be no foolishness. My army here is rather small, but we
+still have the rapid-fire gun and it will be trained upon you until you
+are safe."
+
+The lad signalled to his men, who had already hitched up the horses, and
+these now advanced.
+
+"What!" exclaimed the German officer, when he had taken a glance at
+Chester's "army," "are these all the men you had when you attacked us?"
+
+"They seemed to be enough," said Chester, with a smile.
+
+"No wonder we haven't beaten you a long while ago," the German officer
+mumbled to himself. "When five men and one a boy perform a feat like
+this, I begin to have my doubts as to the outcome of this war."
+
+"Well," said Chester, "I don't have any such doubts. But come, now;
+forward march."
+
+Slowly the German troopers marched ahead, Chester and his machine gun
+bringing up the rear.
+
+And in this manner they came directly upon the French cavalry and
+infantry advancing in pursuit of the Germans.
+
+Great were the exclamations among the French troops when it was found
+that five men and a young officer had made such an important capture, to
+say nothing of the terrible execution inflicted upon the enemy with their
+own rapid-fire gun. The French officers were loud in the praises of
+Chester's gallantry.
+
+And with the troop of French cavalry Chester found Hal and Captain
+Leroux.
+
+"By Jove! I'm glad to see you, Chester," said Hal, advancing with
+outstretched hand. "I was afraid we wouldn't get back in time."
+
+"I guess you wouldn't have, if we had waited for you," said Chester,
+dryly. "I wasn't going to take any more chances if I could help it. When
+you left us there by ourselves, I was sure if we wanted to come away,
+we'd have to do it by ourselves."
+
+"We didn't do it intentionally," said Captain Leroux.
+
+"Who said you did?" demanded Chester, somewhat angrily.
+
+The French captain flushed. He drew himself up, seemed about to make an
+angry reply; then cooled down and said:
+
+"I'm sorry."
+
+With that he walked away.
+
+"Look here, Chester," said Hal, "you know that I wouldn't have left
+you behind for anything if I had only thought of it. But in the
+excitement and--"
+
+"That's it," said Chester. "There was too much excitement and you were
+having it all. I get buried down in a cellar with five men and sit there
+in the dark till the fun's all over. Then you don't even take the trouble
+to tell me it's time to go home. I don't like it."
+
+"Great Scott! You're not mad, are you, Chester?"
+
+"Mad? Sure I'm mad. Next time you get in a hole I'm going to walk away
+and leave you there."
+
+Hal smiled.
+
+"Oh, I guess not," he returned.
+
+"You do, eh? Well, you try it and see what happens."
+
+"Come, now, Chester, you know how this thing happened," said Hal. "We
+didn't do it purposely."
+
+Chester seemed about to make an angry retort; but a moment later a smile
+broke over his face and he extended a hand to his chum.
+
+"I know you didn't," he replied, "but can't a fellow have a little fun?"
+
+Hal took the hand as he exclaimed:
+
+"You've offended Captain Leroux."
+
+"Well," said Chester, "Captain Leroux has offended me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+A QUEER SITUATION
+
+
+"Somebody following us, Hal!"
+
+"That so?" said Hal; "and why should we be followed along here?"
+
+"I don't know," was Chester's reply, "but I have noticed a shadow
+following us wherever we go."
+
+"We'll see about it," was Hal's rejoinder.
+
+It was the night succeeding the day on which the lads had taken part in
+the defense of Thiaumont farmhouse. They had returned to their quarters
+late in the day, had reported to General Petain and had been relieved of
+duty until the following morning. It was now after 8 o'clock and they
+were strolling about the camp.
+
+They had made their way well back into the heart of the armed settlement
+when Chester had made the announcement that they were being followed.
+
+With Hal to reach a decision was to act. Chester let his friend do the
+leading in this instance.
+
+Hal quickened his steps and walked quickly down the row of tents,
+which, well back of the trenches, were laid out in the form of streets,
+and which, in fact, were called streets by the soldiers themselves.
+Chester followed.
+
+At the first cross street, for so they may be called, Hal led the way
+sharply to the left and stopped suddenly. A moment later a figure came
+slinking around after them. Hal reached out an arm and grabbed him.
+
+"Here," he said, "what are you following us for?"
+
+The man tried to free himself, but Hal held him tight.
+
+"If you'll let me loose, I'll explain," he said finally.
+
+Hal considered this a moment; then with a shrug of his shoulders
+released his hold.
+
+"Stand behind him, Chester," he said.
+
+Chester followed Hal's injunction, but the man made no effort to escape.
+
+"Well?" said Hal, questioningly.
+
+The man thrust a hand into his pocket.
+
+"Hold on there!" cried Hal, sharply, producing his revolver. "No
+tricks now."
+
+The man smiled and withdrew his hand from his pocket.
+
+"I wasn't after a gun," he said.
+
+He opened his hand and in the palm Hal saw a little round object.
+
+"Can you match that?" the man demanded.
+
+Hal peered closer and made out the nature of the object in the
+man's hand.
+
+"A black pea!" he exclaimed. "Yes, I can match it."
+
+He thrust a hand in his pocket and produced a black pea, which not many
+days before had rolled from the pocket of Jules Clemenceau.
+
+The stranger looked at it closely.
+
+"All right," he said. He turned to Chester. "And you?" he demanded.
+
+Chester's reply was to produce his black pea, which he exhibited
+to the man.
+
+"Good!" said the stranger. "Follow me."
+
+"Follow you where?" Chester wanted to know.
+
+"Yes; what's all this funny business, anyhow?" demanded Hal.
+
+The man smiled enigmatically.
+
+"Best to be careful," he said. "Come on."
+
+Chester looked at Hal and the latter nodded.
+
+"Might as well see what it's all about," said the latter.
+
+They fell into step behind the stranger.
+
+With many turns and twists the man walked for perhaps half an hour.
+Apparently he was bent on beclouding the lads' sense of direction.
+
+"I say!" Hal called a halt finally. "Where are you taking us?"
+
+"It's not much farther," the man protested, "and I have been instructed
+to bring you."
+
+"Instructed to bring us?" echoed Chester, "and by whom?"
+
+"You'll learn that later," was the stranger's response. "Are you coming?"
+
+Again Hal and Chester exchanged glances. The latter shrugged.
+
+"We've started; may as well see it through," he said.
+
+"All right," Hal agreed and turned to the stranger, "but cut out all this
+winding about," he demanded. "There is a quicker way of reaching our
+destination, wherever it may be."
+
+The stranger smiled, but made no reply. He moved off and the boys
+followed him, and at last they came to their journey's end.
+
+Before an army tent the man stopped a few moments later.
+
+"In here," he said.
+
+He entered and Hal and Chester paused long enough to look at each other.
+
+"I guess it's all right," said Hal. "Can't much happen right in the heart
+of the camp. Come on."
+
+He entered the tent with Chester close behind him.
+
+Within powerful arms seized them and dragged them down; and before they
+could cry out gags were stuffed in their mouths. In vain the lads
+struggled to free themselves. They were soon safely bound.
+
+Up to this time the tent had been in darkness, but now someone struck a
+light. Hal and Chester gazed at their captors. All were attired in
+regulation army uniforms, but their faces were masked. One man, who
+seemed to be the leader, was short and chunky. The others were taller.
+The small man approached the lads and spoke.
+
+"If you will give me your words to make no outcry, I shall have the gags
+removed," he said in a shrill, quavering voice, plainly disguised.
+
+Hal considered this point a moment; then nodded his head in token of
+assent. Chester did likewise.
+
+"All right," said the little man and beckoned the others to remove the
+gags.
+
+Their mouths free of the evil-tasting cloths, Hal and Chester
+breathed easier.
+
+"Now," said Chester, "perhaps you will explain what this is all about."
+
+The little man shook his head.
+
+"No," he replied, "all I can tell you is this! You shall be kept confined
+here until your removal to Paris can be arranged. Then you will be sent
+to London and put aboard a vessel for New York. That's all I can say."
+
+"But what for?" demanded Hal, angrily.
+
+"That you will not be told," was the reply, "although I guess you don't
+need to be told."
+
+"By George!" exclaimed Chester, "I don't know what you are talking about,
+but you can take my word that somebody is going to suffer for this
+night's work. How long do you intend to hold us here?"
+
+"I can't say. Possibly a day or two; at all events, until your removal
+can be arranged."
+
+"Do you know who we are?" demanded Hal.
+
+The little man nodded.
+
+"Perfectly," he replied.
+
+"You know that we are attached to the staff of General Petain?"
+
+Again their captor nodded.
+
+"And still you've got the nerve to hold us here?"
+
+"Yes, I've got the nerve."
+
+"Don't you know you shall suffer for this?"
+
+The man shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"At least I shall have done my duty," he replied.
+
+"Duty! Great Scott! Duty! What are you talking about?" demanded Hal,
+angrily. "Are you a German sympathizer?"
+
+"No, my sympathies are French," was the reply.
+
+"Well, if you call this doing your duty," said Chester, sarcastically,
+"let's hope you don't have too many duties to perform in the service of
+France. For if you do, the Germans certainly will win."
+
+"Well," said their captor, "I guess I shall have to leave you now. I must
+make my report."
+
+"Who are you going to report to?" demanded Hal, suddenly, thinking to
+take the man off his guard.
+
+The latter only grinned.
+
+"I'm too old a bird for that trick," he said, showing that he understood
+what had been in Hal's mind. "I'm going to report to the proper person."
+
+"Improper person, I guess you mean," Chester growled.
+
+"At any rate, I must report," said their captor. "Now if you'll promise
+to make no outcry while I'm gone, I will not have the gags replaced in
+your mouths. Otherwise, I am afraid--"
+
+He closed with a shrug of the shoulders.
+
+"You put one of those things in my mouth again, and I'll make you eat
+it--some day," said Chester.
+
+"Not for some time to come, I'm afraid," was the little man's rejoinder.
+"I believe I can guarantee you will be kept out of mischief for the
+duration of the war."
+
+Hal had been gazing at the little man closely.
+
+"Seems to me," he said at last, "that I have seen you some place before.
+There is something familiar about you."
+
+"You've probably seen me," was the reply. "I've been around here for
+some time."
+
+Chester was now struck with a sudden thought.
+
+"Is Matin mixed up in this thing?" he demanded, believing that, after
+all, the capture might have been concocted by the French soldier who had
+sought to kill Hal.
+
+"Matin? Who is Matin?" asked their captor.
+
+Chester explained.
+
+"No, he has nothing to do with it," was the reply.
+
+"Then, in the name of the Great Czar, what's it all about?"
+
+"I can't tell you," was the firm reply.
+
+Chester groaned.
+
+"Of all the fool predicaments," he said, "this is the worst."
+
+The little man had now moved toward the door of the tent.
+
+"I go now," he said, "to make my report. Pleasant dreams to you."
+
+"Hold on a minute," shouted Hal.
+
+"No; I think I had better go. Good-bye, boys!"
+
+There was such a familiar ring to these words that Hal was struck with a
+great light. He uttered a loud exclamation, so loud, in fact, that the
+little man came running back in the tent.
+
+Even Chester was surprised--but for a moment only--for the words that
+escaped Hal were these:
+
+"By all that's holy! If it isn't Stubbs!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+STUBBS REFUSES TO EXPLAIN
+
+
+With two bounds the little man covered the distance to Hal's side and
+bent over. Quickly he placed a hand across Hal's mouth and whispered:
+
+"Sh-h-h. Not so loud!"
+
+Hal shook his head free--his hands were tied--and exclaimed:
+
+"So! This is the thanks we get from you, eh! Why, you little fat--"
+
+"Names won't help any," said Anthony Stubbs, quietly. "I've got you here
+and, as I told you, here you are going to stay until I arrange for your
+transportation back to the good old town where stands the _Gazette_."
+
+"New York, eh?" said Chester. "But why, Stubbs, that's what I want to
+know. Come on, be a good fellow and tell us what this is all about."
+
+"If I wasn't so sure you know, I might be tempted to do so," said Stubbs.
+"But you do know and there is no need to ask me again. I refuse."
+
+"But I tell you, Stubbs, we don't know," declared Hal. "What's gone wrong
+with you? Are you in the employ of the Kaiser?"
+
+"Not by a long shot," was the answer. "That's one reason I want to get
+you away from here. I want to see the Kaiser licked properly."
+
+"You don't mean to insinuate--"
+
+"That you are aiding the Kaiser?" Stubbs broke in. "I guess not. But you
+know as well as I do that with you here something is sure to go wrong. No
+sir. You've got to go back to the old U.S.A. and you're going to go if it
+lies in my power to get you there."
+
+"By Jove!" said Chester, suddenly. "I know the answer."
+
+"Well, you're a good guesser if you do," said Hal, dryly. "Let's hear
+it."
+
+"Uncle John is the answer," declared Chester. "In some manner he has
+learned we are here; he has come up from Italy and bribed Stubbs to get
+us sent home."
+
+"By Jove!" exclaimed Hal. "Is that it, Stubbs?"
+
+Stubbs grinned at them.
+
+"Come," he said, "I'm too old to be fooled with such innocence as that.
+You know what you're here for and that's all there is about it. Now I'm
+going to arrange for your removal."
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal, quietly, "I wonder if you could guess what I
+think of you?"
+
+"I'm afraid I could," returned the little man seriously. "But now let me
+ask you something. Do you remember, not so many nights ago, that I told
+you both that if ever you found me doing something you didn't approve of,
+I would be doing it for your own good--because I am fond of you? Do you
+remember that?"
+
+"You bet I remember it," declared Hal; "and all I've got to say is that
+if you call this thing for our own good you're mightily mistaken. If we
+don't report to General Petain to-morrow morning we're likely to be court
+martialed."
+
+"Oh, no, you're not," said Stubbs.
+
+"Oh, yes we are."
+
+"I say you're not."
+
+"Say," said Hal, "you talk like you knew something about it."
+
+"I do," returned Stubbs.
+
+"Well, Stubbs," interposed Chester, "if you are bent on showing your
+fondness for us in this manner all right; but I want to say that, for my
+part, you can take all your affection and go hang with it."
+
+"Same here," growled Hal.
+
+"I'm sorry you feel that way about it, boys," said Stubbs, seriously,
+"but I know that some time you will forgive me. Of course, you are
+angry now because I have spoiled your plans, but some time you will
+overlook it."
+
+"But where do you come in for all this fairy godfather stuff, Stubbs?"
+demanded Chester. "What iron have you in the fire? You've got some reason
+besides just trying to keep us out of trouble, now haven't you?"
+
+"Why, yes, I have," was Stubbs' quiet reply.
+
+"I thought so. Would you mind telling me what it is?"
+
+"I've already told you. I want to see the Kaiser properly licked."
+
+Chester was about to make an angry retort; then changed his mind and gave
+a snort of pure disgust.
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal, "I know what it's all about. If I ask you a question
+will you answer it?"
+
+"Depends on the question," was the reply. "Let's hear it."
+
+"Well, here it is, and I think it's the answer to the whole thing: Are
+you crazy?"
+
+Stubbs gave a snort.
+
+"Crazy!" he shouted. "No, I'm not crazy! Who says I'm crazy?"
+
+"I do, Stubbs," declared Hal.
+
+"And I agree with him," exclaimed Chester.
+
+The little war correspondent became suddenly very angry. He stamped up
+and down the tent muttering to himself. Then he whirled on the lads.
+
+"You make me tired!" he exclaimed. "Here I've gone and got myself in a
+mess just to keep you two out of trouble and what thanks do I get for it?
+You say I'm crazy! Why, you ought to bow down and thank me for doing what
+I am doing. You both make me sick."
+
+"Well, we're not going to do any bowing down to you, Stubbs," said Hal;
+"but there is one thing I'll promise you."
+
+"What's that?" demanded Stubbs, eagerly.
+
+"That, Mr. Stubbs," said Hal, "is a good first-class thrashing when I get
+hold of you again."
+
+"Guess we had better make it two," declared Chester. "Remember he's got
+me here with you, Hal."
+
+"All right, Chester. We'll make it a double-handed affair. Hear
+that, Stubbs?"
+
+Stubbs snapped his fingers at them.
+
+"You can do what you please when you get free," he declared. "But I'm
+going to make it a point to see that you don't get free on this side of
+the English Channel. Now, good-night."
+
+The little man turned, ordered his men out ahead of him and disappeared
+from the tent.
+
+For some moments Hal and Chester lay silent without a word. Then Hal
+said:
+
+"Chester, if you can tell me what's at the bottom of all this, I'll give
+you a million dollars."
+
+"If you had the million, Hal, you'd lose."
+
+"You don't mean to tell me--"
+
+"Of course I know. I thought you did by this time. There are two things
+at the bottom of this and they are--two little black peas!"
+
+"Well, by Jove!" said Hal, "and to think I didn't get that through my
+head sooner. Then you think these peas--"
+
+"Yes; there is some kind of a conspiracy brewing and Stubbs thinks we
+have a hand in it. Whatever it is, he's against it. You remember how he
+shut up in the middle of his tale that night when he first saw the peas
+in our possession?"
+
+"By Jove! That's so!"
+
+"Sure; but have you any idea what the conspiracy may be?"
+
+"Not the slightest; but if we can get out of here we'll have a look. We
+know one of the band, I think."
+
+"You mean?"
+
+"Jules Clemenceau. I don't suppose he ever missed the two peas. He
+probably had more. At the first opportunity we'll display our peas where
+he can see them and then maybe he will say something that will tip us off
+where to look next."
+
+"Not a bad idea; but he seems to be so young to be mixed up in
+such a thing."
+
+"He's no younger than we are; and we've been mixed up in a whole lot
+of things."
+
+"That's so, too. I would like to know, though, what this plot is. I don't
+believe it has anything to do with treachery."
+
+"Depends upon what you mean by treachery. I suppose you mean nothing that
+will aid the Germans to defeat us?"
+
+"Exactly; then, too, don't you remember, when Stubbs was telling us about
+the conspiracy, that he said he had reason to believe there were plotters
+in the German ranks as well as the British and French?"
+
+"He didn't say it just that way, I think, but I remember what you mean.
+By Jove! I wonder what it can all be about?"
+
+"Well, it's too deep for me; and unless something happens, I am half
+afraid Stubbs may be as good as his word and have us sent back to
+New York."
+
+"By George! We can't stand for that."
+
+"I should say not. See if you can wiggle your hands loose."
+
+Hal tried. So did Chester.
+
+"They did a pretty fair job, if you ask me," said the latter.
+
+"I should say they did. However, we'll keep trying. Something may give.
+Perseverance is a great medicine, you know."
+
+And they did keep trying; but here was one place where it seemed that
+perseverance was about to fail. An hour's tugging at their bonds failed
+to loosen them to any noticeable degree.
+
+"I guess it's no use, Chester," said Hal.
+
+"I'm not having much luck, either," was Chester's reply.
+
+They took a brief rest and then fell to tugging at their bonds again. But
+they had no better luck than before.
+
+"Well, it's no use," said Chester at last. "I'm going to sleep."
+
+Hal was also forced to admit that he was unable to loosen his own bonds
+and he followed Chester's example and sought repose.
+
+How long they slept neither knew, but both were awakened by a hand on
+their shoulders. Looking up in the darkness the lads saw a form bending
+over them. They could not distinguish the features.
+
+"Hello!" said Hal, in a whisper. "We have company, Chester."
+
+"So we have," was the latter's reply. "Wonder what he wants?"
+
+The figure in the darkness explained his presence in the tent in a
+few words.
+
+"Come with me!" he whispered.
+
+"Can't. We're tied up," said Hal.
+
+"I have unloosened your bonds," said the voice in a whisper. "Come, and
+make no noise."
+
+The lads found that their deliverer had told the truth. They were no
+longer bound. They got to their feet and followed him from the tent. They
+had not recognized the voice that had called them; but as they passed
+without, Hal caught sight of the man's features.
+
+"Jules Clemenceau!" he exclaimed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE CONSPIRATORS
+
+
+Chester, who had been unable to catch a sight of their deliverer's face,
+was surprised.
+
+"Great Scott! Jules," he exclaimed. "You have a knack of turning up in
+the nick of time."
+
+"Sh-h-h!" whispered Jules. "No talk until we get away from here."
+
+The others obeyed this injunction to keep silence and followed the young
+Frenchman without further words.
+
+Jules approached his own quarters and led the way inside.
+
+"Make yourselves at home," he said with a wave of his hand. "In here we
+may talk."
+
+Hal and Chester found seats and then the former asked a question.
+
+"How did you happen to find us, Jules?"
+
+"I chanced to be near when the stranger showed you his pea," returned
+Jules. "I knew that there had been no summons sent out for an immediate
+meeting and that something must be wrong. Therefore, I followed you.
+Having learned where you were held I returned later to release you.
+That's all."
+
+"Well, we certainly thank you," said Chester. "There is no telling what
+would have happened to us."
+
+"I was never more surprised," said Jules, "than when I saw you both
+exhibit black peas. I had no idea that you were with us."
+
+"Then you, too," said Hal, "are--"
+
+"Yes," Jules interrupted. "I am one of you. I suppose you have received
+the summons?"
+
+"Summons? What summons?" asked Chester.
+
+"Why, for the meeting to-night, or, rather, I should say in the morning."
+
+"No, we have received no summons," said Hal.
+
+"Then it is twice good that I arrived," said Jules. "You shall
+accompany me."
+
+"And where is the rendezvous?" asked Chester.
+
+"I'll show you," said Jules. He drew his watch from his pocket and
+glanced at it in the semi-light of the tent. "Twelve fifteen," he said.
+"We have forty-five minutes still, but it will do no harm if we are a few
+minutes early. Come."
+
+He picked up his cap from the cot where he had thrown it and led the way
+from the tent. Hal and Chester followed without a word. The same thought
+was in the mind of each. At last they would be able to learn the nature
+of the conspiracy which, although they knew nothing of it, had caused
+them so much trouble.
+
+After a walk of perhaps twenty minutes, in which time they had not been
+challenged, Jules pulled up before a tent somewhat larger than the rest.
+
+"General Pombrey's quarters," he said, "and for that reason
+comparatively safe."
+
+"You mean that the general is one of us?" demanded Hal in no
+little surprise.
+
+"Yes," said Jules, briefly.
+
+Chester gave a low whistle. Evidently this conspiracy, whatever it might
+be, was more widespread than he had imagined.
+
+Jules entered the tent and the two lads followed him.
+
+Inside a large number of men already had assembled. Apparently, their
+anticipation had been so great that they had been unable to control their
+impatience until nearer the appointed hour. The lads were impressed with
+one peculiar feature. Unlike most plotters--and Hal and Chester already
+had come into contact with many--these men wore no masks. Apparently,
+they were not afraid of their identities being known by their fellow
+conspirators.
+
+There were no remarks when Jules and Hal and Chester entered the tent.
+The former led the way to the far side and there stood quietly in the
+half light. Hal and Chester took their places beside him.
+
+As time passed other men appeared in the tent and Hal and Chester were
+surprised to see that some were officers of high rank; but neither lad
+said anything aloud.
+
+Came the voice of a sentry without:
+
+"One o'clock and all's well!"
+
+A moment later the apathy that had gripped the interior of the tent where
+the conspirators were assembled disappeared. General Pombrey addressed
+the others.
+
+"I am glad to see so many of you here to-night," he said earnestly. "I
+note several new faces amongst us and I am pleased to know that others
+are joining this great movement every day. It shows that even in the
+midst of this warlike camp the spirit of peace has not died."
+
+His words were greeted with a murmur of approval, though no man spoke.
+
+The general continued:
+
+"Now, I have to inform you that the crisis is near. I have had word from
+the enemy's lines that the spirit of peace there has grown. It would
+appear that we are on the eve of success. Another battle or two--a few
+thousand more lives lost--and this great war may end. When the spirit of
+peace has overcome the spirit of war in the ranks, then will the war end.
+I have called you together to-night to instruct you to sound even deeper
+than you have done the sentiment of the men who stand by your side. The
+time to stop this war is almost at hand."
+
+Again there was a murmur of approval as the general became silent. He
+gazed upon the faces about him a few moments in silence, and then
+spoke again:
+
+"I need not caution you to silence. A false move and all would be lost.
+But if we can command 10,000 more men when the crisis arrives, men who,
+like the rest of us, will refuse to fight more when the word is given, we
+shall be strong enough; and if I told you how many already are pledged
+you could scarcely believe me. Now here," the general exposed to view a
+large box, "I have many more of the little peas that are our bond of
+membership. I want each of you to take as many as you please; and pass
+them around when you have convinced yourselves the men you approach are
+acting in good faith."
+
+One after another the men in the tent stepped forward and dipped a hand
+into the box of peas and put the little round pellets into their own
+pockets. Then the general signified that he had yet a few remarks to
+make. The men stood about respectfully as he addressed them.
+
+"Men," he said, "there may be some among you who question the justice of
+this move. To those I say that we are engaged in a great effort. To
+prevent further war and bloodshed among ourselves and our enemies is a
+great duty; for nothing can possibly be gained by the loss of millions of
+lives and the destruction of billions of dollars worth of property.
+However, if there are any among you who would draw out of this movement,
+I would ask that you do so now."
+
+The general paused and looked keenly at the faces about him. No
+man spoke.
+
+"Good," said the general, "then I know you are with me."
+
+"And the time? When will the time come?" asked one man in the crowd.
+
+"That I cannot say," responded the general, quietly. "But I can assure
+you that it will be before long. You will all be notified by the
+messengers, that you may be ready. Now are there any other questions?"
+
+"If we fail, then what?" asked another man.
+
+General Pombrey shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Probably court martial and a firing squad," he said indifferently. "But
+you will have died in a glorious cause, whereas now--"
+
+A glimpse of happiness stole over the general's face. To Hal and Chester
+it meant but one thing. General Pombrey was a fanatic; and the men who
+had come under his spell were fanatics. In that instant Hal and Chester
+both realized that this matter must be brought to General Petain
+immediately.
+
+After some few other words, General Pombrey signified that the meeting
+was over, and the men filed from the tent singly and in pairs, discussing
+the matter in low tones.
+
+Outside Hal and Chester were accosted again by Jules Clemenceau.
+
+"And what do you think of General Pombrey?" asked the young Frenchman,
+his face shining.
+
+For a moment Hal considered what was best to say. Should he try and
+convince Jules that his present course was wrong; that there was to be
+considered the honor of his country rather than the opinion of General
+Pombrey? The lad decided on the side of caution.
+
+"A good man," he replied quietly. "A man who will face a firing squad
+without a tremor, secure in the belief he is dying for a good cause."
+
+"And do you not think the cause good, and just?" demanded Jules,
+anxiously.
+
+"If not, why should I be the bearer of a pocket-full of black peas?" was
+Hal's reply.
+
+Jules, apparently, was satisfied.
+
+Alone in their own quarters later Hal and Chester discussed the situation
+seriously.
+
+"To tell the truth," said Chester, "I am half inclined to agree with
+General Pombrey. But if for no other reason, there is one thing that
+would make me reveal this plot to General Petain."
+
+"And that?" asked Hal.
+
+"That," said Chester, "is the fact that General Pombrey and the others
+engaged in this conspiracy are lacking upon the German troops to throw
+down their arms and refuse to fight at the same moment the French and
+British do."
+
+"Well?" asked Hal, but he was beginning to catch Chester's drift.
+
+"Well," said Chester, "you and I know the Germans won't do that. It's a
+ten to one bet that the German general staff knows all about this
+conspiracy. The peace talk has been carried from one army to the other by
+the prisoners. The Germans will take advantage of it. Should the French
+really follow General Pombrey's plan, they would be slaughtered by the
+thousands. The Germans could not keep faith. You know that."
+
+"Yes, I know it," said Hal with a nod of his head. "They have never
+kept faith in this war, save in individual cases. It doesn't seem to
+be in them."
+
+"Exactly," agreed Chester. "Then, if for no other reason than to save
+these deluded French and British soldiers, the matter must be brought to
+the attention of General Petain, that he may act promptly and not only
+save them, but the whole army of France; and the cause of the Allies."
+
+"Good!" Hal agreed. "Then we shall see that it's brought to his
+attention."
+
+"The first thing in the morning," said Chester.
+
+"Right you are, Chester. The first thing in the morning."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+UNDER ARREST
+
+
+It was morning. Hal and Chester, refreshed by a good night's rest, had
+just completed their toilets and were about to repair to the quarters of
+General Petain, there to report for the day's duty and also to inform the
+French commander of what they had learned the night before. But, as it
+transpired, their good intentions were to go for naught and they were to
+be ushered into the presence of General Petain in a manner that neither
+would have believed possible.
+
+Came the sound of many footsteps approaching without. They stopped before
+the boys' tent. A French officer thrust his head in the entrance.
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford! Lieutenant Paine!" he said sharply.
+
+"Sir!" exclaimed both lads in a single breath.
+
+They stepped from the tent.
+
+"You are under arrest!" were the French officer's next words.
+
+Hal and Chester stepped back in complete bewilderment.
+
+"Wha--what's that, sir?" asked Hal, believing that he could not have
+heard aright.
+
+"You are under arrest," was the sharp reply. "I am ordered to conduct you
+before General Petain at once."
+
+Both lads had recovered themselves by this time; they stepped forward
+coolly enough, in spite of the fact that their hearts were fluttering
+strangely.
+
+"The general might have spared himself the trouble of sending for us,"
+said Hal, quietly. "Even now we were about to report to him."
+
+The French officer said nothing. He motioned to the file of soldiers whom
+he commanded and Hal and Chester stepped in between the men.
+
+"One moment," said the French soldier.
+
+He approached the lads.
+
+"I must ask for your swords and revolvers," he said.
+
+Without a word the lads surrendered their weapons.
+
+"Good!" said the French officer. Then to his men: "Forward, march!"
+
+And in this manner Hal and Chester came before the French commander at
+Verdun. The latter was busy with a pile of papers when they entered his
+quarters and did not look up immediately. For perhaps fifteen minutes the
+lads stood there, firmly erect, their eyes upon the general.
+
+Suddenly General Petain wheeled about.
+
+"Leave these men with me," he instructed the French officer who
+had escorted the lads to his tent; "but attend me outside within
+call, Captain."
+
+The French officer saluted and withdrew.
+
+General Petain gazed frowningly at Hal and Chester for perhaps a full
+minute. The lads returned his look without flinching, though there was
+nothing that might be construed as defiance in their manner; rather,
+nothing but respectful attention.
+
+"So!" said General Petain at last. "So! I find you two lads, whom I have
+trusted, among a band of conspirators, eh?"
+
+"Among them, sir," said Hal, quietly, "but not of them."
+
+"What's that?" demanded the general. "You admit you were with them and
+then claim innocence? Impossible!"
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir," said Hal, "but it is not impossible. It is
+the truth."
+
+"But I have it on high authority," returned the general, "that you have
+been the possessors of the emblem of the conspirators for some days now."
+
+"That is true enough, sir," Hal agreed; "but we came into the possession
+of those black peas accidentally and with no thought of their
+significance."
+
+The general sniffed contemptuously.
+
+"My information regarding you boys comes from a source that I am afraid I
+must believe," he said.
+
+"Will you tell us the source, sir?" asked Hal.
+
+General Petain shook his head.
+
+"It would do no good," he returned. "It would not alter the facts in the
+case. Now, I know you boys have been of great value to the cause of the
+Allies. My informant is authority for that statement also. You have
+accomplished much and France and the other allied countries must thank
+you. But it appears now that you have been led from the proper way of
+thinking; and my informant in your case says, and rightly, that from
+young men who have done much to advance the cause of the Allies, there is
+much to be feared when they embark upon some other venture.
+
+"You are both resourceful; I know that. That is the reason that I have
+had you placed under arrest--that you may not turn your energies against
+us. I shall have you sent to Paris, thence to London, and I hope that
+before long you will be back in your own country, the United States."
+
+"Pardon me, sir," said Hal, respectfully, "but I do not need to ask you
+again to name the man who has caused us to be in this predicament. His
+name is Stubbs."
+
+"Well, I see no need to deny it," said General Petain.
+
+"General," said Chester, now stepping forward, "I would be glad if you
+would give me an opportunity to explain this matter."
+
+"It shall not be said that I denied any man a hearing," was the general's
+reply. "Proceed."
+
+As briefly as possible Chester recounted the manner in which they had
+come into possession of the two peas; of why they decided to keep them;
+of their capture the night before by Anthony Stubbs and of their escape;
+and last, of their attendance at the meeting of the conspirators, where,
+for the first time, they learned the true significance of the little
+black peas.
+
+As Chester proceeded with his story the general listened attentively.
+When Chester spoke of being captured by Stubbs, the general smiled
+quietly, and Hal, noting the smile, guessed rightly that General Petain
+had had a hand in the capture himself--or rather, that he at least had
+sanctioned it; and when Chester spoke of the meeting of the conspirators
+and mentioned the name of General Pombrey, General Petain frowned.
+
+"So," he said when Chester had concluded, "General Pombrey is mixed up in
+this thing, eh?"
+
+"He seems to be the leader of the movement, sir," replied Chester. "I
+should say that he is without doubt the directing hand."
+
+"And what do you hope to gain by telling me all this?" asked General
+Petain, eyeing the lad shrewdly.
+
+"I hope to see the conspiracy crushed, sir, before it gains further
+momentum," was Chester's reply.
+
+General Petain eyed the lad peculiarly.
+
+"Can it be that I have been misinformed?" he muttered to himself.
+
+Hal's keen ears caught the words.
+
+"I can assure you that you have been misinformed, sir," he replied
+firmly.
+
+For several moments more the general eyed the lads sternly and they
+returned his gaze without flinching. Suddenly the general clapped his
+hands together. The French officer who had arrested the two lads entered
+he tent and saluted.
+
+"Captain," said General Petain. "my compliments to Mr. Anthony Stubbs and
+say that I desire his presence here at once."
+
+The French officer saluted and took his departure.
+
+The hearts of the two lads beat high now. Apparently General Petain had
+been convinced of the truth of their stories. They believed that when
+Stubbs confronted them he would weaken.
+
+"I don't know what to think about this matter," said General Petain as
+they waited for Stubbs' arrival. "I am loath to believe you would be
+mixed up in anything of this nature."
+
+"How did Mr. Stubbs happen to mention us as being implicated in this
+conspiracy, sir?" asked Chester.
+
+"He said he wanted to see you get home safely and not be mixed up in
+anything that might mean a firing squad," said General Petain, calmly. "I
+promised him your safe return to America for his news of the conspiracy."
+
+"I see," said Chester.
+
+At this moment Stubbs was announced. General Petain looked at him
+sharply.
+
+"These officers," he said, indicating Hal and Chester with a wave of his
+hand, "deny the charges you have made against them, sir."
+
+"Surely, you didn't expect them to admit it, sir?" questioned
+Stubbs, shifting from one foot to another, as Hal and Chester bent
+their gaze on him.
+
+"Well, no, I didn't," was General Petain's reply, "but they tell such a
+straightforward story that I am of the opinion you must be mistaken as to
+their part in this conspiracy."
+
+"But the peas," said Stubbs. "They had them."
+
+"Well, somebody might have slipped one into your pocket, as far as that
+goes," said General Petain; "and then you might be standing here under
+suspicion."
+
+"Tha--that's so, too," Stubbs stammered. "I hadn't thought of that."
+
+"Well, you should have thought of it," exclaimed General Petain.
+"It's no small thing to cast suspicion upon a man and then be able to
+prove nothing."
+
+"But the peas--"
+
+"Never mind about the peas," stormed the general. "By any chance, when
+you had these officers in your tent last night, did they admit connection
+with the plot?"
+
+"No, sir; they professed ignorance. But they had the peas--"
+
+"_Mon Dieu_! Can't you think of anything but peas? What kind of a war
+correspondent are you, anyhow?"
+
+Stubbs was offended. He drew himself up and would have made reply, but
+General Petain silenced him with a gesture.
+
+"I don't question your loyalty," he said, "and I know that you acted with
+the good of these lads at heart. But I am convinced you have been
+mistaken. I am going to release these boys. Lieutenant Paine! Lieutenant
+Crawford! you are--"
+
+"Sir!" exclaimed Stubbs at this juncture.
+
+The general eyed him closely.
+
+"Well?" he demanded.
+
+"Please, General, do not let them go until I have a few moments' start. I
+don't know what they will do to me." Stubbs looked nervous.
+
+"Very well," said General Petain with a smile. "Then hurry and take your
+departure, Mr. Stubbs."
+
+Stubbs needed no urging and he disappeared from the general's tent with
+agility; and Hal called after him:
+
+"Better hunt a hole, Mr. Stubbs; we'll be on your trail in a few
+minutes!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE TURNING OF THE TIDE
+
+
+In the days immediately following their interview with General Petain,
+the lads saw much fighting; and with the close of each day there came
+bitterness to them, to the French troops, their officers and to the
+people of France and of all the allied nations.
+
+For the armies of the German Crown Prince continued to advance steadily
+in spite of the heroic resistance of the French; and it began to appear
+that the "Gateway to France" must ere long fall into alien hands.
+
+Day after day the Germans hurled themselves forward in herculean efforts
+to break the French lines; and most every day found them fighting a
+little nearer to Verdun. In vain the French attempted to stem the
+onslaught of the invading forces; the Germans were not to be denied.
+
+On the days when the fiercest of the German assaults were made, it was
+learned that the Emperor of Germany had directed the assaults in person.
+From the top of a small hill, surrounded by his staff, the Kaiser looked
+down upon the battlefield for days at a time, showing no signs of emotion
+as his countrymen fell right and left, that the German flag might be
+planted a few yards--sometimes only a few feet--farther westward.
+
+While the German losses were something terrible in this continuous
+fighting, the French suffered untold hardships. The effect of the great
+German shells, which fell within the French lines almost incessantly, was
+tremendous. It did not seem that flesh and blood could survive their
+deadly effect--and yet the French fought back gamely.
+
+At last the Germans reached a point only three miles and a half from the
+city of Verdun itself.
+
+Then began the fiercest of the fighting.
+
+After having been pushed back many miles by the German hordes, the French
+now braced suddenly and gave as good as they received. Instead of waiting
+for the German attacks, General Petain launched offensives of his own. At
+first these broke down easily under the German shells, but as they
+continued, the drives began to meet with more and more success. It became
+apparent that at this point the advantage usually rested with the
+attacking party.
+
+Battles--or what would have been called battles in any other war of
+history, but now, in the official reports were merely referred to as
+skirmishes--raged for hours at a stretch, some of the most important
+continuing for days, first with advantage to one side and then to
+the other.
+
+In vain the German Crown Prince hurled his men forward to pierce the
+French lines that now separated him from Verdun, less than four
+miles away.
+
+While the German guns still continued to shell the city and the
+fortifications, there was little they could accomplish now. All walls and
+houses in the path of the great guns had crumbled under their terrible
+fire days ago; there was nothing left to destroy, except at intervals
+where a small fort still stood and breathed defiance to the enemy.
+
+But the German guns served one purpose. They afforded protection for the
+infantry as it advanced to the attack. Only when the Germans advanced
+close enough to come to hand grips with the French did the big guns
+become silent.
+
+But now came the turning of the tide.
+
+From far back the French threw out reinforcements to the hard pressed men
+in front. Huge new field guns were brought up. Great masses of
+ammunition, which the French had been storing up for just such a chance,
+were rushed to the front. Soon the French guns were speaking as loudly
+and as often as the great German 42-centimetres themselves.
+
+The first work of the new French offensive was to clear the Germans from
+Dead Man's Hill, Hill No. 320 and Hill No. 304. These battles, among the
+fiercest of all history, however, were really little more than
+skirmishes, when the entire movement was taken into consideration.
+Terrible though they were, after all they were nothing more than small
+parts of the great battle of Verdun itself.
+
+From Dead Man's Hill and the other two elevations captured by the French,
+the Germans now were pushed clear back to the banks of the river Meuse;
+and then they were driven beyond. Thiaumont farm, where Hal and Chester
+had seen hard fighting, came once more beneath the French tricolor; and
+the German eagle went back farther still.
+
+There was little or no rest for the men in the trenches on either side.
+Out would rush the Germans from their trenches in a grand attack upon the
+trenches of the French. Hand-to-hand fighting would ensue. Perhaps the
+Germans would be driven back. If they were they would make a new effort
+an hour or so later.
+
+Perhaps the French would give way and the Germans would occupy the
+trenches. A short time later the French would re-form under the very
+rifles of the enemy, and, by a grand charge, oust the Germans from their
+newly won positions. Then came the work of concentrating and fortifying
+the trenches all over again.
+
+It was terrible work, these days before Verdun.
+
+Hal and Chester played no small part in the advance of the French army.
+More than once they were despatched upon important missions; and their
+fortune had been of the best. Not once had they failed to accomplish a
+piece of work entrusted to them. General Petain began to look upon them
+as among his best men. Many a piece of work that, a month before, he
+would have entrusted to an older head now fell to the lot of either Hal
+or Chester; and the boys did not complain. In fact, the more they had to
+do the better they liked it.
+
+Nor, for the matter of that, was there complaint from any of the men in
+the French army, officers or men. They stood to their work bravely and
+never flinched under fire. Nor did they protest when they were forced to
+go for long hours without sleep, other than that they could catch between
+the battles that raged almost incessantly and seemed to be nothing less
+than one continuous struggle.
+
+Now came the day when the Germans had been pushed far east of the
+Meuse. For the moment the French, flushed with victory, paused for a
+breathing spell. It had been work well done, in the days that had just
+passed, and men and officers alike realized it. Preparing their lines
+against attacks, under the command of General Petain, the French paused
+for breath.
+
+The German Crown Prince, realizing the cause of this lull by the French,
+thought to take advantage of the foe, and launched assault after assault;
+but, tired out as the French were, there was still energy and courage
+enough among them to resist successfully the fierce charges of the foe.
+
+And after awhile the Crown Prince gave up these attacks, realizing that
+he could not hope, at that moment, to penetrate the French positions,
+and, for once, doing away with the needless sacrifice of men.
+
+Upon an afternoon when the battle of Verdun was a little more than three
+months old, Hal and Chester were summoned to the quarters of General
+Petain. They went eagerly, for they realized that there was important
+work ahead.
+
+"Boys," said General Petain, for thus he had come to address them when
+alone, after the official salutes had been returned, "I have here a piece
+of work, that, because of the danger attached, I hesitate to select a
+man, or men, to perform."
+
+Hal and Chester both smiled.
+
+"And you want to give us the first chance at it, sir?" said Hal.
+
+"Yes; I know that if you accept the mission it is more certain of success
+than if I entrusted it to other hands."
+
+"We shall be glad of the chance, sir," said Chester, quietly.
+
+General Petain clapped his hands in satisfaction.
+
+"I knew it," he said, "and yet I did not like to order you to perform it.
+You boys are true blue."
+
+Both lads flushed with pleasure at this remark, but they made no
+reply. They stood quietly waiting until the general should tell them
+what was required.
+
+"Boys," said the general, "it is absolutely essential to the success of
+this campaign that I have a more accurate knowledge of the enemy's lines
+and strength. My aviators have been sent in search of such information,
+but they have met with little success. The only man who got close enough
+to learn what I am after, according to others who followed him, was shot
+down. He failed to return. What he learned, of course, I do not know.
+But it is that which I must know. Do you think you can gain this
+information for me?"
+
+"We can at least have a try at it," said Chester, with a smile.
+
+"We'll get it if it is humanly possible," agreed Hal.
+
+"I am more confident of success than I would be if the mission were in
+other hands," said General Petain, quietly.
+
+"And when do you wish us to start, sir?" asked Hal.
+
+"Immediately," was the reply, "though I believe it would be better to
+wait until dark."
+
+"And you would suggest an aeroplane?" asked Hal.
+
+"I leave the means to you," returned the general. "I'll give you a
+written order that will put anything in the French lines at your
+disposal, aeroplane, automobile or horses. You may take your choice."
+
+The general turned to his desk and scribbled on a piece of paper. To what
+he had written he affixed his signature and then passed the paper to Hal.
+
+"I have no further instructions," he said. "But, be as quick as you can,
+and be careful."
+
+He arose and extended a hand to each lad. He had come to be very fond of
+them, and he patted each on the back affectionately.
+
+"May good fortune attend you," he said quietly.
+
+The lads drew themselves up, saluted and left the tent. The general
+stepped to the door and gazed after them.
+
+"Good boys, those," he said quietly to himself. "May they return safely!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE PARTY IS INCREASED
+
+
+"I guess an aeroplane is the best way after all," said Hal, when they
+were back in their own quarters.
+
+"Sure," Chester agreed. "It's swifter, and if we have any luck at all,
+it's a pretty good contraption to get away in after we have gained our
+information. Now about clothes. Shall we keep on these uniforms?"
+
+"What would you suggest?"
+
+"Well, I don't know. Thought maybe we would take some German
+clothes along."
+
+"Might not be a bad idea, though we won't put them on unless we have to.
+I don't want to be shot as a spy if I can help it."
+
+"Nor I. Don't suppose there would be any use in taking civilian
+costumes?"
+
+"I don't know. Guess it wouldn't do any harm, though. The more clothes
+the better. We may need a change of costume most any time."
+
+"All right. We'll load up, if we can find what we want."
+
+"I guess there won't be any trouble about that."
+
+The lad was right. Soon they had a large army plane at their disposal and
+had stocked it with all they thought they would need in the way of
+clothing and food. Then they returned to their own quarters. Hal glanced
+at his watch.
+
+"Only five o'clock," he said. "We've a good three hours yet. We
+don't want to go up until well after dark. Let's go out and have a
+look around."
+
+Chester was agreeable and they made their way from the tent. They had
+walked about for probably an hour, when suddenly Hal took Chester by the
+coat sleeve.
+
+"Look there!" he exclaimed.
+
+Chester looked; and there, perhaps fifty yards away, was Anthony Stubbs,
+slinking along, now and then casting an eye at Hal and Chester.
+
+"He's seen us," said Chester. "Let's have a little talk with him. Maybe
+we can have some fun."
+
+It was the first time they had seen the little war correspondent since
+the talk in General Petain's tent more than two months before.
+
+"Come on, then," said Hal.
+
+They increased their stride; but Stubbs, with a quick glance over his
+shoulder, observed this and also increased his pace.
+
+"He doesn't want to see us, Hal," said Chester, with a grin.
+
+"I see he doesn't," Hal grinned back. "Well, we want to see him." He
+raised his voice in a shout "Hey, there, Stubbs!"
+
+The little man glanced quickly back over his shoulder. Then, seeing that
+Hal and Chester were gaining on him, he broke into a run.
+
+"After him, Hal!" cried Chester, and also broke into a run.
+
+Hal followed suit.
+
+Around turn after turn they darted after the little man, who was making
+the best time his short legs would permit. At a word from Hal, Chester
+slowed down, for they didn't want to catch Stubbs too easily.
+
+"Let him run himself out," Hal said.
+
+And that was what the little man was doing. His tongue was literally
+hanging out as Hal and Chester continued to gain slowly. He was puffing
+like a locomotive and his arms were working like pistons. Once or twice
+he staggered and it seemed to him that he could not run another step. But
+he set his teeth and plodded on.
+
+"I've got to get away," he told himself. "There is no knowing what these
+young ruffians will do to me."
+
+In vain he tried to increase his pace. It could not be done. Every step
+cost him an effort and it seemed that he could not take another. He
+waddled crazily from one side to the other; and at last he came to a
+stop, and with what strength remained, he faced his pursuers and threw up
+his hands in an attitude of defense.
+
+At arm's length, Hal and Chester came to a pause.
+
+"So we have you at last, eh!" said the former.
+
+"You--you keep a-away from me," gasped Stubbs, panting for breath. "I
+don't want to have any tro--trouble with you."
+
+"Perhaps not, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester, "but we want to have a little
+trouble with you."
+
+"Let me a-alone," gasped Stubbs.
+
+Hal moved a step closer.
+
+"Remember what you did to us?" he asked.
+
+Stubbs stepped backward quickly.
+
+"Don't you come any closer," he gasped. "Let me alone."
+
+"Had us tied up, didn't you, Stubbs?" demanded Chester.
+
+"Yes; but it was for your own good!" Stubbs had regained his wind now.
+
+"For our own good, eh? Well, we have come after you for your own good."
+
+"What have you got to say for yourself, Stubbs?" demanded Hal.
+
+"Nothing," snapped the little man angrily, "except that I want to be let
+alone. You hoodwinked the general, all right, but you can't hoodwink me.
+Now go on away from here."
+
+Again Chester stepped forward, and this time the lad was treated to an
+unpleasant surprise. Instead of moving backward, Stubbs suddenly lowered
+his head and charged Chester.
+
+Taken by surprise, the lad was unable to get out of the way and the top
+of Stubbs' head rammed him squarely in the stomach. Chester doubled up
+and fell to the ground with a cry of pain.
+
+Stubbs turned and started to run; but before he had taken half a dozen
+steps, Hal had reached him and taken him by the arm. In vain the little
+man struggled to shake off the lad's grasp.
+
+"Hey, Stubbs!" cried Hal, laughing at the predicament in which Chester
+found himself, "what's the matter that you've turned so pugnacious all of
+a sudden? Getting to be a regular fighter, aren't you?"
+
+"Well, he was just about to swat me," declared Stubbs.
+
+Chester had now picked himself up and advanced upon Stubbs,
+threateningly.
+
+"Say!" he exclaimed; "what do you mean by using your head as a battering
+ram on me?"
+
+"I told you to keep away," returned Stubbs.
+
+"I know you did; but that's no sign you should try to kill me. I wasn't
+going to hurt you."
+
+"Maybe not," said Stubbs, "but I wasn't going to take any more chances.
+Now you keep away from me."
+
+"Oh, Chester won't hurt you," said Hal, with a laugh. "You treated him
+just right, Stubbs. He's got no kick coming."
+
+"No, that's right, Stubbs," said Chester, with a grin. "No hard feelings,
+I'm sure. You're all right. Put her there."
+
+The lad extended a hand. Stubbs advanced doubtfully, but at last grasped
+Chester's hand.
+
+Immediately he began to dance about wildly, shouting:
+
+"Leggo! Leggo my hand! Ouch!"
+
+At last Chester relaxed his grip.
+
+"That makes it square all around, Stubbs," he said with a grin.
+
+For a moment Stubbs gazed at him angrily, the while he worked his fingers
+back and fro to chase away the stiffness. Then he smiled.
+
+"All right," he said. "Now we're square."
+
+"Where you bound, Stubbs?" asked Hal.
+
+"Hunting news," returned Stubbs.
+
+"By Jove!" said Chester. "Why not take him along with us, Hal?"
+
+"Suits me," was Hal's answer, "if he wants to go."
+
+"Where you going?" demanded Stubbs.
+
+"Sailing," returned Chester. "Sailing over the German lines. Want to
+go along?"
+
+"Not me," said Stubbs, briefly.
+
+"Come now, Stubbs, don't be afraid. Nothing is going to hurt you, and we
+might need you."
+
+"That's what I thought," said Stubbs. "I knew there was some reason you
+wanted me to go along. I knew you didn't just want to take me along to
+show me the sights. Want me to stand in the gap when the trouble comes
+up. I know you."
+
+"I assure you I had no such thoughts."
+
+"Well, maybe you didn't have them, but that is what would happen all
+the same."
+
+"Stubbs," said Hal, quietly. "It's my belief that you're afraid."
+
+"Hal," said Stubbs, "you can bet your life I'm afraid to go up in the air
+with you two."
+
+"Come on, Stubbs," said Chester, seriously. "Honestly, we would be glad
+of your company. We haven't seen much of you for some time."
+
+"I know you haven't," returned Stubbs, "and that's why my health
+happens to be so good right now. But what are you going to do over the
+German lines?"
+
+"Get the lay of the land," said Hal. "Find out the German strength and a
+few other things, if possible."
+
+"Hm-m-m," muttered Stubbs. "Ought to be some news for the _Gazette_ over
+there, don't you think?"
+
+"Lots of it, Stubbs," replied Chester.
+
+"The only trouble," said Stubbs, "is that if I go after it, will I be
+able to come back and tell the _Gazette_ about it?"
+
+"If you don't mind, Mr. Stubbs," said Hal, "one of us will take it upon
+himself to see that the _Gazette_ gets the news."
+
+"After my job, are you?" said Stubbs, with a smile.
+
+"Well, not exactly. We just offered to help you out."
+
+"I can't see where that would do me any good. However, I guess I'll take
+you up on this bet. I might be able to learn something of importance. The
+next thing would be to get it by the censor."
+
+"Why, Stubbs," said Chester, "with your pull with General Petain, I can't
+see that you should have any trouble."
+
+"My pull, eh?" said Stubbs, with rather a sickly grin. "You two went and
+smashed my pull all to smithereens."
+
+"Oh, well," said Hal, "a newspaper man always finds a way."
+
+Stubbs looked at Hal, suspiciously.
+
+"If you're making fun of me--" he began.
+
+"Far from it, Mr. Stubbs," replied Hal. "I was just stating a fact. Why,
+you've told us that yourself."
+
+"Come, come, Stubbs," said Chester. "Are you going along or not? It's
+time to be moving."
+
+The little war correspondent made his decision.
+
+"I'll go," he said quietly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+FLYING
+
+
+"You know I don't think much of these contraptions," said Stubbs.
+
+With Hal and Chester he was flying aloft in a large army biplane. The
+little war correspondent had climbed into the machine with the same
+trepidation he always manifested when about to ascend into the air, but
+he had not spoken until the machine was a full half mile aloft and Hal
+had sent it moving swiftly toward the distant German lines.
+
+"Just sit tight and you will be all right," Chester replied.
+
+"Never fear, I'll sit tight," returned Stubbs and became silent.
+
+It was very dark aloft. Because he feared he might encounter an air craft
+of the enemy, Hal had not turned on the searchlight with which the
+machine was equipped. He had taken his bearings before making a start and
+was now trusting to his judgment of distances to guide him to the spot he
+had selected to return to the ground.
+
+This point, which Hal and Chester had decided upon after some
+deliberation, was well behind the most advanced German lines. According
+to Hal's calculations, it was possible that at the place selected there
+would be few German troops. He had figured to descend between the German
+lines. Under the cover of darkness he felt there was little to fear
+should they avoid all enemy aircraft.
+
+Accordingly, it was about an hour later when Hal reduced the speed of the
+biplane and then shut off the motor altogether. A moment later the
+machine began to glide slowly to earth.
+
+Chester, peering over the side of the aeroplane, was the first to see the
+ground below.
+
+"Land below!" he called to Hal.
+
+"Anything in sight?" asked Hal.
+
+"Not a thing. Coast seems to be perfectly clear. Trees near, too; so we
+can hide the plane, if you go almost straight down."
+
+Hal followed directions and a moment later the biplane came to rest upon
+the ground as lightly as a bird.
+
+Hal, Chester and Stubbs climbed out quickly.
+
+"Guess we had better run the machine back among the trees," said Hal.
+"Lend me a hand here."
+
+It was the work of but a few moments. Hal walked some distance away and
+surveyed the spot where the machine had been rolled. He walked around it
+on all sides.
+
+"O.K.," he said. "You wouldn't know it was there unless you happened to
+be looking for it."
+
+"Well, what now?" asked Chester.
+
+"Guess we had better don those German uniforms and prowl about a bit."
+
+"Snoop, eh," said Stubbs.
+
+"Now look here, Stubbs," said Hal, "you just keep quiet and get into this
+uniform we brought along for you."
+
+Mumbling to himself, Stubbs obeyed.
+
+Arrayed in the German uniforms--the attire of lieutenants--the three
+advanced toward where they felt sure the main German entrenchments must
+be. Hal glanced at his watch in the moonlight.
+
+"Ten o'clock," he said. "Within three hours we should have learned all we
+need to. As soon as we reach the German lines we shall separate. We'll
+meet here again at two o'clock. Is that satisfactory?"
+
+"Suits me," said Chester.
+
+"Want to lose me, do you?" grumbled Stubbs. "Never mind, though. I'll be
+here by the time you are."
+
+"Pick up every scrap of information possible," Hal enjoined his
+companions. "Don't take the trouble to write it down. Just impress it on
+your memory."
+
+The others nodded their understanding.
+
+The three came now upon a light in the distance.
+
+"Germans ahead, I guess," Chester whispered. "Careful and let all further
+conversation be in German."
+
+The lad was right. Advancing two hundred yards farther, the three friends
+came upon the outlying sections of the big German camp. Sentinels moved
+about in the darkness, their forms lighted up now and then by the flare
+of campfires--for the night was very cold.
+
+Once they were challenged by a sentry, but when the man looked at their
+uniforms in the moonlight, he lowered his rifle and passed on.
+
+"I'll go straight ahead," said Chester in a low voice. "Hal, you go north
+and let Stubbs go south."
+
+And thus it was arranged without further talk. The three friends
+separated.
+
+Walking between the rows of German tents, Chester, after perhaps half an
+hour, was arrested by the sound of voices in a tent that seemed, in the
+darkness, to be much larger than the ones which surrounded it. He paused
+and listened attentively.
+
+"Then everything is in readiness," came a voice.
+
+"Everything. When the French see that we have weakened our lines on the
+left wing, they naturally will press forward in masses. The pressure on
+the right wing probably will be lessened. Also in the center. General
+Petain, in all probabilities, will seek to take advantage of what he will
+believe is our carelessness."
+
+"And then?" asked the first voice.
+
+"Why, then we shall push forward in the center and on the right,
+leaving enough men on the left to make a show of force. Taken at a
+disadvantage, the French will be cut off on our left, and our center,
+sweeping around, suddenly, will envelop them. As I estimate it, the
+French wing, which will be thus enveloped, will be 100,000 strong. It
+will be a telling blow."
+
+Chester, while this conversation was in progress, had shrunk close up
+against the tent. Now, thinking to gain a view of the occupants, he
+drew his knife from his pocket and made a little slit in the canvas.
+To this opening he applied his eye; and then gave an exclamation under
+his breath.
+
+In the center of the group of officers in the tent was none other than
+the German Crown Prince, the directing head of the German attack on
+Verdun, and son of the Emperor himself.
+
+The conversation continued and the lad stored up mentally the knowledge
+he gained by listening to the conversation.
+
+The gathering within now seemed about to break up; but Chester delayed in
+his precarious position, thinking to gather every possible iota of
+information. And this almost proved his undoing.
+
+Although Chester did not know it, one of the German officers had, for
+some moments, been gazing at the little slit in the tent made by the
+point of Chester's knife. Now, with a murmured apology to the other
+officers, he strode from the tent. Chester still had his eyes glued to
+the opening and did not hear soft footsteps behind him.
+
+A harsh voice sounded in the lad's ear.
+
+"Get up from there!"
+
+Chester did not lose his nerve, although he realized immediately that he
+was in a ticklish position, indeed. His hand reached for his pocket as he
+rose slowly to his feet.
+
+But one glance at the figure that confronted him told the lad that it
+would be useless for him to attempt to draw his revolver; for the
+German held a pistol in a steady hand and it was levelled straight at
+Chester's head.
+
+"What are you doing here?" was the officer's next question.
+
+"Why, I heard voices," said Chester, "and I thought I would see what was
+going on."
+
+"Curiosity has got a man into trouble many a time," said the German
+quietly. "March on ahead of me."
+
+There was nothing for it but to obey. Under the muzzle of the German
+officer's revolver, Chester was marched around to the front of the tent
+and then inside.
+
+"Hello!" It was the Crown Prince who spoke. "What have we here?"
+
+"I caught this man eavesdropping outside the tent," replied the man who
+had captured Chester.
+
+"So!" said the Crown Prince in an angry tone. He whirled upon Chester.
+"And what were you doing there, sir?" he asked.
+
+"I--why, I--" Chester stammered.
+
+The lad was thankful in that minute for his German uniform; though he
+knew it probably would go hard with him anyhow, he believed that the fact
+that he was, ostensibly, a German lieutenant would give him more time;
+possibly it would give Hal enough time to find and rescue him. At least,
+it would preclude a search for more possible French spies.
+
+"To what regiment are you attached?" asked the Crown Prince.
+
+Chester took a long chance.
+
+"Fortieth Hussars, sir," he replied quietly.
+
+"Then what are you doing here?" demanded the Crown Prince, but continued
+without giving Chester time to reply: "Surely you know the penalty of
+such actions?"
+
+"All I can say, sir," the lad declared, "is that my curiosity
+overcame me."
+
+For a moment it seemed that the face of the Crown Prince softened. Then
+it became stern again.
+
+"I can see that you are little more than a boy," he said, "but that is no
+excuse. You are a soldier and you know a soldier's duty. That is not
+prying into the business of your superiors." He turned to the group of
+officers. "What do you say, sirs," he said, "shall I have this man court
+martialed, or shall I have him returned to his regiment with a warning?"
+
+But there was no mercy on the faces of the others and Chester
+realized it.
+
+"He should be court martialed and shot," said one.
+
+"I agree with you," said another.
+
+"I'm not so sure," said the Crown Prince. "The lad is young. How do I
+know what I would have done in his place? No; I am tempted to have him
+returned to his regiment and placed under arrest indefinitely."
+
+"Lieutenant Hollsein, I shall leave this man in your charge. See that he
+is returned to his regiment immediately."
+
+Chester breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that he was still in a
+perilous situation, for when he should be taken to the commander of the
+Fortieth Hussars, his deception must be learned. But at least it gave him
+more time.
+
+But Chester's sigh of relief came too soon.
+
+"Hold on!" said one of the German officers. "This man is no German!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+STUBBS AS A STRATEGIST
+
+
+Anthony Stubbs, after leaving Hal and Chester, pushed off to the south
+slowly, absolutely unconscious of the adventures that were to come his
+way. Mindful of the fact that there was a certain degree of safety in the
+German uniform he wore, and rather proud of himself thus attired, Stubbs
+walked on more boldly than he would have done otherwise.
+
+And thus it was that, without warning, he walked suddenly into the midst
+of a group of German officers who sat about a campfire a short distance
+from where he had left his two young friends.
+
+Stubbs pulled up suddenly and would have drawn back had not one of the
+German officers sprung suddenly to his feet.
+
+"Here, Hans, is another man now!" exclaimed the officer. "A moment ago
+you were bemoaning the fact that there was not another man to take a hand
+in a game of cards. Here is one come in answer to your prayers."
+
+Two other German officers sprang to their feet.
+
+"Four of us; that's enough," said one. He turned to Stubbs. "What
+do you say?"
+
+"Say to what?" asked Stubbs, bravely.
+
+"A game of cards."
+
+"What kind of a game of cards?"
+
+"An American game," was the reply. "Hans learned it when he was in the
+United States and has taught us something about it. It's called poker."
+
+"I've played it," said Stubbs.
+
+"Good! Then you will join us?"
+
+"I should be elsewhere," said Stubbs, hesitatingly.
+
+Be it known that Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent of the New York
+_Gazette_, had, in his day, liked to play a game of poker, whether it was
+right or whether it was wrong. Even to this day the lure of the game
+held, and in spite of the danger such a game entailed, Stubbs was not
+loath to play. Besides, the little man bethought himself that while the
+game was in progress he might learn something of value, so he said:
+
+"All right. I'll play."
+
+The man called Hans now sprang to his feet.
+
+"I want to warn you," he said, "that I am extremely lucky at this game."
+
+"Well, I used to be fairly lucky myself," said Stubbs. To himself
+he said: "Whoever heard of a German trying to play the American
+game of poker?"
+
+The man called Hans now led the way to his quarters, where he produced a
+table, chairs and a pack of cards. The four men ranged themselves around
+the table.
+
+As the game progressed there was considerable talk of the status of the
+opposing armies and Stubbs gained much information that he felt would be
+of use. As time passed other officers dropped in to witness the game; and
+chancing to look over his shoulder, Stubbs was startled to see the face
+of Hal. He gave a slight start, but quickly covered this up as he saw a
+look of annoyance on Hal's face.
+
+"Hal objects to my gambling, I guess," Stubbs muttered to himself. "But
+what do I care? I'm glad to gather in a few German coins. Fortunate that
+I had some in my pocket."
+
+The manner in which Hal came to be in the tent was very simple. He had
+walked north for some distance, and finding nothing that would prove of
+value, he had turned back. He had been attracted by the sound of
+conversation and had joined the group of German officers near the tent
+where the game of poker was in progress. When one of the officers had
+suggested going in and watching the game Hal had acquiesced. That is how
+he found himself standing behind Stubbs and scanning the latter's cards.
+
+At that moment Stubbs had lost a hand to the man called Hans. Stubbs was
+considerably nettled, for he felt sure he should have won. He turned an
+eye on Hal, who stood directly behind him.
+
+"Don't stand behind me," the little man snapped.
+
+"What's the matter?" demanded Hal. "Superstitious?"
+
+"Yes, if you want to call it that," Stubbs answered.
+
+Hal shifted his position slightly.
+
+Again Stubbs scanned a hand that he felt sure would win. Hans was the
+dealer. As he drew two more cards, Stubbs suddenly gave a start. He had
+seen Hans slip a card from his sleeve.
+
+Now Stubbs was not a fighter. He had shown that on more than one
+occasion. But the little man objected to being imposed upon. Also he had
+always stood for a square deal in a friendly game of cards. He had proven
+that more than once in his younger days. And now, seeing the man called
+Hans cheating made Stubbs' blood boil.
+
+Quietly he leaned across the table and spoke.
+
+"You," he said, shaking his forefinger in the man's face, "no wonder you
+say you are lucky."
+
+"Why, what do you mean?" demanded Hans, his face turning pale, for he
+well realized the import of Stubbs' words.
+
+"I mean," said Stubbs, and at that moment his hand dropped to his
+revolver butt, "I mean that you are a cheat!"
+
+Stubbs produced his revolver and levelled it straight at Hans. Then he
+swept the circle of surprised faces about him with his eyes.
+
+"Sir!" exclaimed Hans, "I demand an apology for those words."
+
+"Well, you won't get it," returned Stubbs, decisively. He turned to the
+man next to Hans. "Reach up his sleeve there," he said, "and if you
+don't find a card or two I'll make you a present of all the money I have
+in my pocket."
+
+Surprised, the other obeyed and the result vindicated Stubbs. Two cards
+fluttered from Hans' sleeve. Stubbs got to his feet.
+
+"You see, gentlemen," he said, "with what kind of a man you have been
+playing. No wonder he calls himself lucky."
+
+The others were very angry. Seeing that the matter would be taken out of
+his hands, Stubbs restored his revolver to its place.
+
+Hans stood up.
+
+"If you think I have cheated," he said, "you are welcome to all the money
+I have won. As for you," he turned on Stubbs, "you shall die!"
+
+A revolver appeared in his hand as if by magic and Stubbs shrank back.
+
+But before the man could fire Hal leaped quickly forward and struck up
+the weapon.
+
+"You are not only a cheat but a coward!" said the lad quietly.
+
+"And who are you?" screamed Hans, now beside himself with rage. "What
+have you to do with this?"
+
+"Nothing more than to prevent murder," replied Hal.
+
+Now the other German officers took a hand in the trouble.
+
+"Lieutenant Darnhart," said one. "I wish you never to speak to me again."
+
+"Nor to me," from the other man who had taken part in the game, and
+added: "If you are wise, you will know what to do."
+
+For a moment Hans gazed at them hardly knowing what to say. Then, slowly,
+he emptied the contents of his pockets upon the table.
+
+"You are right, gentlemen," he said quietly. "I have cheated. Therefore,
+this money belongs to you. And do not fear that I do not know what to do.
+The honor of the regiment shall be kept clean."
+
+With that he bowed low to the others and stalked from the tent.
+The others stood stiffly erect until he had disappeared; then
+turned to Stubbs.
+
+"We have to thank you, sir," said one, "for opening our eyes. Long we
+have wondered why Darnhart was so lucky, why he always arose from the
+game the only winner. Now we know."
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I used to play considerably when I lived in the
+United States, and for that reason, I guess, I was on my guard."
+
+"At all events," said the second German, "you have done us a service and
+we wish to thank you."
+
+"Why, that's all right," said Stubbs. "I am sure either of you would have
+done the same thing under the circumstances. And with your permission, I
+shall leave you now."
+
+The others bowed and Stubbs turned toward the door.
+
+"If you will wait a moment, sir, I shall accompany you," said a voice.
+
+It was Hal who spoke and Stubbs waited obediently.
+
+"First," said Hal, "I have something else to do." He addressed the
+Germans: "Which of you is upon the staff of General Ludwig?"
+
+"Why, I am," said one of the men, stepping forward.
+
+"Good!" said Hal. "I would have spoken sooner, but I was absorbed in the
+game. I did not remember your name, but I was sent for you. Will you
+follow me?"
+
+The German nodded his head.
+
+"Very well," said Hal. "Come."
+
+He led the way from the tent and the German and Stubbs followed. The
+latter was astonished at Hal's words, but he did not show his surprise in
+his actions. He walked after the others without a word.
+
+"Something up," he muttered to himself. "I guess I had better keep my
+gun handy."
+
+Outside, they walked along slowly.
+
+Five minutes later, when they reached a place that was somewhat
+secluded, Hal suddenly produced his revolver and pressed it against the
+German's head.
+
+"You will give me immediately what papers you have in your pockets,"
+the lad said quietly. "If you make an outcry I shall be compelled to
+shoot you."
+
+The German stared aghast.
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
+
+"It means that I must have whatever papers you possess," said Hal,
+calmly, "even if I have to shoot you to get them."
+
+"Ah!" cried the German, "I see! A spy!"
+
+He made a move as though to seize Hal, but the lad was too quick for him.
+
+With his left hand he grabbed the German's elbow in a tight grip and
+squeezed. Then, even before the man had time to cry out, the lad released
+his hold, reversed his revolver quickly and brought the butt down on the
+German's head with all his force.
+
+The man crumpled up without a word and lay still.
+
+Stubbs, who had witnessed this proceeding in open-eyed wonder, now
+uttered an exclamation.
+
+"What are you doing? Trying to get us both killed?" he demanded.
+
+Hal did not reply. Stooping over the prostrate German he ran his hand
+quickly through the man's pockets. Then he straightened up, and by the
+soft light of the moon, ran through the papers hurriedly. He gave an
+exclamation of satisfaction.
+
+"I thought I should find something," he muttered. "Come on now,
+Stubbs!" he said.
+
+The little war correspondent hurried after him without another word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+IN GRAVE PERIL
+
+
+Chester's sigh of relief almost choked in his throat. But he determined
+to brave out the situation as well as he could.
+
+"No," exclaimed the man who had spoken, "this boy is no German!"
+
+Even the Crown Prince was surprised.
+
+"Not a German!" he exclaimed. "Then what is he? A--"
+
+"A spy!" the other concluded for him.
+
+"Impossible!" declared the Crown Prince. "How could there be a spy
+among us?"
+
+"Well, he's here. Surely you can look at the boy and tell he is not
+a German."
+
+The Crown Prince approached Chester and scrutinized him closely.
+
+"Who are you?" he demanded at length.
+
+"I have told you, sir," replied Chester, quietly.
+
+"But you have not told the truth," was the Crown Prince's reply. "I can
+see you are not French. Are you British?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then what?"
+
+"Well," said Chester, at length, realizing that subterfuge was useless,
+"I am an American."
+
+"With the French army, eh?" said the Crown Prince.
+
+Chester did not reply. He could see no reason for incriminating himself,
+though he realized, too, that it made no particular difference whether he
+replied or remained silent. He was convicted either way.
+
+"You don't answer," exclaimed the Crown Prince. "That is evidence
+sufficient of your guilt."
+
+Chester shrugged his shoulders. The Crown Prince eyed him angrily.
+
+"You are one of these indifferent ones, are you?" he said. "Well, we know
+how to cure that. Do you realize what is in store for you?"
+
+"Perfectly," replied Chester. "The firing squad."
+
+"No; you are wrong," was the Crown Prince's answer. "The firing squad
+is too good for spies. You have been captured within our lines in
+disguise; therefore, there can be no doubt that you are a spy. You
+shall be hanged."
+
+Chester took a step backward. He had realized what his fate would be
+should he fall into the hands of the enemy, but this was more than he had
+bargained for. And at that moment there seemed little possibility that
+Hal would find and be able to rescue him.
+
+"Looks like the end of my rope," the lad muttered.
+
+He made no reply to the Crown Prince's words. He knew a reply would
+be useless.
+
+"So you decline to talk?" said the Crown Prince. "Well, it matters not."
+He motioned to one of his staff. "See that this prisoner is hanged by the
+neck at sunrise," he said.
+
+The officer saluted and motioned to Chester to precede him from the tent.
+There was nothing for it but to obey and the lad walked out.
+
+Now it happened that in some unaccountable manner the Germans had
+neglected to relieve Chester of his revolvers. The lad's right hand
+rested upon the weapon in his belt. But he was unable at this moment to
+draw with any degree of hope, for the German officer was directly behind
+him and Chester knew he would be shot down before he could turn and fire.
+Also, should he succeed in gaining the drop on the German by a quick
+move, he was in the very heart of the German camp and the sound of a shot
+would bring a thousand men on his heels.
+
+The lad bided his time.
+
+Perhaps half a mile from the quarters of the German Crown Prince,
+Chester's captor motioned him into a tent. Chester entered without a
+word. What hopes he might have had of suddenly flashing his revolver on
+his captor disappeared, for the man entered close behind him.
+
+He clapped his hands.
+
+A moment later a second officer appeared in the tent and stood at
+attention.
+
+"Call a guard of four men and have this tent surrounded," instructed
+Chester's captor.
+
+The man saluted and left the tent. He was back within a few moments,
+however, and saluting said:
+
+"The tent is surrounded, sir."
+
+"Very well," said Chester's captor. "You may go."
+
+Again the man left the tent; then Chester's captor said:
+
+"Now, I guess you will be safe here until morning; after that you will be
+safe for all time."
+
+"Thanks," said Chester, dryly.
+
+The German left the tent.
+
+Chester now took stock of his surroundings. Outside he could hear his
+guards pacing up and down.
+
+"If I could get one of them in here at a time," the lad told himself,
+"perhaps I could dispose of them. I'll try it."
+
+Approaching the entrance, he poked his head out.
+
+"Get back inside there," a gruff voice exclaimed, and Chester beheld a
+large German soldier with his rifle pointed squarely at his head.
+
+"Look here," said Chester. "I want a drink of water."
+
+"Get back inside," was the sharp reply. "I'll get it for you."
+
+Chester moved back in the tent. Five minutes later the German soldier
+stuck his head inside.
+
+"Here's your water," he said, holding forth a tin cup.
+
+Chester's right hand rested on his belt as he extended his left to take
+the cup. The German had lowered his gun at that moment; and he paid
+dearly for his carelessness.
+
+Chester made a sudden movement and the cup of water went clattering to
+the ground. At the same moment Chester brought the butt of his revolver
+down on the head of the German soldier with a crunch. The man fell to
+the ground.
+
+Hastily now Chester seized the man by the feet and dragged him inside.
+Then the lad quickly stripped him of his clothes and donned them himself.
+They were large, but Chester made them fit by turning up the trousers and
+drawing his belt tight. Then he picked up the German's gun and stepped
+from the tent.
+
+The lad had intended to move away from the tent immediately, but even as
+he would have walked off a second of the guards approached and engaged
+him in conversation. Chester muffled his voice as well as possible and
+imitated the hoarse tones of the man he had disposed of.
+
+"Nice night," said the German.
+
+"Nice night," Chester agreed.
+
+"What is to be done with the prisoner inside?"
+
+"Hang him in the morning," said Chester.
+
+"Good! It's the way all spies should be treated."
+
+"Of course; unless they chance to be German spies."
+
+"That's different," muttered the guard.
+
+"Of course it is," Chester agreed and added: "You'd better get back to
+your place. The prisoner might escape under your nose."
+
+"Not much chance," was the reply. "I wouldn't care if he did try, though.
+I'd like to have a shot at him."
+
+"Nice pleasant sort of a customer," Chester muttered to himself. Aloud,
+he said: "Well, I was just giving you a word of warning. You can't tell
+about these fellows. They're pretty slippery customers."
+
+"Well, this one won't slip out of our clutches," declared the guard. "I
+wonder if I hadn't better go in and have a look at him?"
+
+"Can't be done," said Chester. "My instructions are to let no one pass."
+
+"So are mine, but what has that to do with it?"
+
+"A whole lot. I'm on guard in front here and I say you can't go in."
+
+"Come now, be a good fellow, I want to have a look at the prisoner."
+
+"Can't be done," returned Chester.
+
+"You are a deucedly uncivil sort of a fellow," said the guard. "I don't
+seem to know you. What's your name?"
+
+"None of your business," returned Chester.
+
+"Is that so? Suppose I make it some of my business," and the guard took a
+threatening step forward.
+
+"You'll be sorry, that's all."
+
+"Think so, do you? Let me tell you something. I'm going to hunt you up in
+the morning and have it out with you."
+
+"All right," said Chester. "You can suit yourself about that. But wait
+until morning. Remember we're guarding this prisoner now."
+
+"Well, I've a notion to settle with you right now, prisoner or no
+prisoner. I don't like you."
+
+"To tell the truth, I don't think a whole lot of you," said Chester. "I
+would a great deal rather be without your company. You had better get
+back where you belong."
+
+"Think so, do you? Well, I'll show you."
+
+With these words the German guard forgot all about the prisoner
+supposed to be inside and everything else save that he wanted to get at
+Chester. He dropped his rifle with a clatter and struck at Chester with
+his right fist.
+
+"Well, if you must have it," Chester muttered to himself.
+
+He, too, dropped his gun and his right fist shot forth. The German
+staggered back with a grunt; but Chester's blow had not reached a vital
+spot and the guard leaped forward again.
+
+This time Chester timed his blow a little more carefully.
+
+"Smack!"
+
+The lad's fist landed flush on the guard's jaw. The man rolled over
+like a log.
+
+Chester looked around quickly.
+
+"Now to get out of this," he muttered.
+
+He picked up his rifle and turned to move away. But even as he would have
+started the sound of hurrying footsteps halted him; and he began to pace
+up and down in front of the tent.
+
+Two figures dashed toward him; behind them came the sound of shots.
+
+"Hello!" said Chester to himself. "More trouble in camp. Wonder
+what's up now?"
+
+The answer was to come sooner than he could have expected. As the two
+figures came closer, other figures appeared in the distance. There came
+the sound of revolver shots.
+
+"This way!" cried a voice.
+
+Chester raised his rifle, ready to take a hand in the proceedings himself
+should the occasion demand.
+
+"This thing is getting rather complicated," he told himself.
+
+The two approaching figures came closer rapidly. Chester gave an
+exclamation of pure astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
+
+
+When Hal and Stubbs took to their heels after the former had relieved the
+German officer of his papers, they had run some distance before coming
+across anyone in the darkness. Then they came upon another figure so
+suddenly that it almost resulted in their capture.
+
+Hal, in the lead, had been just about to slacken his pace, when, rounding
+a corner suddenly, he had crashed into a form in the night. The two went
+down in a heap; and Stubbs, turning a moment later, had stumbled over the
+pair of struggling forms before he could check himself. In a moment he
+found himself mixed up in the struggling mass.
+
+A fist struck Stubbs squarely upon the nose.
+
+"Hey! Quit that," said Stubbs, and struck out with his right.
+
+This blow came almost ending the fight right there and in a manner not at
+all advantageous to Stubbs and Hal. In the darkness the little war
+correspondent had been unable to distinguish friend from foe and his fist
+caught Hal just above the right eye.
+
+Now Anthony Stubbs had considerable power in his right arm and for a
+moment Hal was dazed by the blow. Before he could clear his head, his
+opponent had struck him a heavy blow on the other side of the neck and
+leaped to his feet.
+
+At that instant Stubbs realized what he had done and a sickening
+sensation struck him in the pit of the stomach; but the little man
+determined to give the best that was in him to undo his work.
+
+With an angry bellow he charged his German opponent. The latter stepped
+back a pace and sought to draw his revolver, but Stubbs was too quick
+for him. Almost at the moment that Stubbs crashed into his foe he
+lowered his head, as would a steer, and his head caught the German in
+the region of the belt.
+
+Came a gasp from the German as he doubled up and collapsed. He rolled
+over upon the ground several times in a vain attempt to gain his breath;
+then lay still.
+
+The victory was with Stubbs!
+
+Hal had now regained consciousness and sat up just in time to see the
+effect of Stubbs' charge.
+
+"Good work, Stubbs!" the lad cried. "Now lend me a hand and we'll get
+away from here!"
+
+Stubbs did as requested and a moment later Hal was on his feet. The lad
+felt the bump over his eye tenderly.
+
+"Stubbs," he said, "it was rather dark and we were so mixed up on the
+ground that I couldn't see, but I would be willing to wager a whole lot
+that it wasn't a German who gave me this crack over the eye. Now was it?"
+
+"Well," said Stubbs, "I--I--"
+
+"Just as I thought," declared Hal. "So you tried to do me up as well as
+the German, eh?"
+
+"It was an accident," declared Stubbs. "You know I wouldn't have done it
+on purpose, Hal."
+
+"It came very near being a costly accident, Stubbs. Suppose the German
+had laid you out? Then what? We would have been nabbed, sure."
+
+"I'll be more careful next time," said Stubbs, apologetically.
+
+"You won't have to be," said Hal. "Next time I'm going to get in the
+first blow. Then we'll see how you like it. But come. We must be moving
+away from here. See. The German is regaining consciousness. I don't want
+to kill him, and we mustn't be here when he comes to. Come now."
+
+Hal led the way rapidly along the row of tents.
+
+"Looks as though we should be safe enough now," the lad said, after they
+had walked for perhaps fifteen minutes.
+
+The lad produced his watch, and by the soft light of the moon, took note
+of the time.
+
+"By Jove! half past one o'clock," he said. "We shall have to hurry back
+or Chester will be worried."
+
+"Let's hope Chester will be there when we arrive," said Stubbs.
+
+"Oh, he'll be there, all right. Come on."
+
+"Say," said Stubbs as they walked along, "what I want to know is how you
+knew the German officer you knocked down had any valuable papers?"
+
+"That's easy," was Hal's response. "Before entering the tent where your
+little game was in progress, I overheard one of the officers without
+mention the fact that an aide of General Ludwig's was in the tent and
+that he carried important papers. The rest was very simple."
+
+"I see," said Stubbs. "Now what--look there, Hal."
+
+The little man broke off suddenly and pointed directly ahead. Advancing
+toward them were perhaps a dozen German soldiers, with an officer at
+their head.
+
+"We'll have to get out of the way," said Hal, quietly. "We haven't time
+to answer questions now."
+
+He turned between the rows of tents and hurried on, with Stubbs close
+behind him. And from the German officer came the command to halt.
+
+Instead, Hal increased his speed and a moment later he and Stubbs were
+running quietly between the rows of German tents. Behind came the sound
+of pursuing footsteps.
+
+"We're in for it now, Stubbs," panted Hal. "I was a fool to run. They
+know now that there is something wrong and they won't rest until they
+have scoured the entire camp."
+
+"Then we are done for!" exclaimed Anthony Stubbs.
+
+"Not yet!" replied Hal. "While there's life there's hope. Never say
+die, Stubbs."
+
+The little man did not reply. He saved all the breath he had left for
+running purposes, for he felt that he was likely to have to run the rest
+of the night.
+
+Suddenly, making another short turn, Hal pulled up. Stubbs did likewise
+and both listened attentively.
+
+The footsteps were some distance back.
+
+"We've gained a bit, Stubbs," said Hal.
+
+"Well, what's the use of waiting here then?" demanded the war
+correspondent. "Let's gain a bit more."
+
+"Hold on!" exclaimed Hal, as Stubbs would have taken to his heels again.
+"We can't run clear through the German camp like this, you know. We're
+bound to be caught if we try it. It must be strategy rather than
+fleetness of foot if we hope to get out of this situation safely."
+
+"All right," Stubbs agreed. "Whatever you say suits me. But if it is
+strategy that is going to get us out of this, tell me some strategy
+real quick."
+
+Hal considered a moment. Every second the pursuing footsteps were coming
+closer. Stubbs squirmed about uneasily.
+
+"Say," he said at last; "hear those fellows coming? I'm going to get away
+from here."
+
+Again he took to his heels; and there was nothing for Hal to do but
+follow, for he did not wish to lose sight of the little man. Besides, in
+that moment's pause, Hal had decided upon a plan that he believed had a
+fair chance of success.
+
+For perhaps five minutes more they ran on, Hal fearful at every moment
+that German soldiers would pour from their tents and interrupt their
+flight. Fortunately, this did not happen, however.
+
+Hal, fleet of foot as he was, was hard pressed to catch up with
+Stubbs, who had gained a slight lead and was covering the ground with
+rapid strides. But at last the lad overtook him and laid a hand on
+his shoulder.
+
+"Slow down, there," he commanded. "First thing you know you'll have the
+whole camp after us. Those shoes of yours must be at least number
+elevens. They shake the whole earth when you run."
+
+"Well, they have come in pretty handy to-night," said Stubbs. "What are
+you stopping here for?"
+
+"Because I don't want to arouse every German in the camp. I'll tell you
+about that strategy now."
+
+"Well, let's hear it real quick," said Stubbs, impatiently. "I want to
+get away from here."
+
+"So do I," said Hal, "but I want to get away all in one piece. Here's
+my plan: We can't hope to get away by running. Sooner or later, before
+we are clear of the German lines, we are certain to bump into some one.
+That would settle it. We'll go ahead a little more, then we'll enter
+one of these tents, tap the occupants on the head with our revolver
+butts and crawl into their cots. Then when our pursuers have gone by
+we'll go back."
+
+"By Jove!" said Stubbs, "that's not half bad. Wonder why I can't think of
+things like that?"
+
+"Because you're too busy running," returned Hal.
+
+The first of the pursuers came into sight at that moment and uttered a
+cry. This told the others following that the prey had been sighted and
+they dashed forward.
+
+"Come as fast as you can, Stubbs," shouted Hal. "We've got to get out
+of sight."
+
+In the distance Hal saw a solitary figure standing before a tent. He knew
+that this figure had seen him and decided that the man must be disposed
+of before he could give the alarm, Therefore, he headed straight for him.
+
+As he ran, Hal expected every moment that the figure before the tent
+would open fire on him and his own revolver was held ready should the
+man's first shot go wild. Hal did not wish to fire if he could
+possibly avoid it.
+
+Close behind Hal, Stubbs panted and puffed along. Once Hal was forced to
+reduce his speed in order that Stubbs might keep up with him. The little
+man was doing his best, but his short legs were not built to maintain a
+pace that Hal could set. Besides, he had long since lost his youthfulness
+and he could not run as he had done in his earlier days.
+
+"I can't go much farther, Hal," he gasped.
+
+"Just a little ways, Stubbs," Hal urged him on. "See that man in the tent
+there? That's where we'll hide. I'll knock him out if he doesn't get me
+first. The fool! He is taking a long chance. He should fire."
+
+At that moment there came a fusillade of shots from behind.
+
+In his anxiousness to get the man in the door of the tent out of the way,
+Hal had continued a straight course longer than he had realized; and this
+had allowed the pursuers to come within sight again. There was nothing to
+do but make the best of it now.
+
+Hal dashed straight for the figure in the tent.
+
+Drawing close, Hal raised his revolver, reversed, and held it ready to
+bring down on the figure's head the moment they should come together.
+There was a sudden exclamation from the figure in the tent; and with it
+Hal dropped his arm; the exclamation was a single word:
+
+"Hal!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+A HARD BLOW TO THE ENEMY
+
+
+It was the voice of Chester.
+
+Hal stopped abruptly. Stubbs also panted up and came to a halt.
+
+"What on earth are you doing here, Chester?" asked Hal.
+
+For answer Chester pointed to the men who were pursuing his friends.
+
+"Are those fellows after you?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," was Hal's answer.
+
+"Then let's get away from here," said Chester. "Come on."
+
+He took to his heels and Hal and Stubbs followed him. Gaining his
+friend's side, Hal, in a few quick words, explained his plan as he had
+outlined it to Stubbs only a few moments before.
+
+"Then we shall have to get out of sight of our pursuers," said Chester.
+"Come, Stubbs," he called back over his shoulder, "a little spurt now and
+we shall be safe."
+
+Stubbs tried to respond to this command; and he did succeed in getting up
+a little more speed as he turned about a tent after Hal and Chester.
+Twice more the three doubled on their tracks and then Hal pulled up
+before a tent.
+
+"This will do as well as another, I guess," he said.
+
+"Waste no time," said Chester. "Revolvers ready and come on."
+
+With weapons reversed the three entered the tent quietly. Deep snores
+within led the friends to the cots of the occupants of the tent.
+
+"I hate to do this," said Chester, as he stood over a German soldier,
+"but there is no help for it."
+
+His arm rose and fell.
+
+Across the tent Hal performed a similar operation. Then they explored
+carefully in the darkness for signs of another figure.
+
+There was none.
+
+"Only two cots, Hal," whispered Chester. "Now let's get to bed until
+things have quieted down."
+
+Quickly the three threw off their clothes and clambered into the cots,
+first throwing the men they had overcome beneath them. Stubbs had a cot
+to himself, while Hal and Chester climbed in together.
+
+"When they fail to find trace of us they likely will come back and ask if
+we have been seen," said Hal. "We must pretend to be asleep."
+
+A few moments later the sound of their pursuers' feet were audible as
+they passed the tent on the run. Then they died away in the distance.
+
+"Had we better wait or try to get out before they come back?"
+asked Chester.
+
+Hal was undecided, but the question was answered for him.
+
+Only a few minutes had passed when there came the sound of returning
+footsteps. The boys could hear them stop before the different tents and
+also the sound of voices. Directly a man poked his head into the tent.
+
+"Awake in here?" he asked.
+
+There was no answer.
+
+The man advanced into the tent and approached Stubbs' cot which was
+nearest the entrance. He laid a hand on Stubbs' shoulder and shook him.
+
+"Hello," said the little man sleepily. "What's the matter. Time to get
+up already?"
+
+"No," was the reply. "Have you seen anything of three men, whose
+appearance would indicate they had been running?"
+
+"I've been asleep," protested Stubbs. "I had a dream. But I guess the men
+I saw in my dreams are not the ones you want."
+
+"These are not dream men," was the response. "I thought possibly you
+might have heard them run by this tent."
+
+"No," said Stubbs, truthfully, "I didn't hear them run by this tent."
+
+"All right," said the German and withdrew.
+
+For perhaps an hour the three fugitives lay in the shelter of the German
+tent. From time to time they heard voices without but after awhile these
+died away. After there had been absolute silence without for perhaps
+fifteen minutes, Chester slipped from the cot.
+
+"May as well move, I guess," he whispered.
+
+Hal also arose.
+
+"All right," he said. "Come, Stubbs."
+
+There was no reply from Stubbs' cot. Hal walked quickly across the tent,
+laid a hand on Stubbs' shoulder and shook him vigorously.
+
+"Come, Stubbs!" he exclaimed. "Time to get out of here."
+
+Stubbs muttered something unintelligible and turned over.
+
+"By Jove! if he isn't asleep," said Chester, who came to Hal's side now.
+
+"That's what he is," agreed Hal. "Well, we've got to get him up. Grab
+hold of his feet."
+
+Chester did so and together the boys picked the little man up bodily.
+
+"I say!" said Stubbs, sleepily, "let me alone, will you? I want to sleep
+a little more."
+
+"You'll find an eternal sleep if you don't get out of here, Stubbs," said
+Hal. "Don't you know you are in a German tent and that you'll be shot if
+you're found here?"
+
+This awoke Stubbs instantly. He stood up and rubbed his eyes.
+
+"Great Scott!" he ejaculated. "How on earth did I go to sleep in a
+predicament like this?"
+
+"I don't know how you did it," returned Hal, "but you did. Come on,
+Chester, let's get out of here while we have a chance."
+
+He led the way cautiously to the door of the tent and poked his head
+carefully outside.
+
+"Coast seems to be clear," he announced. "Come on and walk quietly."
+
+The others followed him.
+
+Hal made a direct line for the place where they had hidden the large army
+aeroplane. Fortunately, the lad was blessed with an almost uncanny sense
+of direction and he knew the course he laid out would take them to the
+hiding spot of the plane as directly as if he could see the huge machine
+from where he stood.
+
+All was silence in the big camp as the lads walked cautiously along,
+stopping now and then and straining their ears for a sound that would
+indicate the presence of a watchful German sentry. No such sound came and
+the three had almost reached the outskirts of the camp when Hal, who was
+leading, stopped and pointed to an object that loomed up large in the
+darkness a short distance away.
+
+"What is it?" asked Stubbs in a hoarse whisper.
+
+"Looks to me like a place where ammunition might be stored," said Hal,
+quietly. "I shall have a look."
+
+"Let it alone, Hal," said Stubbs, anxiously. "Don't go fooling around
+there. You're likely to blow us all up."
+
+"I guess not," returned Hal, "but I wouldn't mind blowing all the
+ammunition up that the place may contain."
+
+"By Jove!" said Chester. "A good idea! I'm with you."
+
+"Well, I'm not," declared Stubbs. "I know where our aeroplane is and
+that's where I'm going right this minute. I don't know how to fly the
+thing, and if you fellows go fooling around that ammunition depot I'll
+probably have to hunt another pilot; but Anthony Stubbs is not going to
+be blown up with his eyes open when he can help it."
+
+"Better wait here, Stubbs," said Chester.
+
+"Not me," returned the little man, decisively. "You'll find me at the
+plane when you get there; or if you get there, I should say."
+
+"But there is nothing sure that the building contains ammunition," said
+Hal. "I just guessed at it, Stubbs. Come and have a look."
+
+"Oh, it contains ammunition, all right."
+
+"How do you know?" demanded Chester.
+
+"Well, if it didn't you fellows wouldn't have spied it. You call it good
+luck. I call it hard luck. I tell you that every time I go any place with
+you I risk my neck. Sure the building contains ammunition! It was put
+there for the sole purpose of having you blow it up. That's the way it
+looks to me. But I can see all the fireworks I want to from a distance.
+Good-bye."
+
+"All right, Stubbs, if you are such a coward," said Chester,
+somewhat nettled.
+
+"I'd rather be a live coward than a dead fool," was Stubbs' reply.
+
+He walked off.
+
+"Come on, Chester," said Hal. "We'll have a look at this place."
+
+He led the way close to the building. Going slowly and cautiously they
+advanced to within a short distance of the building without being
+observed, although they could see an occasional dark shape as it moved
+about in front of the building.
+
+"Guards there," said Hal, briefly.
+
+"Sure," said Chester. "I believe you have guessed right. I am sure the
+place is filled with ammunition. Now if we could just dispose of the
+guards and place a time fuse--"
+
+"It would be a hard blow to the Germans," Hal agreed. "We'll try it."
+
+Still cautiously they approached. A guard arose from in front of the
+building. He stretched his arms. Apparently he had been asleep. Then he
+sat down again.
+
+"We'll wait a minute," Hal whispered. "Perhaps he'll doze again."
+
+Fortune was with the boys. A few moments later there came the sound of a
+gentle snore. The man was asleep. Immediately the lads sprang to action.
+Quickly they dashed across the open space to the side of the large
+building, which was made of wood and seemed to be nothing more than a
+huge barn.
+
+Chester stopped beside the guard and raised his revolver. He hesitated a
+moment and then lowered the weapon.
+
+"Let him be," he muttered. "He won't be with us long anyhow."
+
+Hal, in the meantime, had been exploring the barn. Coming back he picked
+up the guard's rifle.
+
+"I can pry a board loose with this," he told Chester, in a whisper.
+
+This proved easier work than it looked. The board came loose without much
+trouble. Hal disappeared inside.
+
+"Ammunition?" Chester asked, as he poked his head in.
+
+"Yes," Hal whispered back.
+
+"Find a fuse?" asked Chester.
+
+Again Hal's reply was in the affirmative.
+
+"Stretch it out here then, and hurry," ordered Chester.
+
+Hal appeared on the outside a moment later, carrying a fuse. One end
+still remained in the barn. The other Hal carried some distance.
+
+"Guess you'd better dispose of that guard first," he said. "He might wake
+up and extinguish the fuse."
+
+It was the work of but a moment, much as Chester hated to perform it.
+
+Then Hal struck a light, shielding the match with his cap. He applied the
+match to the fuse. Then he sprang to his feet and called to Chester:
+
+"Run!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+FLIGHT
+
+
+Both lads fled through the night knowing that their lives depended upon
+it. For safety's sake it was absolutely necessary that they put as great
+a distance as possible between them and the barn.
+
+According to Hal's calculations, the spot where the aeroplane was hidden
+was far enough away so that the machine would not be disabled by the
+force of the explosion; and it was for this point that the lads made at
+full speed.
+
+They reached there safely; and still there had been no explosion.
+
+"How much time did you allow, Hal?" asked Chester.
+
+"Ten minutes, as nearly as I could judge," was the reply.
+
+"Then we still have a few minutes, I guess. Had we better wait here until
+after the blast, or shall we run out the machine and get up in the air."
+
+"We'd better stay here," returned Hal, positively, "I don't know how much
+ammunition there is in that barn. It's going to kick up a terrible fuss.
+My advice is that we lay flat on the ground, hold our ears and bury our
+faces. Immediately after the blast we'll run the machine out and get up
+as swiftly as possible."
+
+"I can imagine the effect of the explosion," said Chester.
+
+"Well, I can't," returned Hal; "nor can you. How many men it may kill,
+how many it may maim and what damage it will do cannot be estimated. But
+one thing sure, immediately afterwards every sleepy German soldier within
+fifty miles will be on the alert. The Germans will know it was not an
+accident. They will attribute the explosion to a bomb dropped from the
+air. We may have trouble reaching our lines."
+
+"I wish you hadn't done it, Hal," mumbled Stubbs, whom the lads had
+found hiding beside the aeroplane. "It will dig a hole a mile deep in
+the ground. Rocks, guns and everything will come down like hail. We may
+be killed."
+
+"Quiet, Stubbs!" ordered Hal. "Flat on the ground with you now. Hold your
+ears and bury your faces until I tell you to get up."
+
+He suited the action to the word. Chester and Stubbs followed his
+example.
+
+For long moments, it seemed to them, they waited for the sound of the
+blast that would shake the country. Each was anxious, for there was no
+telling what the result of the explosion might be. Stubbs squirmed
+uneasily as he burrowed in the ground, while Chester and Hal were by no
+means easy in their minds.
+
+So long did they wait that it seemed to Chester something must have gone
+wrong. Perhaps the fuse had gone out. Perhaps another German guard had
+discovered it in time and pinched out the fire. There were many
+possibilities, and the lad considered them all as he lay prostrate on
+the ground.
+
+He was about to raise his head and ask Hal a question, when, suddenly,
+the blast came.
+
+There was, at first, a long grumbling roar, which, it seemed, would never
+end. Gradually the roar increased until it reached such proportions as to
+be beyond all description; it was a roar the like of which neither of the
+three figures who lay there had ever heard before--probably never would
+hear again.
+
+Louder and louder it grew and then ended in a final blast that was louder
+than many thousand times the loudest peal of thunder--louder than the
+simultaneous firing of thousands of guns.
+
+Then it became suddenly quiet--so quiet that Hal, Chester and Stubbs, who
+had now leaped to their feet, felt a queer sensation hovering all about
+them; so quiet that it was, for the moment, impossible to hear.
+
+Then something descended not five yards from where the three stood with a
+terrible roar. Instinctively, all fell to the ground again, crowding
+themselves into the smallest possible space.
+
+For the rain of debris had begun. And for several minutes it continued.
+Pieces of guns, of rocks and of all objects imaginable fell upon all
+sides of the three; but, fortunately, none struck them. Then the rain of
+debris ceased.
+
+In the great German camp all was hideous confusion. Thousands of lives
+had been snuffed out by the force of the titanic blast; thousands of
+others had perished in the rain of steel and iron and rock that followed.
+It was the greatest catastrophe that had befallen the Germans for many a
+long day. The effect of the explosion was appalling.
+
+Hal's first thought after the rain of steel and iron had ceased was for
+the aeroplane. If it had been smashed they were, indeed, in a serious
+situation. If it had gone through the storm safely they were
+comparatively safe.
+
+Together the three friends rushed toward the machine. Quickly they rolled
+it out into the open. Hal examined the engine and steering apparatus
+carefully.
+
+"All right, Hal?" asked Chester, anxiously.
+
+Hal shook his head.
+
+"Something wrong with the engine."
+
+"Can you fix it?"
+
+"I haven't been able to determine just what's wrong yet."
+
+Hal worked rapidly; and at last he gave an exclamation of satisfaction.
+
+"Find it?" asked Chester.
+
+"Yes; I'll have it fixed in a quarter of an hour."
+
+"If we're not away from here in five minutes we're likely to be dead,"
+said Stubbs, plaintively.
+
+"Don't croak, Stubbs," said Chester. "We've done a good day's work and
+you should be proud to have a hand in it."
+
+"Should I?" said Stubbs. "Well, all right, if you say so; but I would be
+a whole lot more proud if I could get back and tell somebody about it."
+
+"A man deserves no particular credit for doing his duty," said
+Chester, quietly.
+
+"Maybe not," agreed Stubbs. "But I haven't done mine yet."
+
+"Why--"
+
+"My duty," said Stubbs, "is to get back to some place where I can send an
+account of this feat to the New York _Gazette_. Believe me, it will be
+some scoop."
+
+"Scoop?"
+
+"Yes. I mean no other paper will have the facts as I have them."
+
+"All right, Stubbs," said Chester. "I hope you get your scoop."
+
+"I'm going to get it," said Stubbs, excitedly, "if I have to walk over
+the body of the Kaiser himself to do it."
+
+"That's the way to talk," said Chester. "Confidence is the greatest asset
+in the world."
+
+"It's not confidence," said Stubbs. "I've just got to do it. Why, if my
+boss knew I had something like this in my hands and I didn't get it to
+him I'd lose my job."
+
+Chester made no reply to this; instead, he bent over Hal who was still
+tinkering with the engine of the aeroplane.
+
+"How are you making it?" he asked.
+
+"I don't seem to be able to fix it," returned Hal. "Say! you two fellows
+walk away a bit and keep an eye open for possible enemies. We don't want
+to be caught off our guard here."
+
+Chester and Stubbs did as Hal directed, though the latter mumbled to
+himself as he took his position some distance away.
+
+"That's the trouble with these contraptions," he said. "Always out of
+whack. If a man had a good horse now--"
+
+He broke off and continued to mumble something unintelligible to himself.
+
+"I've found it," cried Hal now, from the aeroplane. "I was working on the
+wrong part. I'll have it fixed in a jiffy."
+
+Chester made no reply, but Stubbs brightened up wonderfully.
+
+"That's the talk!" he cried. "Fix her up, Hal, and get a move on."
+
+Hal smiled to himself as he tinkered with the engine.
+
+Hal was deep in his work when his attention was attracted by a sudden cry
+of alarm from Stubbs.
+
+"Germans!" cried the little man, and without stopping to look again, he
+dashed toward Hal.
+
+At almost the same moment Chester saw a force of the enemy advancing
+toward him. He, too, uttered a cry of alarm and dashed toward the place
+where Hal still bent over the aeroplane.
+
+Stubbs danced up and down and chanted excitedly:
+
+"Hurry up, Hal! Hurry up! Here they come!"
+
+"Shut up, Stubbs!" exclaimed Hal, straining all his energies to fix the
+break in the plane. "I'll have it in a minute."
+
+"A minute will be too late!" cried Stubbs.
+
+"Be still, Stubbs!" said Chester, quietly. "Give Hal a chance. There is
+still time to run if it's necessary."
+
+And at that moment Hal sprang to his feet.
+
+"Fixed!" he cried joyfully. "Climb in here, quickly!"
+
+The others needed no urging and soon all were in their places. It was now
+that Hal thanked his stars that the plane was one of the few that could
+rise from the ground.
+
+Slowly the large army plane gathered headway as he moved along the
+ground. Hal increased the speed slowly in spite of the close proximity,
+for he realized that too great haste might spell disaster, and he wished
+to test the engine carefully before soaring into the air.
+
+"Up, Hal!" cried Stubbs. "Here they come!"
+
+Hal paid no heed to this frantic exclamation. Instead, for a moment, he
+reduced the speed of the craft as something seemed not to be working
+exactly right. Calmly he bent over the engine and tinkered with it a
+moment later. Then he sat straight and exclaimed:
+
+"All right now!"
+
+Stubbs gave a great sigh of relief.
+
+Hal increased the speed of the machine until it fairly flew over the
+ground. And then his hand touched the elevating lever.
+
+Immediately the plane soared in the air like a big bird.
+
+And from the ground came exclamations of surprise; for it was not until
+that moment that the Germans who had been advancing toward the friends
+had discovered their presence; although they had been espied by Chester
+and Stubbs some moments before.
+
+A volley of rifle bullets was fired at the rapidly rising machine.
+
+One flew by Stubbs' ear and he dropped to the bottom of the car with a
+howl of fright.
+
+A moment later, however, the machine was beyond reach of the rifles of
+the German troops, and Hal laid the craft out on a straightaway course,
+heading directly west.
+
+"Nothing can stop us now but enemy aeroplanes," he said quietly.
+
+He increased his speed. The big army plane flew toward the distant French
+lines with a speed greater than that of the fastest express train.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE END OF MATIN
+
+
+"You have done well, sirs. President Poincare shall hear of this."
+
+The speaker was General Petain. Before him stood Hal, Chester and Anthony
+Stubbs. Hal, acting as spokesman, had just concluded an account of their
+adventures within the enemy lines, a venture from which they had returned
+successfully and safely only an hour before.
+
+For, after the aeroplane had descended above the French lines and headed
+for the French positions, the journey had been without important event.
+True, there had been a brush with one enemy aircraft; but this had been
+worsted. A second, which had given chase, was distanced with ease and the
+three friends had returned to the French lines unscathed.
+
+"So!" said General Petain, "you blew up the enemy's ammunition depot, eh?
+The explosion was felt even here. We knew the foe had suffered some hard
+blow, but I had no idea that it had been delivered by your hand."
+
+Both lads flushed at the praise of General Petain. Stubbs was pleased.
+
+"Now tell me what else you did, if anything," said the general. "Did you
+get the information after which you went?"
+
+"We did, sir," returned Hal.
+
+He passed to the general the documents he had taken from the young German
+aide. General Petain scanned them carefully.
+
+"These will be invaluable to me," he said quietly.
+
+Then Chester told the French commander of the conversation he had
+overheard in the quarters of the German Crown Prince.
+
+"Now that I have escaped," the lad concluded, "it may be possible, of
+course, that the German plans will be altered."
+
+"You have done well," said the general again, "and as I have said, your
+work shall be brought to the personal attention of the President." He
+turned to Stubbs. "You, sir," he said, "are not a soldier, yet I have to
+thank you for your part in this mission."
+
+Stubbs blushed like a school boy.
+
+"I didn't do anything deserving of credit, sir," he said. "My young
+friends here were the directing heads and performed all the
+dangerous work."
+
+"Nevertheless," returned the general, "you are deserving of praise and if
+there is anything I can do for you, you have but to ask it."
+
+Stubbs hesitated. There was something he wanted very much but he did not
+know whether to make the request or not. General Petain saw the little
+man's indecision, and said with a smile:
+
+"You have something on your mind, sir. Come, out with it. Be sure it will
+be granted if it lies in my power."
+
+Still Stubbs hesitated. Chester stepped forward, smiling.
+
+"I believe I can tell you what it is, sir," he said.
+
+"Speak," said the general.
+
+"Why, sir," said Chester, "Mr. Stubbs would have your permission to send
+an account of the great explosion to his newspaper uncensored. He would
+have the people of the United States know, through his paper, of the
+severe blow the enemy has suffered."
+
+"H-m-m-m," muttered the general. "The United States will hear of the
+disaster, of course. Mr. Stubbs, with the other correspondents, will be
+allowed to file his despatches after the official report has been made."
+
+"But that's the point, sir," said Stubbs, stepping forward. "I would like
+to have my paper get the news first."
+
+"Oho! I see," exclaimed General Petain. "You want for your paper what you
+Americans' call a--a--a--"
+
+"Scoop."
+
+Chester supplied the word.
+
+"Exactly," said Stubbs.
+
+The general considered the matter for a moment. Then he threw wide his
+arms in a gesture of consent.
+
+"It shall be done," he said.
+
+"Thank you, General," said Stubbs. "Then, with your permission, I will
+retire to my own quarters to prepare my despatches."
+
+"One minute, Stubbs," said Chester. "You may perhaps remember that until
+a short time ago you shared quarters with Hal and me. We would like to
+have you come back."
+
+Stubbs grinned.
+
+"That was before the discovery of the great conspiracy," he said. "By the
+way, General, may I make so bold as to ask what has been done toward
+crushing the move?"
+
+"It has been crushed, sir," replied General Petain, quietly. "That shall
+have to suffice. And, by the way, Mr. Stubbs, I must tell you that if you
+refer to that matter in your despatches they will be strictly censored."
+
+"I shall not mention the matter, General."
+
+Stubbs bowed and took his departure, first stopping to say to Hal
+and Chester:
+
+"You'll find me back in our old quarters when you arrive."
+
+"Now, boys," said General Petain, after Stubbs had gone, "you are
+relieved of duty for the rest of the day. To-morrow morning, however, I
+shall have need of you; for to-morrow--and I am telling you something few
+know--we shall launch a new drive, basing our attacks upon the
+information which you have just now furnished me. Good-bye until
+to-morrow."
+
+The general walked to the door of the tent with the two boys and waved a
+hand to them as they turned away.
+
+"Well," said Hal, as they walked along, "we apparently have accomplished
+something worth while."
+
+"To hear the general talk you would think we had," agreed Chester, "and
+still we didn't do so much, after all."
+
+"That's what I think."
+
+"By the way," said Chester, "I'm going to hunt up Stubbs' old quarters.
+Perhaps he hasn't moved his things yet. I'll lend a hand."
+
+"All right," said Hal. "I'll go along without you. I'll probably be
+taking a nap when you reach our quarters. Don't awaken me. I'm tired."
+
+The lads parted and Hal continued on his way to his quarters.
+
+Stubbs had not yet arrived. Hal sat down on the edge of his cot to remove
+his shoes. As he did so he thought he heard a sound from behind him. He
+whirled suddenly and there, a few feet away, his revolver trained right
+upon Hal's heart, stood Matin, the French soldier who already had tried
+once to kill him.
+
+"A visitor, I see," said Hal, quietly. "You will pardon me a moment while
+I remove my shoes. That is what I started to do and when I start a thing
+I always like to finish it."
+
+"Take them off if you want to," returned Matin, grinning evilly. "You
+won't need to put them on again."
+
+"Think not?" said Hal. "You never can tell about those things, Matin."
+
+"Trying to be funny, are you?" returned Matin. "Well, go ahead. You won't
+lie funny long--not to anyone but me. I'm going to shoot you."
+
+"Don't suppose you would let me draw my own gun first, would you?"
+asked Hal.
+
+"No. What do you think I am?"
+
+"Just a coward; that's all," said Hal, quietly.
+
+"Coward, am I?" exclaimed Matin, taking a quick step forward.
+
+"Correct," replied Hal. "It's about your size to shoot a man in the
+back. I have had dealings with your kind before. You're afraid to take
+an even chance."
+
+"It's not that I'm afraid," said Matin. "It's just that I want to make
+sure. I failed twice before."
+
+"Then it was you who tried to shoot me in here one night, eh?" asked Hal.
+
+"Yes; and I would have succeeded had it not been for your friend. When I
+have disposed of you I shall settle with him also."
+
+"I don't think so, Matin."
+
+"You don't? What's to prevent me?"
+
+"Why," said Hal, "when I am through with you, you will be in no condition
+to settle with anyone. Now, if you will take my advice, you'll put that
+gun in your pocket and leave this tent."
+
+"Talk pretty big, don't you?" said Matin, with a sneer. "Well, I'll
+show you!"
+
+He raised his revolver so that the muzzle pointed squarely between Hal's
+eyes. His finger tightened on the trigger.
+
+"One moment, Matin," said Hal, quietly. "Don't you know that before you
+can pull the trigger my friend in the doorway will kill you?"
+
+A look of fright and disappointment passed over Matin's face. Slowly he
+lowered his revolver and turned toward the doorway. It was the moment for
+which Hal had been waiting.
+
+With a bound he leaped upon Matin and with his left hand seized Matin's
+right wrist. Matin uttered a snarl of rage.
+
+"Tricked me, did you?" he shouted. "You shall pay for it."
+
+It had been Hal's intention at first simply to wrest the revolver
+from his opponent's hands and then turn the man over to the officer
+of the guard.
+
+But Matin's strength was greater than the lad had imagined; also he was
+wild with rage. With his free hand he struck viciously at Hal, while he
+kicked with his feet and sought to bury his teeth in Hal's arm.
+
+But Hal held him back.
+
+Vainly, Matin sought to move his right arm around so as to bring the
+muzzle upon Hal's heart. With a quick move Hal suddenly released his hold
+upon Matin's pistol wrist and seized the pistol hand. His finger covered
+Matin's finger on the trigger.
+
+Matin's hand at that moment was extended straight from him. Slowly now,
+as Hal exerted his utmost pressure, the arm described a semicircle. Now
+it pointed almost straight forward. Then, as Hal brought more strength
+into play, the arm curved inward; and directly the revolver pointed
+squarely at Matin's heart.
+
+The perspiration stood out in great beads on Matin's forehead. He was
+panting and gasping for breath. Hal was breathing easily, though the
+manner in which the sinews on his forehead and arms stood out showed to
+what extent he had extended himself.
+
+When the mouth of the revolver pointed at Matin's heart, Hal said
+quietly:
+
+"Now, Matin, if you will release your hold on this gun I will let
+you go free."
+
+Matin's answer was a snarl of rage.
+
+Whether the man went suddenly insane or whether he knew fully what he was
+about, Hal can not say to this day; but under his own finger, the finger
+on the trigger tightened. There was a flash, a muffled report and the
+form of Matin fell limp in the lad's arms. Hal stepped back and Matin
+slid to the floor. Hal stooped over and laid a hand over the man's heart.
+
+"Dead!" the lad exclaimed, and added: "but not by my hand. He pressed the
+trigger himself!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+THE ADVANCE
+
+
+A bugle sounded.
+
+The sleeping French camp sprang suddenly to life. Men, half dressed,
+sprang from their cots--they had not disrobed entirely the night
+before--and hurried to their positions, adjusting their clothing as they
+did so. Regiments formed hurriedly in the darkness that is always more
+intense just before dawn. Officers shouted and swore; horses whinnied
+from the distance, indicating that the French cavalry, as well as the
+infantry was forming.
+
+A second bugle sounded; then many more. More commands from the various
+officers. Aides rushed hither and yon delivering sharp orders to division
+commanders. The men stood quietly in line. Came other sharp commands all
+down the line:
+
+"_En avant_!"
+
+The troops began to move.
+
+Overhead, screaming French shells from the big guns in the rear flew as
+they raced for the distant German lines. This was no new sound. For
+more than twenty-four hours now these big guns had been hurling shells
+into the German ranks; and the men had become so used to the sounds of
+their voices that they would have been almost unable to sleep had they
+become silent.
+
+This bombardment, continuing for more than twenty-four hours as it had,
+was the opening of the greatest offensive by the French at Verdun--an
+offensive by which General Petain, the French commander, hoped to drive
+back the foe that for months had pressed on so hard, and thus to insure
+the safety of Verdun, "The gateway to France," against the German invader
+for all time to come.
+
+Each move of this gigantic effort had been thought out well in advance.
+All contingencies had been provided for and against. The blow was to be
+struck at the psychological moment, when it would be deemed by the French
+general staff that it was sure of success.
+
+And now this moment had come.
+
+The information placed in the hands of General Petain days before by Hal
+and Chester had been the one link in the chain that had been missing. Now
+the general staff felt sure of the success of this great effort, though
+there was not a man who had taken part in the preparations who did not
+know that the victory--if victory there should be--would be won at
+tremendous cost.
+
+But, with the fate of Verdun in the balance, it had been the opinion of
+each member of the general staff that now was no time to hesitate.
+
+So, upon this morning in June, just before dawn, the French advanced all
+along their entire front.
+
+Under the protection of their big guns they would be able to progress for
+some time; and as they attacked the German first line trenches in a
+charge, the fire of the big guns would continue, firing overhead at the
+German second and third line trenches beyond.
+
+And it was in this manner that the advance was made.
+
+The day dawned while the French were still some distance from the German
+first line trenches; and the German guns, far to the east, and the German
+defenders in the trenches opened on them with a vengeance. But the French
+were prepared for this. There had been no thought of a surprise attack in
+the plans of the general staff. It was known that the Germans would
+realize what was about to happen when the duel of big guns began more
+than twenty-four hours before.
+
+Before sun-up the French infantry sprang forward in its first charge. It
+was thrown back. Immediately a second charge was ordered. This met the
+same fate as had the first. A third brought no better results.
+
+On the next charge, as the French advanced the Germans left their
+trenches and sprang forward to meet them. The big German guns became
+still as the infantry struggled hand to hand.
+
+There issued from the French left at this juncture, heavy bodies of
+French cavalry. Into the thick of the struggling mass the horsemen
+charged. This attack had been a surprise. The Germans were cut down in
+large numbers. As they scrambled back to the protection of their
+trenches, French troops scrambled over with them. Again the infantry
+alone was engaged, but this time in the enemy trenches.
+
+Whole squadrons of cavalry were ordered from their horses and also sprang
+into the German trenches. Reinforcements were hurried up. The Germans
+also rushed up supports; but they had delayed too long.
+
+The Germans broke and fled for safety to the second line trenches.
+
+Immediately the French turned the field pieces captured with the German
+trenches upon the fleeing enemy and mowed them down in great numbers.
+Others of the French troops fell to work consolidating the newly won
+trenches. The big German guns opened again; but by this time the French
+were pretty well secured against this arm of fire.
+
+More French reinforcements were rushed up to hold the captured trenches.
+Batteries of field guns braved the German shell fire and dashed across
+the open to the captured trenches. Immediately these guns were brought
+into position, they opened upon the German second line of defense.
+
+From their posts of vantage, mounted upon slight elevations, and from
+behind trees and other secure places, the great French guns protected the
+advance of the cavalry and infantry.
+
+Hal and Chester, who had stood close to General Petain during most of
+this battling, had watched the conflict with the greatest interest.
+
+"Look at them fall!" exclaimed Chester, as through his glasses, he
+witnessed the last desperate attack of the French.
+
+"It's a terrible sight," agreed Hal, "and yet there will be many more
+just as terrible before this war is won."
+
+"Indeed there will," agreed Chester.
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford! Lieutenant Paine!"
+
+It was General Petain who spoke.
+
+"My compliments to General Bordeaux, Lieutenant Paine, and tell him that
+the left of the newly won trenches must be held at all hazzards!"
+
+Hal sprang upon a nearby motorcycle and soon was speeding toward
+the front.
+
+"Lieutenant Crawford! The same instructions to General Ducal on
+the right!"
+
+A moment later Chester was speeding forward.
+
+His message delivered, Hal stopped for a moment to gaze about the
+trenches won at such terrible cost.
+
+There had been no time to bury the dead, or even to have the bodies
+removed; and the trenches were piled high with French and German dead. In
+between the rows of corpses, which had hurriedly been pushed to one side,
+the other troops worked, apparently without thought of their fallen
+comrades. Red Cross physicians and nurses were working among the wounded,
+lightening the suffering.
+
+Hal looked at his watch.
+
+"Twelve o'clock!" he muttered. "It seems as if this single battle had
+been going on for days!"
+
+He made his way slowly back to General Petain.
+
+Chester, his message delivered, also had taken account of the French
+position on the right. There the fighting had been particularly severe,
+and the newly won positions presented ghastly spectacles. Chester
+shuddered:
+
+"And this is war!" he said.
+
+He made his way back to headquarters and rejoined Hal.
+
+"Wonder if we shall try for the second line defenses to-day?" Hal said
+to his chum.
+
+"I don't know; but I wouldn't be surprised to hear the order at any
+minute now. Look at the masses of reinforcements being rushed forward.
+Surely, they are not being sent there just to hold the trenches. No; I
+believe that to-day General Petain hopes to carry at least the second and
+third line of trenches on our whole front."
+
+And, as it transpired, Chester was right.
+
+At four o'clock in the afternoon the French had established
+themselves firmly in the German second line trenches, although at
+great cost. Dense masses of reinforcements were immediately rushed
+forward. To Hal and Chester this signified that there was still to be
+another effort that day.
+
+And at five o'clock in the evening the effort was made.
+
+Under a sun that beat down with terrific force, despite the lateness of
+the hour, the French infantry again advanced to the attack. Flushed with
+two victories earlier in the day, they went forward confidently and with
+eagerness and enthusiasm. Cheers broke out along the whole line as they
+advanced. Farther back, a band--many bands--played "The Marseillaise."
+
+The German troops, twice driven back before the victorious French,
+nevertheless stood firm in their trenches. They had learned a dear lesson
+at the hands of their enemy this day; and while they realized fully that
+they were getting the worst of the battle, they still stuck bravely to
+their task.
+
+Terrible as it was, it was an awe-inspiring sight that Hal and Chester,
+far back with General Petain and staff, witnessed through their glasses
+that late afternoon.
+
+In dense masses the French hurled themselves against the German trenches;
+and in great masses they were hurled back again--those of them who did
+not lie upon the ground. Time after time the French charged what appeared
+to be impregnable trenches. Then, on their fifth effort, they reached
+their goal and surged into the trenches.
+
+Immediately all was confusion there. An unguarded moment meant a man's
+death. Struggling as they were, it was, at times, almost impossible to
+tell friend from foe. But the troops distinguished somehow, and for what
+seemed ages they battled there, hand-to-hand.
+
+German reinforcements rushed up in a valiant effort to save the day.
+General Petain threw out supports for his own infantry. All these surged
+into the trenches and added their quota to the terrible din.
+
+Several times the German cavalry charged, their riders dismounting when
+they reached the struggling mass of humanity and plunging into the fray
+with sabres and revolvers. But each time they were beaten off.
+
+Gradually the French cleared the trenches. The Germans gave slowly at
+first; then more swiftly. The French pursued them with loud cries. The
+enemy broke and fled.
+
+Again German reinforcements rushed to the attack. The French met them in
+the open, beyond the third line German trenches. The fighting was
+something terrible; but flushed with victory as they were, there could be
+but one ending.
+
+A German bugle sounded a recall; and at almost the same moment the
+evening sun settled beyond the distant eastern hills.
+
+The French had won the day!
+
+Hal and Chester looked at each other. Then, even as the entire French
+staff broke into a loud cheer, the two lads grasped hands.
+
+"We've won!" said Hal.
+
+"Verdun is saved!" exclaimed Chester.
+
+So there, upon this historic field, we shall take our leave of these two
+friends for the time; but we shall renew our acquaintance later, in a
+succeeding volume, entitled: "The Boy Allies on the Somme; or, Courage
+and Bravery Rewarded."
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Boy Allies At Verdun, by Clair W. Hayes
+
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