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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/36424-h.zip b/36424-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6b37843 --- /dev/null +++ b/36424-h.zip diff --git a/36424-h/36424-h.htm b/36424-h/36424-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a6bf512 --- /dev/null +++ b/36424-h/36424-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9233 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Army Boys in France, by Homer Randall +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +P.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +P.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +P.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +P.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 50%; + text-align: center } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +H4.h4center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-align: center } + +IMG.imgcenter { margin-left: auto; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: auto; } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Army Boys in France, by Homer Randall + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Army Boys in France + or, From Training Camp to Trenches + +Author: Homer Randall + +Release Date: June 13, 2011 [EBook #36424] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT=""'Tis the bist uv exercise, throwin' thim things is." Page 133" BORDER="2"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center"> +"'Tis the bist uv exercise, throwin' thim things is." <A HREF="#p133">Page 133</A> +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t1"> +Army Boys in France +</P> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +OR +</P> + +<P CLASS="t3"> +From Training Camp to Trenches +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +BY +</P> + +<P CLASS="t3"> +HOMER RANDALL +</P> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +<I>Author of "Army Boys in the French Trenches" and <BR> +"Army Boys on the Firing Line"</I> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. +<BR> +CLEVELAND, O. ——— NEW YORK, N. Y. +<BR><BR> +Made in U. S. A. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY +<BR> +GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +PRESS OF +<BR> +THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO. +<BR> +CLEVELAND +<BR> +Made in U. S. A. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t3"> +CONTENTS +</P> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">CHAPTER</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">The Bugle Calls</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">A Remorseless Enemy</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">The Gathering Storm</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">War</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">A Vandal Punished</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">The Die Is Cast</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">For Love of Country</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">Off to Camp</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">A New Life</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">Instruments of Death</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">Nick Rabig Turns Up</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">For France</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">The Lurking Peril</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">The War-Swept Land</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">Within the Sound of Guns</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">The Airship Raid</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">The Baptism of Fire</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">A Grim Reality</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">Nick Rabig Under Arrest</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">A Rattling Bout</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">Paying a Debt</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap22">A Promise of Help</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap23">Facing the Hun</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">In No Man's Land</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap25">A Gallant Exploit</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE BUGLE CALLS +</H4> + +<P> +"Looks like war, fellows!" exclaimed Frank Sheldon, as, on a cold March +morning he came briskly into the business house where he was employed, +and slipped off his overcoat. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I don't know," responded Bart Raymond, Frank's special chum. +"It's looked like war ever since the <I>Lusitania</I> was sunk, but we +haven't got our fighting clothes on yet. The American eagle keeps on +cooing like a dove." +</P> + +<P> +"He's waking up now though," asserted Frank confidently, "and pretty +soon he'll begin to scream. And when he does there'll be trouble for +the Kaiser." +</P> + +<P> +"He isn't worrying much about us," put in Tom Bradford. "He figures +that his U-boats will do the trick long before we get ready to fight. +Sometimes I think he's pretty nearly right too. They're sinking ships +right and left. They got three of them yesterday, and one was a liner +of more than ten thousand tons." +</P> + +<P> +"That's bad," agreed Frank. "But the worst thing about it is that one +of the three was an American ship. As long as they sank only French +and English vessels, it might be said that it was none of our business, +although it has always seemed to me a cruel and cowardly way of +fighting. But when they get after Uncle Sam's boats it's time for us +to get busy." +</P> + +<P> +"Johnny get your gun! get your gun!" chanted "Reddy," the irrepressible +office boy. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the use of talking," said Bart disgustedly. "They'll cook up +some excuse about not knowing that it was an American ship, and we'll +swallow the excuse and pretend to believe it. One lie more or less is +nothing to a nation that calls a treaty a scrap of paper." +</P> + +<P> +"It wasn't that way in the old days," remarked old Peterson, the head +bookkeeper, who had been at the "Bloody Angle" when Pickett led the +charge at Gettysburg. "Men were men then and ready to fight at the +drop of a hat. Americans didn't need a swift kick then to get them +into action." +</P> + +<P> +He shook his gray head mournfully at the thought of the evil days on +which his country had fallen. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you worry, Mr. Peterson," replied Frank confidently. "America +is just as sound at heart as ever she was. Just let the bugle call and +a million men will answer. We'll raise an army in less than no time." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, perhaps so," admitted Peterson half grudgingly. "But even if we +did they'd be raw troops and stand no chance against trained soldiers. +They'd only be food for cannon. It takes at least a year to make a +soldier. And before we could get on the firing line the Germans might +have France and England licked to a frazzle." +</P> + +<P> +"Not much chance of that," put in Tom. "It's more likely to be the +other way. What's Hindenburg doing now but retreating?" +</P> + +<P> +"But it's a long, long way before he'll get back to the Rhine," replied +Peterson. "And in the meantime it looks as if Russia was getting ready +to quit. I tell you, boys, if we get into it, the work of winning the +war will be on our shoulders. And it won't be a cinch any way you look +at it." +</P> + +<P> +"Not a cinch perhaps," agreed Frank thoughtfully, "but I wouldn't have +any doubt about how it would come out in the long run. I'd back +America to whip the world." +</P> + +<P> +"So would I," came back Peterson promptly, "if it were just a question +of man against man. But this is a war of machinery. The day's gone by +when a man could grab a musket and run out to meet the other fellow +who, as a rule, wasn't any better prepared than he was. Now it's a +matter of cannon, and machine guns, and liquid fire, and poison gases, +and all the rest of it. The Germans have those things and know how to +use them. We haven't got them and wouldn't know how to use them if we +had. Why, a single German army corps has more machine guns than we +have in the whole United States!" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course we're not prepared," broke in Hal Chase. "But we've got +plenty of company in that. Who in the world was prepared except +Germany? She caught all Europe asleep. If three years ago anyone had +said this war was coming we'd have thought him crazy." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," agreed Tom. "That's true enough and you can't blame the rest of +the world too much. But there's no excuse for us being caught this +way. We've watched this thing developing for the last two years and +coming closer and closer to us all the time. It was a dead sure thing +that sooner or later we would get in it. And yet we've been like a man +who sees the house next door burning and doesn't take any steps to +protect his own." +</P> + +<P> +"Well," said Frank, "what's past is past and there's no use crying over +spilled milk. There's no use either in asking who has been to blame. +That can be settled after the war. What we Americans have got to do is +to buck up, stand shoulder to shoulder, and fight as Americans always +have fought when they've got into a scrap." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure thing," agreed Bart. "But just now it would be like a man +fighting with his bare fists against another fellow that's got a gun. +He might be brave enough, but the other fellow's bullet would get to +him before his fist could land." +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't the first time we've been in this fix," said Tom. "But +somehow or other we've always managed to come through on top. See how +it was in 1812. We didn't have any navy and England had the greatest +fleet in the world. But we built the ships and made the guns, and +knocked spots out of the other fellows." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Hal, "and Perry won the battle of Lake Erie with ships made +from trees that a hundred days before had had birds' nests in them. +And what we did once we can do again." +</P> + +<P> +"You've said it!" broke in Reddy, who, although too young to be a +soldier, was chock full of patriotism. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, well," said old Peterson. "We're not in the war yet and perhaps +we never shall be. But there will be war sure enough if the boss comes +in and finds you fellows chinning when you ought to be working. So get +busy." +</P> + +<P> +"How about Peterson himself?" said Bart to Frank in a lowered tone as +they scattered for their tasks. "I notice the old chap himself isn't +slow when it comes to a talk fest." +</P> + +<P> +The firm of Moore and Thomas, by which the young men were employed, did +a thriving hardware business in the prosperous town of Camport, an +inland city of about twenty-five thousand people. The work was +wholesale and extended all over the country. They carried on also +quite an export trade, and just now because of the war feeling that was +in the air they were busier than usual. So that for the rest of the +morning the boys kept close to their work, and conversation was limited +strictly to business. +</P> + +<P> +But the thought that was in all their minds could not be long +suppressed, and the discussion broke out afresh when twelve o'clock +struck and they knocked off work preparatory to going to lunch. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think we'll wear these duds much longer," remarked Bart as he +put on his coat. "I'll bet most of this bunch will be in khaki before +three months are over." +</P> + +<P> +"I know one that will anyway," replied Frank. "Just let the President +call for troops and I'll come running." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, you fellows make me tired!" broke in a rough voice behind them. +"All the running you'll do will be to run away when you get sight of a +German uniform." +</P> + +<P> +They wheeled around and saw that the speaker was Nick Rabig, the +foreman of the shipping department. +</P> + +<P> +He was a big burly fellow with a mottled face, thick neck and small +eyes that seldom had in them anything but a surly expression. He was +the bully of the place, and was universally disliked. +</P> + +<P> +"Who asked you to butt in?" demanded Bart, nettled at the interruption. +</P> + +<P> +"This is a free country, ain't it?" replied Rabig, truculently. +</P> + +<P> +"Sure it is," said Bart. "That's the reason your father came here from +Germany, wasn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +The shot went home, for Rabig, though born in this country, was of +German descent and for the last two years had been vehement in his +denunciation of the Allies and fervent in his praise of the Teutons. +</P> + +<P> +"Germany's all right," he retorted, "and don't you forget it!" +</P> + +<P> +"If Germany's all right, it's surprising how many Germans try to get +away from it," remarked Frank dryly. "You don't notice many Americans +going over to Germany." +</P> + +<P> +"That's just because Germany is crowded," defended Rabig. "But just +the same it's a better country than America ever dared to be. And when +she gets through this war she'll be twice as big as she was before and +there'll be plenty of room for all her people." +</P> + +<P> +"Going to gobble up all Europe, is she?" asked Frank, sarcastically. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I suppose she'll come over and take in America, too, so as to +make a good job of it," said Bart, with a grin of derision. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" responded Rabig, promptly. "Somebody has got to rule the +world, and why not Germany?" +</P> + +<P> +Quite a group had gathered about them by this time, and there was a +roar of laughter at this frank expression of the German spirit and the +German purpose. +</P> + +<P> +Rabig grew red with fury. His little eyes glowered as he glared about +him. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll hang the Kaiser on a sour apple tree!" chanted Reddy. +</P> + +<P> +Rabig aimed a blow at him which Reddy adroitly ducked, and Frank +stepped between them. +</P> + +<P> +"Leave the boy alone, Rabig," he demanded, and Rabig's fury turned on +Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you got to say about it?" he snarled. "Do you want to +fight?" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A REMORSELESS ENEMY +</H4> + +<P> +There was a murmur of excited expectation and the crowd gathered closer. +</P> + +<P> +For a full minute Frank's eyes looked full into Rabig's. And in the +silent duel Rabig's eyes were the first to waver. Then Frank spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"No," he said, quietly. "Brawling isn't in my line. I won't +fight—not here or now." +</P> + +<P> +There was a sigh of disappointment from the onlookers who had been +keyed up in delighted anticipation, and Rabig, though his eyes had +fallen before the glint in Frank's, resumed his swaggering air. +</P> + +<P> +"Afraid to fight, eh?" he sneered. +</P> + +<P> +Before a reply could be made, Mr. Thomas, the junior member of the +firm, came out from his private office and the gathering dispersed. +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't you trim him, Frank?" asked Bart curiously, as they walked +down the street together. "I wanted to see you wipe up the ground with +him. You could have done it too. You've got as much muscle as he has +and ten times the grit. I fairly ached to see you sail into him." +</P> + +<P> +"Well," said Frank, thoughtfully, "there were two reasons. In the +first place, I didn't care to soil my hands with the fellow and put +myself on his level. Then again, you know how sensitive my mother is, +and she'd have hated to see me get mixed up in a shop brawl. But Rabig +has his coming to him, and he'll get it sooner or later." +</P> + +<P> +"Sooner, I hope," returned Bart. "If you don't, I'll do it myself. +That "<I>Deutschland Uber Alles</I>" stuff of his is getting on my nerves. +Just now it's the ambition of my life to lick a Hun." +</P> + +<P> +"You may have the chance sooner than you think," laughed Frank. +"Germany's just about got to the end of her rope with us. Let her sink +just one more ship and she'll find out what she's up against." +</P> + +<P> +"It can't come too soon for me," responded Bart, and as just then they +reached the junction of the streets where their ways parted Bart went +on and Frank turned into the quiet street on which his home was located. +</P> + +<P> +It was a modest little structure, set some distance back from the +street, surrounded by flowers and shrubbery which in summer were a riot +of color and perfume. +</P> + +<P> +Before his hand touched the door knob, his mother, who had been +watching for his coming, swung the door wide open and stood ready to +give him a loving greeting. +</P> + +<P> +Frank's eyes brightened as they dwelt upon her. She was a pretty +little woman with a piquancy of expression, a brightness of eye and an +alertness of carriage that at first glance betrayed her French origin. +Her pretty color and a certain appealing helplessness in her manner +toward her son had always made her seem to Frank more like a charming +sister than a mother. +</P> + +<P> +And now as he put his arm protectingly about her and stooped to kiss +her he was alarmed at the traces of recent tears which she had not been +able entirely to obliterate. +</P> + +<P> +"Mother!" he cried, holding her away from him and searching her face +anxiously. "You've been crying! You just tell me who's made you, and +I'll—" he doubled up his fist in a threatening gesture; but with a +little laugh his mother inserted her own small fingers within his and +led him into the dining-room. +</P> + +<P> +"Look!" she cried, pointing to a great steaming tureen of soup that +stood in the center of the table. "You said last night you were hungry +for soup, and so I made it especially for you, dear, to surprise you. +You must tell me how you like it before you ask any more questions. +See, how steaming hot it is." +</P> + +<P> +"Say, and I stopped to argue when this was waiting for me!" cried +Frank, literally flinging himself upon the tempting dish. "Run around +to your side, Mother, and hold your plate. Say, if this tastes as good +as it smells—" +</P> + +<P> +Like two children they tasted the soup, then with expressions of +contentment laughed into each other's eyes. Then Frank launched into +an account of the morning's events, for he was accustomed to discuss +everything with his mother, who was his comrade in all things small or +great. +</P> + +<P> +"My fingers itched to be at that bully," he said, "but I held myself +in, and I guess you know one of the reasons." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, dear," responded his mother, lovingly. "You're always thinking +of me. I'm glad you didn't get into a fight. I have always hated +them. A time may come," she added, a shadow crossing her face, "when +you will be forced to fight, not for yourself, but for the honor of +your dear country." +</P> + +<P> +"For two countries, maybe," said Frank with a smile. "For every stroke +that America deals to the Kaiser will help France as well." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, <I>la belle</I> France," said his mother with a sigh. "How my heart +bleeds for my beloved country! I had a letter to-day from Cousin +Lucie. And, oh, she had such terrible news!" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing has happened to her, I hope," said Frank, quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"No, not to her," replied his mother. "One of those poor refugees from +Belgium has got through the German lines and is staying at her house. +This woman was at Dinant when the town was captured by the Germans in +the early part of the war, and the stories she tells of what happened +there are too dreadful for words. And yet she saw those things +herself, and Lucie tells me she is sure the woman is honest and tells +the absolute truth." +</P> + +<P> +"I am ready to believe almost anything of German brutality," said +Frank, bitterly. "And I suppose for every awful thing that's told +there are a hundred more that haven't come to light. Tell me what +Cousin Lucie said." +</P> + +<P> +"This Mrs. Pentlivre," replied his mother, "told Lucie that the Germans +attacked the town early on an August morning. They outnumbered the +defenders, who were forced to retreat and take up new positions. Then +those Huns entered the town. +</P> + +<P> +"It was about half past six in the morning. The cathedral was full of +worshippers, as it was Sunday and services were being held. The +Germans burst into the church, drove out the people and separated the +men from the women with the butts of their rifles. Then the troops +deliberately shot into the mass of unarmed men, killing twenty or more +of them. They made prisoners of the rest, and then went through street +after street, setting all the houses on fire until the beautiful town +was completely destroyed. +</P> + +<P> +"All day long they kept the wretched people prisoners, threatening and +reviling them—you couldn't imagine the names they called them, so +Cousin Lucie said—and after that they took all the people whom they +had not already put to death to a garden wall at the end of the town. +Then they took those poor men and even the little boys and stood them +up against the wall. Oh, Frank, what do you suppose those murderers +did then? Shot them down in cold blood, while their wives and mothers +fell shrieking on their knees, begging passionately for mercy for their +loved ones." +</P> + +<P> +"The brutes!" cried Frank, pushing back his chair and beginning to pace +the room while his mother watched him with tears in her eyes. "There's +German Kultur for you! And what they did there, they've done in fifty +other places in Belgium and Northern France. I tell you, Mother, the +world won't be a fit place to live in until such things are punished as +they ought to be." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid not," sighed his mother. "But such a task as it is going +to be!" +</P> + +<P> +"America will do it!" cried Frank, confidently. "It's up to her to +tame the beasts. France and England are holding them in check, but +they won't be able to drive them back until Uncle Sam's army boys get +over there." +</P> + +<P> +"But think of what it means if we get into the war," said his mother +sadly. "It's bad enough to read and hear about such terrible things, +but what will it be when our own men are killed and wounded and blinded +by the thousands. Ah, I cannot bear to think of it!" and she looked at +Frank with apprehension in her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Americans have always known how to die," said Frank, proudly. +"They've shown that at Bunker Hill, at Monterey and Gettysburg and +other battlefields. And the man who doesn't know how to die, doesn't +know how to live and isn't fit to live." +</P> + +<P> +"Spoken like my own brave boy," cried his mother. "And yet my heart +stands still when I think of you in those awful trenches. You are all +I have, Frank!" and tears welled again to her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"I know, little Mother," said Frank, coming around to her chair and +patting her cheek fondly. "But you wouldn't want your son to be a +slacker, would you? How could I look you in the face if I held back, +while the sons of other mothers went forward to fight for their +country." +</P> + +<P> +"You're right, dear, of course," said his mother. "And hard as it +would be, I'd let you go if your country needed you. But, oh, the days +and nights of waiting while you were gone! I would not have one happy +moment, one care-free hour." +</P> + +<P> +"Yours would be the harder part, Mother," said the son gently. "I'd +have at least the excitement and fury of the fight, while you would be +eating out your heart here—alone. But cheer up," he continued in a +lighter tone, "it hasn't come to that yet, and perhaps it never will. +A hundred things may happen. Russia may come up to the scratch again. +Hindenburg has already begun to retreat, Germany may cave in at any +time. Austria may make a separate peace. The Germans may call off +their U-boat campaign rather than bring the United States into the war. +We'll hope for the best while we're getting ready for the worst. At +any rate, we won't grizzle about it till we have to—will we, Mother?" +this last in a coaxing tone that brought a swift response from his +mother, whose French vivacity and sparkle returned in a measure. +</P> + +<P> +"No, we won't, dear," she answered, smilingly brushing away the tears. +"We're going to be just as happy and bright as ever and await with +courage whatever the future may bring to us. But, dear boy, look at +that clock! You'll be late if you don't hurry. Hurry, now, I must not +be the one to blame." +</P> + +<P> +She kissed him good-bye with a smile on her lips and waved to him +merrily from the doorway. But there was a world of foreboding in her +mother eyes as she watched him swinging briskly down the street. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE GATHERING STORM +</H4> + +<P> +Events moved on swiftly for the next few days. History was being made +at a more rapid rate than ever before. War was in the air and +everybody felt it. +</P> + +<P> +"Something's got to break mighty soon, Bart," remarked Frank, as he met +his friend one morning. +</P> + +<P> +"Can't come too soon for me," said Bart. "Ever since we broke off +diplomatic relations I've known there could be but one end to it. +That's never been done yet without a country finally going to war." +</P> + +<P> +"And it won't this time either," agreed Frank. "The fact is, I'd be +almost sorry if it did. I'm getting so sore at the way the Germans are +trying to ride rough shod over the world that I'm anxious to get a +whack at them." +</P> + +<P> +"I, too," declared Bart. "The cool way in which they offered part of +the United States to Mexico has got me so riled that I can't think of +anything else but getting even. And you notice how, in spite of all +warning, they keep on sinking American ships! They figure that we're +just bluffing. Their newspapers keep telling them that we're only a +nation of shopkeepers who think of nothing but the almighty dollar and +that we're making so much money out of the war in selling munitions to +the Allies we'll take good care not to get into it ourselves." +</P> + +<P> +"They're just about due to wake up out of their dream," said Frank, +grimly. "They make a big mistake when they think our patience is +cowardice, or greed for money. As a matter of fact, there isn't a +nation in the world so unselfish as America. Look at the way we went +into the Spanish war—just pure humanity, to save Cuba from the horrors +she was undergoing at the hands of that butcher, Weyler. And see how +quickly we gave Cuba her independence as soon as the war was over and +she was ready for it. There isn't another nation in the world that +would have let such a rich prize slip through her fingers when once she +had laid her hands on it." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, well, the Germans are fed up on lies, anyway," responded Bart. +"That's the only way the government can keep up the spirits of the +people. The newspapers say just what the Kaiser tells them to say. +Some day the papers will tell them that the Americans have horns and +hoofs, and they'll swallow it without winking." +</P> + +<P> +"They'll see for themselves what we are," said Frank, "when our boys go +over the top and meet them face to face." +</P> + +<P> +"I just got a letter from Billy Waldon," went on Bart. "He's been down +on the Mexican border chasing Villa and his gang. Says he's in fine +shape and feeling like a two-year-old. His regiment's been ordered +back, and he'll be with us soon. Says he's honing to get a crack at +the Germans." +</P> + +<P> +"Billy's a fine fellow," said Frank heartily, "and the experience he's +been getting in Mexico ought to help him a lot when he gets in the +French trenches, if he ever does." +</P> + +<P> +"He'll get there all right," asserted Bart. "I hear that the first +thing the Government will do will be to put the national guard +regiments in the regular army. You know the old Thirty-seventh that +Billy belongs to is mostly made up of Camport boys. I've half a mind +to join myself as soon as they get back." +</P> + +<P> +"That might not be a half bad idea," said Frank. "Although my own +thought was that as soon as the President called for troops I'd join +the regular army at once. But it's as broad as it is long, for, as you +say, the first thing the Government is likely to do is to make regulars +of the national guard. And it won't be a bad thing either, for they've +had lots of drilling and will be a heap better at the start than raw +recruits who don't know the first thing about a gun." +</P> + +<P> +"This experience the boys have had on the border hasn't done them any +harm either," replied Bart. "Of course most of them haven't had any +fighting to do, but they've had to be prepared to fight and the outdoor +life has made them tough and strong. Billy says you'll hardly know the +boys for the same fellows when they get back." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh they're a lot of heroes—I don't think," sneered Nick Rabig, who +was working near by and had heard part of the conversation. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean by that?" asked Frank indignantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Just what I say," retorted Rabig. "They went down to Mexico to catch +Villa, didn't they? Well, why didn't they do it?" +</P> + +<P> +"They would if they had stayed long enough," replied Bart. "The +Government called them back." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure the Government called them back," said Rabig with a sardonic +grin. "It got cold feet. It saw that Mexico wasn't going to back +down, and so it backed down itself. Now if Germany had started out to +catch Villa, it would have caught him." +</P> + +<P> +"Now cut that out, Rabig," said Frank sharply. "If the President +called the soldiers back, he had good reason for doing it. He knows a +good deal more about what is going on than the rest of us do. He +probably knew that Germany would like nothing better than to see us get +mixed up in a row with Mexico and have to keep our troops on this side +of the water instead of sending them over to Europe. He wasn't going +to play Germany's game, and that's the reason he let up on Villa, who +doesn't amount to anything anyway." +</P> + +<P> +"That sounds good," returned Rabig, "but it doesn't go with me. The +Americans got scared when they saw that the Mexicans meant business. +Swell chance the United States would have with Germany when it can't +even lick Mexico. These national guard fellows aren't fighters. +They're only tin soldiers anyway." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell that to Billy Waldon when he gets back and he'll make you eat +your words," said Bart hotly. +</P> + +<P> +"He will, eh?" retorted Rabig. "Just let him try it on, that's all." +</P> + +<P> +"What are you anyway, Rabig, a German or an American?" demanded Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"I was born here and I suppose I'm an American," responded Rabig. "But +I couldn't help that and I'm not proud of it." +</P> + +<P> +"And you can bet that America isn't proud of having you born here," +said Frank scornfully. "I tell you straight, Rabig, that it won't be +healthy for you to keep up that line of talk much longer." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't see any one here that's going to make me stop it," sneered the +bully. "Perhaps you'd like to try it." +</P> + +<P> +Frank's eyes flashed and his fist clenched until the knuckles were +white. Another instant and that fist would have wiped the sneer from +Rabig's face. But the image of his mother rose before him, and by a +mighty effort he controlled himself. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll make that bluff once too often some day, Rabig," he said in an +even tone. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, if it's a bluff why don't you call it?" sneered Rabig +truculently. +</P> + +<P> +Just at this moment Reddy ran up to them, considerably excited. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Sheldon!" he exclaimed, addressing himself to Frank, "Oliver Twist +has climbed up the water pipe at the end of the building and now the +pipe's broke and he can't get down." +</P> + +<P> +Oliver Twist was the office cat, who had gained his name because, like +the hero in Dickens' famous story, he was continually "asking for +more." He was a favorite with all except Rabig, who kicked at him +whenever he got in his way. So that the news of his plight aroused +instant interest and sympathy, and all flocked to the window that Reddy +indicated. +</P> + +<P> +There was Oliver, sure enough, a thoroughly frightened cat, and with +good reason. +</P> + +<P> +The building was five stories high and a leader pipe ran at one end of +it from the top nearly to the ground. There was a sparrow's nest up +near the eaves, and Oliver had evidently been tempted to make it a +visit. But a section of the pipe about two-thirds of the way up had +rotted and under the cat's weight had broken off. Oliver with a cat's +quickness had saved himself by clutching at a metal ring that encircled +the pipe just above the broken part and had swung himself up out of +immediate danger. +</P> + +<P> +But although safe for the moment, he had no way of escape. He was more +than three stories from the ground and if he let go would be killed or +maimed. If he climbed farther up he would be no better off, for the +projecting roof of the building made it impossible to leap to it. +</P> + +<P> +Oliver was in a bad fix, and his piteous mews as he clung to the pipe +showed that he realized it. All his nine lives were in imminent +danger. It would not have been so bad if he had had a ledge or +projection to rest on until he could be rescued. But this was lacking, +with the exception of the narrow ring less than an inch wide that +encircled the pipe, and though his claws dug desperately against this +it was certain that his strength would not enable him to maintain +himself long in this position. +</P> + +<P> +There was a chorus of exclamations and suggestions from the young men +who crowded the window. +</P> + +<P> +"Let's get a rope and a basket and let it down from the roof," +suggested Tom Bradford. +</P> + +<P> +"That wouldn't do," objected Hal. "He'd be too frightened to get into +it. He wouldn't let go his grip on the pipe." +</P> + +<P> +"Somebody get a ladder," cried Reddy. +</P> + +<P> +"We haven't one that would be long enough to reach him," said Bart. +</P> + +<P> +Frank's keen eyes and alert mind had been judging the situation. Now +he spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"We can get him from that window, fellows," he said pointing to a +window about six feet above the cat and a little to one side. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," said Bart, dubiously, as he eyed the window. "Seems to +me like a forlorn hope. A fellow would have to have the arms of a +gorilla to reach the cat from there." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind about that," responded Frank. "Let's get up there quick +and I'll show you what I have in mind." +</P> + +<P> +The crowd raced pell-mell up the stairs and then through an old +storeroom on the upper floor until they reached the window. +</P> + +<P> +It had not been opened all winter, and had been so warped by sleet and +snow that it yielded to the pressure of their arms groaningly and +reluctantly. But at last, just when they were about ready to give up, +they accomplished the feat and looked out. +</P> + +<P> +Oliver saw them and hailed them evidently as his last hope, for he +broke into a storm of wails. +</P> + +<P> +"There," said Bart, regretfully. "I told you we'd be too far off to do +him any good." +</P> + +<P> +He leaned out as far as he could without danger of falling, and the cat +was still three feet at least from the tips of his outstretched fingers. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing doing," he ejaculated as he withdrew from his vain effort. +</P> + +<P> +"There's just one chance," said Frank. "One of us fellows will have to +hang out there head downward, his full length, while the rest grab him +by the legs and hold on for dear life." +</P> + +<P> +"That sounds easy if you say it quick," cut in Reddy. "But who's going +to be the goat?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am," said Frank, as he threw off his coat. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh come now, Frank!" expostulated Tom. "That's taking too big a risk. +I hate to see the poor brute go down, but his life isn't worth yours." +</P> + +<P> +"Besides," put in Bart, "even if you got hold of Oliver he'd probably +be so frightened that he'd claw your head off." +</P> + +<P> +"Cut out the talk, fellows," said Frank. "Bart, you and Tom hold on to +one leg while Reddy and Hal grab the other." +</P> + +<P> +Two others of the group, Will Baxter and Dick Ormsby, joined the +quartette of helpers, although with considerable inward quaking, for +they felt that if anything happened to their comrade they would be in +part responsible for not having forcibly detained him from such a risky +undertaking. +</P> + +<P> +A moment more and Frank had lowered himself outside of the sill and +hung at full length, while three strong pairs of arms clutched at each +leg. He found himself on a level with the cat but too far to one side +to reach him with his extended hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Start swinging, fellows!" he called out, "until I'm able to reach him." +</P> + +<P> +They swayed him gently to and fro, each time bringing him a few inches +nearer to the cat, whose strength was rapidly giving way and who seemed +to be slipping. +</P> + +<P> +Frank made one grab and missed. His next attempt, however, was more +fortunate. He gripped the cat by the neck and shoulders, gave a wrench +and pulled him away from the pipe. +</P> + +<P> +The frightened brute, seeing only open space below him, writhed and +twisted about frantically, but Frank held him tight despite his +clawings, and in another moment the six above had pulled him up to and +over the sill, where he dropped on the floor, panting and breathless. +</P> + +<P> +Oliver, released, flew round and round the room, until his excitement +subsided and he curled up in a corner, his sides heaving, and his eyes +still big and wild from the fright of his late experience. +</P> + +<P> +"And the cat came back!" chanted Reddy. +</P> + +<P> +"The main thing is that Frank came back," said Bart. "I tell you what, +old boy, that was a nervy thing to do." +</P> + +<P> +"There isn't another fellow in the place who would have done it," said +Hal. "My heart was in my mouth while he was swinging there head down. +Once I was so scared I almost let go." +</P> + +<P> +"It's lucky for everybody but the undertaker that you didn't," said +Frank with a grin, as he dusted his clothes and arranged his collar and +tie. "I don't mind admitting myself that the ground looked awful far +away while I was swinging there." +</P> + +<P> +"You're in luck to come out of it with a good pair of eyes," said Bart. +"If Oliver's claws had once got to them there would have been something +doing." +</P> + +<P> +"Well now let's get back downstairs," said Frank, leading the way, +while Reddy brought up the rear with the recovered and somewhat +chastened Oliver perched upon his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +It would be safe to say that for some time to come sparrows' nests, +especially if located near leader pipes, would have no further +attractions. For once Oliver Twist would not ask for more! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +WAR +</H4> + +<P> +As the crowd of young fellows came trooping into the office, old +Peterson, who alone had kept at his books, looked up with a reproof +upon his lips. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you fellows think this is, a business office or an athletic +club?" he demanded. +</P> + +<P> +But the querulous look and tone vanished when he had heard the story of +Oliver's rescue, and as he turned to his books again the old veteran of +many battlefields muttered to himself: +</P> + +<P> +"The old American stuff is in the boys yet. If he's the kind that +Uncle Sam is going to send to the trenches, Heaven help the Kaiser!" +</P> + +<P> +Three weeks went by, weeks of stern resolve and feverish expectation. +It was becoming evident now to every mind that America could not, if +she would, keep out of the war except at the expense of national honor. +</P> + +<P> +Every day brought its toll of sinking ships and murdered crews, of +wanton brutality and flagrant disregard of plighted faith. The whole +world was sickening of the German name. +</P> + +<P> +The city of Camport felt the quickening thrill that was running through +the continent from coast to coast. War was the universal topic. In +the shop, in the street, in the church, in the courthouse, the one +prevailing subject was war. +</P> + +<P> +The mad dog of Europe was running wild, and it was up to America to +join with all the rest of the civilized world in putting an end to his +depredations. +</P> + +<P> +The Thirty-seventh had come back to Camport from the Mexican border, +the men hard as nails, sound as nuts, brown as berries, eager and +ardent for the tremendous task before them, and as the regiment swung +through the streets, headed by the band, keeping step to the strain of +martial airs, the little city went wild with enthusiasm. +</P> + +<P> +"There's no use, Frank," said Bart, as with the other young fellows of +the place they thronged the windows to see the regiment go by. "I'm +going to join." +</P> + +<P> +"Same here," said Frank. "I can feel Uncle Sam's hand on my shoulder +this minute." +</P> + +<P> +"We're coming father Abraham, one hundred thousand strong!" sang out +Reddy, from his place on a stool behind them where he had perched +himself so as to be able to look over their heads. +</P> + +<P> +Just then Billy Waldon passed in the ranks and looked up at them with a +cheerful grin. +</P> + +<P> +"There's Billy!" cried Tom. "Oh, boy! wouldn't I like to be marching +alongside of him!" +</P> + +<P> +"Let's go around to the armory this very night, Frank, and give in our +names!" cried Bart. "I tell you, this thing's got me, got me bad." +</P> + +<P> +"It's got me just as bad," said Frank, "and the only question is, in +just what branch of the service I'm going to enlist when the President +calls for troops. I want to see action and see it quick, and I have +the idea that perhaps the regular army boys will get into the trenches +sooner than the national guard. I'll talk it over with my mother +to-day and then I'll decide." +</P> + +<P> +By the time the noon hour arrived the parade was over, and Frank, with +his heart and mind full of the stirring scenes he had witnessed, went +home to lunch. +</P> + +<P> +It was only when the modest little house came into view that his +thoughts took a more sober turn and his step slowed a little. Up to +now he had been thinking chiefly of himself. He was like a hound +straining at the leash. Every instinct in him clamored to be in the +very thick and front of the coming fight. +</P> + +<P> +But there was his mother, his mother, whose eyes had grown larger and +more wistful of late as every day had brought nearer and nearer the +conflict that was about to claim her only son. He was all that she +had, her one strong support and sure refuge and loving comrade. +</P> + +<P> +What would she do, alone and anguished in this quiet home while he was +battling at the front in a rain of shells, of poison gas, of liquid +fire? +</P> + +<P> +But he must not sadden her by carrying into the house this shadow of +coming events that for the moment had flung itself over him, and he +assumed a gaiety that he did not feel as he ran lightly up the steps +where she, as usual, stood waiting for him in the open door. +</P> + +<P> +She on her part had hidden her heartache beneath a mask of vivacity. +It was a loving deception where each knew that the other was trying to +deceive and failing in the attempt. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," she asked, cheerily, as they sat down to the tasteful meal she +had prepared for him, "what is the news in the city to-day? It seems +to me that I have heard nothing but band music all morning." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess the band didn't leave anything out," said Frank with a smile. +"They played through the whole list of national airs from the "Star +Spangled Banner" to "Dixie." +</P> + +<P> +"But I heard something else too," went on his mother. "What was it the +newsboys were crying through the streets?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh it was an extra of some kind," said Frank, evasively. +</P> + +<P> +"But of what kind?" asked his mother with a gentle persistence. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it was about the President's speech," said Frank, reluctantly. +"He's expected to address the Senate this afternoon, and everybody is +eager to know what he will have to say." +</P> + +<P> +"I can guess what it will be," said his mother, sadly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," agreed Frank, "There's no use blinking the facts, little Mother. +He's going to declare that the United States is at war with Germany. +And high time, too!" he burst out, his pent-up convictions finding +voice. "We've been patient, Mother, till patience becomes a fault. +We've waited and hoped and written and argued, and all the while +Germany has been growing more vile and brutal. Any further patience +would be cowardice. And that's one thing that, with all its faults, +our country has never been guilty of. It's up to us now, Mother, every +one of us," and he emphasized the words, "to show that we're worthy to +be called Americans." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," faltered his mother, "I suppose it is—in my heart I know it is. +But oh, my boy! my boy! how can I let you go?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's duty, Mother," said Frank, gently. "It isn't a question of +choice. I must go. My country needs me, and I know my mother well +enough to be sure she would be the last one in the world to hold me +back." +</P> + +<P> +Before his mother could reply there was a commotion in the street +outside. They looked at each other inquiringly and then rose from the +table and hurried to the window. +</P> + +<P> +Most of the houses in Camport had been decorated with Old Glory in +honor of the return of the favorite regiment. Frank had seen to it +early in the morning that his own flag had swung from a pole set in the +upper window. +</P> + +<P> +Through the whole length of the street there was not a house that did +not show from some point of vantage the Stars and Stripes. +</P> + +<P> +The house directly opposite Frank's had gone even further. Upon one of +the pillars of the porch had been deftly grouped the flags of France +and England with Old Glory in the center. It was a type of the +alliance that bound together or was soon to bind three of the great +nations that were to fight side by side the battle of civilization +against barbarism. +</P> + +<P> +Before the house where these emblems were displayed, a little knot of +people were arguing and gesticulating. One of them, a burly fellow, +had a face that bore the German stamp. He was greatly excited and his +arms were waving like windmills as he pointed at the three flags that +seemed to have stirred him to anger. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly, in a fit of rage, he broke away from the group, ran up the +walk to the house, grabbed the offending colors from the pillar of the +porch and threw them to the ground where he stamped upon them. +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Sheldon gasped. +</P> + +<P> +With a bound Frank reached the door, flung it open and rushed across +the street. The fellow who had vented his rage on the flags looked up. +He saw Frank coming, and the sight of that flying figure, with taut +muscles and blazing eyes was not reassuring. +</P> + +<P> +He ran down the walk in an effort to escape. Frank met him at the +gate. Like a flash Frank's fist shot out and the vandal measured his +length on the ground. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A VANDAL PUNISHED +</H4> + +<P> +A crowd rose magically from nowhere. People came running, shouting, +jostling, demanding an explanation from their neighbors, who, in turn, +demanded it of them. +</P> + +<P> +"It's Frank Sheldon!" shouted someone, above the uproar. +</P> + +<P> +"He's making hash of a Hun!" yelled another. "Come on and see the +show, fellows—admission free!" +</P> + +<P> +Through all this confusion, Bart, who had been on his way back to the +office when attracted by the hubbub, pushed and elbowed his way through +to the first line of observers. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the row, Frank?" he yelled. "Stop kneeling on that fellow's +neck and tell us about it. Look out!" as the fellow made a quick move +as though to wrench himself free from Frank's grasp. "Don't let him +put one over on you." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry!" Frank's face was grim as he rose to his feet dragging +the now thoroughly cowed German after him. "There's not a Hun in this +country or the old that'll be able to get away from me once I get my +hands on him—not after this day's work. Do you know what he did?" He +gave his captive a ferocious shake and glared about at the +still-increasing mob. "Do you know what this yellow dog did, right +here in the country that's made him?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, give it to us," shouted someone in the crowd, and the rest took it +up impatiently. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, give it to us, Sheldon," they cried. "Get to the point!" +</P> + +<P> +"Look at those flags," Frank cried in answer, pointing with quivering +finger to the sullied emblems that lay in the dust where the German had +left them. "Those are the flags of liberty, justice and right, and +this dog," his fingers tightened in the man's collar till the craven +cried out with the pain of it, "dragged them down, threw them in the +dust, stamped upon them—stamped upon them, fellows! And our flag, Old +Glory, is among them! Do you hear that? Old Glory is among them!" +</P> + +<P> +An ominous growl went up from the crowd which had been listening +breathlessly and with growing indignation to Frank's words, and now it +surged threateningly forward. +</P> + +<P> +"What are we going to do with him?" cried Frank, his eyes afire. "What +would you do with a cur like this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Tar and feather him!" cried someone, and a score of voices took it up. +</P> + +<P> +"Tar and feather him! tar and feather him!" +</P> + +<P> +"Ride him out of town on a rail!" +</P> + +<P> +"Aw, that's too easy," yelled another, making a megaphone of his hands +so that his voice soared above even that deafening babel. "I've got a +good tough rope, fellows, tough enough even for this hog here. What do +you say?" +</P> + +<P> +"Lynch him! lynch him!" the cry arose deafeningly and the crowd surged +forward once more closing in upon Frank and his quivering, terrified +captive. +</P> + +<P> +"Out of the way, Sheldon!" +</P> + +<P> +"Let's get at him!" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, mein Gott!" wailed the German, sinking on his knees and gazing up +at Frank with terror-stricken face. "You will not let dem murder +me—like dis—in gold blood—you will not—" +</P> + +<P> +"There's not much cold blood about this," said Frank, with a glint in +his eye and another tightening of his fingers. "However, we'll let you +live a little while yet. You're not fit to die." +</P> + +<P> +"Lynch him! lynch him!" the cry still rose menacingly. The crowd was +becoming impatient. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute;" shouted Frank, straightening himself to his full +height and holding up his hand compellingly. "We're not going to lynch +this man. We're going to punish him worse than that." +</P> + +<P> +The German's face, which had grown hopeful at the beginning of Frank's +speech, resumed its terrified expression and he sank back despairingly. +</P> + +<P> +The shouts and cries of the crowd had settled down now to a muttering, +murmuring, undertone so that Frank's voice rose clear and determined +above it. +</P> + +<P> +"First of all," he said, while the crowd surged forward in mingled +disappointment and eagerness, "he's going to pick up the flags he has +dared insult, dust them off carefully and restore them to their former +position." +</P> + +<P> +The crowd shouted its delight at the suggestion, while the German's +face grew sullen and he looked stolidly at the ground. +</P> + +<P> +"I vill not do it," he muttered. +</P> + +<P> +"What's that?" queried Frank politely, while his knuckles dug deep into +his captive's neck. "I'm afraid I didn't quite understand you. If you +will repeat—" +</P> + +<P> +"I said I vould not do it," cried the German, with a sudden flare up of +his old rage and hatred. "Und vat I say I mean." +</P> + +<P> +"But I'm sure you will change your mind," Frank answered still gently, +while the crowd watched eagerly. "Within the next minute I am almost +sure you are going to pick up the flags, dust them off neatly and put +them back where you found them. If a little pressure is needed, why, I +am always willing to oblige." +</P> + +<P> +A sharp twist of the collar he held brought a guttural cry of pain from +the Prussian and a crow of delight from the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +"More yet?" queried Frank with another twist that brought the man to +his knees whimpering. "Or will you do what I suggested?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will do it," growled the German, hatred and pain in the glance he +flung his captor. "Led me go und I vill do it." +</P> + +<P> +"Good," said Frank. "I'll let you do it but I won't let you go. I +love you too much. Right this way." +</P> + +<P> +The crowd gave way before the advance of captor and captive, and before +them all the German was forced to pick up the flags, dust them to the +entire satisfaction of his gleeful audience, and, with Frank's knuckles +still urging him on, replace them to the best of his clumsy ability as +he had found them. +</P> + +<P> +With the flags of the triple alliance floating once more proudly in the +breeze, the throng sent up a mighty shout. Hats were thrown in the air +and cries were heard. +</P> + +<P> +"That's Old Glory for you! The more they try to down her the higher up +she flies!" +</P> + +<P> +"That's what the whole German nation's going to do when we get our boys +over there!" +</P> + +<P> +"We'll make 'em tremble in their boots!" +</P> + +<P> +"And now," cried Frank, "our German friend will stand at salute and +sing the Star Spangled Banner with all the expression I know his love +for our country will prompt." +</P> + +<P> +The German balked again but under the same gentle pressure as before +sang in husky tones and guttural accents the stirring measures of our +national hymn. +</P> + +<P> +"And last of all," shouted Frank, while the throng, wild with delight, +surged forward once more, "our dear enemy will, with all the reverence +due the greatest flag in the world, kneel here in the dust and kiss the +Stars and Stripes. Now then, kneel." +</P> + +<P> +"I vill not," cried the German, trying to wrench himself free. "You +cannot force me—" +</P> + +<P> +"We'll see about that," said Frank, while the crowd grew threatening +once more. "Will you do it—or shall I make you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will not do it," the Prussian reiterated stubbornly. "I have done +all the rest but dat I vill not." +</P> + +<P> +"Kiss the flag," cried Frank, now thoroughly aroused, his knuckles +showing white as they gripped his captive's collar. "Come on—we're +waiting." +</P> + +<P> +Slowly and relentlessly he forced the German to his knees, and driven +by pain and fear of the mob his captive finally touched his lips to the +flag. +</P> + +<P> +"And now," cried Frank, flinging the Prussian from him and dusting off +his hands as though they were polluted, "make yourself scarce. But +remember after this to respect the American flag. Americans are behind +it!" +</P> + +<P> +The crowd pushed and jostled the disheveled vandal as he slunk away and +then, after cheering Frank, gradually dispersed. +</P> + +<P> +"Boy, it was neat work!" cried Bart, as the two friends crossed the +street together. "Coming on to the office?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I've got to see mother first and straighten my tie," grinned +Frank. "I'll probably catch up to you though. So long." +</P> + +<P> +Frank found his mother awaiting him with outstretched arms. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my boy," she cried, "you were splendid! If you will wait just a +little while till our affairs are more settled I will not say a word to +your joining the army. If all Germans are like that—" +</P> + +<P> +"They are, Mother," replied Frank, grimly. "Germany is a nation of men +like him. What he did to our flags the whole Prussian empire is trying +to do to the world." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you must go!" cried his mother, holding him from her and +regarding him with flaming eyes. "Because I love my son, I will give +him—for my dear France and for America!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE DIE IS CAST +</H4> + +<P> +"That's it, Mother," cried Frank, his whole soul responding to the +kindling spirit in her eyes. "For America and France, the two greatest +republics in the world. It won't be the first time they've fought +together." +</P> + +<P> +"No," replied his mother proudly. "Lafayette and other brave sons of +France helped this country to win its independence, and it is only +right that now when France is hard pressed and pouring out her blood +like water, Americans should fight side by side with her to make the +world safe for democracy." +</P> + +<P> +"You're a true daughter of France, Mother," said Frank, admiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, <I>la belle</I> France," sighed his mother. "I love her with all my +heart and soul. How many times I have longed to go back and see her +sunny vineyards and her beautiful cities." +</P> + +<P> +"You and father were planning to go over there just before the war +broke out, weren't you, Mother?" asked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," replied Mrs. Sheldon. "And for two reasons. I was wild to see +the dear homeland again, and then, too, I felt I ought to go to see +about the property my father, your grandfather, left me. But then your +dear father died, and after that I had no heart to go. Nor could I +have gone anyway, had I wished, for the war would have made it almost +impossible." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, we don't care much for the property, Mother," said Frank. +"While I've got two strong arms I'll support you. And yet," he added, +a little more thoughtfully, "it wouldn't have been a bad thing if we +had been able to sell it so that you could have the money now when I am +liable to be called away. We've got only this house and the little +money that dad left us, and I'm afraid you will have all you can do to +get along." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry about me," replied the mother in a tone that strove to be +cheerful. "You know I have the true French thrift—you've said +yourself that I am a wonderful manager—I can make a little money go a +long way. The only reason I ever cared for the property was for your +sake, so that you could get a good start in the world. I don't know +now that we can ever get it. It was tangled up in a lawsuit and that +was one of the reasons why I ought to have been there in person when +the estate was being settled." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind, little Mother," cried Frank gaily, "I'm the richest fellow +in the world this minute with such a mother as you are." +</P> + +<P> +He gave her a quick embrace and kiss and hurried out of the house, for +he had been away from the office considerably longer than usual. But +quick as was the time he made in getting downtown, the news of his +exploit had preceded him and he found the place buzzing with excitement. +</P> + +<P> +Bart, who had let the story lose nothing in the telling, gave him a +resounding thump on the back as he came in. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's the fellow that made the Hun eat crow," he cried, jubilantly. +</P> + +<P> +"And from all accounts it didn't agree with him," grinned Tom. "It was +a dandy bit of work, Frank. I only wish I'd been there to see you make +the Hun kiss the flag." +</P> + +<P> +"Bully for you, old scout!" cried Hal. "There's a lot of other fellows +in this town that ought to get the same treatment. I know some of them +that had a regular party the day the news came that the <I>Lusitania</I> was +sunk." +</P> + +<P> +"I heard of that, too," said Frank. "But we want to remember, fellows, +that not all Germans felt that way. Some of them felt just as shocked +and outraged over it as we did ourselves. There are lots of fellows +with German blood in their veins that are just as good Americans as we +are." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose there are," conceded Bart, a little grudgingly. "Not all of +them are tarred with the same brush. But there are too many of them +who regard Germany as their father and America as their father-in-law, +and you know which one of the two a fellow is apt to like better." +</P> + +<P> +Just then Rabig passed through the room on his way to another part of +the building. He cast a sour look upon the group, and there was +special malignity in his gaze as it rested for a moment on Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"You're about as popular with Rabig as a rattlesnake is with a picnic +party," laughed Bart, as Rabig went on. "If looks could kill you'd be +a dead man this minute. He hated you before, but he hates you worse +now since he's heard of that little fracas. Gee, how I'd like to see +him have to kneel and kiss the flag!" +</P> + +<P> +"He'd try to bite it," put in Reddy. +</P> + +<P> +At this moment a group of newsboys passed outside, shouting their +extras. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess that means the President's gone and done it," cried Frank. +"Here, Reddy, take this dime and go out and get one of those papers. +If you're back in half a minute you can keep the change." +</P> + +<P> +"Whoop-ee!" cried Reddy, and was off like a bullet from a gun. Soon he +was back with the coveted paper, still damp from the press. +</P> + +<P> +Across the top in screaming headlines was the phrase: +</P> + +<P> +<I>President Declares War on Germany!</I> +</P> + +<P> +"That settles it," said Frank. "We're in for it, now." +</P> + +<P> +"Up to the neck," put in Reddy, whose small frame held an unlimited +amount of patriotism. "Gee, I wish I was old enough to get in it. I +wouldn't wait for no draft!" +</P> + +<P> +"And now that we're in, we're in for keeps. That's America's way," +said Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"She's put her hand to the plow and she won't turn back," said old +Peterson, solemnly, and into his dim eyes came the light that had shone +there when, in his youth, he had stormed with his regiment the heights +of Lookout Mountain. +</P> + +<P> +There was little more work done in the office that day. Business, for +the time, seemed a trivial thing. Something far greater and nobler +filled the hearts of these ardent young Americans. +</P> + +<P> +They heard the tramp of marching multitudes, they saw their country's +flag unfurled, those glorious Stars and Stripes, that had never been +smirched with dishonor, or gone down in defeat. And in their hearts +they swore that what had been true in the past should be true, too, in +the future, though they might shed their blood and lose their lives in +making it true. +</P> + +<P> +A great mass meeting was organized that night and Bart and Frank +attended it. The hall was thronged, and eloquent speakers voiced the +feeling that filled the hearts of all. But nothing stirred them so +strongly as when the final orator closed his speech with a scathing +denunciation of the Prussian foe, quoted from one of America's noblest +sons: +</P> + +<P> +"They have gone forth to battle in the spirit of their ancestral Huns. +Wreckers of cathedrals, destroyers of libraries, despoilers of +cemeteries, slayers of old men and women and children, barbarians by +instinct, pirates and incendiaries by practice, terrorists by training, +slaves by habit and bullies by profession—maiming, poisoning, burning, +suffocating, deporting, enslaving, murderers of the very souls of a +people so far as it is in their power—the rest of the world can live +on terms of peace and good will with them only after they have drained +to the dregs the bitter cup of military defeat!" +</P> + +<P> +Thunders of applause swept through the hall as the speaker finished. +</P> + +<P> +"Say, but that was a rattling speech," remarked Bart, as the two chums +walked home together. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," agreed Frank, "it was magnificent. But after all, Bart, it will +take more than words to win this war. It's up to us to turn those +words into deeds. It's bullets and bayonets that count!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY +</H4> + +<P> +Although it was nearly midnight when he reached home, Frank found his +mother sitting up and waiting for him. +</P> + +<P> +"You shouldn't have sat up for me, Mother," he said, in tones of tender +reproach. "It's too bad that you should be robbed of your sleep like +this." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mind as long as I know you're coming," replied his mother. +"It is the other nights I shall dread, the nights when I shall not hear +your footsteps on the porch, and I'm afraid that time is coming very +soon." +</P> + +<P> +"I fear it is, Mother," he replied gently. "There's only one thing +left for me to do. I have felt it before, but I feel it more than ever +after what I've heard to-night. I wish you'd been there, Mother, and +heard the unbelievable things I did about the way the Germans are +carrying on this war. And yet again I'm glad you weren't, for it would +have turned your very soul sick. There's no use talking, the Prussian +spirit must be crushed, and until it is, this world won't be a fit +place to live in." +</P> + +<P> +"I know you are right, dear," responded Mrs. Sheldon. "And though it +breaks my heart to have you go, I'll give you up as cheerfully as I can +and try to live through the long days when you're away from me. Of one +thing I feel sure, that wherever you go, or whatever your country calls +upon you to do, you'll make me proud of you." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll do my best, Mother," Frank replied. "I'm not going for glory or +for promotion or anything else except to see my country win the war. +All I ask is a chance to do my bit." +</P> + +<P> +Camport was a changed city the next day. A new spirit and new purpose +were visible in the looks of all. The long strain of waiting was over +and America was girding herself for the fight. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," old Peterson was saying as Frank entered the office, "it's up +to you young fellows to show that America's still got the stuff. I +only wish I were young enough to shoulder a gun and go myself." +</P> + +<P> +"You've done your share, Mr. Peterson," said Bart. "If the boys of +to-day do as well as those who wore the blue and gray they'll show the +Prussians where they get off." +</P> + +<P> +"It will make a big change in this place," said the old bookkeeper, as +he looked around at the group of eager faces. "You young roosters all +seem to be aching to get into the scrap, and there won't be any of you +left." +</P> + +<P> +"Rabig will be here," piped up Reddy, and there was a general laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"I could spare him," growled old Peterson, with whom Rabig was about as +unpopular as he was with the younger men. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, fellows, let's count noses," said Frank. "How many of us are +going to enlist and how many of us are going to wait for the draft?" +</P> + +<P> +"Enlist! enlist!" came in a general chorus, reinforced by Reddy's +shrill treble. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll have to wait awhile, Reddy," laughed Frank. "Your heart's all +right, but Uncle Sam isn't ready for the kids yet." +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Peterson said there were boys in the Union army only fourteen +years old," grumbled Reddy. "And if they could fight I don't see why I +can't." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm going into the navy," announced Dick Ormsby, whose father was a +retired sea captain. "I've got the love of blue water in my veins I +guess, and I'm aching to get a chance to pot a German U-boat." +</P> + +<P> +"Me for the aviators!" cried Will Baxter. "I always wanted to be a +high flyer—now I've got the chance. I know all about running a +motorcycle and that ought to help a lot." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to join the cavalry," joined in Hal Chase. "But they don't +seem to have much use for them in this war. Horses can't go over +trenches and barbed wire fences." +</P> + +<P> +"The infantry's good enough for me," declared Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"And for me, too," echoed Bart. "Uncle Sam needs men in every branch, +but after all, it's the hand to hand fighting of the armies that's +going to decide this war." +</P> + +<P> +At this moment, Mr. Moore, the senior member of the firm, came out from +his office. He was a large man with a genial face and bearing, and was +generally liked by his employees to whom he was fair and just. +</P> + +<P> +His eyes twinkled as he saw the alacrity with which the young men +scattered to their desks. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry, boys," he said. "I know that your minds aren't much on +business to-day, and I don't wonder. To tell the truth, I'd be sorry +if they were. There come times when there's only one important thing +in the world, and this is one of the times. I've got just a word to +say to you boys," he went on. "I don't know just what each one of you +is planning to do in connection with this war. Each one of you must +decide that matter for himself. From things I've heard, most of you +seem eager to go. I shall be sorry to lose you, for we never were +busier than we are now, but I should be still more sorry to have you +stay here when your country needs you at the front. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Thomas and I have been talking this thing over and we want to say +to you that as far as the money part of it is concerned you needn't +hesitate. We're not going to let you lose a cent by following your +patriotic instinct. Some of you have dependents at home who rely in +part or wholly upon what you earn. So we have decided that your +salaries will go on as usual—that is, that we will make up the +difference between what the Government pays you and what you are +getting now. In that way you will be able to serve your country with +nothing on your mind except the best and quickest way to win the war." +</P> + +<P> +A spontaneous cheer rose from the young men, as with a smile and wave +of his hand their employer turned back to his office. +</P> + +<P> +"Gee, but he's a game sport!" exclaimed Reddy, voicing forcibly if +inelegantly the feeling of all. +</P> + +<P> +If there had been any hesitation before, this generous speech removed +it and now the boys were ready for action. +</P> + +<P> +That very evening Frank and Bart, accompanied by Billy Waldon, went to +the headquarters of the Thirty-seventh regiment. Here they put in +their applications for enlistment. +</P> + +<P> +There were few formalities, for the regiment was eager to recruit its +numbers up to full strength. +</P> + +<P> +Neither one of the chums had any trouble in passing the physical +examination, for both were splendid specimens of manhood. Frank was +six feet tall in his stocking feet, straight and lithe as an Indian, +and with fine muscular development. +</P> + +<P> +Bart, who was two inches shorter, was broad shouldered, well set up, +and capable of great endurance. All the prodding of the doctors failed +to reveal the slightest defect, and they passed the test triumphantly. +</P> + +<P> +Then they took the oath of allegiance, promising in words what they had +long since promised in their hearts, and were duly enrolled as members +of the famous regiment. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, now you're one of us, boys," cried Billy, as he grasped the hand +of each warmly. "And, believe me, it's a great old regiment to belong +to. Come along and I'll show you some of the flags we carried in the +Civil War." +</P> + +<P> +They went with him through the armory and saw some of the treasured +relics that the regiment cherished as its most priceless possessions. +</P> + +<P> +There were the old flags, blackened with powder, torn with bullets, +that had gone through the fire of Antietam and Gettysburg and +Chickamauga. +</P> + +<P> +The boys took off their hats as they stood before them. +</P> + +<P> +There were the cannon that had thundered on the banks of the Rapidan +and in the valley of the Shenandoah. A glass case covered a letter of +commendation for a wild charge that had saved the day at Shiloh. There +was the blood-stained hat of the colonel who had fallen while leading +the regiment at Gaines' Mill. +</P> + +<P> +"That was the kind of stuff the regiment was made up of in the old +days," said Billy, proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a glorious record," said Frank, reverently. "And now it's up to +us to show that what the old boys did in Virginia, the young fellows +are going to do again in France!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +OFF TO CAMP +</H4> + +<P> +Now that the momentous step had been taken, the boys buckled down to +work—work of the hardest and most strenuous kind. +</P> + +<P> +They left their positions with Moore and Thomas the next day, with the +hearty good wishes of the firm and the assurance that their places +would be ready for them as soon as they returned. +</P> + +<P> +The only gloomy member of the office force was Tom Bradford, who had +also applied for enlistment but had been rejected on account of his +teeth. Now he had on a grouch of the grouchiest kind. +</P> + +<P> +"Hang the red tape!" he growled. "What have a fellow's teeth got to do +with it? I don't want to bite the Germans, I want to shoot them." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind, old scout," comforted Bart. "Perhaps the dentist can fix +that up. Anyway you can root for us if you can't go along." +</P> + +<P> +"Not much nourishment in that," grunted Tom, refusing to be shaken from +his attitude of settled gloom. +</P> + +<P> +"It does seem mighty hard," remarked Bart, after Tom had left them. "I +don't think the Government ought to be so particular. The time may +come when they'll be glad enough to get such fine fellows as Tom, teeth +or no teeth." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so," agreed Frank; "but just now they've got such a lot of +material that they can afford to pick and choose. And after all, +perhaps they're right. They've got to have a pretty high level of +physical condition." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you're right," said Bart, adding: "Suppose poor old Tom +should get a toothache in the trenches. You can't expect to have +dentists on tap." +</P> + +<P> +"As far as that goes," Frank took him up quickly, grinning at the +picture that rose before his mind, "I should think a good hard +toothache would be an asset. You'd be so mad you could kill a dozen +Germans. It would just be getting your mind off your agony." +</P> + +<P> +Bart grinned. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes and it would have another advantage. When you've got a toothache +you don't care whether you live or die. Getting stabbed with a bayonet +would be almost a relief." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so," laughed Frank. "He'd be something like the seasick +passenger who, for the first hour, was afraid he was going to die and +after that was afraid he couldn't. I suppose Uncle Sam figures it this +way," he went on, "if a chain has a single weak link in it the whole +chain is weak. +</P> + +<P> +"You know how it is in a crowd. A hundred people may be eager to get +out of a place, but if two or three in front are slow it holds up the +whole hundred. But I'm willing to bet that someway or somehow Tom will +manage to get in." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so, anyway," said Bart. "I'd like to have the old scout along +with us." +</P> + +<P> +A day or two later the boys got their uniforms and then they began to +feel like genuine soldiers. It set them apart from other men and +emphasized the fact that from now on they had but one aim in life, to +fight and, if need be, die for Uncle Sam. +</P> + +<P> +The first sight of Frank in khaki was a stab at the mother heart of +Mrs. Sheldon, although she could not avoid a thrill of admiration at +the splendid figure that he made. To her it meant separation, a +separation that was coming swiftly nearer with each passing day. And +there might be no reunion! +</P> + +<P> +But, although her lips were tremulous, her eyes were bright and she +kept her forebodings bravely under cover. She was a thoroughbred, and +it was easy to see where Frank had inherited his spirit. +</P> + +<P> +"How proud your father would be if he could see you now," she said with +a slight tremble in her voice, which she strove to conceal. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps he does," said Frank reverently. "If he were here I know that +he would approve of what I'm doing." +</P> + +<P> +The days were all too short now for the work that was crowded into +them. Government preparations were going on with feverish rapidity. +Events followed one another as though on wings. +</P> + +<P> +The order had gone forth for the draft and another order had decreed +that the regiments of the national guard should be enrolled in and form +part of the regular army. +</P> + +<P> +This latter order was the subject of some regret with the members of +the old Thirty-seventh, whose pride in their regiment was intense and +who had hoped to have it remain intact under its old officers for the +period of the war. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll lose our identity now," mourned Billy Waldon. "We'll just be +part of some big rainbow division, made up of fellows from all over the +United States. For my part, I think it's a mistake. I think the +regiment would fight better under its own colors and with its old +traditions to inspire it." +</P> + +<P> +"We mustn't criticize the Government, Billy," said Frank. "My theory +all through this war is going to be that Uncle Sam is right. He's got +good reasons for everything he does." +</P> + +<P> +"'Them's my sentiments'," put in Bart. "Whether we have the regimental +colors or not, we'll all be fighting under the one flag, Old Glory, and +it's only the Stars and Stripes that counts, after all. To me there's +an inspiration in the thought of the whole United States, from the +Atlantic to the Pacific, fighting as a unit." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, perhaps you're right," said Billy, somewhat mollified. "At any +rate, nothing can take away from us the fact that we're volunteers." +</P> + +<P> +A few days passed, then orders came that the regiment should be +assembled at the armory to be kept there day and night until they +should be sent to Camp Boone—as we shall call the cantonment that had +been prepared for them. +</P> + +<P> +To Frank's mother the order sounded like the knell of doom. It was the +final step of separation. The word had passed that the boys were to +bring all their belongings to the armory as no leave would be given +under any circumstances. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye, dear boy!" she began bravely, and then all her courage gave +way to a storm of tears. +</P> + +<P> +Frank's own eyes were wet as he folded her closely to him and comforted +her as best he could, though feeling very much in need of comfort +himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Bear up, Mother," he urged. "It will only be a little while before I +come marching home again, and I'll be thinking of you all the time and +write to you whenever I get a chance." +</P> + +<P> +He forced himself to go at last with many a backward look and wave of +his hand at the figure in the doorway. His heart was heavy as he +reflected that in the chances of war he might never see her again. +</P> + +<P> +The next few days were full of excitement, allowing him little time to +brood. Both he and Bart took to a soldier's life as a duck takes to +water. The martial spirit was there together with the quick +intelligence that enables America to turn out finished soldiers more +quickly than any other country in the world. +</P> + +<P> +They had an advantage too in being sandwiched in, as it were, with the +men who had just come back from the Mexican border and had had such +recent experience in practical outdoor preparation for fighting. +</P> + +<P> +Billy Waldon, especially, was a mine of information and suggestion, and +as they threw themselves into the work with all their heart and soul it +was not long before they could feel that they were graduating from the +"rookie" class and becoming regular soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +Their commanding officers looked on them with approval and secretly +wished that all of their recruits might be of the same high-class type. +</P> + +<P> +"You're going along like a house afire, fellows," said Billy, after +drill had ended one morning. "The manual of arms is just pie for you. +Kitchener used to think that it took a year to turn out a soldier. +I'll bet if he'd been on this side of the water he'd have felt +differently. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad you think so," said Frank. "But after all, we're just going +through the motions now. The test will come a little later on." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd bet on you now or any time," answered Billy. +</P> + +<P> +The looked-for orders came at last from Washington, and there was a +great stir and bustle at the armory. Then the next morning the great +doors swung open and the regiment marched forth, headed by its band. +</P> + +<P> +Through the old familiar streets it marched, amid the cheers and tears +of those who packed the sidewalks, past the commercial house of Moore +and Thomas, where old Peterson waved his hand tremulously and Reddy, +with Oliver Twist perched upon his shoulder, shouted himself hoarse and +nearly fell out of the window in his enthusiasm, down to the railroad +station where the long train waited for them. +</P> + +<P> +There they broke ranks while friends and relatives, fathers and +mothers, sisters and brothers, sweethearts and wives, crowded around +them, pressing last gifts into their hands, caressing them, enthusing +them, crying over them, until the warning whistle blew and they were +forced to tear themselves away. +</P> + +<P> +Those few moments had been precious ones to Frank and his mother, for +in them they had compressed a world of affection, that fell from their +lips and looked from their eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't say good-bye, little Mother," said Frank. "It's just <I>au +revoir</I>." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, dear," agreed his mother tremulously. "<I>Au revoir</I>. What is +that?" she interrupted herself with a start. "Ah, it is the whistle. +My boy, my boy, I cannot let you go. Yes, I will be brave," Frank +turned his head aside to hide his own emotion as his mother +pathetically tried to smile. "There, go, dear, go,—before my +resolution breaks entirely. <I>Au revoir</I>—my boy—my boy—" +</P> + +<P> +With a little strangled sound in his throat Frank tore himself away +and, without trusting himself to look back, climbed into the car with +his jostling comrades. Then he leaned far out of the window, caught +his mother to him and kissed her. +</P> + +<P> +The whistle shrieked again, and amid a storm of cheers and waving of +handkerchiefs the train moved out. The old Thirty-seventh had started +on the road to victory! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A NEW LIFE +</H4> + +<P> +For some time after the train had started the spirits of the men were +subdued. All were thinking of the dear ones they had left behind and +might never see again. They were thinking too of the new life—or was +it, perhaps, death?—that they were facing. +</P> + +<P> +But it was not in the nature of things that this feeling should long +persist amid such a buoyant, boisterous gathering of young fellows and +before long the cars of the train were resounding with jests and +laughter. +</P> + +<P> +"How far off is this Camp Boone?" asked Bart, who had secured a seat at +Frank's side. +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't exactly figured it out," replied the latter, as he stretched +his long legs comfortably, "but in the rough, it's about three hundred +miles. The way the tracks are crowded now, I don't think we'll get +there much before to-morrow morning." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't suppose they'll have it half ready for us," continued Bart. +"The Government's had to put it up in an awful hurry." +</P> + +<P> +"We can't expect to find all the comforts of home," returned Frank. +"But as long as we have a place to sleep and three square meals a day I +guess there won't be much kick coming." +</P> + +<P> +"There will be no discount on the grub," put in Billy Waldon. "Uncle +Sam's a good provider and he'll see that his boys have plenty to eat." +</P> + +<P> +Frank's prediction was fulfilled, for it was early the next morning +when the train stopped at the little town from which Camp Boone was +about three miles distant. +</P> + +<P> +It was a glorious morning for a hike and after the commissary +department had done its duty and each man had tucked away a good +breakfast under his belt the regiment fell into line and covered the +intervening miles in quick time. All were filled with eagerness to see +the place that was to be their home during many months of training. +</P> + +<P> +It was a busy scene that met their eyes when at last they came within +view of the camp. A small army of workmen was swarming all over the +place and the sounds of hammers and groaning of derricks and hum of +machinery filled the air with a deafening din. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't I tell you it would be only half finished?" said Bart. "I hope +they've got roofs on the barracks. They say they have bad weather +around here and I don't want to get killed before I meet a German. +Gee, that would be tough luck!" +</P> + +<P> +"You can't build a city in a single night," Frank replied, as he saw +the apparently endless row of buildings prepared for their reception. +"And that's what this is going to be—a city in itself. The wonder to +me is, not that they've done so little but that they've done so much." +</P> + +<P> +"They say there are going to be thirty thousand soldiers here," put in +Billy Waldon. "Before a month is over there'll be more fellows living +here than people in the whole city of Camport. That gives you some +idea of the work the Government has to do. But Uncle Sam is some +worker when he once takes his coat off. Even the Kaiser will admit +that before he gets through with him." +</P> + +<P> +The regiment had filed through the great gate in perfect order, but +once inside, the officers quickly gave the command to break ranks, for +they themselves were quite as eager as the men to inspect their new +quarters. +</P> + +<P> +The camp had been skillfully laid out by one of the most distinguished +architects in the country. Its general form was that of the letter U +about two miles long and a mile in width. The ground was slightly +rolling and had been nearly cleared of trees in order to permit the +erection of the buildings. +</P> + +<P> +But the architect had not sacrificed everything to mere utility for in +one corner of the camp a large grove of noble trees had been left +untouched and took away from the bareness of the general plan. +</P> + +<P> +Along the sides of the camp stretched the barracks, plain, two-story +frame buildings hastily put together and guiltless of any attempt at +decoration. +</P> + +<P> +On the floors were endless rows of cots with just enough space left to +afford a passage between them. There were no heating arrangements as +yet, but, as summer was just beginning, this was a matter of no +importance and there would be ample time for that later on. +</P> + +<P> +There were separate buildings that served as mess halls for the various +regiments. The officers' buildings were grouped together in a special +section and these, although plain, were a little more elaborate than +those destined for the men. +</P> + +<P> +Besides these there was a host of other buildings, stables for the +horses, laundries, lavatories, shower baths and all the other +structures that were essential to a city that had sprung up like +Jonah's gourd, almost over night. +</P> + +<P> +"Not half bad, eh, old man?" said Bart, giving his chum a bang on the +shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"I should say not," replied Frank. "They don't seem to have forgotten +much. It's neat but not gaudy." +</P> + +<P> +"Now if our friend, the chef, is all right," grinned Bart, "and isn't +stingy with the grub, we'll have nothing left to ask for." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll get a line on that pretty soon, I hope," said Frank, his eyes +wandering wistfully in the direction of the mess tent. "That hike's +made me hungry enough to eat nails. When the mess horn toots you won't +be able to see me, I'll run so fast." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll race you," said Bart. "Mother used to say I had the appetite of +a wolf. Now I feel like a pack of 'em." +</P> + +<P> +Any misgivings that they might have had on that subject were promptly +dispelled by their first meal in camp. The food served was well cooked +and abundant and those who sought a second or even a third helping were +not denied. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," remarked Bart, with a sigh born of comfort and repletion as he +rose from the meal, "I guess Napoleon was right when he said that an +army travels on its stomach." +</P> + +<P> +"Gee, if that's so, Uncle Sam's boys will travel some distance," said +Billy Waldon with a grin. +</P> + +<P> +"As far as Berlin, you bet!" cried Frank emphatically. +</P> + +<P> +Before many days had passed the regiment had fully settled down into +the routine of army life at Camp Boone. +</P> + +<P> +That routine was almost unvarying and therein lay its value in molding +the growing army into a perfect fighting machine. It fostered team +work of the finest kind. +</P> + +<P> +At six o'clock the bugle blew reveille that called the sleepers from +their cots. There was no disregarding that imperative summons, no +turning over for another "forty winks." +</P> + +<P> +In an instant the sleeping camp had sprung to life. Uniforms were +donned, faces washed, hair slicked back and cots made inside of fifteen +minutes. +</P> + +<P> +Then came the "monkey drill" and setting-up exercises, when the boys +had to go through all sorts of grotesque but beneficial motions to +exercise the muscles and stir the blood. +</P> + +<P> +Of course there was some grumbling at first. Bart, who with all his +physical fitness, liked to get his sleep out in the morning, had hard +work to get his eyes open and feet on the floor at the same moment. +</P> + +<P> +"Gee, how do you do it?" he grumblingly asked of Frank one morning, +just after reveille and while he was rushing around with tousled head +and one eye shut. "By the time I know I'm awake you're all ready, and +worse than that, you look as if you enjoyed it. Gee, it's a gift!" +</P> + +<P> +"You're like the man," Frank had remarked cheerfully, as he trussed up +his trousers, "who was sentenced to die at daybreak. 'Oh, that's all +right,' he answered. 'I never get up that early!'" +</P> + +<P> +But the setting up exercises never failed to banish the last vestige of +drowsiness, and by seven o'clock breakfast began to assume gigantic +proportions. And how they ate! +</P> + +<P> +After breakfast came the manual of arms, field practice, drilling in +semaphore work and sometimes—this the boys looked forward to and +enjoyed most,—a long hike in the spring sunshine to the exhilarating +beat of martial music. +</P> + +<P> +Then from eleven to two they did as they pleased and as dinner came +within that period they mostly, to quote Billy Waldon, "wolfed." +</P> + +<P> +The meals continued hearty and satisfying and as the days went on the +boys broadened out and seemed, by the aid of muscular training and +upright carriage, even to gain in height. +</P> + +<P> +One morning Frank found a poem in a magazine he was reading and recited +it to a group of laughing comrades. Thereafter it became the popular +mess chant and the boys standing in line with their dishes would shout +it out at the top of their lusty lungs to the great amusement of all +concerned. It went something like this: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"You may mutter and swear at the reveille call<BR> + With its 'Can't get 'em up in the morning;'<BR> +And you may not be fond of assembly at all<BR> + But you drop into line at the warning;<BR> +Police call will cause you a lot of distress<BR> + Though you answer at once or regret it,<BR> +But you jump when the splinter lips bugle for mess<BR> + And the hash slinger yells, 'Come and get it!'"<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Then came the chorus in which all joined:<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"For you know that it means<BR> + 'Form in line for your beans<BR> +With your mess kit in hand—do it now!'<BR> + And you cheerfully come for your coffee and slum,<BR> + For your coffee and slum<BR> +When the splinter lips bugle for chow!"<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +It was all great fun, this jolly camp life, but it had its serious side +also. All the boys felt the inspiration, almost exaltation of being +one of so great a body of men, men fired with the same enthusiasm, the +same great purpose to accomplish their glorious mission or die in the +attempt. +</P> + +<P> +Training in the use of modern weapons of warfare sobered the boys a +little. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose I'm squeamish," said Bart to Frank one day, when they had +finished a lesson in the throwing of hand grenades, "and I won't blame +you or anybody else if you laugh at me. But I don't like those things. +Every time I throw one I think of the possible mark it'll find some day +in the German trenches and it makes me sick." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Frank, nodding gravely, "I know just how you feel, only +it's the bayonet practice that gets me most. If those dummies were +human instead of stuffed rags, I couldn't feel much worse about +sticking the point into them.' +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, we're soft yet," said Billy, sauntering up to them. "I suppose it +will take us quite some time to get hardened to this wholesale +slaughter. But when we feel too squeamish, we want to remember the +Belgian women and children murdered and tortured, defenseless old men +slaughtered—" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Frank, his shoulders squaring and mouth setting grimly. +"There's nothing like the memory of Dinant to make a fellow grip his +bayonet!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH +</H4> + +<P> +As time went on the boys became quite expert in bayonet practice. A +French officer who had seen some of the bloodiest fighting on the Somme +was their instructor, and he was voluble in his praise of the "<I>esprit +de coeur</I>" the young men showed. +</P> + +<P> +Of course in the beginning there were some laggards, but these were +promptly whipped into line by officers and comrades. +</P> + +<P> +"It is maybe all right now to laugh and take the little interest," the +Frenchman was fond of saying to these few who lagged behind. "But when +you are in the trench, fighting hand to hand with your enemy, more +accomplished than you, it will not be so great a joke. You will not +laugh then!" +</P> + +<P> +"He's right too," remarked Fred Anderson, one of the veteran members of +the regiment who had seen service in the Philippine Islands. "There +will be plenty of hand-to-hand fighting where it's cut and thrust, and +the man who can handle his weapon best will come out on top." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose most of your own experience has been along that line," said +Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," replied Fred, as a reminiscent look came into his eyes. "Of +course that dinky little war in the Philippines wasn't to be compared +with this, but there was lots of savage fighting just the same. More +than once I've been within an ace of losing the number of my mess." +</P> + +<P> +"What's the tightest place you were ever in?" asked Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"The thing I remember most was a scrap we had with the Moros," replied +Fred. "That was pretty hot while it lasted. +</P> + +<P> +"You see," he went on, "those fellows had been acting nasty and had +given a good deal of trouble to one of our outposts. So our lieutenant +was ordered to take a detachment in a launch and go up a little river +that led to a settlement of theirs and give them a lesson. +</P> + +<P> +"We landed at the nearest point and had about five miles of jungle to +go through before we could get to their village. We did our best to +make it a surprise, but in some way they got wind of our coming and lay +in ambush. We were picking our way in single file when suddenly there +came a rain of bullets and several of our men went down. The rest of +us took to cover and the fight was on. +</P> + +<P> +"The Moros you know are Mohammedans, and about as nifty fighters as you +can find anywhere. Like all men of their religion, they believe that +any one who dies on the battlefield goes straight to Paradise, and that +gives them an absolute contempt for death. They were well armed too +with Mauser rifles that they'd managed to get hold of somehow, but +luckily for us they hadn't learned to handle them well and most of +their shots went wild. If their shooting had been as good as their +hearts were stout, they might have wiped us out, as they outnumbered us +two or three to one. +</P> + +<P> +"Has anybody got the makin's?" he inquired, as he stopped to roll a +cigarette. +</P> + +<P> +"Give them to him, somebody," said Bart exasperatedly. +</P> + +<P> +"For the love of Mike don't keep him waiting!" ejaculated Frank. "I +want to hear how Fred got out of it." +</P> + +<P> +Fred, not a bit averse to the interest he had aroused, was +tantalizingly slow in taking his time. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep your hair on," he drawled, as he struck a match. "I got through +all right, or I wouldn't be chinning to you now. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," he resumed after a preliminary puff, "we kept picking them off +whenever a head showed itself until they found that we could outplay +them at that game, and then they resorted to other tactics. Throwing +aside their guns and grasping their machettes—those murderous knives +of theirs that will cut a man's head off with a single blow—they came +charging down upon us. We didn't propose to stand on the defensive, +and after a vast volley that swept a lot of them away we fixed bayonets +and rushed to meet them." +</P> + +<P> +The group that had by this time gathered about Fred drew a little +closer. +</P> + +<P> +"It was touch and go for a few minutes," continued Fred, "but our +weight and discipline told, and soon we were pushing them back. Just +then however I stumbled over a root and fell to the ground, striking my +head and stunning myself. At that same moment the Moros were +reinforced and came back with a wild rush that by sheer weight of +numbers forced our line back for twenty-five feet or more. +</P> + +<P> +"I was trying to get to my feet when four or five of the nearest Moros, +brandishing their knives, swooped down upon me. It would have been all +over with me, if one of our fellows, a big fighting Irishman named +Hennessy, hadn't come plunging through the crowd swinging his rifle +round his head like a flail. They went down like bullocks hit with an +axe. They simply couldn't get inside the circle made by that gun and +by the time he had knocked down a half dozen or more, our boys had +rallied and had the beggars on the run." +</P> + +<P> +"Phew, but that was a close shave!" ejaculated Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"Close is right," agreed Fred. "I'd certainly have cashed in right +then and there if it hadn't been for Hennessy. I told him that he had +saved my life and that I owed him more than I could ever repay, but he +wouldn't have it so. The joke of it was that I think he was really +grateful to me for giving him a chance for such a lovely scrap. He +told me that he hadn't enjoyed himself so much since the last time he +had gone to the fair at Tipperary." +</P> + +<P> +There was a general laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"If it hadn't been for him, you wouldn't have had your chance now to +get a hack at the Huns," remarked Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"No," assented Fred, "and that would certainly have been hard luck. +But to get back where we started from, I want to put it up to you +fellows that what the Frenchman said was true. We can't take this +practice too seriously. Especially bayonet practice. We've had lots +of proof that the Germans don't like cold steel. They're brave enough, +but the French and English put it all over them in bayonet work." +</P> + +<P> +"That's right," agreed Frank, "and it's up to us to show that Uncle +Sam's boys can do the same." +</P> + +<P> +The hand grenade throwing was of special interest to the boys and was +the one most readily mastered. This was due chiefly to the fact that +it had points in common with baseball. Many of the boys were +proficient in the great national game. +</P> + +<P> +The firm of Moore and Thomas had maintained its own nine, and in the +season before they had carried off the championship of the commercial +teams in Camport. Frank had officiated in the pitcher's box and had an +assortment of curves and drops together with great speed that had been +the chief factors in the winning of the pennant. Bart had "dug them +out of the dirt" at first base. +</P> + +<P> +Billy Waldon, too, had been as quick as lightning in "winging them +down" from short. +</P> + +<P> +So that their throwing arms were fully developed and they took up this +new and grimmer game with the skill born of long practice. +</P> + +<P> +"This ought to be nuts for us when we get to the trenches," remarked +Billy, as he cut loose with a grenade in practice that landed within +two feet of the object aimed at. +</P> + +<P> +"It sure gives us a big advantage over the Germans," assented Frank. +"Of course they're drilled in throwing, but by the time they've started +in with it their muscles must seem strange to it. We've been throwing +a ball around ever since we were kids. It's in the blood. Our eyes +and arms have learned to work together. And then, too, a thing you've +learned to do from the love of it must be better done than when it's +forced on you." +</P> + +<P> +"Imagine a crack pitcher with a grenade in his hand and the Kaiser a +hundred feet away," said Billy with a grin. +</P> + +<P> +"An A1 pitcher wouldn't do a thing to him!" chuckled one of the other +recruits. +</P> + +<P> +"Would he put over a bean ball or a fadeaway, do you think?" asked Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"It would be a strike-out, whichever one he used," declared Frank. +"The Kaiser would do a fadeaway." +</P> + +<P> +The bomb they used was the Mills bomb which had been adopted for +general use in the British army. +</P> + +<P> +"Let's hope there'll be plenty of them, whatever else we're short of," +remarked Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"They're handy little things to have around when the Boches come over +for a friendly call," observed another lad. +</P> + +<P> +"If we run short we can make some ourselves," declared Frank. "They +won't be quite so nifty as these Mills bombs, but they'll do the work." +</P> + +<P> +"Listen to Edison talking," chaffed Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not kidding," declared Frank. "I got the tip from one of the +Tommys who was wounded in the Ypres fighting and is over here on leave. +Hustle around some of you chaps and get me an old tin can and I'll show +you what the Tommy showed to me." +</P> + +<P> +"What kind of a can?" asked Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, any old kind," answered Frank. "An old soup can, tomato can, any +can that Eli hasn't eaten up already." +</P> + +<P> +Eli was the big goat that served as the mascot of the regiment. He had +an omnivorous appetite and ate anything from cigarette butts to +washrags, and if anything was missing it was customary to charge it +against Eli. He was not only a billygoat but a scapegoat. +</P> + +<P> +A little search however brought to light an old can that Eli had +spared, and the boys looked on with interest while Frank prepared his +homemade bomb. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll roll up my sleeves, gentlemen, to show you that I have nothing +concealed there," said Frank, in his best conjurer's style. "Now watch +me carefully and I'll try to instill some scientific knowledge in those +thick noddles of yours." +</P> + +<P> +He took a handful of clay from the edge of the trench where they had +been practising and lined the inside of the can with it. +</P> + +<P> +"Now for the dirty work," joked Billy. +</P> + +<P> +Frank withered him with a glance. +</P> + +<P> +"Get me a lot of junk," he commanded. +</P> + +<P> +"That's rather indefinite," suggested Bart. "Junk shops are not a part +of this regiment's equipment. Uncle Sam's had so much on his mind that +he hasn't got to them yet." +</P> + +<P> +"A handful of nails or bits of iron or cartridge shells will do," +returned Frank, putting a detonator and explosive in the can and +tamping it down in the clay. "Anything will do that will make Fritz +see stars when it hits him." +</P> + +<P> +Bart volunteered a broken jack knife; one lad contributed a couple of +metal buttons; others handed over nails. +</P> + +<P> +Frank arranged the miscellaneous collection in as compact a mass as +possible, put in more clay and then put on the tin cover, into which he +first punched a hole. Through this hole the top of the fuse protruded. +Then he wrapped wire around the can so that the top could not come off, +and the bomb was ready. +</P> + +<P> +"There," he said, as he held his handiwork up for their inspection, +"when that is sent over to the enemy trenches there will be something +doing. It isn't much in the beauty line but it will get there just the +same." +</P> + +<P> +"Great head!" said Bart admiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"Not mine but the fellow's who first figured it out," said Frank. "But +it's a good thing to know, and you never can tell when it may come in +mighty handy." +</P> + +<P> +"I hear we're going to be gassed to-morrow," remarked Bart, as they +made their way to their quarters. +</P> + +<P> +Billy made a wry face. +</P> + +<P> +"That's one of the most hideous things the Huns have brought into this +war," he said. "I can imagine Satan chuckling when he heard of the gas +attack." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think he chuckled," said Frank bitterly. "More likely he was +jealous to have a German think of it before he did. It isn't often +that he lets anyone get ahead of him." +</P> + +<P> +"He'll have to step lively to keep ahead of the Huns," said Bart. +"They say there's no torture equal to that suffered by a man who has +been gassed." +</P> + +<P> +"And even if they don't die of it after days of agony, they might +better have died," added another, "for it leaves them ruined for life." +</P> + +<P> +"Surgeons get hardened in carrying on their profession," commented +Frank. "They have to be or they couldn't keep their nerve. But they +say that even the surgeons broke down when they stood beside the beds +on which the gas victims lay gasping for breath. They had never seen +such horrible anguish." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, there's no use expecting Germans to carry on war like a +civilized nation," declared Frank. "They've thrown all decency and +humanity to the winds. They've raised the flag of the skull and +crossbones and want to make all the rest of the world walk the plank. +They're pirates and barbarians, and there'll be no peace or security +for mankind until they're punished for their crimes." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a tough job that's put up to us Allies," said Bart. "A man's +job. But we'll put it through, no matter what the cost may be." +</P> + +<P> +"Right you are," ejaculated Frank fervently. "It wasn't only Nathan +Hale who wished that he had more than one life to give for his country. +There are a million Nathan Hales among Uncle Sam's boys and millions +more to come." +</P> + +<P> +As Bart had predicted, their squad was lined up the next day for a +practical test in gas defense. They had already had preliminary drills +in adjusting the masks, which had to be slipped on in six seconds. It +took a long time before this stage of excellence could be reached, for +some of the men were doubly slow, slow in thought and slow in action. +The quicker ones had soon acquired the habit of adjusting the masks in +the required time, and Frank and Bart could do it sometimes in five +seconds. But the drill went on unceasingly until all acted as one man, +for a single second's delay in fending off the infernal attack might +mean all the difference between life and death—and such a death! +</P> + +<P> +It was not a pretty sight, for the masks were hideous and the men +looked like weird monsters from another planet. +</P> + +<P> +"If only our friends could see us now!" murmured Bart to Frank in an +undertone. +</P> + +<P> +"They'd drop dead from fright," returned the latter. +</P> + +<P> +"Deep sea divers have nothing on us," chimed in a third lad. +</P> + +<P> +"You're insulting the divers," said Billy. "If they went down looking +like this, the sharks would throw a fit." +</P> + +<P> +At last the drill worked with clock-work precision, and the perspiring +lieutenant wiped his brow and gave vent to a sigh of relief as he +looked along the grotesque ranks. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess they're ready now," he said, turning to the sergeant. "Take +them down half a dozen at a time and let them get a sniff of the gas." +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Let</I> them," murmured a lad. "What a blessed privilege. Anyone would +think that he was giving us a furlough for good conduct." +</P> + +<P> +"Save your breath and come along," admonished Billy. "You'll need all +you've got in a little while." +</P> + +<P> +The squad was marched off to a little hut that stood in a distant +corner of the camp. It was a crude creation with a door and only one +window. Long before they got to it the boys could detect a faint acrid +odor in the atmosphere. +</P> + +<P> +"Now," said the sergeant halting his men at a little distance, "you +fellows break ranks and come along in single file." +</P> + +<P> +The single room of the hut had been filled with the same kind of gas +that the Germans were using along the western front, but in greatly +diluted form. +</P> + +<P> +"Take off your masks," commanded the sergeant, "and go along past that +window one by one. Make quick time too. I want you to learn just what +the gas smells like, so that you can detect it the minute it comes near +you after you get to the trenches." +</P> + +<P> +The men obeyed orders, and, as they passed, each got a whiff of the gas +that was escaping through a slight opening of the window. There was a +gasp, a cough, a wry face and a hurried scuttling by as each man went +through the ordeal. +</P> + +<P> +It is needless to say that there was no disposition to linger. Even +the slowest man of the squad displayed unsuspected capacity for speed. +</P> + +<P> +"Look at Fatty Bates," chuckled Billy, alluding to the most ponderous +member of the company. "Talk about winged heels! Mercury has nothing +on him." +</P> + +<P> +"It certainly got a rise out of Fatty," grinned Bart. "It's worth a +dollar to see him jump. Put a gas cloud after him and I'll bet he'd do +a hundred yards in ten seconds flat." +</P> + +<P> +"You'll jump too when your turn comes," prophesied Frank. "You'll +think the lid has been taken off of the infernal regions." +</P> + +<P> +The prophecy was verified, for though there was no danger, since the +gas had been vastly diluted, yet the odor was so vile and the death it +suggested was so horrible that they could not get away from it quickly +enough. +</P> + +<P> +"It's like passing close to a rattlesnake whose fangs have been drawn," +commented Frank. "You might know that he couldn't kill you, but if he +struck at you you'd jump instinctively, just because he was a +rattlesnake." +</P> + +<P> +"Some perfume that," remarked Billy with an expression of dire disgust. +</P> + +<P> +"New-mown hay—I don't think," growled Bart, sneezing as though he +would shake his head loose from his shoulders. "I got a bigger dose +than the rest of you slackers," he added with an air of superior virtue. +</P> + +<P> +"Martyr to duty," mocked Frank. "But we're not through yet, fellows. +The worst is yet to come." +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing can be worse," grumbled Fatty Bates, with profound conviction. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes, it can," said Billy, assuming the role of Job's comforter. +"We've got to go inside that Chamber of Horrors and stay there five +minutes by the clock." +</P> + +<P> +"Will we come out on our feet or be carried out?" asked Fatty Bates +with a worried expression. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll never be carried out, Fatty," chaffed Billy. "It would take +the whole regiment to do that. It'll be a crane and derrick for you +sure." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll put a torpedo under him and blow him through the roof," added +Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Now men," said the sergeant, "put on your masks and go inside, one +after the other. There's no danger if you've learned to put them on +perfectly. But if there's any sloppy work, the fellow that's careless +will find it out soon enough, and he'll get all that's coming to him." +</P> + +<P> +"Not much nourishment in that," muttered Billy under his breath. +"Suppose the mask's defective, got a hole in it or something like that." +</P> + +<P> +"If it is, it's better to find it out now than when we're actually in +the trenches," answered Frank. "I suppose that's the real reason for +this test. Here's hoping that no shoddy contractor had put one over on +the government." +</P> + +<P> +They filed into the grim little room after having adjusted their masks +with especial care and stood crowded closely together looking in their +ghostly attire like so many spectres. +</P> + +<P> +It was a grisly five minutes that seemed more like an hour to each one +of them. The dead silence added to the discomfort of the occasion. +Death seemed to be all around them, reaching out to them with its +skeleton fingers. They were in the "valley of the shadow," and it +sobered them. +</P> + +<P> +It was an immense relief when the knock of the sergeant on the door +summoned them forth and the test was over. And there was great +satisfaction when it was learned that all the masks had held and shown +that they could be relied on. +</P> + +<P> +Once out in the clean, sweet air and under the blue sky that never +before had seemed so beautiful, the boys tore off their masks in a +hurry. +</P> + +<P> +"Now I feel like a respectable member of society and not like one of +the Ku Klux Klan!" exclaimed Bart, as he looked around on the flushed +bronzed faces of his comrades. "My, but it's good to be out of this +hideous rig. I'd like to throw it into the river," he added digging +his fingers viciously into the unoffending mask. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll be glad enough to have it some day before long," prophesied +Frank. "Then you'll count it the best friend you have." +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't it pretty nearly time for mess?" asked Fatty Bates wistfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet, little one," remarked Billy. "The sergeant's got something +else up his sleeve, or I miss my guess." +</P> + +<P> +A groan went up from Fatty, which was quickly suppressed when the +sergeant looked sternly at him. +</P> + +<P> +"Form in single file, men," commanded the sergeant, "and make your way +through the trench. Bend over as you go, for you're supposed to be on +the enemy front, and not a head must show to be a mark for snipers." +</P> + +<P> +They did as they were told, and after they had reached a designated +portion of the shallow trench they were halted by their leader. +</P> + +<P> +"You're going to be gassed right and proper now," he said. "Some gas +shells are going to be thrown over toward you and it's up to you when +you see them coming to get those masks on mighty quick." +</P> + +<P> +Crouching low and on the alert, the men waited until a gas shell with a +hiss and a scream came hurtling in their direction and broke a hundred +feet in front of the trench. A cloud of gas came rolling toward them. +On went their masks in the twinkling of an eye, and the vapor passed +over them harmlessly. +</P> + +<P> +Several times this was repeated until the keen eye of the sergeant was +satisfied with the dexterity shown by the squad. And there was a +general sigh of relief when he summoned them out of the trench and +announced that drill was over for the morning. +</P> + +<P> +"Phew, but that was some strenuous work," remarked Frank, as holding +their masks in their hands the men strolled back in groups of twos and +threes toward their quarters. +</P> + +<P> +"I feel as though I had been drawn through a knothole," said Fatty +Bates. +</P> + +<P> +The thought of Fatty being drawn through a knothole was so ludicrous +that it provoked a general roar. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess we all feel pretty well used up," said Bart when the merriment +had subsided, "but all the same it's things like this that are going to +help us lick the Huns." +</P> + +<P> +And so the days passed in learning the grim lessons of war, and the +shadows, lengthening into evening, brought supper, perhaps some special +musical entertainment, a vaudeville show, or moving pictures, sometimes +only bonfires with smoking, laughing, joking crowds about them. The +boys enjoyed these latter evenings most when the funny events of the +day could be passed in review and enjoyed by them all. +</P> + +<P> +Then, promptly at nine the bugle called for "all lights out," and the +young soldiers, early as was the hour, obeyed it willingly. The +strenuous days in the open air made the narrow cots in the long +barracks particularly appealing. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you hear that joke Jameson was telling about the Yankee soldier?" +Bart asked one night, when all the rest were either asleep or on the +way. +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Frank, sleepily. "What was it?" +</P> + +<P> +"It seems a guard challenged him," chuckled Bart, "with the regular, +'Who goes there?' and he answered, 'Aw, you wouldn't know if I told +you. I've only been here a couple o' days'." +</P> + +<P> +"That's all very well here," yawned Frank. "But it wouldn't go in 'No +Man's Land'!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +NICK RABIG TURNS UP +</H4> + +<P> +"What is that? Shrapnel?" asked Bart, one morning, as he opened his +eyes after the reveille and heard the rain beating a tremendous tattoo +on the roof. +</P> + +<P> +"Hardly as bad as that," laughed Frank. "If it were, I bet you'd be +out of that cot more quickly than you're doing it now. But it sure is +coming down." +</P> + +<P> +"So much the better," said Bart, as he jumped out and hastily began to +dress. "That'll cut out the drill to-day and I'll have time to answer +some of my letters and darn my socks." +</P> + +<P> +But such roseate dreams were quickly dispelled. The storm increased in +violence after breakfast and the wind blew great guns. +</P> + +<P> +The Y.M.C.A. building was being erected for the use of that +organization but was not yet completed. In the meantime, the +Association had put up for temporary use a canvas tent, and as the +storm increased in fury the flimsy structure gave every evidence of +taking to itself wings and flying away. +</P> + +<P> +The captain ordered a detail of men to go out and surround the tent and +hold the tent pins down by main force if necessary. +</P> + +<P> +There was nothing alluring about the prospect, for it meant a thorough +drenching for the entire detail. +</P> + +<P> +But the boys had already learned the first great rule of military +life—to obey instantly any command given by a superior officer. +</P> + +<P> +So Frank and Bart, who happened to be among those chosen for the work, +jumped at the word. But they also had the soldiers' immemorial +privilege of grumbling among themselves, and Bart chose to exercise it +as they made their way in the teeth of the storm to the threatened tent. +</P> + +<P> +"Just our luck to catch the captain's eye," he muttered. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop your grumbling," adjured Frank. "Think how much worse it would +be if we were plowing through the mud in No Man's Land. Let's make a +lark of it." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll be up among the larks all right," returned Bart, "if this thing +ever gets away from the tent pins." They laid hold of the straining +ropes and hung on for dear life. "An aviator would have nothing on us." +</P> + +<P> +It was hard work while it lasted and their sturdy muscles were put to +the test, but they had the satisfaction of keeping the tent in its +place and after a while the storm subsided and the danger was over. +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't it about time for those drafted men to get down here?" asked +Frank, as they were on their way back to the barracks. +</P> + +<P> +"I heard yesterday from Billy Waldon," returned Bart, "that two or +three regiments were expected to-day. Up to now all the fellows here +have been volunteers. I'm curious to see how the drafted men will take +to the life." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose some of them will be sore at having had to come whether they +wanted to or not," replied Frank. "Still there will be lots of good +fighting material in them. I've heard Peterson say that the drafted +men in the Union Army fought as well as the volunteers. They'll all be +good Americans when they face the Huns." +</P> + +<P> +Even as they spoke they heard the far-off music of a band and saw the +men who were off duty hurrying toward the great gate of the camp. +</P> + +<P> +"I shouldn't wonder if some of them were coming now," remarked Frank. +"Let's leg it to the gate and see them come in." +</P> + +<P> +They reached a favorable position just as the first of the advancing +troops entered the camp. The boys studied them critically and in a +somewhat patronizing spirit, for they already felt like veterans and +were inclined to look down a little upon the "rookies." +</P> + +<P> +There was, of course, a good deal to criticize about the newcomers. +Most of them, up to a few days before, had never touched a gun in their +lives, many of them were in civilian clothes, and although they tried +to keep in line and step briskly to the music of the band, their +marching was ragged. +</P> + +<P> +Some of them, used to a sedentary life, were winded, even by that short +hike of three miles to the camp. They were raw material in the fullest +sense of the word. But the officers who led them and the men who +watched them, knew perfectly well what wonders could be wrought in that +outfit by a few weeks or months of training. +</P> + +<P> +The regiment broke ranks as soon as they were fairly within the +precincts of the camp. +</P> + +<P> +"Look there!" cried Frank suddenly, as his eyes fell upon one of the +near recruits. "If that isn't Tom Bradford, I'll eat my hat." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure thing!" shouted Bart, as he looked in the direction Frank had +indicated. "Hi there, Tom!" he yelled, and they both made a break for +the place where Tom was standing. +</P> + +<P> +In a moment they each had one of his hands and were shaking it as +though they would wrench it off. +</P> + +<P> +"Good old scout!" ejaculated Frank. "How in the name of all that's +lucky did you get here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I'm like a postage stamp?" grinned Tom, delightedly. "I stick +until I get there." +</P> + +<P> +"But I thought they wouldn't take you when you tried to enlist," said +Frank, a little bewildered. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you beat it?" returned Tom. "When I wanted to enlist they +wouldn't have me. Then when I was moping along and raving against fate +I was called up in the draft. The doctors there passed me without +letting out a peep. Say, maybe I wasn't tickled to get in on any +terms. It makes me sore though, to think I can't be in the old +Thirty-seventh along with the rest of you fellows." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind," said Frank. "The main thing is, you're here. We'll be +in the same camp and in the same division and we'll be able to see a +lot of each other." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not the only Camport fellow that's here," chuckled Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that so?" said Frank with interest. "Who is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Give you three guesses," grinned Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Hal Chase!" +</P> + +<P> +"Wrong," said Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Will Baxter!" +</P> + +<P> +"Come again." +</P> + +<P> +"Dick Ormsby!" +</P> + +<P> +"You're all off," replied Tom. "But you'd never guess in a thousand +years and so I'll put you out of your misery. It's Nick Rabig." +</P> + +<P> +"Nick Rabig!" they yelled, in unison. +</P> + +<P> +"Cross my heart and hope to die," laughed Tom, enjoying the amazement +of his comrades. +</P> + +<P> +"Nick Rabig, in a Yankee uniform!" chortled Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"And going to fight the Huns!" crowed Bart. "Say, isn't it rich?" +</P> + +<P> +"How does he feel about it," asked Frank, surprise and glee giving way +to curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +"Like a bear with a sore head," responded Tom. "Of course he doesn't +dare to say much, but what he's thinking isn't fit for publication!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +FOR FRANCE +</H4> + +<P> +The young volunteers looked about for the unwilling conscript and soon +caught sight of him, standing moodily apart from the others and with a +scowl upon his face as black as a thundercloud. +</P> + +<P> +"Papa's little sunshine," chuckled Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"Same old cheery disposition," grinned Bart. "Say, if he looked at +milk, he'd turn it sour." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose we ought to go over and speak to him," said Frank, +thoughtfully. "He must feel like a cat in a strange garret." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe you're right," said Bart, doubtfully. "I'm willing to try +anything once." +</P> + +<P> +They strolled over to the place where Nick Rabig was standing and +saluted him pleasantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Hello, Rabig!" cried Frank. "How do you like your first look at our +camp?" +</P> + +<P> +"If it was the last look I'd like it better," snarled Rabig, his sullen +resentment flaring forth at this unexpected sight of his old enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll change your mind, maybe, when you've had a chance to look +around some," said Bart, still trying to be agreeable, though the +strain was telling on him. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," added Frank, "if there's anything we can do for you, let us +know." +</P> + +<P> +"The only thing you can do for me," said Rabig, his brows drawing +together in a still blacker scowl, "is to get out of my sight and stay +out." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, so that's all, is it?" said Frank with a careless laugh as they +turned away. "Well, that's the easiest thing we ever had to do; eh, +fellows?" +</P> + +<P> +"You said it," they agreed as they walked on, leaving Rabig to glare +after them with helpless hatred in his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +After that, though they remained in camp several weeks, the boys saw +little of Nick Rabig and were just as well satisfied. Friction was not +in their line. They preferred the easy, happy comradeship that existed +among nine-tenths of the fellows. +</P> + +<P> +"I should think," said Bart, after a day of particularly hard but +fruitful practice, "that we were almost ready to meet the Germans." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I don't know about that," returned Frank. "But I shouldn't +wonder if we'd soon be sent over to France to finish our training +behind the lines." +</P> + +<P> +"Right you are," said Billy Waldon, strolling tip with Tom. "I +overheard a couple of officers talking about the immediate plans for +the regiment, and they seemed to think that we might expect orders +almost any time to go to a camp nearer the sea." +</P> + +<P> +"And from there I suppose we go across," said Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope that's right!" cried Frank, eagerly. "I'm just spoiling to get +into action." +</P> + +<P> +"All the fellows feel that way," said Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"All but Rabig," put in Tom with a grin. +</P> + +<P> +One day, the longed-for orders came and the camp with its thirty +thousand men hummed with excitement and activity. About ten o'clock +one bright sunshiny morning the regiment marched out of the gates of +Camp Boone, to the martial music of its band, no longer a collection of +raw recruits but a company of trained, vigorous young soldiers, ready +and fit for any work their country might apportion them. +</P> + +<P> +Two days and two nights they spent on the train and on the morning of +the third day started the march to the camp which was to be their short +abiding place. +</P> + +<P> +"Say, fellows, you can smell the ocean!" cried Frank, drawing in deep +breaths of the invigorating, salt-laden air. "Say, I'm not a bit +anxious to get on it!" +</P> + +<P> +"You'll be lucky," responded Bart, who was hungry and therefore not as +cheerful as was his wont, "if you don't find yourself under it before +you get through. They say those submarines are doing pretty slick +work." +</P> + +<P> +"They may be doing now," said Frank whose high spirits refused to be +dampened even by hunger, "but some day they're going to get done! You +just let that sink home, Bart, my boy." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd rather let some good juicy beefsteak sink home, just now," +grumbled Bart, rebelliously. "If I have to feel like this much, I +won't mind being sunk!" +</P> + +<P> +An hour later, however, Bart's spirits had soared to ecstatic heights. +His voracious appetite had been satisfied—and with beefsteak. +</P> + +<P> +One night, less than a week later, a startling thing happened. The +boys had turned in as usual sharp at nine o'clock, and were in the deep +sleep of exhausted youth when they were suddenly awakened by the +imperative notes of a bugle. +</P> + +<P> +"Wh-what's that?" cried Frank, sitting up on his cot and straining his +eyes through the darkness. "It's reveille—but it's dark as pitch." +</P> + +<P> +"It c-can't be morning," stuttered Bart, while a babel of questions and +answers arose all about them. "Gee, isn't six o'clock bad enough +without getting routed out at—what time is it, Frank—my watch has +gone on a strike." +</P> + +<P> +"Just two o'clock," returned Frank, consulting his radio watch, while +all about him was noise and confusion as the boys hastily got into +their things. "I know what it is," he added, shouting to make himself +heard above the din. "The time's come to sail and they didn't give us +any warning for fear the news would get out! Bart, here's adventure +for you!" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, I'll begin to enjoy it too," grumbled Bart, "when I get my eyes +open." +</P> + +<P> +The boys never forgot that ghostly march to the great transport which +was to bear them across to the scene of conflict. No sound was heard, +save the steady tramp, tramp of their feet, the occasional hoot of an +owl far off in the woodland, and the eerie sighing of the wind among +the trees. +</P> + +<P> +When at last, after several miles of this weird marching, the huge, +shadowy bulk of a ship rose before them, their hearts beat madly and +they thrilled with a wild exultation. +</P> + +<P> +Silently they marched on board. Then, the whispered commands of +officers to men, the throbbing of the screws, the soft gliding of the +great ship from the pier—and they were off! +</P> + +<P> +"For France," murmured Frank, his eyes gleaming in the starlight. "For +France and victory!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE LURKING PERIL +</H4> + +<P> +The shipping of the men had been carried through so smoothly and +swiftly, and everything had moved with such clockwork precision, that +before the sun fairly rose the giant steamer was out of sight of land. +And any spy who might have been lurking at any point on the coast would +have had his trouble for his pains. +</P> + +<P> +The night had been a broken one, but the army boys were so excited that +no one cared for the loss of sleep. Here at last was action. Now they +were fairly launched on the great adventure. Every mile that the great +ship traversed was bringing them nearer to the scene of actual +fighting, the roar of the cannon, the shriek of shells, the hand to +hand conflict with the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"It must make the Huns sore," laughed Frank, "to think that one of +their own great ships is carrying us over the ocean to fight the men +who built it." +</P> + +<P> +"Sort of poetic justice, eh?" grinned Billy Waldon. +</P> + +<P> +"They felt they had the goods on us when they smashed the machinery," +said Bart. "They figured it would take at least a year before we could +get the ships in shape again, and yet its only five months since they +scrapped the engines and here they're pounding along as good as new." +</P> + +<P> +"It's not the first mistake the Kaiser's made," agreed Frank. "What +was it that fellow Von Papen called us?—idiotic Yankees." +</P> + +<P> +"We weren't so idiotic after all, that we didn't get on to his game and +send him and his pals packing," said Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"There goes the call for breakfast," cried Billy, as the bugle rang out +its welcome summons. "This sea view is great but we'll have plenty of +time to enjoy that. Me for the mess and we'll have to get in line +quick or with this crowd we won't have a Chinaman's chance." +</P> + +<P> +"Billy wants to eat while he can," grinned Bart, as they plunged along +in his wake. "He's afraid he'll be seasick, later on." +</P> + +<P> +"Not on your life," flung back Billy. "You can't get seasick on this +ship. She's so big she rides half a dozen waves at once and she's as +steady as a church." +</P> + +<P> +Although the great ship was unchanged as regards the external +appearance, a complete transformation had been effected inside. When +it had first been built, it had been fitted out and decorated with +princely magnificence but now all the costly and beautiful fittings had +been ruthlessly torn out. It was like a great, hollow cavern from +stern to stern. Everything had been sacrificed to the need for space. +Cots and hammocks by the thousands took up every available inch that +was not absolutely needed for other purposes. +</P> + +<P> +It was a gigantic, floating hotel and apart from the crew, who +themselves ran into the hundreds, it carried many thousands of Uncle +Sam's fighting men. +</P> + +<P> +"A U-boat would certainly make a ten-strike if it sent a torpedo into +this craft," remarked Frank, as, after breakfast, the three friends +secured a point of vantage on the upper deck. +</P> + +<P> +"He'd get the iron cross from the Kaiser, sure enough," replied Billy. +"It's so big a target that he could hardly miss it if he took a pot +shot at it." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think there's much danger," said Frank, as he glanced at the +guns with their trained crews that guarded the liner fore and aft. "If +a U-boat attacked us she'd be the more likely of the two to get sunk. +These guns out-range anything that a submarine carries." +</P> + +<P> +"To say nothing of the convoys," put in Bart. "It's all right to +attack an unarmed merchant ship but it's a different thing when United +States destroyers are on the job." +</P> + +<P> +"Where are they?" said Billy, looking about over the broad expanse +which showed no trace of any other vessel. +</P> + +<P> +"They'll meet us when we get further out," said Frank. "There will be +no danger for a day or two yet. The U-boats are hugging the English +coast pretty tight." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think we ought to reckon too much on that," said Billy. "You +know, a U-boat did cross the ocean a year or so ago and sank five ships +right off Nantucket. That's coming too close home for comfort." +</P> + +<P> +"One swallow doesn't make a summer," replied Frank. "At that time we +were neutral and after the U-boat once slipped past the British fleet +there was nothing to stop it before it got to the American coast. But +you bet it would be no cinch to do it now, with the United States navy +on the job." +</P> + +<P> +The next two days were fair and the sea smooth. The great liner reeled +off the miles with tremendous speed. As Billy had prophesied, the ship +was so steady that there was very little sea-sickness and there was so +much to be seen and done under these novel conditions that every waking +hour was filled with interest. +</P> + +<P> +Two days later they picked up their convoy and all felt a very +comforting sense of security in the presence of the destroyers with +their business-like air and wicked looking guns. +</P> + +<P> +They kept pace with the liner, within easy reaching distance, +occasionally exchanging signals, and keeping sleepless watch day and +night over the huge transport. +</P> + +<P> +"The finest navy in the world!" cried Frank, with enthusiasm, as his +kindling eyes rested on these "bulldogs of the sea." "That's one +branch of the service where Uncle Sam has never fallen down. Man for +man, gun for gun, and ship for ship, there's nothing in the world can +beat them. Just watch them clean out that U-boat nest when they once +get over there in force." +</P> + +<P> +"They'll do to them what Decatur did to the Barbary pirates years ago," +said Bart. "Every other nation was paying tribute to them, but that +idea didn't make a hit with us and we went in and wiped them off the +face of the earth—or rather the face of the water. And what we did +once, we can do again." +</P> + +<P> +Frank's eyes had been idly roaming over the sea while they were +talking, but suddenly his gaze became fixed and he started to his feet. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you see that, fellows?" he demanded, sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" asked Billy +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't see anything," said Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"It looked like a flash of light on the water," explained Frank. +"There it is again. Great Scott, it's a periscope!" +</P> + +<P> +Almost as he spoke, the forward guns on the liner roared their +challenge, followed by the deeper bass of the guns from the nearest +destroyer. +</P> + +<P> +In an instant there was great excitement, though without the slightest +trace of panic. The ship swung around in response to a bell from the +bridge and began to zigzag in a bewildering fashion. +</P> + +<P> +Then a great white furrow appeared in the sea and along that whitening +lane came hissing a monster torpedo. Nearer and nearer it came with +lightning speed straight toward the vessel. +</P> + +<P> +Had the liner kept its course the torpedo would have struck it +amidships. As it was, it passed just back of the stern, missing it by +not more than a dozen feet. +</P> + +<P> +The destroyers came racing like mad toward the spot from which the +torpedo had been launched. No trace of the submarine was visible but +the destroyers circled round and round the spot, dropping their deadly +depth bombs in the hope of striking their unseen foe. +</P> + +<P> +Thousands of pairs of eyes watched for the result, while in their +excitement their owners almost forgot to breathe. +</P> + +<P> +Minutes passed and then a mighty cheer went up. For on the waters +appeared a gradually widening smudge of oil on which floated bits of +wreckage that told their own story. +</P> + +<P> +The U-boat had fired its last torpedo. One of the depth bombs had +sought it out in its invisible lair, battered in its sides, wrenched +open its seams and sent its pirate crew to their last account. For +that one boat, at least, the Kaiser's admirals would watch in vain. +</P> + +<P> +"We got it!" yelled Billy Waldon exultingly. +</P> + +<P> +"They can't always get away with it!" cried Bart, jubilantly. +</P> + +<P> +"What did I tell you about our navy?" crowed Frank. "They can't put +one over on Uncle Sam!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE WAR-SWEPT LAND +</H4> + +<P> +"You've got to hand it to that fellow, though," said Billy. "He had +his nerve right with him to try to cop out a transport right under the +nose of a convoy." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," agreed Bart. "Although, after all, it may simply have been a +chance meeting. The captain of the U-boat might have been as surprised +as we were when he came up to breathe and found himself so close to us. +But being there it was too good a chance to miss and he let fly." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe there wouldn't have been a high old time in Berlin if the +torpedo had reached its mark," said Frank. "Think of being able to +boast that they'd sunk thousands of Uncle Sam's troops! They'd have +hung out the flags and rung the bells and given the school children a +holiday." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, a miss is as good as a mile," returned Billy. "It's a heap more +comfortable sitting here and talking about it, than it would be to be +in the water or rowing about in small boats while the submarine shelled +us." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, that particular submarine will never do any more shelling," said +Bart. "It's all over with them now. It must be a fearful thing to die +the way those fellows did, like rats in a trap. It's no wonder that +the Kaiser finds it hard to get men to man his U-boats." +</P> + +<P> +"It is pretty rough on them when luck goes against them," admitted +Frank. "But if those fellows played the game fairly I'd feel sorrier +than I do. Don't forget, that if they saw us struggling in the water +they'd be standing on the deck of the submarine, if there were no +destroyer about, grinning and mocking at us. And if women and children +were drowning, it would make no difference to them." +</P> + +<P> +"Right you are," declared Billy. "Do you remember what that U-boat did +that sank the <I>Belgian Prince</I>? Smashed the small boats, threw away +the oars, and took those of the crew who were left on top of the +submarine." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Bart. "Then the Germans made everything tight and went +below, leaving their prisoners on the deck. The U-boat sailed along +the surface for a few hours and then slowly sank leaving their captives +to drown. If that wasn't brutal, cold-blooded murder, there never was +any in the history of the world." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope this submarine was the one that did the trick," said Frank. +"Perhaps drowning didn't seem such a rich joke to them when their turn +came." +</P> + +<P> +From that time on, the vigilance aboard ship was redoubled, for +although the general opinion was that it was only a chance meeting, no +one knew but what this U-boat was simply one of a fleet whose +companions might look for better luck where their comrade had failed. +</P> + +<P> +But nothing more was seen of the undersea terror until they were +approaching the French coast and then the boys were witnesses of an +exciting game that held them breathless. +</P> + +<P> +"Look at that speck up there in the sky," exclaimed Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"Biggest bird I ever saw," remarked Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"That's no bird," declared Bart, after a prolonged inspection through a +pair of glasses that he produced from his kit. "That's an aeroplane." +</P> + +<P> +"An aeroplane!" exclaimed Billy. "So far away from shore as this? +You're dreaming." +</P> + +<P> +"You can see for yourselves," replied Bart, as he handed the glasses +around. "Take a squint at it and you'll see that that bird never wore +feathers." +</P> + +<P> +"It must be a seaplane," announced Frank. "It's been launched from the +deck of some vessel and now it's hovering up there like a hawk, looking +for submarines. It's a funny thing, but they say that those seaplane +pilots can look right down through the water and see a submarine when +it can't be seen from the deck of a ship." +</P> + +<P> +"What's the dope?" asked Billy, with great interest. "Suppose he does +spot one, what good does it do?" +</P> + +<P> +"He's got a wireless equipment," explained Frank, "and he sends out +signals to trawlers and destroyers. They come on the jump and the +seaplane tells them just where the submarine is lying." +</P> + +<P> +"By jiminy, I think he sees one now!" exclaimed Tom Bradford, who had +just come up. "See that smudge of smoke over there? That means a +steamer's coming and there's another." +</P> + +<P> +As though by magic one boat after another hove in sight until there +were four, coming from as many points in the compass and heading toward +that point in the sea over which the seaplane hovered. +</P> + +<P> +The boys were on edge with excitement at the prospect of being in at +the death and as the liner was rapidly approaching the scene of action, +they had a clear view of what followed. +</P> + +<P> +Guided evidently by signals from the seaplane, two of the trawlers +stretched a long chain between them and advanced slowly toward the +other two who, with a similar chain approached from the other direction. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you suppose they're trying to do?" asked Billy, curiously. +</P> + +<P> +"The idea is, to get those chains under the submarine," explained +Frank. "After they've done that, they'll crisscross them from above. +If they once succeed in doing it the sub is done for. He's got to come +up and surrender or else they'll slip him a depth bomb and blow him to +flinders." +</P> + +<P> +Deftly and quickly the work went on under the direction of the skilled +veterans who held command of the trawlers. Then they waited for the +submarine to come up. +</P> + +<P> +But it did not come. Instead, it released a group of mines on the +chance of wrecking one or more of its captors. But they were on the +lookout for just such a contingency and fended off these "floating +deaths," waiting till they had finished their more important work +before rendering them harmless. +</P> + +<P> +Minutes passed and still the U-boat lay like a sullen monster, trapped +but not subdued. +</P> + +<P> +Then it was the trawlers' turn to take the offensive. Two depth bombs +were placed on the taut chains and slid down through the waters to the +hull of the doomed submarine. +</P> + +<P> +There was a muffled boom, a geyser-like rush of water, and then the +telltale oil that came to the surface showed that all was over. One +more of the assassins of the sea had paid the score it owed to an +outraged world! +</P> + +<P> +"And that's the Kaiser's weapon that was going to bring England to her +knees!" ejaculated Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"The Allies are getting the best of them," declared Frank. "It looked +at one time as though Germany were going to put it over. But we're +sinking them now just as fast as they can be built and when America +gets fairly to work we'll sink them still faster." +</P> + +<P> +"Just wait till Edison gets on the job. He'll find something that will +finish the U-boats in jig time. He'll make them look like thirty +cents," declared Tom. +</P> + +<P> +A little later they caught their first sight of France. Only a blur on +the horizon at first, it grew steadily larger, and the bow of the boat +was packed with the eager young soldiers, straining for a sight of the +war-swept land that had suffered so much and done so much in the fight +for liberty and democracy. +</P> + +<P> +Here they were to fight, here they were to suffer, here they were to +carry their country's flag to a glorious victory! +</P> + +<P> +Frank breathed hard as the land came closer, for to him France had a +greater significance than even to the others. It was his mother's land +and for that reason doubly dear. +</P> + +<P> +As the great vessel followed by others drew near the port, it was seen +that the wharves and shores were black with people. News had been +wirelessed of their coming, and the city had gone wild with joy at this +visible token of help from the great sister republic across the sea. +</P> + +<P> +Bells were ringing, whistles blowing, cannon booming. Flags were flung +out from all the buildings and the whole city was in holiday garb to +welcome Uncle Sam's army boys to France! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +WITHIN THE SOUND OF GUNS +</H4> + +<P> +"Here at last!" cried Frank in wild jubilation, as the transport was +made fast to the wharf. "Pinch me, fellows, to make sure I'm not +dreaming." +</P> + +<P> +"It's real, sure enough!" exulted Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Now we'll see action!" exclaimed Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"And get a chance at Fritz and Heinie!" added Tom. "I'm aching to get +a hack at them." +</P> + +<P> +Frank did not answer to this. Now they had arrived in France his mind +had drifted back to his mother and what she had said about the property +she had inherited. Would they ever be able to claim his grandfather's +estate? +</P> + +<P> +If the army boys could have had their way, they would have leaped +forthwith from the deck to the dock. They were wild to feel the soil +of the gallant country beneath their feet. But discipline had to be +observed and several hours elapsed before the troops were ready to +leave the ship. +</P> + +<P> +Then at last they poured over the gangplank, line after line, wave +after wave, in what seemed to the delighted multitude of watchers an +almost endless procession. +</P> + +<P> +They formed in line and after a formal exchange of greetings between +their commanders and the city authorities, the troops swung into the +streets with the bands playing alternately, the "Star Spangled Banner" +and the "Marseillaise." +</P> + +<P> +Such cheers as greeted them, such tears, such pelting of flowers, such +waving of flags as the stalwart young Americans marched through streets +that were packed to the curb with joyous, shouting, frenzied natives! +</P> + +<P> +It was a royal greeting that not one of the boys could ever forget. +</P> + +<P> +They reached the great barracks that had been assigned to them by the +French Government for a temporary halting place before they should go +to a place in the interior right behind the fighting lines. +</P> + +<P> +There was plenty of room, for the barracks were empty now, every son of +France of fighting age that could be spared, being at the front. +</P> + +<P> +"They sure seemed glad to see us," grinned Frank, as, after the march, +the regiment broke ranks and the men went to their quarters. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't wonder," replied Bart. "I suppose America felt the same way a +hundred years ago when Lafayette and his comrades went over there." +</P> + +<P> +"Gee, it seems strange to speak of America as being over there," said +Tom, a little soberly. +</P> + +<P> +"Not getting homesick, are you, Tom?" questioned Billy, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"I have an idea I will," Tom answered with a grin, "when I have time to +think about it. But it would make me sicker still," he added stoutly, +"to go back before we'd licked the Huns." +</P> + +<P> +"Right-o!" cried Billy. "When I go back I want to take a lot of German +helmets along to give to some girls I know." +</P> + +<P> +"Some girls," chaffed Bart. "You talk like a Mormon, Billy." +</P> + +<P> +The next few days were busy and delightful ones for the boys. The +townspeople opened their hearts and homes to them, and they were +feasted and entertained to their heart's content. Everything was so +new and strange to them that they were constantly stumbling upon +surprises. +</P> + +<P> +The language, to be sure, offered some obstacles. The boys had been +taught some of the most necessary French phrases while in their +training camp, and these along with some language primers they carried, +sufficed for their more simple needs. But their vocabulary was limited +and their accent was a fearful and wonderful thing, though their hosts +were too polite to laugh at them. +</P> + +<P> +Frank had some advantage over the others because his mother, being a +French woman, had taught him her native tongue, and it was a great +comfort to the rest of the Camport boys to have Frank along with them +as interpreter when they themselves were stumped—which, it must be +confessed, was often! +</P> + +<P> +Tom especially, who had no gift for languages was usually in hot water. +His struggles with the language were frantic, not to say pathetic. +</P> + +<P> +"You're game, old scout," chaffed Billy, after Tom had wrestled in vain +with the pronunciation of the French word for soup. "But why in +thunder did you make that waiter crazy by asking for bullion? Any one +would think you were trying to cop off the United States mint." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what should I say?" Tom defended himself stoutly, as he thumbed +over his phrase book. "There it is, plain as day," he added, +triumphantly—"b-o-u-i-l-l-o-n. If that isn't bullion, what is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"You're all wrong, you're all wrong," said Bart condescendingly. "It's +<I>bwe-yone</I>, just like that." +</P> + +<P> +Tom tried it once or twice desperately and then gave it up. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd have to have a cold in my head to talk that way," he protested, +pocketing the book in disgust. "I'm not going to try any more. The +more I try the worse I get. The next time, I'm going to ask for soup, +plain, old fashioned American soup. S-o-u-p. Get that? Then the +waiter can do the guessing!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and then he'll serve you spaghetti," laughed Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"So much the better," grinned Tom. "Let him go through the whole +shooting match. Sooner or later he'll come to soup and when he does +I'll be there." +</P> + +<P> +"And you intend to eat right through the menu?" queried Billy +admiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"The which?" asked Tom. "Oh, you mean the bill of fare. Sure thing. +I don't care whether it's soup to nuts or nuts to soup, I'll catch it +coming and going." +</P> + +<P> +"And you're the fellow they wouldn't let enlist on account of his +teeth," moaned Billy, with a doleful shake of his head. +</P> + +<P> +"They didn't know me," grinned Tom. +</P> + +<P> +The army boys spent nearly a week in the barracks to get rid of their +"sea legs," and then the order came to go to the new camp, right behind +the lines that had been assigned to them. +</P> + +<P> +It was too far for a hike and the railroads were taxed to their +capacity in taking supplies to the forces at the front. But the +problem was solved by a multitude of gigantic motor trucks, lorries, in +which two score of men could find accommodation. +</P> + +<P> +They were high-powered machines capable of tremendous speed and they +rushed over the fine French highways like so many express trains. +</P> + +<P> +"This is the thing that saved Paris," remarked Frank. "If Gallieni +hadn't packed all his troops and rushed them up as reinforcements, +France would have lost the battle of the Marne." +</P> + +<P> +"They're great goers all right," commented Bart. "We're sure breaking +the speed laws. But I don't see any traffic cops stopping us." +</P> + +<P> +"They'd only cheer us on," grinned Tom. "We can't get to the battle +lines too quick to suit the French." +</P> + +<P> +Up hill and down dale they raced, through thriving cities, and quaint +villages, past peasant cottages and princely chateaux, lying beautiful +and serene in the bright sunshine. +</P> + +<P> +They were in the garden spot of France, a place that had yet been +spared the horror and devastation of war, and the only thing that +seemed unnatural was the striking absence of young men. +</P> + +<P> +Women everywhere were doing the work, in the fields, in the stores, at +the railroad stations, on the streets and country roads. Scarcely any +males were seen except old men and boys. +</P> + +<P> +There was no need to ask where the young men were. At Verdun, on the +Somme, on the Aisne; everywhere on that long line of trenches that +stretched from the Vosges to the sea, they were fighting like heroes to +keep the Hun at bay. +</P> + +<P> +And on the heart of each were written those immortal words spoken at +Verdun: "<I>They shall not pass!</I>" +</P> + +<P> +Hour after hour went by. Suddenly Frank asked: +</P> + +<P> +"What was that, fellows? Did you hear it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sounded to me like thunder," said Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"With a sky like this?" replied Frank. "Never. Listen!" +</P> + +<P> +Borne on the wind came a long, booming sound, growing longer and louder +as they sped toward it, falling fitfully at times, only to swell into a +mightier rumble like the roar of waves dashing against the coast. +</P> + +<P> +They looked at each other with comprehension dawning in their eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"It's thunder all right, Bart," said Frank, quietly. "It's the thunder +of the guns! We are getting near the fighting front at last!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE AIRSHIP RAID +</H4> + +<P> +The signs multiplied now that they were approaching the battle lines. +Apart from the ominous roar which had now become unceasing, war showed +its grim face on every hand. +</P> + +<P> +They dashed through "rest billets"—the towns behind the lines where +the exhausted soldiers, who had served their term in the trenches, were +sent back for a few days or weeks of rest while fresh troops took their +places. +</P> + +<P> +The roads became more congested with trucks carrying supplies and +ammunition to the front. Ambulances came past in an endless stream, +bearing their quota of wounded men. Hospitals were everywhere, marked +with a Red Cross that bespoke their mission of mercy and healing. +</P> + +<P> +And there were cemeteries too, with their endless rows of simple wooden +crosses on which were inscribed the names and regimental numbers of +those who slept beneath. +</P> + +<P> +Cripples, too, there were, with missing legs or arms, and blinded ones, +who had looked for the last time on scenes of warfare. +</P> + +<P> +It was the seamy side of war that thrust itself upon their sight. But +though it sobered, it did not daunt these eager young Americans who had +come to do their part and "see it through." It only deepened their +indignation at the merciless military power that had brought such woe +and misery upon the world, and each breathed a vow to himself that he +would not rest until that power was curbed and punished as it deserved +to be. +</P> + +<P> +"This looks like the real thing," remarked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"That's what!" agreed Bart. "You can see already that war is what +Sherman said it was." +</P> + +<P> +"This is nothing," put in Billy. "It's only the fringe. It's only +when we get in the trenches that we'll know anything about it." +</P> + +<P> +"Some of us may not know much then," put in Tom. "It all depends on +how long we succeed in dodging the bullets." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," observed Billy. "Or our experience may be like that of the +Tommy who said 'First, I 'ears a 'orrible noise and the next thing I +'ears the nurse sayin', "Sit up and drink this!"'" +</P> + +<P> +There was a laugh that broke the tension, and before long they reached +the district that had been chosen for their intensive training. +</P> + +<P> +It was a wide stretch of rolling country several miles in extent, and +it had been chosen because it resembled in its main features the actual +territory where the fight was going on. +</P> + +<P> +There were brooks and hills, valleys and quarries, woods and +meadowlands with a few small hamlets of scattered houses. +</P> + +<P> +There were no spacious barracks such as they had been used to in the +cantonments at home. The troops were quartered here and there as +opportunity offered. +</P> + +<P> +Thousands of dog tents had been erected on the level places and in +these the majority of the men were sheltered. +</P> + +<P> +Every cottage and chateau also had its quota, and farmhouses with their +outlying barns and stables were utilized to the utmost. +</P> + +<P> +"Hope they don't separate us, fellows," said Frank, as he watched the +corporals and sergeants picking out various squads and assigning them +their billets. +</P> + +<P> +"Gee, so do I," echoed Bart. "The old bunch has been together ever +since we left Camport and I have a hunch our luck's going to continue." +</P> + +<P> +The "hunch" proved to have a solid foundation, for the four army boys +were all sent off together with about forty more of their comrades to +an old mill that stood near the edge of the camp. +</P> + +<P> +It was a low, rambling structure with plenty of windows that gave it +ample light and an air of homely comfort that delighted the young +soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +"This is what I call luck," chortled Tom, as he looked about him and +glanced up at the well-thatched roof that seemed rain-proof. +</P> + +<P> +"It beats a dog tent by a thousand miles," returned Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"It doesn't matter so much while the weather's still warm," said Bart, +"but oh, boy! when the winter comes, maybe it won't be good to have a +snug roof like this over our heads." +</P> + +<P> +A little cottage adjoining the mill served as a mess hall for the squad +billeted there and the presiding genius of the place was a French cook, +who had as his assistant a young Irish lad whose most prominent points +were a shock of red hair and a mischievous disposition. +</P> + +<P> +"Anatole is a good chef, all right," Frank remarked one day, shortly +after they had had a most appetizing meal. "He may have his faults and +probably does, but he cooks to beat the band." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," agreed Bart, "he's a dandy cook but he's got a hair-trigger +temper. I've heard him bawling out his helper in all the French +epithets there are, and that's quite a few apparently." +</P> + +<P> +"Righto!" laughed Frank. "There's a big lot of them and Anatole knows +them all. He could give points to the driver of a team of army mules. +You've got to hand it to him for being thorough anyway. Without that +outlet he'd probably go crazy." +</P> + +<P> +"Possibly," assented Bart. "There's no telling. But listen. 'Speak +of the cook and you'll hear him shouting' or words to that effect. +Great Scott! He's mad for fair this time." +</P> + +<P> +"You've said it!" ejaculated Frank. "He's about as angry as it's +possible for a Frenchman to be—and that's going some." +</P> + +<P> +Fate had willed that that day the Irish helper in a spirit of impish +perversity should have annoyed the cook in various covert and ingenious +ways until the latter's irritation broke all bounds. +</P> + +<P> +The cottage door flew open and the boy bounced out, about two jumps +ahead of the cook whose face was crimson and eyes bulging. +</P> + +<P> +"Pat has an air of haste about him," remarked Frank with a grin. +</P> + +<P> +"He'd better have," laughed Bart. "Anatole is up in the air for fair." +</P> + +<P> +"Leetle rat zat you air!" shouted the enraged cook, shaking a ladle +furiously at his helper who stood at a safe distance wearing a +tantalizing grin. "Sacre! but you drive me cr-r-r-azy weet your seely +tricks. You air one Irish monkey, zat ees what you air! Ef I get hol' +of you—ah, you weel not forget eet soon, I tell you zat!" and he made +a clumsy rush for the boy who easily dodged around a corner of the +cottage. The cook raced after him and the pair made several circuits +of the little building, although it was evident that the cook had +absolutely no chance of catching his agile tormentor. +</P> + +<P> +They made a highly ludicrous sight, and Frank and Bart, who happened to +be the only spectators of the scene, roared with laughter, stamping +about and hammering each other on the shoulder in the excess of their +merriment. +</P> + +<P> +But the cook was not long in discovering the futility of his efforts +and gave up the chase, puffing and blowing like a grampus. His wrath +had in nowise abated however, and he shook his fist impotently at the +boy, who by his very silence and the ease with which he eluded him +drove the unfortunate chef into a very paroxysm of fury. +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Mille tonnerres!</I>" he shouted, and hurled the heavy ladle he had been +carrying straight at his assistant's head. But the lad ducked in time, +and the heavy missile went whistling past him and found lodgment in the +underbrush beyond. +</P> + +<A NAME="p133"></A> + +<P> +"Better luck nixt toime," jeered the imp. "Try agin, why don't ye? +Ye've got plinty uv thim ladles left. 'Tis the bist uv exercise, +throwin' thim things is." +</P> + +<P> +Frank and Bart shouted afresh, while the outraged cook tore his hair in +desperation and gave vent to a stream of epithets. The boy said +nothing, but put his hand to his ear and affected to listen in a manner +far more irritating than words could possibly have been. +</P> + +<P> +The cook's face grew more crimson than before and his naturally +protruding eyes seemed about to leave their sockets. He danced wildly +about, shaking his clenched fists madly in the air. At last however, +just when he seemed threatened with a stroke of apoplexy, he stopped +from sheer exhaustion and for the first time became conscious of the +presence of Frank and Bart who were leaning on each other for support, +convulsed with laughter and the tears streaming from their eyes. +</P> + +<P> +He glared malevolently at them for a few moments but finding that this +had little effect at last turned and went into the cottage still +muttering imprecations on the head of his assistant. +</P> + +<P> +"Help, help!" gasped Frank. "Hold me up, Bart, or I'll go down. My, +but that was rich." +</P> + +<P> +"All of that," agreed Bart, wiping the tears from his eyes. "If we'd +only had a moving picture machine and a phonograph handy to take down +that scene. It would be the biggest hit of the age." +</P> + +<P> +"It would have meant oodles of coin and no mistake," assented Bart. +"We'd have been beyond the reach of want for the rest of our natural +lives." +</P> + +<P> +"Anatole's got a circus clown beaten by a thousand miles," replied +Frank. "It's too bad that the rest of the fellows couldn't have been +here to see the circus. But I suppose it's ungrateful to criticize +fate after she's been so kind to us." +</P> + +<P> +"I should say so," chuckled Bart. "If I live to be a hundred years +old, I never expect to see anything funnier," and at the remembrance of +the comical scene he started laughing afresh with his hand pressed +against his side. +</P> + +<P> +"Just the same," said Frank, when they had at last quieted down, "I +wouldn't like to be in that red-headed helper's shoes. He's got to go +into the cottage soon, and when he does I have a hunch that something +will happen to him." +</P> + +<P> +"I think it's extremely likely," agreed Bart, "and I can't say but what +he deserves it. It seems to me that Anatole has something coming to +him in the way of revenge." +</P> + +<P> +It was with considerable amusement that the two chums watched the +actions of the Irish lad. For some time he kept clear of the cottage, +but then the door opened and the cook's head appeared in the doorway. +</P> + +<P> +"Come here, you Mickey!" he called, in tones meant to be reassuring, +"and peel ze potatoes." +</P> + +<P> +With a good deal of caution the boy reluctantly approached, but stopped +just out of the cook's reach for a parley. +</P> + +<P> +"Wot ye goin' ter do wit' me whin ye git holt uv me?" he queried. "I +wuz only foolin' wit' ye before. Can't ye take a little joke?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nevaire mind," replied the cook realizing his advantage. "Come an' +get beezy, else I tell ze captain you air—wat you call +eet?—inzubordinate. Zen he make you come." +</P> + +<P> +The boy glanced desperately around in search of some way of escape from +his predicament, but finding none finally went reluctantly into the +cottage. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's where retribution falls on him," said Frank with a grin. +</P> + +<P> +He was not mistaken, for the boy had scarcely entered when there issued +forth the sound of several lusty smacks. Then came a high-pitched +scolding which showed that Anatole had had recourse to moral as well as +physical suasion. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know but what I'd rather have the licking than the scolding," +chuckled Bart as they listened to the voluble eloquence of the chef. +</P> + +<P> +"Either one's bad enough," laughed Frank. "I guess our young +red-headed friend has got all that was coming to him." +</P> + +<P> +Now the intensive training of the boys began in earnest. And training +now had a meaning that it had never had while they were still on +American soil. +</P> + +<P> +For at that time they had not fully grasped the fact that they were +actually at war. There had been a certain dream-like quality about it +that had been like a scene from a play. +</P> + +<P> +The only cannon they had heard were those fired in salute or at +practice. The zip of a bullet had only meant that that bullet was +speeding toward a wooden target. +</P> + +<P> +But now the roar of cannon, multiplied a thousand fold above everything +they had heard before, meant that deadly missiles were seeking out +human life in an effort to maim and destroy. +</P> + +<P> +And soon—how soon they did not know, but still soon—they themselves +would be the target for whining bullets and shrieking shells. +</P> + +<P> +Practice now meant something. Expertness might mean the difference +between saving life or losing it. A new spirit ran through the men +like an electric current. No need now for their officers to urge them +on. If anything, they had to hold the young soldiers back, lest they +burn up their vitality and exhaust their strength before they were put +to the final test. +</P> + +<P> +As far as possible, the camp became a mimic battlefield. Trenches were +dug, precisely like those that they would soon be holding against the +attacks of the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +Barbed wire fences were built by one regiment and cut through and +beaten down by another, which, for the time being, was chosen to play +the part of the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +The bayonet practice was no longer against dummies but against a picked +squad of their own comrades. And each side in these mimic battles was +so eager to win that at times they almost forgot themselves, with +slight wounds and bruises as a result before their officers could +intervene. +</P> + +<P> +"We're getting there, Bart!" cried Frank, as he wiped the perspiration +from his brow, after a particularly strenuous encounter. "I'd back our +boys right now to hold their own against any bunch of equal size that +the Boches can send against them." +</P> + +<P> +"We sure are doing dandy work," assented Bart. "I wonder when they're +going to put us on the firing line?" +</P> + +<P> +"Before long I hope," chimed in Tom. "I'm aching to get a whack at +them. It's the only way I can let off steam," he added, ruefully. "I +came near running one of the boys through with my bayonet to-day." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder where they'll put us," conjectured Billy. "I suppose they'll +sandwich us in with some of the French troops for a while until we get +our bearings." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe," said Frank. "But I'd like better to have us fellows take up +some sector and hold it all by ourselves. The tri-color's a fine flag, +but when I fire my first bullet at a Hun I want to be under the Stars +and Stripes." +</P> + +<P> +"You've said it!" declared Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"You fellows are regular fire-eaters," laughed Dick Lever, a young +fellow with whom the boys had struck up a friendship. +</P> + +<P> +He wore an aviator's uniform and was a fine type of young American. He +was one of those who, on seeing war impending, had not waited for the +formal declaration, but, at their own expense, had sailed to the old +country to help France and, so doing, the United States. +</P> + +<P> +Bronzed, upstanding, clear-eyed, he had succeeded in making the army +boys like him immensely and had imparted to them many useful and +interesting stories of modern warfare. +</P> + +<P> +"You're a good one to talk," said Billy. "When it comes to fire +eating, you aren't so slow yourself. I heard from one of the fellows +yesterday what you did at the battle of the Somme." +</P> + +<P> +Dick blushed like a girl. +</P> + +<P> +"That was nothing," he protested. "Just part of the day's work." +</P> + +<P> +"What's the dope?" asked Tom with interest. "I haven't heard the +story, and from the beginning, it ought to be good." +</P> + +<P> +"Will Scott was telling me about it," said Billy. "He says that Dick +here went over the German lines and started a little war all by +himself. He flew low near the ground, letting loose his machine gun at +a whole regiment of German soldiers just forming up for action. Went +along a little further and lambasted a bunch of German officers in an +automobile, killed two of them and made the others jump out and hide +under the machine. Then came back and, just for good measure, let fly +his machine gun at the same regiment he'd soaked going out. After that +I guess he knocked off and called it a day's work. +</P> + +<P> +"That's why he wears that decoration," he added, pointing to the cross +on Dick's jacket. +</P> + +<P> +"See him blush," chaffed Tom. "It's funny how these fellows that can +face any number of bullets, turn coward when it comes to praise. You'd +almost think we were accusing him of a crime." +</P> + +<P> +"Any other of the boys would have done the same if he had had my +chance," said Dick. "Sometimes I go days at a time without having a +chance for a scrap. That just happened to be my lucky day." +</P> + +<P> +"The Huns didn't call it that," laughed Frank. +</P> + +<P> +Dick who, as a matter of custom, had been scanning the sky, uttered a +sharp exclamation. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's another bit of luck, fellows, perhaps," he cried, and without +further farewell, was off like a shot toward his machine, which had +been waiting, with his mechanic to guard it, a hundred yards away. +</P> + +<P> +High up in the sky appeared a squadron of airships that by their +markings and designs the boys recognized as enemy planes. They were +evidently bent on adventure and had come much further beyond the lines +than usual. +</P> + +<P> +The French were quick to accept the challenge and the anti-aircraft +guns got into action at once. Puffs of shrapnel burst like white +clouds in and about the marauding planes. +</P> + +<P> +Even as the boys watched, one missile found its mark, and the plane, +out of control, whirled round and round and then fell swiftly to the +ground within the French lines. +</P> + +<P> +But not with guns alone did the Allies respond. Like a flock of +falcons, a squadron of French aeroplanes shot swiftly up into the air, +climbing, climbing in the effort for altitude, so that they might swoop +down upon their prey from above. +</P> + +<P> +"There goes Dick's plane in the van!" cried Frank, his voice tense with +excitement. +</P> + +<P> +"That's the place for America!" exclaimed Tom. "Always in the van!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE BAPTISM OF FIRE +</H4> + +<P> +All faces were turned toward the sky. It was the army boys' first +glimpse of a battle in the air and the grim game held them spellbound. +</P> + +<P> +Like great birds the battle planes wheeled and swooped, now diving, now +climbing, each jockeying so as to get the weather gauge of its opponent +and bring its machine guns into action. +</P> + +<P> +The forces were nearly equal and for some time victory hovered in the +balance. But either the staying quality or the alertness of the Allies +finally turned the scale. Two of the enemy planes were shot down, and +a third, evidently crippled, but not wholly out of control, sought the +ground within its own lines. +</P> + +<P> +The German force, now depleted, turned east and made off at full speed, +with the Allies in hot pursuit. +</P> + +<P> +Then the sky clouded over and the finish of the fight was lost to the +eager watchers below. But they had seen enough to know that the +raiders had been beaten back and that victory rested with the Allies +and they were jubilant at the result. +</P> + +<P> +"The Huns went back quicker than they came," gloated Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Right-o!" cried Bart, gleefully. "They came to shear and they went +back shorn." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"The Kaiser, he has lost his sheep<BR> + And doesn't know where to find them,<BR> +Leave them alone and they'll come home<BR> + With our planes close behind them."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +So parodied Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope Dick comes out of it all right," said Frank, a little soberly. +</P> + +<P> +"Trust that boy," said Tom, confidently. "I don't imagine anyone needs +to worry about him. If he can't take care of himself, nobody can." +</P> + +<P> +But the Germans, though beaten in that skirmish, were far from being +discouraged, and the boys were to learn that very night with what a +persistent foe they had to deal. +</P> + +<P> +It had been a hard and exciting day and now, after a steaming hot +supper, they were scattered about the old mill in comfort and utter +relaxation. +</P> + +<P> +Some were smoking, others chatting, some mending their clothes, which +in these days of strenuous work were often in need of repair, while one +or two by the light of candles were writing letters to the folks at +home. +</P> + +<P> +Billy, seated on a stool, was strumming a banjo which had been his +solace many a time while he was stationed on the Mexican border and +which now was doing duty in France. +</P> + +<P> +"Hit 'er up, Billy," said Bart, lazily. "We don't mind being miserable +if it gives you any comfort." +</P> + +<P> +"Quit your knocking," grinned Billy. "You know you're just dying to +hear it. What do you fellows want—the Moonlight Sonata or something +else simple like that?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's too high class for this bunch," said Tom. "Though there's +plenty of moonlight outside," he added, as he looked out the window. +</P> + +<P> +"I've had all the outside I want for one day," said Frank. "I'd just +as soon stay where I am." He was penning a letter to his mother, +telling her of many things that had happened, and stating that, so far, +he had not had a chance to learn anything about his grandfather's +estate. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I'm waiting," said Billy. "What does the gang want? Jazz band +music? That's about your style." +</P> + +<P> +"No, give us something that sounds like home," said Tom. "Some of +those southern melodies." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," urged Bart. "You're a dabster at that, Billy." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Billy, cheerfully. "Anything to oblige." +</P> + +<P> +He picked the strings for a moment and then began to sing softly— +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Swing low, sweet chariot<BR> + Gwine for to ca'y me home<BR> +Swing low, sweet chario—ot<BR> +Gwine for to ca'y me home."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +<I>Bang!</I> There was a tremendous explosion close to the mill. The air +was filled with a deafening din. +</P> + +<P> +The boys jumped to their feet. +</P> + +<P> +"That hit mighty close!" cried Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you suppose it was?" came from Tom. "A shell?" +</P> + +<P> +"We're too far away from the German lines for that," replied Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"More likely it's a bomb from an airship," said Frank. "Let's take a +squint outside and see." +</P> + +<P> +They rushed out and their first glance was toward the sky. But there +was nothing visible there, nor could they hear the whirring of motors +that was the invariable accompaniment of air raids. +</P> + +<P> +But when they searched around the mill they were more successful, for +the bright moonlight revealed a freshly dug hole in the ground that +formed a veritable crater. +</P> + +<P> +"It was a bomb all right," pronounced Frank. "And from the size of the +hole it made it was a lallapalooza. It's lucky it didn't hit the mill." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess some Hun aviator was flying back to his own lines and dropped +this as a sort of visiting card," said Billy. "Oh, well, what's a +little bit of bomb between friends? Come on back, fellows." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, come along in and listen to Caruso," chaffed Tom. +</P> + +<P> +Once inside, Billy again picked up his banjo and began to croon. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"It rained all night the day I left<BR> + The next day it was dry.<BR> +The sun so hot I froze to def<BR> + Suzanna, don't you cry."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +One after another took up the rollicking chorus— +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Oh, Suzanna,<BR> + Don't you cry for me,<BR> +Fur I'se gwine to Alabama<BR> + Wif de banjo on my knee."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +<I>Bang! Bang! Bang!</I> came three quick explosions, blending in a +tremendous roar. +</P> + +<P> +At the same instant a hole appeared in the roof. Part of it caved in +and came clattering down while a blinding glare filled the room! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A GRIM REALITY +</H4> + +<P> +The strumming ceased and the banjo fell to the floor. For a moment +confusion reigned supreme. +</P> + +<P> +The shock and the glare had a paralyzing effect but it lasted only for +an instant. Then the army boys pulled themselves together. +</P> + +<P> +"Is anyone hurt?" shouted Frank, as he looked about him. +</P> + +<P> +A groan came from a distant corner. They rushed in that direction. +</P> + +<P> +Fred Anderson was trying to struggle to his feet and in an instant +willing arms supported him. His face was pale, blood was flowing from +a gash in his forehead and his right leg crumpled up beneath him as he +tried to bear his weight upon it. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess the old pin's gone back on me, boys," he said with a faint +attempt to smile. "I don't seem to have any feeling in it. I guess +the Huns got me that time." +</P> + +<P> +A quick examination showed that the leg was broken just below the knee. +</P> + +<P> +They quickly improvised a temporary splint and a field ambulance was +called. The gash in the head proved to be only a flesh wound of no +great importance. But it bled freely and gave the impression that Fred +was dangerously, perhaps mortally wounded. +</P> + +<P> +It was the first time that these young novices in the art of war had +seen blood flowing from American veins from a wound inflicted by a +German, and it brought home to them that they were really in the war +and might at any instant, like their luckless comrade, come to hand +grips with death. +</P> + +<P> +"That sure was a close call," remarked Frank, after Fred, having been +made as comfortable as possible, had been carried off by the ambulance +to the field hospital. "It might have blown us all to bits." +</P> + +<P> +"That roof may be all right to keep out rain," said Billy, "but it +wasn't built for bombs." +</P> + +<P> +"It must have been a glancing blow," commented Tom. "If it had come +plump through our name would have been Dennis. It must have spent most +of its force on the ridge pole and slid off to the ground." +</P> + +<P> +"Very considerate of it," said Bart, dryly. +</P> + +<P> +"There may be more where that came from," suggested Billy. "There may +be a whole squadron of Hun flyers up there in the sky." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess it will be healthier to stay outside for a while," said Tom. +"We can see the bombs coming and dodge them. It will be a new kind of +outdoor sport." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a new game all right," Bart flung over his shoulder as they made +their way outside. "And a game where the stakes are high. You pay +dearly if you lose." +</P> + +<P> +They all reached the open, where they found that the entire camp had +been aroused by the nocturnal raid. They quickly learned from their +excited comrades that other billets had been targets for the marauders +and that several soldiers had been severely injured, while one was +killed. +</P> + +<P> +Searchlights were sweeping the sky in the attempt to locate the hostile +planes. Anti-aircraft guns were popping, and the French escadrille had +already mounted to give battle. +</P> + +<P> +"There comes one!" shouted Frank, as his keen eyes caught sight of a +tiny blaze coming through the air. "That's the fuse of a bomb." +</P> + +<P> +"And it's coming right toward us!" yelled Bart. "Run fellows—quick!" +</P> + +<P> +They needed no second injunction and it was well they moved quickly, +for a moment later, the messenger of death came down close to the spot +where they had been standing and exploded with a tremendous roar. +</P> + +<P> +But they had thrown themselves flat on their faces, behind whatever +shelter they could find and the rain of iron missiles zipped over and +all around them without inflicting much damage. +</P> + +<P> +"I went down in a mud puddle that time," growled Bart, as he rose +dripping. +</P> + +<P> +"I notice you stayed there, though," grinned Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Any port in a storm," laughed Billy. "There's no time to pick and +choose when those ticklers are coming down. It's a case of 'the quick +or the dead'." +</P> + +<P> +"I was quick all right," grumbled Tom, as he rubbed his knee, "and I'd +almost rather be dead than do it again. See that stone? It got me!" +</P> + +<P> +For some minutes more occasional bombs dropped down over a wide area, +especial attention being devoted to the field hospital in accordance +with the usual brutal German tactics. +</P> + +<P> +But there were no more casualties, and after awhile the bombardment +ceased. +</P> + +<P> +"Guess they're all out of ammunition," conjectured Frank, when at last +quiet reigned. +</P> + +<P> +"Either that or our aviators have driven them off as they did this +afternoon," returned Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Let's go back to the mill," Tom suggested. "There'll be plenty of +ventilation in the old crib to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"And my cot's right beneath that hole in the roof," grumbled Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Safest place in the whole shebang," comforted Frank. "Lightning never +strikes twice in the same spot." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but suppose it rains," grouched Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Aw, it's good for the complexion," grinned Tom. "Anyway, you're +soaked through now, aren't you? Some fellows are never satisfied." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, stop fighting!" said Frank. "It couldn't rain if it wanted to +with a moon like that." +</P> + +<P> +Once back in the mill, the army boys set about repairing the havoc +wrought by the bomb. +</P> + +<P> +Billy picked up the banjo, patted it lovingly and was relieved to find +that his favorite instrument had come through the German attack +uninjured. +</P> + +<P> +"Glad you're all right, old girl," he said, running his fingers over +the strings. "But I guess you're through for one night." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," chuckled Tom, as he started to unlace his shoes. "The Huns have +given us their idea of a moonlight serenade!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +NICK RABIG UNDER ARREST +</H4> + +<P> +It might have been expected that a sleepless night would have followed +the raid. But the young Americans were far too healthy and their +nerves were already becoming too well steeled to let the Germans, like +Macbeth, "murder sleep." Their eyes closed almost as soon as their +heads touched the pillows, not to open again until reveille sounded the +next morning. +</P> + +<P> +They were a little more subdued than usual, however, as they dressed, +for there was poor Fred's empty cot and some dark red blotches on the +floor to remind them of their comrade's plight and their own narrow +escape. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder how Fred's getting along," said Tom, voicing the general +thought. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, I hope," returned Frank. "It will make him sore to be +cooped up now with a broken leg, just when the boys are putting the +finishing touches on their training." +</P> + +<P> +They were relieved to find on inquiry after breakfast, that Fred was +doing finely, that the wound in his head was negligible and that the +break in his leg was a simple fracture so that in six weeks he would +probably be as well as ever. +</P> + +<P> +"The old scout will have one satisfaction, anyway," said Bart. "He's +the first one in our bunch who has actually shed his blood for Uncle +Sam." +</P> + +<P> +"Gee, he beat us to it," agreed Tom. "But don't worry, we'll have +plenty of chances later on." +</P> + +<P> +In the interval before drill, they strolled about the old mill, seeking +traces of the visitation of the night before. These were easily +visible for there were immense shell holes where the bombs had buried +themselves in the earth. +</P> + +<P> +They found one of the missiles that had not exploded. Bart was about +to pick it up when Frank shouted a warning. +</P> + +<P> +"Nix on that funny business!" he cried. "You never can tell when those +fellows will start working." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," added Bart. "Those fingers of yours will come in handy later +on. You'll need them in your business." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," remarked their corporal, Wilson, who sauntered up to them at the +moment. "For all we know that thing may have been fixed so that it +wouldn't explode when it struck the ground but would the minute +somebody picked it up and commenced fooling with it. The only safe way +is to give them all a wide berth. +</P> + +<P> +The corporal was popular with the men directly under him, and although +he was a strict disciplinarian and kept the men up to their work, there +was nothing petty or tyrannical about him. And the respect the men had +for him was heightened by the stories that were told in the regiment of +the adventures he had undergone. +</P> + +<P> +For he had been a rover over the earth, and in his short life of thirty +years had passed through more exciting scenes than fall to the lot of +most men in a lifetime. He had been a miner in Australia, had ridden +the ranges in Arizona, "mushed" in the Klondike, and been at one time a +member of the famous Canadian Mounted Police. He was quiet and +reserved, never boasting of his exploits and extremely efficient in +anything he set about to do. He was a dead shot and could shoot from +the hip with either hand. A coin tossed into the air at a distance of +fifty feet he could clip four times out of five. +</P> + +<P> +On one occasion the boys had been astonished eye witnesses of his +shooting. The nine of clubs had been pinned to a tree sixty paces +distant and Wilson, pulling the trigger so quickly that the eye could +scarcely follow, had wiped out the spots in nine successive shots. +</P> + +<P> +He was as courageous as he was skilful, and in case of trouble could be +counted on as one of the most valuable members of the regiment. +</P> + +<P> +So that when he showed a disposition to depart from his usual reserve +and take part in the conversation the boys made room for him with +alacrity. +</P> + +<P> +"Fritz is full of cunning little tricks," the corporal continued. +"They played the fountain pen game and got a lot of our fellows before +the Allies got wise to it." +</P> + +<P> +"That's a new one on me," said Frank. "What is the fountain pen game?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why," answered Corporal Wilson, as he seated himself comfortably on a +nearby rock and struck a match for his pipe, "the Heinies in the first +line trenches when our boys went over the top and drove them out used +to leave behind them a lot of their stuff because they usually skipped +in a hurry. +</P> + +<P> +"One of our boys would find a fountain pen among other things and think +he had a prize, but the first time he started to unscrew the cap the +thing would explode and smash his hand to bits. We've got a good many +cripples in the ranks on account of that. But the game's played out +now, and they'll have to think up a new one." +</P> + +<P> +"We ought to get even with them for that," said Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, we've got even all right," grinned the corporal. "We worked them +on the hand grenades. You know how it is sometimes, when the first +line trenches are facing each other. A Frenchman or a Britisher throws +over a hand grenade, the Hun catches it on the wing, as it were, if its +a long time fuse and throws it back in the hope that it will explode in +the Allied trenches and thus become a boomerang." +</P> + +<P> +"Rather a risky game I call it," said Billy. "It wouldn't be any fun +to have one of those gentle little things go off in your hand." +</P> + +<P> +"That's where the trick comes in," said the Corporal. "You know of +course, there are two kinds of fuses. The short time fuse has red +threads in it, the long time fuse hasn't. If the German sees that +there are none of these red threads in the fuse of the grenade that +drops near him he figures he's got time to throw it back. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, one of the British Tommies had a bright idea and he carefully +picked all the red threads out of a short time fuse. Then he zipped it +over. Of course the Heinie picked it up, thinking it was a long timer +and that was about all for Heinie. It blew him and all the men near +him to German headquarters." +</P> + +<P> +"To German headquarters," said Bart, wonderingly. "I don't get you." +</P> + +<P> +The corporal grinned. +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you heard that?" he said. "A British Tommy wrote home that +he'd had pretty good luck through the war for he'd sent a dozen Germans +to Hades. The British censor scratched out the word, 'Hades' and wrote +above it, 'It is not permitted to refer to German headquarters'." +</P> + +<P> +The boys laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"And yet they say the British haven't a sense of humor," commented +Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"That's why I say," summed up the corporal, "that you've got to be +mighty careful in handling all these contraptions. A fool and his +fingers are soon parted." +</P> + +<P> +"Does he mean me?" asked Bart with a grin. +</P> + +<P> +"You've said something," agreed Billy, with unflattering frankness. +</P> + +<P> +The corporal strolled on. +</P> + +<P> +"Fine fellow, that Wilson," remarked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"He's all of that," agreed Billy, who having been with him when the +regiment was on the Mexican border knew him better than his companions +did. "That fellow could lick his weight in wildcats. There isn't +anything he's afraid to tackle. I heard a story about him once that +you fellows wouldn't believe if I told you." +</P> + +<P> +"Let's hear it," said Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Shoot," chimed in Tom. "We'll see about believing it after we've +heard what it is." +</P> + +<P> +"It happened down in Nicaragua," went on Billy. "Caribtown, I think it +was, or some place near there. There was some little dinky revolution +going on and Wilson it seems had gone down there on some filibustering +expedition. He drank pretty freely in those days though he doesn't +touch a drop now. +</P> + +<P> +"It seems he was in one of the town resorts when he heard talk about a +boa constrictor that had recently been captured and confined in a big +cage. The snakes down there don't measure more than ten or twelve +feet, but they can easily crush a man if they get their coils around +him. +</P> + +<P> +"Wilson just then had got into a condition where he was ready to fight +a regiment, and he sneered at their fear of the snake. They egged him +on until he boasted that he would be willing to meet the snake in a +close room with nothing but a knife. The riffraff there called his +bluff and it was arranged that the fight should take place the next +morning." +</P> + +<P> +"Some contract!" ejaculated Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Is this straight goods, Billy, or are you getting us on a string?" +asked Bart suspiciously. +</P> + +<P> +"On the dead level," answered Billy. "I had it from a fellow who was +down there at the time and knew all about it." +</P> + +<P> +"Stop chinning, you fellows, and let Billy get on with his story," +commanded Frank. "He's just getting to the creepy part now and I want +to know how the thing turned out." +</P> + +<P> +"Well," continued Billy, "when Wilson woke up the next morning he +realized what he was up against. But he was as game as a pebble, and +though he knew the odds were against him he wouldn't back out. +</P> + +<P> +"The snake, that had been teased and irritated until it was bursting +with rage, was dumped from its cage into a back room of the resort. +Then Wilson, armed only with a long knife that they had lent him, went +in and shut the door behind him, while the natives crowded around the +windows to see the fight. +</P> + +<P> +"The instant the snake saw Wilson he reared up almost to the ceiling +and flung himself at the man's throat. Wilson dodged and the fangs +caught him in the shoulder. Wilson slashed savagely at the coils that +were trying to coil themselves around his body and they staggered +around the room. But the knife failed to reach a vital spot and +finally one of the folds got around Wilson's legs and he fell to the +floor, still stabbing savagely. The snake had won the first round, and +it promised to be the last." +</P> + +<P> +There was a gasp from Billy's listeners but their interest was too +tense to permit of any interruption. +</P> + +<P> +"Just then," continued Billy, "something happened. One of the natives +who had a little more humanity than the rest of the crowd had sculled +off to an American gunboat that was lying in the harbor, and told of +the scrap that was going to be pulled off. The captain sent over a +squad of marines with a rush and they got there just in time to break +in the door and hack the snake to pieces with their cutlasses. Another +minute and it would have been all over. As it was, Wilson was +unconscious, and it was some weeks before he came around ship-shape." +</P> + +<P> +"What a daring thing that was to do!" ejaculated Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"He certainly was there with the nerve!" exclaimed Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll bet he hasn't had any use for snakes since then," added Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"In one way it was a good thing," said Billy, "for it made Wilson swear +off from drinking and he's never touched liquor since. You see how he +is now, as steady as a church." +</P> + +<P> +"Well," commented Bart, "he'll have all the fighting he wants from now +on." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," agreed Frank with a laugh, "with snakes that wear helmets." +</P> + +<P> +"Look who's here, boys!" exclaimed Tom suddenly, as they saw four +soldiers approaching with a prisoner under guard. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it's Nick Rabig!" they exclaimed in unison as they recognized the +burly figure that slouched sullenly along between the quartette +guarding him. +</P> + +<P> +"What has he been up to, now, I wonder?" questioned Billy curiously as +they sauntered forward to intercept the party. +</P> + +<P> +Rabig favored them with a scowl that had rarely been absent from his +face since he had been caught in the draft. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the trouble?" asked Frank of the leader of the file, whom he +happened to know. +</P> + +<P> +"Insubordination," was the terse response. "Refused to salute an +officer." +</P> + +<P> +"Putting him in the jug on general principles," volunteered another, +who was more communicative. "He's been shirking ever since he got +here." +</P> + +<P> +"A bad egg," added the third. "It's lucky there aren't many of his +type among the boys. The Huns would have an easy job if they were all +like him." +</P> + +<P> +They passed on to the building that served as a guardhouse, and which, +be it said to the credit of the boys in France, had very few inmates. +For the discipline of the camp was strict and the spirit of the men was +good. They felt that they stood to the French for what America was and +they tried to live up to the high standards laid down for them by +generations of American ancestors. +</P> + +<P> +"I think that's the best place for Nick," commented Tom as the doors +closed behind the prisoner. "He's a surly brute and he might affect +others. One rotten apple in a barrel can spoil the whole barrelful." +</P> + +<P> +"He's no good," said Bart. "Remember how he used to talk on the other +side? I'll bet at this minute he'd rather be wearing a Prussian helmet +than an American uniform." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure thing," said Billy. "'<I>Die Wacht am Rhine</I>' is the only music he +cares to hear." +</P> + +<P> +At this moment Corporal Wilson returned with a paper in his hand upon +which he had been noting down the assignments of the day. +</P> + +<P> +"Two of you fellows are in for guard duty," he said, consulting his +list. "You, Sheldon, and Raymond will serve till after mess." +</P> + +<P> +He passed on and Bart made a wry face when his back was turned. +</P> + +<P> +"Sweet job!" he muttered. +</P> + +<P> +"Orders are orders," replied Frank, as they shouldered their guns and +marched down to the guardhouse. +</P> + +<P> +They began to pace back and forth, exchanging a word now and then at +the point where their beats adjoined. +</P> + +<P> +Nick Rabig was lounging at the barred window in an evil temper. If +anything could have added to his anger it was the fact that the two +young soldiers he most detested had been chosen to stand guard over him +and witness his humiliation. +</P> + +<P> +Frank's generous nature sensed the prisoner's feeling, and he +studiously avoided catching his glance or taking any notice of him. +</P> + +<P> +But Rabig, incapable of appreciating Frank's motive, chose to interpret +this as studied contempt, and his rage flamed forth in a coarse epithet +that Frank only half caught but that brought him up all standing. +</P> + +<P> +"What's that you said?" he demanded quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"None of your business!" snarled Rabig, but before the glint in Frank's +eyes he did not venture to repeat the insult. +</P> + +<P> +"Now look here, Rabig," said Frank, sternly. "Cut out that sort of +stuff. I heard what you said and if you were outside here and weren't +in uniform I'd thrash you within an inch of your life." +</P> + +<P> +"Talk is cheap," sneered Rabig. "Why didn't you do it when you were on +the other side? You had chance enough." +</P> + +<P> +"I had my reasons," replied Frank, "but they're reasons that a fellow +like you couldn't appreciate. As it was, you came within an inch of +getting what was coming to you. Some day you will get it, Rabig, and +when I cut loose you'll know there's something doing!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A RATTLING BOUT +</H4> + +<P> +Just then the officer of the day approached. Rabig slunk away from the +window while Frank resumed his pacing, and the episode ended then and +there. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of three days Rabig's term expired and he was sent back +again to his place in the ranks, somewhat subdued in manner though +really unchastened in spirit. +</P> + +<P> +His hatred of Frank was unabated and in fact seemed to have taken on +extra bitterness since the sharp exchange at the guard-house. He +seldom passed Frank without a sneer on his lip or an ugly gleam in his +eye, which betrayed the smoldering fires within. +</P> + +<P> +Frank, on his part, bore no rancor. His nature was too open and +healthy to nurse a grudge, and although he avoided speaking to Rabig, +he seldom thought of him except when the exigencies of military duty +threw them together. +</P> + +<P> +"You're as popular as the smallpox with that gink," said Billy one day, +after Rabig had passed them with his usual malignant stare at Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"You want to keep your eyes open, Frank," added Tom, who, knowing Rabig +better than Billy, distrusted him profoundly. "He's got something up +his sleeve." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think it would be safe to be alongside him in the trenches," +put in Bart. "Especially on a dark night. It's an easy thing there to +slip a bullet into a man you don't like, and charge it up against the +Germans." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, shucks!" laughed Frank, "Rabig's pretty bad but he isn't as bad as +that." +</P> + +<P> +Several weeks went by, weeks of strain and hard work that were rapidly +converting the new army into a first-class fighting machine. +</P> + +<P> +But "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and the officers saw +to it that there was plenty of entertainment for the men when the hard +day's work was over. +</P> + +<P> +There were improvised vaudeville entertainments and, as there were many +actors in the ranks, including some whose names were famous, the +performances were really good. +</P> + +<P> +Then too, there were boxing matches, which were perhaps the most +popular of all. The boys themselves took part in these and there was a +good deal of rivalry, all of it good-natured, among the representatives +of the various companies and regiments in camp. +</P> + +<P> +The Government had been quick to recognize the value of boxing, not +only as a physical exercise, but because it aided vastly in the bayonet +drill. +</P> + +<P> +The two contests closely resembled each other and excellence in one +meant excellence in both. There was the same sparring for advantage, +feinting, alternate advance and retreat, evading and covering up, +attacking and defending. +</P> + +<P> +And because of this, every camp had its official boxing instructor and +the sport formed part of the regular drill. +</P> + +<P> +Great care was taken to avoid any brutal element. The rounds were +limited to two minutes each and the men were cautioned against letting +go with all their weight. +</P> + +<P> +It was a matter of points secured by skill, and it was closely akin to +a fencing bout with buttons on the foils to avoid any serious injury. +</P> + +<P> +Frank had always had a fondness for the sport even before he joined the +army. He and Bart had often put on the gloves in a friendly bout at +the Camport gymnasium. He was as quick as a cat on his feet, a good +judge of distance, and unerring in picking out the weak points of his +opponent's offense. +</P> + +<P> +Under the skillful training that he received from McGrath, who was a +well-known amateur boxer and had been put in charge of the athletic +sports of the camp where the boys were stationed, he had made +surprising progress and was admitted to be easily the best soldier with +the gloves in his own special battalion. +</P> + +<P> +One night a boxing programme had been staged for Frank's regiment and a +series of interesting bouts was looked for. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you going on to-night, Frank?" asked Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Frank replied. "And I feel in dandy shape. I never felt more +full of pep than I do just now." +</P> + +<P> +"Who's McGrath going to put against you?" asked Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm slated to meet Thompson, of company F," replied Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"And he's a crackajack, too," put in Billy. "He cleaned up the champs +of all the other companies when the old Thirty-seventh was down on the +Mexican border. You've got your work cut out for you, Frank." +</P> + +<P> +And Billy's prediction was verified, for on that night Frank found that +Thompson was an opponent to be reckoned with. It was a slashing, +four-round bout with the scales hanging even most of the time, but in +the closing round Frank had a shade the better of it and was announced +the victor. +</P> + +<P> +Amid tumultuous handclapping of company B, whose champion he was, Frank +waved his hand smilingly and was about to go off the platform when +Corporal Wilson, who was acting as master of ceremonies, stopped him +with a gesture. +</P> + +<P> +"Pretty well winded, Sheldon?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Not a bit," laughed Frank. "I'm as fresh as a daisy. Like John Paul +Jones, I've just begun to fight." +</P> + +<P> +"That's good," smiled Wilson, "because I'm short a match. One of the +pair who were to come on after you and Thompson is rather under the +weather and the doctor won't let him take part, though he's game as a +fighting cock and wants to go on anyway. If you felt in shape for it I +thought perhaps you might help out by taking on some other fellow for a +few minutes so that the boys won't be disappointed." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure thing," said Frank. "Bring him along." +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't got anyone picked out, just this minute," said the corporal +a little perplexedly. +</P> + +<P> +"Send out a call for volunteers," Frank suggested. "It will make it +all the more interesting." +</P> + +<P> +"That's the idea," said the corporal. "Any of you fellows want to put +on the gloves with Sheldon?" he called out. +</P> + +<P> +There was a momentary hush and then a figure rose from the throng and +Nick Rabig pushed his way through to the platform. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +PAYING A DEBT +</H4> + +<P> +Frank gave a start of surprise as he saw who his opponent was to be, +and Bart, who was acting as Frank's second, leaned over him with a word +of warning. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep your eye peeled, Frank," he advised. "You know what Rabig is and +the way he feels toward you. This is just a scheme of his to get even. +He isn't coming up here for a friendly bout. He wants to show you up +and knock you out if he can." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I don't know," said Frank, unconcernedly. "But if he tries on +anything like that I'll give him all he's looking for." +</P> + +<P> +Rabig's second, Werner, one of the few friends he had in the regiment +and who like himself was suspected of pro-German leanings, or at least +lukewarmness in the service, took a long time in putting on his +principal's gloves, and Bart, who was watching him with the eye of a +hawk, stepped across the platform to witness the operation. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me look at those gloves," he demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter with them?" growled Werner. +</P> + +<P> +"This is the matter with them," said Bart, as he pointed to the part +just above where the knuckles came and where the stuffing of the glove +had been kneaded aside so that a blow given would be almost like one +with the bare fist. +</P> + +<P> +"None of that skin-tight business here," said Bart. +</P> + +<P> +He pounded the glove until it was normal and then handed it back, not +going to his own corner, however, until they had been fastened on +Rabig's hands to his own satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"That cur can't play fair in anything," he remarked to Frank as he came +back. +</P> + +<P> +The bell rang and the men came from their corners toward the center of +the platform. +</P> + +<P> +Frank extended his hand in the customary greeting but Rabig refused to +take it. There was a stir in the audience. +</P> + +<P> +"Looks like a grudge fight," remarked one, with quickened interest. +</P> + +<P> +"It does on Rabig's part," assented his neighbor. "But if it comes to +that I'm betting on Sheldon to trim him." +</P> + +<P> +The boxers sparred for a moment, Frank cool and smiling, Rabig surly +and furious. Then Frank found an opening and landed a deft uppercut +that shook Rabig from head to foot. +</P> + +<P> +He rushed at Frank like a mad bull but Frank cleverly side-stepped and +countered with a left to the ear. Of the two Rabig was the heavier and +in Camport had won a reputation as a rough and tumble fighter. +</P> + +<P> +Stung by Frank's cleverly planted blows, he threw what little science +he had to the winds and the next minute the two were at it, hammer and +tongs. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll do you!" Rabig panted, as he slugged right and left, vainly +endeavoring to get through Frank's guard. +</P> + +<P> +"Go as far as you like," retorted the latter, emphasizing the retort +with a left jab that nearly lifted Rabig off his feet. +</P> + +<P> +The bell that announced the end of the round found Rabig winded by his +furious endeavors. But Frank, though breathing a little heavily, was +serene and confident, as he returned to his corner. +</P> + +<P> +"I told you he was in dead earnest," said Bart, as his principal sat +down on his stool for a minute's rest. "Look out for fouls, Frank. +He'll do anything to down you." +</P> + +<P> +In the round that followed, Bart's warning was amply justified. Rabig +in one of the clinches, as he leaned on Frank's shoulder, tried to bite +and he butted continually. +</P> + +<P> +"Cut that out, Rabig," warned Frank in a low tone, after the latter had +twice used his head as a battering ram. "My patience won't last +forever." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll get you yet!" gasped Rabig. +</P> + +<P> +Once more he drove his head at Frank's chin and the latter, now +thoroughly aroused by the foul tactics, let fly his right and caught +his burly adversary fairly on the point of the jaw. +</P> + +<P> +Down went Rabig like a shot. Frank generously reached out his hand to +help him to his feet, but Rabig struck it away and just here Corporal +Wilson intervened. +</P> + +<P> +"That'll do," he commanded. "We don't want any knockout. Sheldon +wins." +</P> + +<P> +Frank with a smile and wave of the hand stripped off his gloves and +left the platform, to be pounded and mauled in exultation by his +admiring comrades. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, Rabig slunk away followed by hisses and jeers at the foul +tactics that after all had only resulted in the beating he so richly +deserved. +</P> + +<P> +"You trimmed him good, Frank," cried Tom exultantly. +</P> + +<P> +"You went around him like a cooper around a barrel," jubilated Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess if you owed him anything, you've paid the score," chuckled +Bart. "I've been aching for months to see that bully get what was +coming to him." +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't want to hurt him," said Frank, good-naturedly. "But when he +came butting at me that way and even trying to bite, I simply had to +lace him. But even now I haven't a bit of grudge against the fellow." +</P> + +<P> +"He'll sing small after this," prophesied Tom. "But all the same, +Frank, keep your weather eye open. He'll do you a mischief if he ever +gets the chance." +</P> + +<P> +It was just after the noonday mess the next day, and the boys were +chatting in front of the mill, when Frank, looking carelessly down the +road, gave a startled exclamation. +</P> + +<P> +"Look what's coming, fellows!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +They came up all standing and looked in the direction indicated. +</P> + +<P> +"By the great horn spoon!" ejaculated Tom. "Have I got the delirium +tremens?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's a nightmare," declared Billy. +</P> + +<P> +Up the dusty road was coming the weirdest creation that the boys had +ever seen. It looked like a great hulking rhinoceros. It moved along +slowly and ponderously, as though it were straining under a burden too +heavy to be borne. +</P> + +<P> +The sun reflected from its sides showed that it was coated with metal. +There were openings in the armor through which the muzzles of machine +guns protruded. Around its huge wheels there passed what seemed to be +a broad endless chain that formed a path on which the wheels traveled. +There was no driver to be seen and it came lumbering along like a blind +monster feeling its way. But although its progress was leisurely it +was sure, and the boys as they watched it gathered an impression of +almost irresistible force. +</P> + +<P> +"I've read of the car of Juggernaut," muttered Tom as it came nearer, +"and I guess this must be it." +</P> + +<P> +"It's going into the ditch!" exclaimed Bart, as the monster gave a +lurch into a deep depression at the side of the road. +</P> + +<P> +"It'll topple over sure!" prophesied Billy. +</P> + +<P> +But the prophecy proved false for the car righted itself from an almost +impossible angle and came on as doggedly as before. +</P> + +<P> +Just before it got to where the boys were standing it came to a halt, a +door opened and a young fellow of about their own age leaped out. +</P> + +<P> +He was strong and well built, with hair that crisped in curly waves +close to his head and a pair of merry blue eyes that spoke of fun and +good fellowship. +</P> + +<P> +"Hello, fellows!" he exclaimed, waving the formality of an introduction +and wiping the perspiration from his forehead. "My, but it's hot in +there!" +</P> + +<P> +They crowded round him in eager curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you dig up this rig?" asked Billy. "Is it real or is it all +a hideous dream?" +</P> + +<P> +The newcomer laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"You don't seem to be stuck on my pet," he grinned. "I'll admit she +isn't much on beauty, but when she comes to scrapping she's a holy +terror." +</P> + +<P> +"She looks it," agreed Frank. "I'd hate to have her bump up against me +when she was in a bad temper." +</P> + +<P> +"That's the way the Huns feel," laughed their new acquaintance. "They +haven't any use for tanks. You ought to see the way we got 'em in the +battle of the Somme." +</P> + +<P> +"Were you there?" asked Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Very much there," was the answer. "This old rascal of mine was right +in the thick of it." +</P> + +<P> +"You English have all the luck!" exclaimed Bart enviously. +</P> + +<P> +"English nothing," replied the operator. "I'm an American just as you +are. My name is Stone, Will Stone, and I was born in Detroit." +</P> + +<P> +"Bully!" exclaimed Frank, and there was a general handshake and +introductions all around. +</P> + +<P> +"But how did you get over here before the rest of us?" queried Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," laughed Will, "you know Windsor in Canada is just across the +river from Detroit and I slipped across and enlisted with the Canadian +troops. I knew a good deal about automobiles—everybody in Detroit +does, because there are so many plants there—and when these tanks were +ready for use and they called for volunteers I was Johnny-on-the-spot." +</P> + +<P> +"You chose a hot branch of the service, all right," commented Tom. "If +you were looking for excitement I guess you got it." +</P> + +<P> +"You're a good guesser," grinned Will. "When you're climbing over +trenches and crashing through walls and rooting up trees, with bullets +pattering against the sides like hailstones on a roof, the fellow who +can't get enough excitement out of it is pretty hard to please. But +come along, you fellows, and I'll show you over the old shebang if you +care to look at it." +</P> + +<P> +They needed no second invitation, and for the next half hour there was +a volley of questions and answers as they examined the offensive and +defensive qualities of the grim monster that had carried consternation +into the German ranks. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, so long, fellows," said Will, when at last he climbed into the +tank and set its unwieldy bulk in motion. "Here's hoping that we meet +again soon." +</P> + +<P> +"In Berlin, if not sooner!" Frank shouted after him. +</P> + +<P> +A few days later one of the French colonels visited the camp. After +his formal reception by the American officers he made a tour of +inspection, going among the men, looking over the barracks and asking +innumerable questions. +</P> + +<P> +There was an absence of pomp and ceremony about him that was +characteristic of the French officers who, perhaps more than those of +any other nation, live on terms of simple comradeship with their men, +and the boys, to use Billy's phrase, "cottoned to him" at once. +</P> + +<P> +Unfortunately he knew little English and as the boys knew still less +French, conversation was halting and difficult. The officer's delight +then, can be imagined when, on addressing a question to Frank, the +latter responded in French as pure as his own. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, my boy," said Colonel Pavet, "you speak as though you were a son +of France." +</P> + +<P> +"A stepson, perhaps," replied Frank, smilingly. "For my mother is a +daughter of France!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A PROMISE OF HELP +</H4> + +<P> +There was a gratified exclamation from Colonel Pavet, and a new light +came into his eyes. The magic name of France had abolished for the +moment all distinctions of rank. The officer reached out his hand and +took Frank's in a hearty grasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you are fighting for two countries," he ejaculated. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," laughed Frank. "I'm luckier than most of the fellows." +</P> + +<P> +"In what part of the country was your mother born?" asked the colonel +with interest. +</P> + +<P> +"In Auvergne," Frank replied. +</P> + +<P> +"In Auvergne," repeated the officer, with vivacity. "Why I come from +that part of the country myself. What was your mother's family name?" +</P> + +<P> +"De Latour," said Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"There is another coincidence," cried the colonel. "I know the family +well. Their estate was only a few miles south of ours. Her father was +an old comrade in arms and served in the same regiment with me when we +were stationed in Algiers. +</P> + +<P> +"Many's the time we've ridden and messed and fought together against +the Bedouins. He's dead now," he continued, a slight shade crossing +his face. "How proud he would have been were he alive to know that his +grandson was fighting for France. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see," he went on. "I've been a long time away from Auvergne +but it seems to me that when I was last there, I heard some talk of +trouble in settling his estate—some lawsuit or other, that tied the +property up. Do you know anything about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," replied Frank. "My mother has been worrying over it for some +time past. She was just about to sail for France to see about it when +the war broke out." +</P> + +<P> +He rapidly sketched the details of the legal trouble with which his +mother had made him familiar. The officer listened attentively and +with marked sympathy. +</P> + +<P> +"It is too bad," said Colonel Pavet. "I will see what I can do. I +have a good many friends in Auvergne and there are many, too, who honor +the name and memory of De Latour and would do all in their power to +help his daughter. +</P> + +<P> +"And when I tell them that their daughter's son is fighting on our soil +they will redouble their efforts. Count on me, my boy. This terrible +war may delay matters but I will not forget." +</P> + +<P> +The too parted then, leaving Frank with his heart beating faster at the +thought of what might come from this most unexpected meeting. +</P> + +<P> +Now he would have something to write home to his mother that would +thrill her heart. That very night the letter should be written, the +letter that was so eagerly awaited, always, in that lonely house at +Camport, but that this time would receive even a more joyous welcome +than usual. +</P> + +<P> +What a strange twist of fate it would prove if this trip to France, +undertaken in a spirit of pure patriotism, should reap a double reward +in lifting the burden that had weighed upon his mother's heart for +years! +</P> + +<P> +One day a sham battle had been planned that embraced a front several +miles in length and Frank's company was detailed to take up a position +in a wood at the extreme left of the line. +</P> + +<P> +The boys welcomed the assignment, for it was to carry them into a +section of the country that had up to now been unfamiliar to them, and +it afforded a diversion from the ordinary drill of the training camp. +</P> + +<P> +They set off in high spirits after a hearty breakfast, and after a hike +of four miles reached the bit of woodland where they were supposed to +await the attack of the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"Gee!" exclaimed Frank, as he filled his lungs with the balsam of the +woods, "this is great. It's enough just to be alive on a glorious +morning like this." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a little bit of Eden," declared Bart, as he looked about him. +"Listen to those birds singing. If it weren't for the boom of cannon +off there you wouldn't know there was such a thing as war in the world." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," chimed in Tom, "but there was a snake in Eden, and there's +another one in the world now, that's got to be scotched before the +world can rest in peace." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, these woods have escaped so far," said Billy, as he looked +around at the noble elms and birches. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," assented Bart, "and I guess they're safe. The German tide has +come a good way into France, but I have a hunch that it's about spent +its force." +</P> + +<P> +"If the Huns get here they'll have to come over our dead bodies," said +Tom. +</P> + +<P> +It was some time before, in the plan for the sham battle, the enemy was +expected to approach this copse of woods, and, with sentries posted, to +detect and give warning of an approach, the rest of the men had been +permitted to break ranks and do as they pleased. Some had thrown +themselves on the ground in all sorts of sprawling attitudes, others +were smoking and chatting together, while still others wandered to the +edge of the woods and gazed over the broad plateau that stretched for +more than a mile to the left of the woods. The sky was cloudless and +the sun was shining brightly. +</P> + +<P> +The monotonous boom of the distant guns, sounding like the roar of +waves upon a beach, kept up unceasingly, but the boys had got so used +to it that they scarcely noticed it. +</P> + +<P> +But suddenly, among these bass notes came another sound, or series of +sounds, sharp, shrill, metallic, which they had already learned to +identify as the popping of anti-aircraft guns. +</P> + +<P> +"That sounds as though they had sighted one of the Hun aeroplanes," +commented Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"More likely it's part of the practice," remarked Tom, carelessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Look at those shrapnel puffs over there," cried Bart, pointing toward +the sky. +</P> + +<P> +High up in the air, following one another in quick succession, were +light, bluish streaks, that after reaching an enormous height, suddenly +burst in a cloud of white. +</P> + +<P> +"They're certainly firing at something," remarked Billy, "but for the +life of me I don't see what it is." +</P> + +<P> +"I do," cried Bart. "Look! just at the edge of that fleecy cloud. +It's so white you can hardly tell it from the cloud itself." +</P> + +<P> +They strained their eyes in the direction where Bart was pointing. +High up in the air, miles, it seemed, was a long, silver streak, shaped +like an immense cigar. At that height it seemed almost to hang in the +atmosphere, so gliding and imperceptible was its motion. And yet the +boys knew that it was really shooting along with the speed of an +express train. +</P> + +<P> +"A Zeppelin!" they shouted, in chorus. +</P> + +<P> +"A super-Zeppelin, or I miss my guess," observed Frank. "Look at the +size of it." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, if the guns could only reach it!" exclaimed Bob. +</P> + +<P> +"No such luck," groaned Billy, "it's too far up. See! the shrapnel +puffs are half a mile below it." +</P> + +<P> +"It's on its way back to the German lines," remarked Frank, "and I +guess there's nothing to stop its getting there." +</P> + +<P> +"Been on a baby killing trip to Paris, I suppose," said Tom, bitterly. +</P> + +<P> +"More likely London, judging from the direction," estimated Billy. +</P> + +<P> +They watched the monster as it sailed swiftly on, until it was lost to +sight. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd have given a year of my life to have seen that thing brought +down," said Bart. "Can't you see the crew of it gloating over the +women and children they've killed, and boasting about it when they get +back to their lines?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you know the Indians used to scalp women and children just as +eagerly as they did men," remarked Billy, "and those Boches can give +the Indians cards and spades and beat them out." +</P> + +<P> +They were about to go back to the grove, with one last regretful look +at the sky, when an exclamation from Frank brought them to a sudden +halt. +</P> + +<P> +"There's another one," he cried, pointing to the distant horizon. Even +as he spoke a second Zeppelin came plainly into view, following in the +wake of the first, but with greatly diminished speed. +</P> + +<P> +"Great Scott!" exclaimed Bart, "there must be a fleet of them!" +</P> + +<P> +"That one hasn't got off scot free, either," said Frank, his keen eye +noting the apparent distress of the giant airship, as it moved +uncertainly and unevenly, like a ship laboring in a storm. "By Jove, +fellows, I believe it's coming down! Quick! get under the cover of +these trees!" +</P> + +<P> +Lower and lower, like a bird with a broken wing, the Zeppelin came +toward the earth, while the boys watched it in breathless excitement. +</P> + +<P> +Whether the Zeppelin could go no further, and sank despite itself, or +whether its commander, looking at that broad plateau, and seeing no +sign of life upon it, had decided to make a landing, quickly repair his +injured machinery, and then rise again to seek refuge behind his own +lines, the boys could not tell. But whatever the reason, not many +minutes had passed before it became apparent that the airship was +coming down, inevitably, right in front of them. +</P> + +<P> +The word had been passed quickly all through the woods, and the whole +company was on the alert. +</P> + +<P> +"Ready for action, men," commanded the lieutenant. +</P> + +<P> +With rifles in hand, and all their senses keenly on the alert, the +soldiers waited for the coming of their prey. +</P> + +<P> +With a perceptible jar the airship struck the ground, and at the same +instant her crew swarmed out and dropped over the sides. +</P> + +<P> +"Charge!" shouted the American lieutenant, and out from the woods the +army boys went with a rush. +</P> + +<P> +The astounded Germans were taken so utterly by surprise that they stood +for a moment as though paralyzed. Then their commander barked out a +sharp order, and two of the men leaped on board and made for the +engines. +</P> + +<P> +Crack! went the lieutenant's revolver, and as the bullet whistled past +the ears of the foremost man both Germans came to a stop. +</P> + +<P> +"Forward, men, and surround them, but don't shoot unless you have to," +was the next order, and an instant later the German crew were ringed +about with rifles whose ominous muzzles threatened to mow them down at +the first false move. +</P> + +<P> +The German officer had started to draw a pistol, but seeing the +uselessness of this, he shoved it back into its holster and shrugged +his shoulders. He was trapped. The game was up. He raised his hands +in signal of surrender. +</P> + +<P> +Another command from the lieutenant, and the crew were disarmed. A +certain number of the men were detailed to guard them, and others were +placed in charge of the airship. +</P> + +<P> +The boys were wild with delight at the rich prize that had fallen so +unexpectedly into their hands. +</P> + +<P> +"We've had two great days, boys!" exclaimed Frank, "if we never have +any others. The day we saw the submarine potted, and the day we nabbed +the Zeppelin." +</P> + +<P> +"Glory, hallelujah!" crowed Bart. "And to think we've got it in such +good shape. The Allies have been crazy for a long time to find out +just what new wrinkles the Germans have got in the way of machinery and +other features in their latest Zeppelins. Maybe the engineers won't +come running when they learn of this!" +</P> + +<P> +"And maybe there won't be joy in Paris and London and Washington!" +jubilated Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"And perhaps the Huns won't gnash their teeth and tear their hair!" +chuckled Billy. "Oh, boy, we sure had luck when they sent us out here +this morning." +</P> + +<P> +"That German officer is a hard loser," remarked Frank. "See that scowl +on his face. A thundercloud has nothing on him. He's sore through and +through." +</P> + +<P> +The boys would have liked nothing better than to have had a chance to +explore the Zeppelin and see the many interesting and novel features +embodied in it, but their hopes in this direction were doomed to be +disappointed. The lieutenant was inflexible in his resolve to have +absolutely nothing on the captured airship disturbed until the +government experts arrived to inspect it, and sorely against their +wills the boys were forced to content themselves with an exterior view +of the wonderful fabric. +</P> + +<P> +The German officer, being utterly without means of escape, had not been +put under the custody to which his crew had been subjected. He stood +stiffly by the side of the American lieutenant, awaiting the +disposition that the latter might choose to make of him. +</P> + +<P> +The American officer sought to question him, but found his prisoner, +although able to speak English, inclined to reply only in +monosyllables. The courteous persistence of the American, however, had +its effect, and the German became more communicative, but he balked at +telling where he had been, or what his raid had accomplished. After +answering a number of questions of lesser importance, the German +himself became the questioner. +</P> + +<P> +"To what enemy have I surrendered?" he queried. +</P> + +<P> +"To a regiment of the United States Army," replied the lieutenant. +</P> + +<P> +A bewildered look came into the prisoner's eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"You mean British Army," he suggested, by way of correction. +</P> + +<P> +"I said United States," said the lieutenant, briefly. +</P> + +<P> +The puzzled look deepened. +</P> + +<P> +"Impossible!" he exclaimed. "There is no United States Army in France." +</P> + +<P> +Despite himself, the American officer could hardly suppress a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Just listen to him!" exclaimed Frank, who was within hearing distance. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't I tell you the Germans would believe anything their generals +told them?" replied Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"My, but this is rich!" chortled Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it," chuckled Billy, in +a tone too subdued for the lieutenant to notice. +</P> + +<P> +"I assure you," said the lieutenant, "that there is an army of the +United States in France, despite your unbelief. Why should it seem so +strange?" +</P> + +<P> +"But you couldn't possibly have gotten over here," persisted the +prisoner. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" asked the American. +</P> + +<P> +"Because our U-boats would have stopped you," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +"No use," murmured Frank to Bart. "Nobody home." +</P> + +<P> +"Padded cell number nine hundred and ninety-nine," whispered Billy. +</P> + +<P> +It was of no use to argue against such credulity, and the lieutenant +gave it up. +</P> + +<P> +The prisoners were marched back to camp, where the news of their coming +had preceded them. It created a great sensation, and was the main +topic of conversation for many days thereafter. +</P> + +<P> +"It's been a red letter day," remarked Bart that night, as he prepared +to climb into his bunk. +</P> + +<P> +"You bet it has," agreed Frank. "We bagged a Zeppelin!" +</P> + +<P> +Two days after these momentous events, a stir of expectation ran +through the camp. Evidently some important move was in prospect. What +it was, the rank and file did not know, but rumors and conjectures ran +riot. +</P> + +<P> +"There's something big coming, boys," said Frank, one night after +supper. +</P> + +<P> +"That's plain enough," agreed Bart. "But I'd give a lot to know just +what it is." +</P> + +<P> +"The corporal gave me a private tip," replied Frank. "He didn't go +very far into it, but from what he hinted I have a hunch that none of +us will go to bed to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"What?" they cried, in chorus. +</P> + +<P> +"That's what," returned Frank. "But of course it may be a false alarm. +Wilson himself wasn't any too sure." +</P> + +<P> +An hour later the bugle blew, but this call was not for "lights out." +It was the command to "fall in." +</P> + +<P> +Sudden as it was, the high state of discipline the men had reached was +shown by the fact that there was no confusion. As precisely as veteran +soldiers they fell into line by companies and platoons and waited for +the order "Forward, march!" +</P> + +<P> +The order was not long in coming, and as quietly as ghosts, with no +band to lead them, the regiment swung into step and started off. +</P> + +<P> +"We're on our way to the front," whispered Frank to Bart, who marched +on his right. +</P> + +<P> +"Off to the trenches!" agreed Bart. "Well, I'm glad the waiting time +is over. Now, we'll have a chance to show what kind of soldiers we +are." +</P> + +<P> +For three whole hours the march went on without a halt. The night was +clear although there was no moon. As the ground was dry and springy +the going was good. +</P> + +<P> +During that last hour the signs had multiplied that they were +approaching the scene of battle. They passed by bits of woodland where +every leaf and twig had been stripped from the trees by shell fire, +leaving only the scarred and ghastly trunks. +</P> + +<P> +They went through villages, or what had once been villages, but were +now only heaps of crumbling stone with, here and there, a shaky wall +left standing. +</P> + +<P> +They had to watch their footing more and more to avoid falling into +craters where the ground had been torn up by shells. There was no +beauty in that part of fertile France that had once been like a "garden +of the Lord." +</P> + +<P> +War had breathed upon it, blighting and blasting every living thing, +except the dauntless spirit of the people who were fighting and would +fight to the last gasp in defense of liberty and civilization. +</P> + +<P> +At last they reached a line of sentinels by whom they were greeted, not +with challenges, but with exclamations of delight and welcome. +</P> + +<P> +A little further on they came to a great gash in the earth that +stretched in either direction like a huge black, zigzag blot. +</P> + +<P> +They had reached the trenches! +</P> + +<P> +But they did not stop there. Onward they went again, past another line +of trenches. +</P> + +<P> +"Gee! we must be going to the first line of trenches!" whispered Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"That's what!" answered Frank. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +FACING THE HUN +</H4> + +<P> +Just this side of one of the lines of trenches the regiment halted at +the word of the commander. Then it stood at attention and presented +arms while from out the trenches came an endless line of men who had +held that trench for France and now were yielding their place to the +ardent young soldiers of the sister republic across the sea. +</P> + +<P> +There was a strong impulse to cheer on both sides, but that might have +betrayed to the enemy the change that was taking place in that sector +of the line, and this for strategic reasons, it was desirable to avoid. +</P> + +<P> +Soon the last of the war-worn veterans was lost in the darkness. Then, +with infinite caution the boys of the old Thirty-seventh marched into +the trenches, guided only by lanterns that waved low before them like +so many fireflies. +</P> + +<P> +So perfectly the movement had been planned, so carefully had been +mapped out in advance the exact location that each unit of the command +was to occupy, that, within an hour after the substitution had been +made, the entire regiment was placed, and, apart from those detailed +for duty, was sound asleep! +</P> + +<P> +Curiosity ran riot when the army boys woke in their unfamiliar +surroundings. At last they had reached the trenches, that magic word +that they had heard again and again in the daily discussions of the +last three years, and they studied every detail of their new +surroundings with the keenest interest and zest. +</P> + +<P> +Here they were to live, here some of them, beyond a question, were to +die. The thought was sobering, and on that first day there was little +of the gaiety and jest that had marked their life in the camps behind. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Bart, old scout, we're in for it now," said Frank, after +breakfast, as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"In for fair," responded Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"We're up against the real thing," added Billy. "We had a little taste +of trench life down in Mexico, but most of the life was in the open. +This is a different proposition." +</P> + +<P> +Just then a shell came screaming overhead and the boys involuntarily +ducked. +</P> + +<P> +"That seems to prove it," said Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Bad shooting though," remarked Frank, coolly. "Fritz ought to have +the range better by this time." +</P> + +<P> +"There isn't very much of that sort of thing going on just now," +remarked Corporal Wilson, who came along just then. "This is what they +call a 'quiet sector.' The boys are just put here to be broken in and +get used to the sight and sound of the shells. This is a deaf and dumb +asylum compared to what you'll get later on." +</P> + +<P> +"Job's comforter," murmured Bart. "To hear the corporal talk you'd +think this was a rest cure." +</P> + +<P> +In the hours of liberty allowed them the army boys explored the +trenches for a long distance in either direction, and what they saw +tended to upset a good many of the notions they had formed. +</P> + +<P> +In a vague way they had figured the trench to be not much else than a +gigantic ditch. They found it to be an underground city. +</P> + +<P> +There was a bewildering labyrinth of passages branching off in every +direction. There were spacious rooms, fitted up in homely comfort, +some with pictures on the walls and rugs upon the floors. +</P> + +<P> +There were shower baths and laundries, rude in construction but +efficient in operation. The sleeping quarters of the men consisted +chiefly of bunks, rising in tiers, though in some cases, cots were used. +</P> + +<P> +There was an apparently endless series of communicating trenches with +the listening posts in advance of the main line. There were telephone +wires and electric lights. +</P> + +<P> +"The moles have got nothing on us," remarked Tom, as he noted the vast +extent of these subterranean passages. +</P> + +<P> +"It's like the catacombs of Rome," put in Billy. "The only difference +is that those contain dead men while we're very much alive." +</P> + +<P> +"Knock wood," counseled Bart. "We wouldn't be very long if the Boches +had their way." +</P> + +<P> +Along the side of the main trench, facing the enemy was a narrow +platform on which the men stood who were on watch. A series of +cunningly contrived loopholes enabled them to look over at the enemy +trenches without themselves being seen. +</P> + +<P> +Sand bags were piled on the top of the trench in numbers sufficient to +stop the flight of a bullet or even the impact of a shell. +</P> + +<P> +A series of steps led up to the top and the boys reflected as they +looked at them that before long their feet would be planted there when +the order should be given to go "<I>over the top</I>" and charge across the +intervening space to meet the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +The silent men standing on watch, gripping their muskets, their eyes +peering through the loopholes, seemed like so many statues. +</P> + +<P> +Each had his gas mask ready to clap on at an instant's notice, for when +that deadly poison should be wafted over the trench, one second of time +might mean all the difference between life and death. +</P> + +<P> +Before the day was over Frank and his comrades had replaced this line +of sentinels. They peered curiously across to the German trench from +which they were separated by not more than two hundred yards. +</P> + +<P> +There was absolutely nothing to be seen except the line of sand bags +that they knew marked the positions of the enemy. Nothing broke the +monotonous expanse of shell-torn earth. +</P> + +<P> +They had an uncanny feeling as though they were the only living +creatures left in the world. +</P> + +<P> +"It looks as though all the Germans had gone back to Berlin," remarked +Frank in an undertone. +</P> + +<P> +"Does it?" said the corporal grimly. "Give me your hat." +</P> + +<P> +He took the hat that Frank extended and lifted it above the parapet on +the point of a bayonet. +</P> + +<P> +Zip! came a bullet, missing the helmet by a hair and thudding into one +of the sand bags. +</P> + +<P> +"Take it all back," said Frank as he resumed his hat. "They're on the +job!" +</P> + +<P> +A week passed by with only two casualties on the American side, for the +sector was indeed a quiet one. But certain signs of a projected +movement on the part of the enemy had made the American officers +uneasy, and one day Corporal Wilson called Frank apart. +</P> + +<P> +"Sheldon," he said, "Captain Baker has ordered me to take a squad of +men on the first dark or foggy night for patrol duty in No Man's Land. +I want you, Raymond, Bradford and Waldon to go with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Good," said Frank, promptly. "We'll be ready." +</P> + +<P> +He sought out his comrades and eagerly imparted the information. They +received it with delight. +</P> + +<P> +"Bully!" cried Bart. +</P> + +<P> +"Best news I've heard since Hector was a pup!" chortled Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's hoping we'll slip one over on Fritz!" chuckled Tom, gleefully. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +IN NO MAN'S LAND +</H4> + +<P> +It was a misty, muddy night upon which the reconnoitering party, +including Frank, Bart, Billy and Tom, was sent out under Corporal +Wilson, with orders to get as close as possible to the enemy's line and +learn all they could regarding their positions. +</P> + +<P> +This included information in regard to the general direction of the +enemy trenches, the extent and strength of his barbed wire +entanglements and, if possible, the approximate force with which the +trenches were manned. +</P> + +<P> +Of course, this order involved taking pretty long chances, but the +picked men sent out did not give much thought to that side of the +question. By now it was all, not only a part of the day's work to +them, but the excitement of such an expedition was, in truth, something +of a relief from the growing monotony of trench life. +</P> + +<P> +They left their own trenches with the least possible sound and crept +cautiously forward toward the enemy defences. The night was heavy and +starless, an excellent one for their project. +</P> + +<P> +The soft earth deadened their footsteps and they slipped forward like a +company of ghosts, hardly a sound breaking the stillness save the +distant roar of the heavy guns that caused the ground to quiver and +tremble under their feet. +</P> + +<P> +The mist enveloping them began to grow denser minute by minute and +before they had gone more than a hundred yards it was with the greatest +difficulty that they kept from becoming separated. +</P> + +<P> +It was an uncanny experience for the young, almost untried soldiers, +and the Camport boys were excited, and each eager to prove himself +worthy of having been chosen for the work. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly Frank thought he heard a subdued sound on his right and +instinctively stopped a moment to locate it more definitely. +</P> + +<P> +In that second his comrades, who apparently had heard nothing, were +swallowed up in the thickening fog. Frank's impulse was to hasten +after them but he had hardly taken a step forward when he was again +halted by a repetition of the noise he had heard before. +</P> + +<P> +He dared not call out to his comrades as he knew that such a cry would +betray them all in case they were near the enemy trenches. His next +thought was to return to his own lines, but the sound he had heard, +surprisingly like the low-pitched gutturals of a German voice, made him +unwilling to go back without investigating the matter further. +Besides, here was the beginning of an adventure after his own heart, +and he thought with a quickening pulse of the satisfaction that would +be his if he could, unaided, gather valuable information and take it +back to his commanding officer. +</P> + +<P> +This reflection decided him and slowly and with infinite caution he +stole in the direction from which the sounds seemed to come. +</P> + +<P> +He had not gone far when his first impression was verified. Through +the mist he heard distinctly the subdued sound of voices. Creeping on +still farther as quietly and stealthily as a jungle animal, he could +finally catch the articulation in the voices, and he knew the language +spoken was German. +</P> + +<P> +"I must be mighty near their entanglements by this time," he thought +excitedly. "If I can only get through them I ought to be able to hear +something. Here goes for a try at it anyway." +</P> + +<P> +He dropped to hands and knees, regardless of the sticky mud, and wormed +his way along, one hand outstretched feeling for the wire that he knew +must be close. Sure enough he had not gone ten feet when his hand came +in contact with the wire. He dropped flat on the ground and carefully +drew his wire cutters from his belt. Cautiously he nipped a section +out of the lowest strand and crawled beneath. He knew that he would +soon come to a second line, and when he reached it he cut it in the +same way he had the first, and then cut a third and a fourth. +</P> + +<P> +"That's probably the last fence," he thought, nor was he mistaken. +</P> + +<P> +He was now close to the enemy's trench and could hear the subdued +murmur of voices. Above these came every now and then a sharp word of +command and the click of gun mechanisms being inspected together with +other sounds indicating a state of bustle and preparation. +</P> + +<P> +To Frank lying prone on the miry ground, these sounds conveyed a very +definite and significant message. +</P> + +<P> +"They're up to something sure as shooting!" he thought. "I'll bet +they're preparing for an attack on our trenches! They're all as busy +as bees!" +</P> + +<P> +He lay quiet a minute longer until the sounds of preparation increased +to such an extent that he felt sure the Germans would soon be on the +move. +</P> + +<P> +"About time for me to hunt cover," he thought with a grin that even his +perilous position could not repress. "The sooner I get out of this and +warn our men the better it will be." +</P> + +<P> +With this thought in mind he turned cautiously about and had started +back when suddenly he saw something that made his heart lose a beat. +</P> + +<P> +All over the wire entanglements that lay across his path of escape long +sparks were leaping and hissing with a subdued crackling sound like the +snapping of a wood fire. The Germans had electricified their wires in +the hope of entrapping any scouting party of Americans who might chance +to penetrate them! +</P> + +<P> +Now indeed Frank found himself in a terrible predicament. He knew that +in the maze of wires he could hardly hope to find the place where he +had entered, and he was sure that with the heavy current in the wires +it would be certain death to touch them with his clippers. On the +other hand he knew that the current would be shut off only a minute or +so before the Boches left their trenches to attack. He would hardly +have time to cut his way out before being discovered and shot. +</P> + +<P> +However his only chance seemed to be to lie still and await +developments. This he did, resolving to make a dash the second the +current was cut off. +</P> + +<P> +As he lay there his ears caught the sound of measured footsteps +approaching him. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a sentry!" flashed through his mind. His hand flew to the +bayonet at his side and he prepared to strike quick and hard. +</P> + +<P> +But then another thought came to him. There must be a way through the +entanglements that the Germans used. If he could capture the sentry he +might be able to make him act as a guide. +</P> + +<P> +It was a chance—and a desperate chance. Would the sentry prove to be +alert and resourceful? Would his love of the Fatherland, or at least +his training that the individual must be always subservient to the +government, cause him to give the alarm at the expense of his personal +safety? Or would he be slow to think and act, and would the very +training, having undermined his self-reliance, make him yield to the +quick intelligence and the poise that freedom had given to the American? +</P> + +<P> +Noiselessly he shifted his hand to his revolver and drew it forth. He +knew that it would be fatal to risk a shot, but he grasped the barrel +of the weapon and as the heavy footsteps came abreast of him leaped to +his feet and brought the butt down with stunning force on the head of +the dim stolid figure that loomed through the mist. +</P> + +<P> +The man dropped without a cry but Frank listened anxiously to judge if +the sound of his fall had reached the trenches. Apparently it had not, +and satisfied of this the young American turned his attention to the +inert figure at his feet. +</P> + +<P> +Presently the man stirred and then in a dazed fashion started to +struggle to his feet. Quick as lightning the cold muzzle of Frank's +revolver was pressed against the German's neck speaking a language that +all men understand. The soldier stood quite still and Frank felt that +the man, unstrung by the unexpected attack, would not risk death by +giving an alarm. +</P> + +<P> +He was at a loss to convey a command to the German to show him the way +out through the barbed wire. He knew little of the German language. +But it occurred to him that possibly the German could speak English. +</P> + +<P> +"Show me the way out of this," he commanded, speaking very slowly. "Do +you understand?" +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Yah, yah,</I>" mumbled the German. "I vill show you, only don't shoot. +Dis way. Follow me." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll follow you and mighty close too," Frank assured him. "One false +move and you'll never make another." +</P> + +<P> +The German made no reply but crawled sullenly through the mud, Frank +following with the muzzle of the gun pressing the man's leg. +</P> + +<P> +Soon the German paused at what appeared to be a sort of gate but would +have seemed like any part of the fence to one not acquainted with it. +After a moment's fumbling the gate swung open and captor and captive +crawled through. In the same way they got through the other lines of +wire. Frank was once more in the open and the proud possessor of a +prisoner besides. +</P> + +<P> +"Forward march!" commanded the young American. "We will now visit +those pigs of Yankees you fellows are so fond of talking about. I know +they will be glad to see you." +</P> + +<P> +The big German only hunched his shoulders and went on doggedly. In a +little while they were near the American trenches and after answering +the sentry's challenge they clambered down. +</P> + +<P> +Frank was met with a wild rush by Bart, Billy and Tom, who had been +almost crazy with anxiety because of his failure to return. +</P> + +<P> +"Where have you been, Frank?" shouted Bart, "and where did you get the +Boche?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll tell you when I get back, fellows," promised Frank. "Take care +of this Hun. I've got to report right away. I think the Huns are +going to attack." +</P> + +<P> +He hurried away and made his report. +</P> + +<P> +"You've done well, very well," declared Captain Baker. "And if the +enemy attacks, as you think likely, they will find us ready for them. +You may return to your company." +</P> + +<P> +Frank saluted and hastened back. Orders were issued, and soon every +man was at his post, strung up to the highest pitch of excitement and +expectancy. They strained their eyes through the baffling fog but for +a while could see or hear nothing. +</P> + +<P> +Then suddenly a white shaft of light stabbed through the fog and +piercing the damp folds revealed row after row of helmeted figures +moving toward them with a deliberation and menacing weight that might +well have struck terror to hearts less stout than theirs! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap25"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A GALLANT EXPLOIT +</H4> + +<P> +Crouched, tense, ready for the word, the American lads faced the foe. +A thrill of impatience ran through them as the enemy came nearer. +</P> + +<P> +Were they to wait there, until that grey wave overwhelmed them, pouring +into the trenches like a surging flood? +</P> + +<P> +The strain of waiting was becoming almost unbearable. +</P> + +<P> +The captain shouted a command, and up they scrambled like hounds freed +from the leash. But just as their leader reached the top he fell +headlong, stricken by a bullet. +</P> + +<P> +For a moment the men waited, uncertain, hardly knowing what to do. +Frank sensed the hesitation and like lightning he acted. +</P> + +<P> +It was no time to consider rank with that grey mass surging on. Above +the noise his voice rang out like a trumpet. +</P> + +<P> +"Come on, boys!" he shouted. "Over the top and at them!" +</P> + +<P> +At the same instant he leaped forward and his comrades followed. On +they rushed like an avalanche let loose. They were at Yankee fighting +pitch. +</P> + +<P> +All the pent-up rage that had been gathering for months leaped to the +fore. The fire that had stirred their ancestors at Bunker Hill and +Gettysburg burst into flame. +</P> + +<P> +Wounds? They scorned them. Death? They laughed at it! +</P> + +<P> +On they went like so many vikings. Faster, faster, rushing, pouring +onward—until with tremendous force they fell like a thunderbolt upon +the advancing ranks. +</P> + +<P> +Into that grey mass they forced their way, shooting, thrusting, +stabbing. And when their guns were empty, or they could not use their +bayonets, they grasped the weapons and swung them about their heads +like flails. +</P> + +<P> +There was a red mist before their eyes and red patches on their tunics. +Some of them fell but the others kept on stabbing, hacking, hewing +their way into the solid mass until that mass, veteran, as it was, +wavered and broke before the wild, irresistible charge. +</P> + +<P> +Slowly at first, then more swiftly, the enemy retreated, pursued to the +very edge of their trenches by the American boys, who, having tasted +blood, were not to be denied. +</P> + +<P> +They would have gone further but this was not in the plan of their +commanders, for the enemy's guns had got the range and a murderous fire +was being laid down. +</P> + +<P> +The enemy had had a trouncing that he would not soon forget. The +recall sounded, and the American boys turned back, reluctantly, +gathering up their wounded comrades as they came. +</P> + +<P> +Frank had been separated from his chums in the wild melee, and his +first thought as he neared the home trench was for their safety. His +relief was great when he found them, blackened, panting, their clothing +riddled, but they themselves unharmed, except for a slight wound that +Tom had received from a bullet that scarcely more than grazed his arm. +</P> + +<P> +Now that the reaction was upon them, they felt unspeakably weary, for +nerve and brawn had been taxed to the utmost. But in their eyes glowed +the light of victory. They had met the veteran troops of the Kaiser +and given them a taste of Yankee mettle. +</P> + +<P> +It was their first battle and they had borne themselves like men. +</P> + +<P> +Once more in the trenches and Tom's slight wound attended to, they +peered curiously over the scene of battle. They shuddered as they +looked, for there were still forms lying there that had not been there +when the battle began. Who of their own number had gone? Who from +that group of jolly, eager, vigorous young manhood with whom they had +been living and training for weeks and months—those whom they had come +to like and respect as they toiled and pleasured side by side in the +camp and in the trenches? +</P> + +<P> +And yet, not one of those who had come back alive from that awful +field, where had been left some of their comrades, but would have +gladly given his own life that selfishness, arrogance, and brutality +should not conquer and rule in this world. +</P> + +<P> +But they took comfort from the fact that despite their own losses, +which had been numerous, the greater proportion of those still forms +were German. +</P> + +<P> +The enemy's gun fire was still sending a rain of death across the +intervening space and the American guns were answering with equal vigor. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed as though no living thing could endure on that infernal plain. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly Frank's keen eyes detected a movement on the part of one of +the apparently lifeless bodies and he gave a sharp exclamation. +</P> + +<P> +"Look there, Bart!" he said. "There's a man still alive. See how he's +trying to get up on his elbow—and he's one of our men, too. That is, +he's French—I can tell by his uniform," he added in great excitement, +as the light from a bursting star shell threw a ghastly radiance over +the field. +</P> + +<P> +The next instant he was clambering up the side of the trench. +</P> + +<P> +"Frank! Frank!" cried Bart desperately, clutching at him. "What are +you doing? Where are you going? It's certain death out there!" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm going, Bart," gritted Frank between his teeth as he tore away from +his friend's grasp, and leaped over the top! +</P> + +<P> +An instant more and he was on his hands and knees, making his way +toward the stricken man who was about twenty yards distant. +</P> + +<P> +Around him bullets rained. A pain shot through his shoulder as though +he had been stabbed by a red hot knife, but he kept on doggedly, +reached the wounded man and tried to lift him to his feet. +</P> + +<P> +But the effort was futile for the man sank back with a groan. Like a +flash Frank's muscular arms lifted him, threw him over his shoulder and +staggering, tripping, stumbling, yet somehow keeping his feet, he +reached the edge of the trench. +</P> + +<P> +A dozen eager hands relieved him of his burden and then he himself +tumbled in, to be caught by Bart and Billy. +</P> + +<P> +What happened in the next half hour, Frank scarcely knew. The wound in +his shoulder though not serious had bled freely, and his tremendous +efforts had taxed his strength to the utmost. +</P> + +<P> +His surprise was great when, having had his wound attended to, he was +ushered into the presence of the man he had saved. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it is Colonel Pavet!" he gasped. Of course the French military +man was equally amazed. +</P> + +<P> +"It is fate!" he cried. "Fate, nothing less, my brave boy! How can I +ever thank you!" +</P> + +<P> +"You don't have to thank me," returned Frank modestly. +</P> + +<P> +"But I shall," and the French colonel grasped the young soldier's hand +tightly. He was still very weak and spoke with difficulty. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad it was you, Sir," remarked the army boy. +</P> + +<P> +"It is fate, I tell you," murmured the colonel. "When I am well I +shall tell you more. I have heard from Auvergne, and all about the De +Latour estate, which is in the courts. You may have a fight to get +your rights, but—I am your friend. I shall fight for you and your +mother." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you think my mother's chances are good?" questioned Frank eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am certain of it," was the colonel's low reply. Then he had to stop +talking, by the doctor's orders. +</P> + +<P> +And what was done in the near future to recover the estate, and how +Frank and his chum did their further duty as American soldiers, will be +told in the next volume, to be entitled: "Army Boys in the French +Trenches; Or, Hand to Hand Fights with the Enemy." +</P> + +<P> +When Frank came back to camp his friends hailed him as a veritable hero. +</P> + +<P> +"You're the goods!" cried Billy. +</P> + +<P> +"All wool and a yard wide!" came from Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"And American to the backbone, don't forget that!" added Bart. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="finis"> +THE END +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Army Boys in France, by Homer Randall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE *** + +***** This file should be named 36424-h.htm or 36424-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/4/2/36424/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Army Boys in France + or, From Training Camp to Trenches + +Author: Homer Randall + +Release Date: June 13, 2011 [EBook #36424] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: "'Tis the bist uv exercise, throwin' thim things is." +Page 133] + + + + +Army Boys in France + +OR + +From Training Camp to Trenches + + +BY + +HOMER RANDALL + +_Author of "Army Boys in the French Trenches" and "Army Boys on the +Firing Line"_ + + + + +THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. + +CLEVELAND, O. ------ NEW YORK, N. Y. + + +Made in U. S. A. + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY + +GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY + + + + +PRESS OF + +THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO. + +CLEVELAND + +Made in U. S. A. + + + + +ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + + I--The Bugle Calls + II--A Remorseless Enemy + III--The Gathering Storm + IV--War + V--A Vandal Punished + VI--The Die Is Cast + VII--For Love of Country + VIII--Off to Camp + IX--A New Life + X--Instruments of Death + XI--Nick Rabig Turns Up + XII--For France + XIII--The Lurking Peril + XIV--The War-Swept Land + XV--Within the Sound of Guns + XVI--The Airship Raid + XVII--The Baptism of Fire + XVIII--A Grim Reality + XIX--Nick Rabig Under Arrest + XX--A Rattling Bout + XXI--Paying a Debt + XXII--A Promise of Help + XXIII--Facing the Hun + XXIV--In No Man's Land + XXV--A Gallant Exploit + + + + +ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE BUGLE CALLS + +"Looks like war, fellows!" exclaimed Frank Sheldon, as, on a cold March +morning he came briskly into the business house where he was employed, +and slipped off his overcoat. + +"Oh, I don't know," responded Bart Raymond, Frank's special chum. +"It's looked like war ever since the _Lusitania_ was sunk, but we +haven't got our fighting clothes on yet. The American eagle keeps on +cooing like a dove." + +"He's waking up now though," asserted Frank confidently, "and pretty +soon he'll begin to scream. And when he does there'll be trouble for +the Kaiser." + +"He isn't worrying much about us," put in Tom Bradford. "He figures +that his U-boats will do the trick long before we get ready to fight. +Sometimes I think he's pretty nearly right too. They're sinking ships +right and left. They got three of them yesterday, and one was a liner +of more than ten thousand tons." + +"That's bad," agreed Frank. "But the worst thing about it is that one +of the three was an American ship. As long as they sank only French +and English vessels, it might be said that it was none of our business, +although it has always seemed to me a cruel and cowardly way of +fighting. But when they get after Uncle Sam's boats it's time for us +to get busy." + +"Johnny get your gun! get your gun!" chanted "Reddy," the irrepressible +office boy. + +"What's the use of talking," said Bart disgustedly. "They'll cook up +some excuse about not knowing that it was an American ship, and we'll +swallow the excuse and pretend to believe it. One lie more or less is +nothing to a nation that calls a treaty a scrap of paper." + +"It wasn't that way in the old days," remarked old Peterson, the head +bookkeeper, who had been at the "Bloody Angle" when Pickett led the +charge at Gettysburg. "Men were men then and ready to fight at the +drop of a hat. Americans didn't need a swift kick then to get them +into action." + +He shook his gray head mournfully at the thought of the evil days on +which his country had fallen. + +"Don't you worry, Mr. Peterson," replied Frank confidently. "America +is just as sound at heart as ever she was. Just let the bugle call and +a million men will answer. We'll raise an army in less than no time." + +"Well, perhaps so," admitted Peterson half grudgingly. "But even if we +did they'd be raw troops and stand no chance against trained soldiers. +They'd only be food for cannon. It takes at least a year to make a +soldier. And before we could get on the firing line the Germans might +have France and England licked to a frazzle." + +"Not much chance of that," put in Tom. "It's more likely to be the +other way. What's Hindenburg doing now but retreating?" + +"But it's a long, long way before he'll get back to the Rhine," replied +Peterson. "And in the meantime it looks as if Russia was getting ready +to quit. I tell you, boys, if we get into it, the work of winning the +war will be on our shoulders. And it won't be a cinch any way you look +at it." + +"Not a cinch perhaps," agreed Frank thoughtfully, "but I wouldn't have +any doubt about how it would come out in the long run. I'd back +America to whip the world." + +"So would I," came back Peterson promptly, "if it were just a question +of man against man. But this is a war of machinery. The day's gone by +when a man could grab a musket and run out to meet the other fellow +who, as a rule, wasn't any better prepared than he was. Now it's a +matter of cannon, and machine guns, and liquid fire, and poison gases, +and all the rest of it. The Germans have those things and know how to +use them. We haven't got them and wouldn't know how to use them if we +had. Why, a single German army corps has more machine guns than we +have in the whole United States!" + +"Of course we're not prepared," broke in Hal Chase. "But we've got +plenty of company in that. Who in the world was prepared except +Germany? She caught all Europe asleep. If three years ago anyone had +said this war was coming we'd have thought him crazy." + +"Yes," agreed Tom. "That's true enough and you can't blame the rest of +the world too much. But there's no excuse for us being caught this +way. We've watched this thing developing for the last two years and +coming closer and closer to us all the time. It was a dead sure thing +that sooner or later we would get in it. And yet we've been like a man +who sees the house next door burning and doesn't take any steps to +protect his own." + +"Well," said Frank, "what's past is past and there's no use crying over +spilled milk. There's no use either in asking who has been to blame. +That can be settled after the war. What we Americans have got to do is +to buck up, stand shoulder to shoulder, and fight as Americans always +have fought when they've got into a scrap." + +"Sure thing," agreed Bart. "But just now it would be like a man +fighting with his bare fists against another fellow that's got a gun. +He might be brave enough, but the other fellow's bullet would get to +him before his fist could land." + +"It isn't the first time we've been in this fix," said Tom. "But +somehow or other we've always managed to come through on top. See how +it was in 1812. We didn't have any navy and England had the greatest +fleet in the world. But we built the ships and made the guns, and +knocked spots out of the other fellows." + +"Yes," said Hal, "and Perry won the battle of Lake Erie with ships made +from trees that a hundred days before had had birds' nests in them. +And what we did once we can do again." + +"You've said it!" broke in Reddy, who, although too young to be a +soldier, was chock full of patriotism. + +"Oh, well," said old Peterson. "We're not in the war yet and perhaps +we never shall be. But there will be war sure enough if the boss comes +in and finds you fellows chinning when you ought to be working. So get +busy." + +"How about Peterson himself?" said Bart to Frank in a lowered tone as +they scattered for their tasks. "I notice the old chap himself isn't +slow when it comes to a talk fest." + +The firm of Moore and Thomas, by which the young men were employed, did +a thriving hardware business in the prosperous town of Camport, an +inland city of about twenty-five thousand people. The work was +wholesale and extended all over the country. They carried on also +quite an export trade, and just now because of the war feeling that was +in the air they were busier than usual. So that for the rest of the +morning the boys kept close to their work, and conversation was limited +strictly to business. + +But the thought that was in all their minds could not be long +suppressed, and the discussion broke out afresh when twelve o'clock +struck and they knocked off work preparatory to going to lunch. + +"I don't think we'll wear these duds much longer," remarked Bart as he +put on his coat. "I'll bet most of this bunch will be in khaki before +three months are over." + +"I know one that will anyway," replied Frank. "Just let the President +call for troops and I'll come running." + +"Oh, you fellows make me tired!" broke in a rough voice behind them. +"All the running you'll do will be to run away when you get sight of a +German uniform." + +They wheeled around and saw that the speaker was Nick Rabig, the +foreman of the shipping department. + +He was a big burly fellow with a mottled face, thick neck and small +eyes that seldom had in them anything but a surly expression. He was +the bully of the place, and was universally disliked. + +"Who asked you to butt in?" demanded Bart, nettled at the interruption. + +"This is a free country, ain't it?" replied Rabig, truculently. + +"Sure it is," said Bart. "That's the reason your father came here from +Germany, wasn't it?" + +The shot went home, for Rabig, though born in this country, was of +German descent and for the last two years had been vehement in his +denunciation of the Allies and fervent in his praise of the Teutons. + +"Germany's all right," he retorted, "and don't you forget it!" + +"If Germany's all right, it's surprising how many Germans try to get +away from it," remarked Frank dryly. "You don't notice many Americans +going over to Germany." + +"That's just because Germany is crowded," defended Rabig. "But just +the same it's a better country than America ever dared to be. And when +she gets through this war she'll be twice as big as she was before and +there'll be plenty of room for all her people." + +"Going to gobble up all Europe, is she?" asked Frank, sarcastically. + +"Then I suppose she'll come over and take in America, too, so as to +make a good job of it," said Bart, with a grin of derision. + +"Why not?" responded Rabig, promptly. "Somebody has got to rule the +world, and why not Germany?" + +Quite a group had gathered about them by this time, and there was a +roar of laughter at this frank expression of the German spirit and the +German purpose. + +Rabig grew red with fury. His little eyes glowered as he glared about +him. + +"We'll hang the Kaiser on a sour apple tree!" chanted Reddy. + +Rabig aimed a blow at him which Reddy adroitly ducked, and Frank +stepped between them. + +"Leave the boy alone, Rabig," he demanded, and Rabig's fury turned on +Frank. + +"What have you got to say about it?" he snarled. "Do you want to +fight?" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A REMORSELESS ENEMY + +There was a murmur of excited expectation and the crowd gathered closer. + +For a full minute Frank's eyes looked full into Rabig's. And in the +silent duel Rabig's eyes were the first to waver. Then Frank spoke. + +"No," he said, quietly. "Brawling isn't in my line. I won't +fight--not here or now." + +There was a sigh of disappointment from the onlookers who had been +keyed up in delighted anticipation, and Rabig, though his eyes had +fallen before the glint in Frank's, resumed his swaggering air. + +"Afraid to fight, eh?" he sneered. + +Before a reply could be made, Mr. Thomas, the junior member of the +firm, came out from his private office and the gathering dispersed. + +"Why didn't you trim him, Frank?" asked Bart curiously, as they walked +down the street together. "I wanted to see you wipe up the ground with +him. You could have done it too. You've got as much muscle as he has +and ten times the grit. I fairly ached to see you sail into him." + +"Well," said Frank, thoughtfully, "there were two reasons. In the +first place, I didn't care to soil my hands with the fellow and put +myself on his level. Then again, you know how sensitive my mother is, +and she'd have hated to see me get mixed up in a shop brawl. But Rabig +has his coming to him, and he'll get it sooner or later." + +"Sooner, I hope," returned Bart. "If you don't, I'll do it myself. +That "_Deutschland Uber Alles_" stuff of his is getting on my nerves. +Just now it's the ambition of my life to lick a Hun." + +"You may have the chance sooner than you think," laughed Frank. +"Germany's just about got to the end of her rope with us. Let her sink +just one more ship and she'll find out what she's up against." + +"It can't come too soon for me," responded Bart, and as just then they +reached the junction of the streets where their ways parted Bart went +on and Frank turned into the quiet street on which his home was located. + +It was a modest little structure, set some distance back from the +street, surrounded by flowers and shrubbery which in summer were a riot +of color and perfume. + +Before his hand touched the door knob, his mother, who had been +watching for his coming, swung the door wide open and stood ready to +give him a loving greeting. + +Frank's eyes brightened as they dwelt upon her. She was a pretty +little woman with a piquancy of expression, a brightness of eye and an +alertness of carriage that at first glance betrayed her French origin. +Her pretty color and a certain appealing helplessness in her manner +toward her son had always made her seem to Frank more like a charming +sister than a mother. + +And now as he put his arm protectingly about her and stooped to kiss +her he was alarmed at the traces of recent tears which she had not been +able entirely to obliterate. + +"Mother!" he cried, holding her away from him and searching her face +anxiously. "You've been crying! You just tell me who's made you, and +I'll--" he doubled up his fist in a threatening gesture; but with a +little laugh his mother inserted her own small fingers within his and +led him into the dining-room. + +"Look!" she cried, pointing to a great steaming tureen of soup that +stood in the center of the table. "You said last night you were hungry +for soup, and so I made it especially for you, dear, to surprise you. +You must tell me how you like it before you ask any more questions. +See, how steaming hot it is." + +"Say, and I stopped to argue when this was waiting for me!" cried +Frank, literally flinging himself upon the tempting dish. "Run around +to your side, Mother, and hold your plate. Say, if this tastes as good +as it smells--" + +Like two children they tasted the soup, then with expressions of +contentment laughed into each other's eyes. Then Frank launched into +an account of the morning's events, for he was accustomed to discuss +everything with his mother, who was his comrade in all things small or +great. + +"My fingers itched to be at that bully," he said, "but I held myself +in, and I guess you know one of the reasons." + +"Yes, dear," responded his mother, lovingly. "You're always thinking +of me. I'm glad you didn't get into a fight. I have always hated +them. A time may come," she added, a shadow crossing her face, "when +you will be forced to fight, not for yourself, but for the honor of +your dear country." + +"For two countries, maybe," said Frank with a smile. "For every stroke +that America deals to the Kaiser will help France as well." + +"Ah, _la belle_ France," said his mother with a sigh. "How my heart +bleeds for my beloved country! I had a letter to-day from Cousin +Lucie. And, oh, she had such terrible news!" + +"Nothing has happened to her, I hope," said Frank, quickly. + +"No, not to her," replied his mother. "One of those poor refugees from +Belgium has got through the German lines and is staying at her house. +This woman was at Dinant when the town was captured by the Germans in +the early part of the war, and the stories she tells of what happened +there are too dreadful for words. And yet she saw those things +herself, and Lucie tells me she is sure the woman is honest and tells +the absolute truth." + +"I am ready to believe almost anything of German brutality," said +Frank, bitterly. "And I suppose for every awful thing that's told +there are a hundred more that haven't come to light. Tell me what +Cousin Lucie said." + +"This Mrs. Pentlivre," replied his mother, "told Lucie that the Germans +attacked the town early on an August morning. They outnumbered the +defenders, who were forced to retreat and take up new positions. Then +those Huns entered the town. + +"It was about half past six in the morning. The cathedral was full of +worshippers, as it was Sunday and services were being held. The +Germans burst into the church, drove out the people and separated the +men from the women with the butts of their rifles. Then the troops +deliberately shot into the mass of unarmed men, killing twenty or more +of them. They made prisoners of the rest, and then went through street +after street, setting all the houses on fire until the beautiful town +was completely destroyed. + +"All day long they kept the wretched people prisoners, threatening and +reviling them--you couldn't imagine the names they called them, so +Cousin Lucie said--and after that they took all the people whom they +had not already put to death to a garden wall at the end of the town. +Then they took those poor men and even the little boys and stood them +up against the wall. Oh, Frank, what do you suppose those murderers +did then? Shot them down in cold blood, while their wives and mothers +fell shrieking on their knees, begging passionately for mercy for their +loved ones." + +"The brutes!" cried Frank, pushing back his chair and beginning to pace +the room while his mother watched him with tears in her eyes. "There's +German Kultur for you! And what they did there, they've done in fifty +other places in Belgium and Northern France. I tell you, Mother, the +world won't be a fit place to live in until such things are punished as +they ought to be." + +"I'm afraid not," sighed his mother. "But such a task as it is going +to be!" + +"America will do it!" cried Frank, confidently. "It's up to her to +tame the beasts. France and England are holding them in check, but +they won't be able to drive them back until Uncle Sam's army boys get +over there." + +"But think of what it means if we get into the war," said his mother +sadly. "It's bad enough to read and hear about such terrible things, +but what will it be when our own men are killed and wounded and blinded +by the thousands. Ah, I cannot bear to think of it!" and she looked at +Frank with apprehension in her eyes. + +"Americans have always known how to die," said Frank, proudly. +"They've shown that at Bunker Hill, at Monterey and Gettysburg and +other battlefields. And the man who doesn't know how to die, doesn't +know how to live and isn't fit to live." + +"Spoken like my own brave boy," cried his mother. "And yet my heart +stands still when I think of you in those awful trenches. You are all +I have, Frank!" and tears welled again to her eyes. + +"I know, little Mother," said Frank, coming around to her chair and +patting her cheek fondly. "But you wouldn't want your son to be a +slacker, would you? How could I look you in the face if I held back, +while the sons of other mothers went forward to fight for their +country." + +"You're right, dear, of course," said his mother. "And hard as it +would be, I'd let you go if your country needed you. But, oh, the days +and nights of waiting while you were gone! I would not have one happy +moment, one care-free hour." + +"Yours would be the harder part, Mother," said the son gently. "I'd +have at least the excitement and fury of the fight, while you would be +eating out your heart here--alone. But cheer up," he continued in a +lighter tone, "it hasn't come to that yet, and perhaps it never will. +A hundred things may happen. Russia may come up to the scratch again. +Hindenburg has already begun to retreat, Germany may cave in at any +time. Austria may make a separate peace. The Germans may call off +their U-boat campaign rather than bring the United States into the war. +We'll hope for the best while we're getting ready for the worst. At +any rate, we won't grizzle about it till we have to--will we, Mother?" +this last in a coaxing tone that brought a swift response from his +mother, whose French vivacity and sparkle returned in a measure. + +"No, we won't, dear," she answered, smilingly brushing away the tears. +"We're going to be just as happy and bright as ever and await with +courage whatever the future may bring to us. But, dear boy, look at +that clock! You'll be late if you don't hurry. Hurry, now, I must not +be the one to blame." + +She kissed him good-bye with a smile on her lips and waved to him +merrily from the doorway. But there was a world of foreboding in her +mother eyes as she watched him swinging briskly down the street. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE GATHERING STORM + +Events moved on swiftly for the next few days. History was being made +at a more rapid rate than ever before. War was in the air and +everybody felt it. + +"Something's got to break mighty soon, Bart," remarked Frank, as he met +his friend one morning. + +"Can't come too soon for me," said Bart. "Ever since we broke off +diplomatic relations I've known there could be but one end to it. +That's never been done yet without a country finally going to war." + +"And it won't this time either," agreed Frank. "The fact is, I'd be +almost sorry if it did. I'm getting so sore at the way the Germans are +trying to ride rough shod over the world that I'm anxious to get a +whack at them." + +"I, too," declared Bart. "The cool way in which they offered part of +the United States to Mexico has got me so riled that I can't think of +anything else but getting even. And you notice how, in spite of all +warning, they keep on sinking American ships! They figure that we're +just bluffing. Their newspapers keep telling them that we're only a +nation of shopkeepers who think of nothing but the almighty dollar and +that we're making so much money out of the war in selling munitions to +the Allies we'll take good care not to get into it ourselves." + +"They're just about due to wake up out of their dream," said Frank, +grimly. "They make a big mistake when they think our patience is +cowardice, or greed for money. As a matter of fact, there isn't a +nation in the world so unselfish as America. Look at the way we went +into the Spanish war--just pure humanity, to save Cuba from the horrors +she was undergoing at the hands of that butcher, Weyler. And see how +quickly we gave Cuba her independence as soon as the war was over and +she was ready for it. There isn't another nation in the world that +would have let such a rich prize slip through her fingers when once she +had laid her hands on it." + +"Oh, well, the Germans are fed up on lies, anyway," responded Bart. +"That's the only way the government can keep up the spirits of the +people. The newspapers say just what the Kaiser tells them to say. +Some day the papers will tell them that the Americans have horns and +hoofs, and they'll swallow it without winking." + +"They'll see for themselves what we are," said Frank, "when our boys go +over the top and meet them face to face." + +"I just got a letter from Billy Waldon," went on Bart. "He's been down +on the Mexican border chasing Villa and his gang. Says he's in fine +shape and feeling like a two-year-old. His regiment's been ordered +back, and he'll be with us soon. Says he's honing to get a crack at +the Germans." + +"Billy's a fine fellow," said Frank heartily, "and the experience he's +been getting in Mexico ought to help him a lot when he gets in the +French trenches, if he ever does." + +"He'll get there all right," asserted Bart. "I hear that the first +thing the Government will do will be to put the national guard +regiments in the regular army. You know the old Thirty-seventh that +Billy belongs to is mostly made up of Camport boys. I've half a mind +to join myself as soon as they get back." + +"That might not be a half bad idea," said Frank. "Although my own +thought was that as soon as the President called for troops I'd join +the regular army at once. But it's as broad as it is long, for, as you +say, the first thing the Government is likely to do is to make regulars +of the national guard. And it won't be a bad thing either, for they've +had lots of drilling and will be a heap better at the start than raw +recruits who don't know the first thing about a gun." + +"This experience the boys have had on the border hasn't done them any +harm either," replied Bart. "Of course most of them haven't had any +fighting to do, but they've had to be prepared to fight and the outdoor +life has made them tough and strong. Billy says you'll hardly know the +boys for the same fellows when they get back." + +"Oh they're a lot of heroes--I don't think," sneered Nick Rabig, who +was working near by and had heard part of the conversation. + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Frank indignantly. + +"Just what I say," retorted Rabig. "They went down to Mexico to catch +Villa, didn't they? Well, why didn't they do it?" + +"They would if they had stayed long enough," replied Bart. "The +Government called them back." + +"Sure the Government called them back," said Rabig with a sardonic +grin. "It got cold feet. It saw that Mexico wasn't going to back +down, and so it backed down itself. Now if Germany had started out to +catch Villa, it would have caught him." + +"Now cut that out, Rabig," said Frank sharply. "If the President +called the soldiers back, he had good reason for doing it. He knows a +good deal more about what is going on than the rest of us do. He +probably knew that Germany would like nothing better than to see us get +mixed up in a row with Mexico and have to keep our troops on this side +of the water instead of sending them over to Europe. He wasn't going +to play Germany's game, and that's the reason he let up on Villa, who +doesn't amount to anything anyway." + +"That sounds good," returned Rabig, "but it doesn't go with me. The +Americans got scared when they saw that the Mexicans meant business. +Swell chance the United States would have with Germany when it can't +even lick Mexico. These national guard fellows aren't fighters. +They're only tin soldiers anyway." + +"Tell that to Billy Waldon when he gets back and he'll make you eat +your words," said Bart hotly. + +"He will, eh?" retorted Rabig. "Just let him try it on, that's all." + +"What are you anyway, Rabig, a German or an American?" demanded Frank. + +"I was born here and I suppose I'm an American," responded Rabig. "But +I couldn't help that and I'm not proud of it." + +"And you can bet that America isn't proud of having you born here," +said Frank scornfully. "I tell you straight, Rabig, that it won't be +healthy for you to keep up that line of talk much longer." + +"I don't see any one here that's going to make me stop it," sneered the +bully. "Perhaps you'd like to try it." + +Frank's eyes flashed and his fist clenched until the knuckles were +white. Another instant and that fist would have wiped the sneer from +Rabig's face. But the image of his mother rose before him, and by a +mighty effort he controlled himself. + +"You'll make that bluff once too often some day, Rabig," he said in an +even tone. + +"Well, if it's a bluff why don't you call it?" sneered Rabig +truculently. + +Just at this moment Reddy ran up to them, considerably excited. + +"Mr. Sheldon!" he exclaimed, addressing himself to Frank, "Oliver Twist +has climbed up the water pipe at the end of the building and now the +pipe's broke and he can't get down." + +Oliver Twist was the office cat, who had gained his name because, like +the hero in Dickens' famous story, he was continually "asking for +more." He was a favorite with all except Rabig, who kicked at him +whenever he got in his way. So that the news of his plight aroused +instant interest and sympathy, and all flocked to the window that Reddy +indicated. + +There was Oliver, sure enough, a thoroughly frightened cat, and with +good reason. + +The building was five stories high and a leader pipe ran at one end of +it from the top nearly to the ground. There was a sparrow's nest up +near the eaves, and Oliver had evidently been tempted to make it a +visit. But a section of the pipe about two-thirds of the way up had +rotted and under the cat's weight had broken off. Oliver with a cat's +quickness had saved himself by clutching at a metal ring that encircled +the pipe just above the broken part and had swung himself up out of +immediate danger. + +But although safe for the moment, he had no way of escape. He was more +than three stories from the ground and if he let go would be killed or +maimed. If he climbed farther up he would be no better off, for the +projecting roof of the building made it impossible to leap to it. + +Oliver was in a bad fix, and his piteous mews as he clung to the pipe +showed that he realized it. All his nine lives were in imminent +danger. It would not have been so bad if he had had a ledge or +projection to rest on until he could be rescued. But this was lacking, +with the exception of the narrow ring less than an inch wide that +encircled the pipe, and though his claws dug desperately against this +it was certain that his strength would not enable him to maintain +himself long in this position. + +There was a chorus of exclamations and suggestions from the young men +who crowded the window. + +"Let's get a rope and a basket and let it down from the roof," +suggested Tom Bradford. + +"That wouldn't do," objected Hal. "He'd be too frightened to get into +it. He wouldn't let go his grip on the pipe." + +"Somebody get a ladder," cried Reddy. + +"We haven't one that would be long enough to reach him," said Bart. + +Frank's keen eyes and alert mind had been judging the situation. Now +he spoke. + +"We can get him from that window, fellows," he said pointing to a +window about six feet above the cat and a little to one side. + +"I don't know," said Bart, dubiously, as he eyed the window. "Seems to +me like a forlorn hope. A fellow would have to have the arms of a +gorilla to reach the cat from there." + +"Never mind about that," responded Frank. "Let's get up there quick +and I'll show you what I have in mind." + +The crowd raced pell-mell up the stairs and then through an old +storeroom on the upper floor until they reached the window. + +It had not been opened all winter, and had been so warped by sleet and +snow that it yielded to the pressure of their arms groaningly and +reluctantly. But at last, just when they were about ready to give up, +they accomplished the feat and looked out. + +Oliver saw them and hailed them evidently as his last hope, for he +broke into a storm of wails. + +"There," said Bart, regretfully. "I told you we'd be too far off to do +him any good." + +He leaned out as far as he could without danger of falling, and the cat +was still three feet at least from the tips of his outstretched fingers. + +"Nothing doing," he ejaculated as he withdrew from his vain effort. + +"There's just one chance," said Frank. "One of us fellows will have to +hang out there head downward, his full length, while the rest grab him +by the legs and hold on for dear life." + +"That sounds easy if you say it quick," cut in Reddy. "But who's going +to be the goat?" + +"I am," said Frank, as he threw off his coat. + +"Oh come now, Frank!" expostulated Tom. "That's taking too big a risk. +I hate to see the poor brute go down, but his life isn't worth yours." + +"Besides," put in Bart, "even if you got hold of Oliver he'd probably +be so frightened that he'd claw your head off." + +"Cut out the talk, fellows," said Frank. "Bart, you and Tom hold on to +one leg while Reddy and Hal grab the other." + +Two others of the group, Will Baxter and Dick Ormsby, joined the +quartette of helpers, although with considerable inward quaking, for +they felt that if anything happened to their comrade they would be in +part responsible for not having forcibly detained him from such a risky +undertaking. + +A moment more and Frank had lowered himself outside of the sill and +hung at full length, while three strong pairs of arms clutched at each +leg. He found himself on a level with the cat but too far to one side +to reach him with his extended hand. + +"Start swinging, fellows!" he called out, "until I'm able to reach him." + +They swayed him gently to and fro, each time bringing him a few inches +nearer to the cat, whose strength was rapidly giving way and who seemed +to be slipping. + +Frank made one grab and missed. His next attempt, however, was more +fortunate. He gripped the cat by the neck and shoulders, gave a wrench +and pulled him away from the pipe. + +The frightened brute, seeing only open space below him, writhed and +twisted about frantically, but Frank held him tight despite his +clawings, and in another moment the six above had pulled him up to and +over the sill, where he dropped on the floor, panting and breathless. + +Oliver, released, flew round and round the room, until his excitement +subsided and he curled up in a corner, his sides heaving, and his eyes +still big and wild from the fright of his late experience. + +"And the cat came back!" chanted Reddy. + +"The main thing is that Frank came back," said Bart. "I tell you what, +old boy, that was a nervy thing to do." + +"There isn't another fellow in the place who would have done it," said +Hal. "My heart was in my mouth while he was swinging there head down. +Once I was so scared I almost let go." + +"It's lucky for everybody but the undertaker that you didn't," said +Frank with a grin, as he dusted his clothes and arranged his collar and +tie. "I don't mind admitting myself that the ground looked awful far +away while I was swinging there." + +"You're in luck to come out of it with a good pair of eyes," said Bart. +"If Oliver's claws had once got to them there would have been something +doing." + +"Well now let's get back downstairs," said Frank, leading the way, +while Reddy brought up the rear with the recovered and somewhat +chastened Oliver perched upon his shoulder. + +It would be safe to say that for some time to come sparrows' nests, +especially if located near leader pipes, would have no further +attractions. For once Oliver Twist would not ask for more! + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +WAR + +As the crowd of young fellows came trooping into the office, old +Peterson, who alone had kept at his books, looked up with a reproof +upon his lips. + +"What do you fellows think this is, a business office or an athletic +club?" he demanded. + +But the querulous look and tone vanished when he had heard the story of +Oliver's rescue, and as he turned to his books again the old veteran of +many battlefields muttered to himself: + +"The old American stuff is in the boys yet. If he's the kind that +Uncle Sam is going to send to the trenches, Heaven help the Kaiser!" + +Three weeks went by, weeks of stern resolve and feverish expectation. +It was becoming evident now to every mind that America could not, if +she would, keep out of the war except at the expense of national honor. + +Every day brought its toll of sinking ships and murdered crews, of +wanton brutality and flagrant disregard of plighted faith. The whole +world was sickening of the German name. + +The city of Camport felt the quickening thrill that was running through +the continent from coast to coast. War was the universal topic. In +the shop, in the street, in the church, in the courthouse, the one +prevailing subject was war. + +The mad dog of Europe was running wild, and it was up to America to +join with all the rest of the civilized world in putting an end to his +depredations. + +The Thirty-seventh had come back to Camport from the Mexican border, +the men hard as nails, sound as nuts, brown as berries, eager and +ardent for the tremendous task before them, and as the regiment swung +through the streets, headed by the band, keeping step to the strain of +martial airs, the little city went wild with enthusiasm. + +"There's no use, Frank," said Bart, as with the other young fellows of +the place they thronged the windows to see the regiment go by. "I'm +going to join." + +"Same here," said Frank. "I can feel Uncle Sam's hand on my shoulder +this minute." + +"We're coming father Abraham, one hundred thousand strong!" sang out +Reddy, from his place on a stool behind them where he had perched +himself so as to be able to look over their heads. + +Just then Billy Waldon passed in the ranks and looked up at them with a +cheerful grin. + +"There's Billy!" cried Tom. "Oh, boy! wouldn't I like to be marching +alongside of him!" + +"Let's go around to the armory this very night, Frank, and give in our +names!" cried Bart. "I tell you, this thing's got me, got me bad." + +"It's got me just as bad," said Frank, "and the only question is, in +just what branch of the service I'm going to enlist when the President +calls for troops. I want to see action and see it quick, and I have +the idea that perhaps the regular army boys will get into the trenches +sooner than the national guard. I'll talk it over with my mother +to-day and then I'll decide." + +By the time the noon hour arrived the parade was over, and Frank, with +his heart and mind full of the stirring scenes he had witnessed, went +home to lunch. + +It was only when the modest little house came into view that his +thoughts took a more sober turn and his step slowed a little. Up to +now he had been thinking chiefly of himself. He was like a hound +straining at the leash. Every instinct in him clamored to be in the +very thick and front of the coming fight. + +But there was his mother, his mother, whose eyes had grown larger and +more wistful of late as every day had brought nearer and nearer the +conflict that was about to claim her only son. He was all that she +had, her one strong support and sure refuge and loving comrade. + +What would she do, alone and anguished in this quiet home while he was +battling at the front in a rain of shells, of poison gas, of liquid +fire? + +But he must not sadden her by carrying into the house this shadow of +coming events that for the moment had flung itself over him, and he +assumed a gaiety that he did not feel as he ran lightly up the steps +where she, as usual, stood waiting for him in the open door. + +She on her part had hidden her heartache beneath a mask of vivacity. +It was a loving deception where each knew that the other was trying to +deceive and failing in the attempt. + +"Well," she asked, cheerily, as they sat down to the tasteful meal she +had prepared for him, "what is the news in the city to-day? It seems +to me that I have heard nothing but band music all morning." + +"I guess the band didn't leave anything out," said Frank with a smile. +"They played through the whole list of national airs from the "Star +Spangled Banner" to "Dixie." + +"But I heard something else too," went on his mother. "What was it the +newsboys were crying through the streets?" + +"Oh it was an extra of some kind," said Frank, evasively. + +"But of what kind?" asked his mother with a gentle persistence. + +"Why, it was about the President's speech," said Frank, reluctantly. +"He's expected to address the Senate this afternoon, and everybody is +eager to know what he will have to say." + +"I can guess what it will be," said his mother, sadly. + +"Yes," agreed Frank, "There's no use blinking the facts, little Mother. +He's going to declare that the United States is at war with Germany. +And high time, too!" he burst out, his pent-up convictions finding +voice. "We've been patient, Mother, till patience becomes a fault. +We've waited and hoped and written and argued, and all the while +Germany has been growing more vile and brutal. Any further patience +would be cowardice. And that's one thing that, with all its faults, +our country has never been guilty of. It's up to us now, Mother, every +one of us," and he emphasized the words, "to show that we're worthy to +be called Americans." + +"Yes," faltered his mother, "I suppose it is--in my heart I know it is. +But oh, my boy! my boy! how can I let you go?" + +"It's duty, Mother," said Frank, gently. "It isn't a question of +choice. I must go. My country needs me, and I know my mother well +enough to be sure she would be the last one in the world to hold me +back." + +Before his mother could reply there was a commotion in the street +outside. They looked at each other inquiringly and then rose from the +table and hurried to the window. + +Most of the houses in Camport had been decorated with Old Glory in +honor of the return of the favorite regiment. Frank had seen to it +early in the morning that his own flag had swung from a pole set in the +upper window. + +Through the whole length of the street there was not a house that did +not show from some point of vantage the Stars and Stripes. + +The house directly opposite Frank's had gone even further. Upon one of +the pillars of the porch had been deftly grouped the flags of France +and England with Old Glory in the center. It was a type of the +alliance that bound together or was soon to bind three of the great +nations that were to fight side by side the battle of civilization +against barbarism. + +Before the house where these emblems were displayed, a little knot of +people were arguing and gesticulating. One of them, a burly fellow, +had a face that bore the German stamp. He was greatly excited and his +arms were waving like windmills as he pointed at the three flags that +seemed to have stirred him to anger. + +Suddenly, in a fit of rage, he broke away from the group, ran up the +walk to the house, grabbed the offending colors from the pillar of the +porch and threw them to the ground where he stamped upon them. + +Mrs. Sheldon gasped. + +With a bound Frank reached the door, flung it open and rushed across +the street. The fellow who had vented his rage on the flags looked up. +He saw Frank coming, and the sight of that flying figure, with taut +muscles and blazing eyes was not reassuring. + +He ran down the walk in an effort to escape. Frank met him at the +gate. Like a flash Frank's fist shot out and the vandal measured his +length on the ground. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A VANDAL PUNISHED + +A crowd rose magically from nowhere. People came running, shouting, +jostling, demanding an explanation from their neighbors, who, in turn, +demanded it of them. + +"It's Frank Sheldon!" shouted someone, above the uproar. + +"He's making hash of a Hun!" yelled another. "Come on and see the +show, fellows--admission free!" + +Through all this confusion, Bart, who had been on his way back to the +office when attracted by the hubbub, pushed and elbowed his way through +to the first line of observers. + +"What's the row, Frank?" he yelled. "Stop kneeling on that fellow's +neck and tell us about it. Look out!" as the fellow made a quick move +as though to wrench himself free from Frank's grasp. "Don't let him +put one over on you." + +"Don't worry!" Frank's face was grim as he rose to his feet dragging +the now thoroughly cowed German after him. "There's not a Hun in this +country or the old that'll be able to get away from me once I get my +hands on him--not after this day's work. Do you know what he did?" He +gave his captive a ferocious shake and glared about at the +still-increasing mob. "Do you know what this yellow dog did, right +here in the country that's made him?" + +"No, give it to us," shouted someone in the crowd, and the rest took it +up impatiently. + +"Yes, give it to us, Sheldon," they cried. "Get to the point!" + +"Look at those flags," Frank cried in answer, pointing with quivering +finger to the sullied emblems that lay in the dust where the German had +left them. "Those are the flags of liberty, justice and right, and +this dog," his fingers tightened in the man's collar till the craven +cried out with the pain of it, "dragged them down, threw them in the +dust, stamped upon them--stamped upon them, fellows! And our flag, Old +Glory, is among them! Do you hear that? Old Glory is among them!" + +An ominous growl went up from the crowd which had been listening +breathlessly and with growing indignation to Frank's words, and now it +surged threateningly forward. + +"What are we going to do with him?" cried Frank, his eyes afire. "What +would you do with a cur like this?" + +"Tar and feather him!" cried someone, and a score of voices took it up. + +"Tar and feather him! tar and feather him!" + +"Ride him out of town on a rail!" + +"Aw, that's too easy," yelled another, making a megaphone of his hands +so that his voice soared above even that deafening babel. "I've got a +good tough rope, fellows, tough enough even for this hog here. What do +you say?" + +"Lynch him! lynch him!" the cry arose deafeningly and the crowd surged +forward once more closing in upon Frank and his quivering, terrified +captive. + +"Out of the way, Sheldon!" + +"Let's get at him!" + +"Oh, mein Gott!" wailed the German, sinking on his knees and gazing up +at Frank with terror-stricken face. "You will not let dem murder +me--like dis--in gold blood--you will not--" + +"There's not much cold blood about this," said Frank, with a glint in +his eye and another tightening of his fingers. "However, we'll let you +live a little while yet. You're not fit to die." + +"Lynch him! lynch him!" the cry still rose menacingly. The crowd was +becoming impatient. + +"Wait a minute;" shouted Frank, straightening himself to his full +height and holding up his hand compellingly. "We're not going to lynch +this man. We're going to punish him worse than that." + +The German's face, which had grown hopeful at the beginning of Frank's +speech, resumed its terrified expression and he sank back despairingly. + +The shouts and cries of the crowd had settled down now to a muttering, +murmuring, undertone so that Frank's voice rose clear and determined +above it. + +"First of all," he said, while the crowd surged forward in mingled +disappointment and eagerness, "he's going to pick up the flags he has +dared insult, dust them off carefully and restore them to their former +position." + +The crowd shouted its delight at the suggestion, while the German's +face grew sullen and he looked stolidly at the ground. + +"I vill not do it," he muttered. + +"What's that?" queried Frank politely, while his knuckles dug deep into +his captive's neck. "I'm afraid I didn't quite understand you. If you +will repeat--" + +"I said I vould not do it," cried the German, with a sudden flare up of +his old rage and hatred. "Und vat I say I mean." + +"But I'm sure you will change your mind," Frank answered still gently, +while the crowd watched eagerly. "Within the next minute I am almost +sure you are going to pick up the flags, dust them off neatly and put +them back where you found them. If a little pressure is needed, why, I +am always willing to oblige." + +A sharp twist of the collar he held brought a guttural cry of pain from +the Prussian and a crow of delight from the crowd. + +"More yet?" queried Frank with another twist that brought the man to +his knees whimpering. "Or will you do what I suggested?" + +"I will do it," growled the German, hatred and pain in the glance he +flung his captor. "Led me go und I vill do it." + +"Good," said Frank. "I'll let you do it but I won't let you go. I +love you too much. Right this way." + +The crowd gave way before the advance of captor and captive, and before +them all the German was forced to pick up the flags, dust them to the +entire satisfaction of his gleeful audience, and, with Frank's knuckles +still urging him on, replace them to the best of his clumsy ability as +he had found them. + +With the flags of the triple alliance floating once more proudly in the +breeze, the throng sent up a mighty shout. Hats were thrown in the air +and cries were heard. + +"That's Old Glory for you! The more they try to down her the higher up +she flies!" + +"That's what the whole German nation's going to do when we get our boys +over there!" + +"We'll make 'em tremble in their boots!" + +"And now," cried Frank, "our German friend will stand at salute and +sing the Star Spangled Banner with all the expression I know his love +for our country will prompt." + +The German balked again but under the same gentle pressure as before +sang in husky tones and guttural accents the stirring measures of our +national hymn. + +"And last of all," shouted Frank, while the throng, wild with delight, +surged forward once more, "our dear enemy will, with all the reverence +due the greatest flag in the world, kneel here in the dust and kiss the +Stars and Stripes. Now then, kneel." + +"I vill not," cried the German, trying to wrench himself free. "You +cannot force me--" + +"We'll see about that," said Frank, while the crowd grew threatening +once more. "Will you do it--or shall I make you?" + +"I will not do it," the Prussian reiterated stubbornly. "I have done +all the rest but dat I vill not." + +"Kiss the flag," cried Frank, now thoroughly aroused, his knuckles +showing white as they gripped his captive's collar. "Come on--we're +waiting." + +Slowly and relentlessly he forced the German to his knees, and driven +by pain and fear of the mob his captive finally touched his lips to the +flag. + +"And now," cried Frank, flinging the Prussian from him and dusting off +his hands as though they were polluted, "make yourself scarce. But +remember after this to respect the American flag. Americans are behind +it!" + +The crowd pushed and jostled the disheveled vandal as he slunk away and +then, after cheering Frank, gradually dispersed. + +"Boy, it was neat work!" cried Bart, as the two friends crossed the +street together. "Coming on to the office?" + +"No, I've got to see mother first and straighten my tie," grinned +Frank. "I'll probably catch up to you though. So long." + +Frank found his mother awaiting him with outstretched arms. + +"Oh, my boy," she cried, "you were splendid! If you will wait just a +little while till our affairs are more settled I will not say a word to +your joining the army. If all Germans are like that--" + +"They are, Mother," replied Frank, grimly. "Germany is a nation of men +like him. What he did to our flags the whole Prussian empire is trying +to do to the world." + +"Then you must go!" cried his mother, holding him from her and +regarding him with flaming eyes. "Because I love my son, I will give +him--for my dear France and for America!" + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE DIE IS CAST + +"That's it, Mother," cried Frank, his whole soul responding to the +kindling spirit in her eyes. "For America and France, the two greatest +republics in the world. It won't be the first time they've fought +together." + +"No," replied his mother proudly. "Lafayette and other brave sons of +France helped this country to win its independence, and it is only +right that now when France is hard pressed and pouring out her blood +like water, Americans should fight side by side with her to make the +world safe for democracy." + +"You're a true daughter of France, Mother," said Frank, admiringly. + +"Ah, _la belle_ France," sighed his mother. "I love her with all my +heart and soul. How many times I have longed to go back and see her +sunny vineyards and her beautiful cities." + +"You and father were planning to go over there just before the war +broke out, weren't you, Mother?" asked Frank. + +"Yes," replied Mrs. Sheldon. "And for two reasons. I was wild to see +the dear homeland again, and then, too, I felt I ought to go to see +about the property my father, your grandfather, left me. But then your +dear father died, and after that I had no heart to go. Nor could I +have gone anyway, had I wished, for the war would have made it almost +impossible." + +"Well, we don't care much for the property, Mother," said Frank. +"While I've got two strong arms I'll support you. And yet," he added, +a little more thoughtfully, "it wouldn't have been a bad thing if we +had been able to sell it so that you could have the money now when I am +liable to be called away. We've got only this house and the little +money that dad left us, and I'm afraid you will have all you can do to +get along." + +"Don't worry about me," replied the mother in a tone that strove to be +cheerful. "You know I have the true French thrift--you've said +yourself that I am a wonderful manager--I can make a little money go a +long way. The only reason I ever cared for the property was for your +sake, so that you could get a good start in the world. I don't know +now that we can ever get it. It was tangled up in a lawsuit and that +was one of the reasons why I ought to have been there in person when +the estate was being settled." + +"Never mind, little Mother," cried Frank gaily, "I'm the richest fellow +in the world this minute with such a mother as you are." + +He gave her a quick embrace and kiss and hurried out of the house, for +he had been away from the office considerably longer than usual. But +quick as was the time he made in getting downtown, the news of his +exploit had preceded him and he found the place buzzing with excitement. + +Bart, who had let the story lose nothing in the telling, gave him a +resounding thump on the back as he came in. + +"Here's the fellow that made the Hun eat crow," he cried, jubilantly. + +"And from all accounts it didn't agree with him," grinned Tom. "It was +a dandy bit of work, Frank. I only wish I'd been there to see you make +the Hun kiss the flag." + +"Bully for you, old scout!" cried Hal. "There's a lot of other fellows +in this town that ought to get the same treatment. I know some of them +that had a regular party the day the news came that the _Lusitania_ was +sunk." + +"I heard of that, too," said Frank. "But we want to remember, fellows, +that not all Germans felt that way. Some of them felt just as shocked +and outraged over it as we did ourselves. There are lots of fellows +with German blood in their veins that are just as good Americans as we +are." + +"I suppose there are," conceded Bart, a little grudgingly. "Not all of +them are tarred with the same brush. But there are too many of them +who regard Germany as their father and America as their father-in-law, +and you know which one of the two a fellow is apt to like better." + +Just then Rabig passed through the room on his way to another part of +the building. He cast a sour look upon the group, and there was +special malignity in his gaze as it rested for a moment on Frank. + +"You're about as popular with Rabig as a rattlesnake is with a picnic +party," laughed Bart, as Rabig went on. "If looks could kill you'd be +a dead man this minute. He hated you before, but he hates you worse +now since he's heard of that little fracas. Gee, how I'd like to see +him have to kneel and kiss the flag!" + +"He'd try to bite it," put in Reddy. + +At this moment a group of newsboys passed outside, shouting their +extras. + +"I guess that means the President's gone and done it," cried Frank. +"Here, Reddy, take this dime and go out and get one of those papers. +If you're back in half a minute you can keep the change." + +"Whoop-ee!" cried Reddy, and was off like a bullet from a gun. Soon he +was back with the coveted paper, still damp from the press. + +Across the top in screaming headlines was the phrase: + +_President Declares War on Germany!_ + +"That settles it," said Frank. "We're in for it, now." + +"Up to the neck," put in Reddy, whose small frame held an unlimited +amount of patriotism. "Gee, I wish I was old enough to get in it. I +wouldn't wait for no draft!" + +"And now that we're in, we're in for keeps. That's America's way," +said Bart. + +"She's put her hand to the plow and she won't turn back," said old +Peterson, solemnly, and into his dim eyes came the light that had shone +there when, in his youth, he had stormed with his regiment the heights +of Lookout Mountain. + +There was little more work done in the office that day. Business, for +the time, seemed a trivial thing. Something far greater and nobler +filled the hearts of these ardent young Americans. + +They heard the tramp of marching multitudes, they saw their country's +flag unfurled, those glorious Stars and Stripes, that had never been +smirched with dishonor, or gone down in defeat. And in their hearts +they swore that what had been true in the past should be true, too, in +the future, though they might shed their blood and lose their lives in +making it true. + +A great mass meeting was organized that night and Bart and Frank +attended it. The hall was thronged, and eloquent speakers voiced the +feeling that filled the hearts of all. But nothing stirred them so +strongly as when the final orator closed his speech with a scathing +denunciation of the Prussian foe, quoted from one of America's noblest +sons: + +"They have gone forth to battle in the spirit of their ancestral Huns. +Wreckers of cathedrals, destroyers of libraries, despoilers of +cemeteries, slayers of old men and women and children, barbarians by +instinct, pirates and incendiaries by practice, terrorists by training, +slaves by habit and bullies by profession--maiming, poisoning, burning, +suffocating, deporting, enslaving, murderers of the very souls of a +people so far as it is in their power--the rest of the world can live +on terms of peace and good will with them only after they have drained +to the dregs the bitter cup of military defeat!" + +Thunders of applause swept through the hall as the speaker finished. + +"Say, but that was a rattling speech," remarked Bart, as the two chums +walked home together. + +"Yes," agreed Frank, "it was magnificent. But after all, Bart, it will +take more than words to win this war. It's up to us to turn those +words into deeds. It's bullets and bayonets that count!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY + +Although it was nearly midnight when he reached home, Frank found his +mother sitting up and waiting for him. + +"You shouldn't have sat up for me, Mother," he said, in tones of tender +reproach. "It's too bad that you should be robbed of your sleep like +this." + +"I don't mind as long as I know you're coming," replied his mother. +"It is the other nights I shall dread, the nights when I shall not hear +your footsteps on the porch, and I'm afraid that time is coming very +soon." + +"I fear it is, Mother," he replied gently. "There's only one thing +left for me to do. I have felt it before, but I feel it more than ever +after what I've heard to-night. I wish you'd been there, Mother, and +heard the unbelievable things I did about the way the Germans are +carrying on this war. And yet again I'm glad you weren't, for it would +have turned your very soul sick. There's no use talking, the Prussian +spirit must be crushed, and until it is, this world won't be a fit +place to live in." + +"I know you are right, dear," responded Mrs. Sheldon. "And though it +breaks my heart to have you go, I'll give you up as cheerfully as I can +and try to live through the long days when you're away from me. Of one +thing I feel sure, that wherever you go, or whatever your country calls +upon you to do, you'll make me proud of you." + +"I'll do my best, Mother," Frank replied. "I'm not going for glory or +for promotion or anything else except to see my country win the war. +All I ask is a chance to do my bit." + +Camport was a changed city the next day. A new spirit and new purpose +were visible in the looks of all. The long strain of waiting was over +and America was girding herself for the fight. + +"Well," old Peterson was saying as Frank entered the office, "it's up +to you young fellows to show that America's still got the stuff. I +only wish I were young enough to shoulder a gun and go myself." + +"You've done your share, Mr. Peterson," said Bart. "If the boys of +to-day do as well as those who wore the blue and gray they'll show the +Prussians where they get off." + +"It will make a big change in this place," said the old bookkeeper, as +he looked around at the group of eager faces. "You young roosters all +seem to be aching to get into the scrap, and there won't be any of you +left." + +"Rabig will be here," piped up Reddy, and there was a general laugh. + +"I could spare him," growled old Peterson, with whom Rabig was about as +unpopular as he was with the younger men. + +"Well, fellows, let's count noses," said Frank. "How many of us are +going to enlist and how many of us are going to wait for the draft?" + +"Enlist! enlist!" came in a general chorus, reinforced by Reddy's +shrill treble. + +"You'll have to wait awhile, Reddy," laughed Frank. "Your heart's all +right, but Uncle Sam isn't ready for the kids yet." + +"Mr. Peterson said there were boys in the Union army only fourteen +years old," grumbled Reddy. "And if they could fight I don't see why I +can't." + +"I'm going into the navy," announced Dick Ormsby, whose father was a +retired sea captain. "I've got the love of blue water in my veins I +guess, and I'm aching to get a chance to pot a German U-boat." + +"Me for the aviators!" cried Will Baxter. "I always wanted to be a +high flyer--now I've got the chance. I know all about running a +motorcycle and that ought to help a lot." + +"I'd like to join the cavalry," joined in Hal Chase. "But they don't +seem to have much use for them in this war. Horses can't go over +trenches and barbed wire fences." + +"The infantry's good enough for me," declared Frank. + +"And for me, too," echoed Bart. "Uncle Sam needs men in every branch, +but after all, it's the hand to hand fighting of the armies that's +going to decide this war." + +At this moment, Mr. Moore, the senior member of the firm, came out from +his office. He was a large man with a genial face and bearing, and was +generally liked by his employees to whom he was fair and just. + +His eyes twinkled as he saw the alacrity with which the young men +scattered to their desks. + +"Don't worry, boys," he said. "I know that your minds aren't much on +business to-day, and I don't wonder. To tell the truth, I'd be sorry +if they were. There come times when there's only one important thing +in the world, and this is one of the times. I've got just a word to +say to you boys," he went on. "I don't know just what each one of you +is planning to do in connection with this war. Each one of you must +decide that matter for himself. From things I've heard, most of you +seem eager to go. I shall be sorry to lose you, for we never were +busier than we are now, but I should be still more sorry to have you +stay here when your country needs you at the front. + +"Mr. Thomas and I have been talking this thing over and we want to say +to you that as far as the money part of it is concerned you needn't +hesitate. We're not going to let you lose a cent by following your +patriotic instinct. Some of you have dependents at home who rely in +part or wholly upon what you earn. So we have decided that your +salaries will go on as usual--that is, that we will make up the +difference between what the Government pays you and what you are +getting now. In that way you will be able to serve your country with +nothing on your mind except the best and quickest way to win the war." + +A spontaneous cheer rose from the young men, as with a smile and wave +of his hand their employer turned back to his office. + +"Gee, but he's a game sport!" exclaimed Reddy, voicing forcibly if +inelegantly the feeling of all. + +If there had been any hesitation before, this generous speech removed +it and now the boys were ready for action. + +That very evening Frank and Bart, accompanied by Billy Waldon, went to +the headquarters of the Thirty-seventh regiment. Here they put in +their applications for enlistment. + +There were few formalities, for the regiment was eager to recruit its +numbers up to full strength. + +Neither one of the chums had any trouble in passing the physical +examination, for both were splendid specimens of manhood. Frank was +six feet tall in his stocking feet, straight and lithe as an Indian, +and with fine muscular development. + +Bart, who was two inches shorter, was broad shouldered, well set up, +and capable of great endurance. All the prodding of the doctors failed +to reveal the slightest defect, and they passed the test triumphantly. + +Then they took the oath of allegiance, promising in words what they had +long since promised in their hearts, and were duly enrolled as members +of the famous regiment. + +"Well, now you're one of us, boys," cried Billy, as he grasped the hand +of each warmly. "And, believe me, it's a great old regiment to belong +to. Come along and I'll show you some of the flags we carried in the +Civil War." + +They went with him through the armory and saw some of the treasured +relics that the regiment cherished as its most priceless possessions. + +There were the old flags, blackened with powder, torn with bullets, +that had gone through the fire of Antietam and Gettysburg and +Chickamauga. + +The boys took off their hats as they stood before them. + +There were the cannon that had thundered on the banks of the Rapidan +and in the valley of the Shenandoah. A glass case covered a letter of +commendation for a wild charge that had saved the day at Shiloh. There +was the blood-stained hat of the colonel who had fallen while leading +the regiment at Gaines' Mill. + +"That was the kind of stuff the regiment was made up of in the old +days," said Billy, proudly. + +"It's a glorious record," said Frank, reverently. "And now it's up to +us to show that what the old boys did in Virginia, the young fellows +are going to do again in France!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +OFF TO CAMP + +Now that the momentous step had been taken, the boys buckled down to +work--work of the hardest and most strenuous kind. + +They left their positions with Moore and Thomas the next day, with the +hearty good wishes of the firm and the assurance that their places +would be ready for them as soon as they returned. + +The only gloomy member of the office force was Tom Bradford, who had +also applied for enlistment but had been rejected on account of his +teeth. Now he had on a grouch of the grouchiest kind. + +"Hang the red tape!" he growled. "What have a fellow's teeth got to do +with it? I don't want to bite the Germans, I want to shoot them." + +"Never mind, old scout," comforted Bart. "Perhaps the dentist can fix +that up. Anyway you can root for us if you can't go along." + +"Not much nourishment in that," grunted Tom, refusing to be shaken from +his attitude of settled gloom. + +"It does seem mighty hard," remarked Bart, after Tom had left them. "I +don't think the Government ought to be so particular. The time may +come when they'll be glad enough to get such fine fellows as Tom, teeth +or no teeth." + +"Perhaps so," agreed Frank; "but just now they've got such a lot of +material that they can afford to pick and choose. And after all, +perhaps they're right. They've got to have a pretty high level of +physical condition." + +"I suppose you're right," said Bart, adding: "Suppose poor old Tom +should get a toothache in the trenches. You can't expect to have +dentists on tap." + +"As far as that goes," Frank took him up quickly, grinning at the +picture that rose before his mind, "I should think a good hard +toothache would be an asset. You'd be so mad you could kill a dozen +Germans. It would just be getting your mind off your agony." + +Bart grinned. + +"Yes and it would have another advantage. When you've got a toothache +you don't care whether you live or die. Getting stabbed with a bayonet +would be almost a relief." + +"That's so," laughed Frank. "He'd be something like the seasick +passenger who, for the first hour, was afraid he was going to die and +after that was afraid he couldn't. I suppose Uncle Sam figures it this +way," he went on, "if a chain has a single weak link in it the whole +chain is weak. + +"You know how it is in a crowd. A hundred people may be eager to get +out of a place, but if two or three in front are slow it holds up the +whole hundred. But I'm willing to bet that someway or somehow Tom will +manage to get in." + +"I hope so, anyway," said Bart. "I'd like to have the old scout along +with us." + +A day or two later the boys got their uniforms and then they began to +feel like genuine soldiers. It set them apart from other men and +emphasized the fact that from now on they had but one aim in life, to +fight and, if need be, die for Uncle Sam. + +The first sight of Frank in khaki was a stab at the mother heart of +Mrs. Sheldon, although she could not avoid a thrill of admiration at +the splendid figure that he made. To her it meant separation, a +separation that was coming swiftly nearer with each passing day. And +there might be no reunion! + +But, although her lips were tremulous, her eyes were bright and she +kept her forebodings bravely under cover. She was a thoroughbred, and +it was easy to see where Frank had inherited his spirit. + +"How proud your father would be if he could see you now," she said with +a slight tremble in her voice, which she strove to conceal. + +"Perhaps he does," said Frank reverently. "If he were here I know that +he would approve of what I'm doing." + +The days were all too short now for the work that was crowded into +them. Government preparations were going on with feverish rapidity. +Events followed one another as though on wings. + +The order had gone forth for the draft and another order had decreed +that the regiments of the national guard should be enrolled in and form +part of the regular army. + +This latter order was the subject of some regret with the members of +the old Thirty-seventh, whose pride in their regiment was intense and +who had hoped to have it remain intact under its old officers for the +period of the war. + +"We'll lose our identity now," mourned Billy Waldon. "We'll just be +part of some big rainbow division, made up of fellows from all over the +United States. For my part, I think it's a mistake. I think the +regiment would fight better under its own colors and with its old +traditions to inspire it." + +"We mustn't criticize the Government, Billy," said Frank. "My theory +all through this war is going to be that Uncle Sam is right. He's got +good reasons for everything he does." + +"'Them's my sentiments'," put in Bart. "Whether we have the regimental +colors or not, we'll all be fighting under the one flag, Old Glory, and +it's only the Stars and Stripes that counts, after all. To me there's +an inspiration in the thought of the whole United States, from the +Atlantic to the Pacific, fighting as a unit." + +"Well, perhaps you're right," said Billy, somewhat mollified. "At any +rate, nothing can take away from us the fact that we're volunteers." + +A few days passed, then orders came that the regiment should be +assembled at the armory to be kept there day and night until they +should be sent to Camp Boone--as we shall call the cantonment that had +been prepared for them. + +To Frank's mother the order sounded like the knell of doom. It was the +final step of separation. The word had passed that the boys were to +bring all their belongings to the armory as no leave would be given +under any circumstances. + +"Good-bye, dear boy!" she began bravely, and then all her courage gave +way to a storm of tears. + +Frank's own eyes were wet as he folded her closely to him and comforted +her as best he could, though feeling very much in need of comfort +himself. + +"Bear up, Mother," he urged. "It will only be a little while before I +come marching home again, and I'll be thinking of you all the time and +write to you whenever I get a chance." + +He forced himself to go at last with many a backward look and wave of +his hand at the figure in the doorway. His heart was heavy as he +reflected that in the chances of war he might never see her again. + +The next few days were full of excitement, allowing him little time to +brood. Both he and Bart took to a soldier's life as a duck takes to +water. The martial spirit was there together with the quick +intelligence that enables America to turn out finished soldiers more +quickly than any other country in the world. + +They had an advantage too in being sandwiched in, as it were, with the +men who had just come back from the Mexican border and had had such +recent experience in practical outdoor preparation for fighting. + +Billy Waldon, especially, was a mine of information and suggestion, and +as they threw themselves into the work with all their heart and soul it +was not long before they could feel that they were graduating from the +"rookie" class and becoming regular soldiers. + +Their commanding officers looked on them with approval and secretly +wished that all of their recruits might be of the same high-class type. + +"You're going along like a house afire, fellows," said Billy, after +drill had ended one morning. "The manual of arms is just pie for you. +Kitchener used to think that it took a year to turn out a soldier. +I'll bet if he'd been on this side of the water he'd have felt +differently. + +"I'm glad you think so," said Frank. "But after all, we're just going +through the motions now. The test will come a little later on." + +"I'd bet on you now or any time," answered Billy. + +The looked-for orders came at last from Washington, and there was a +great stir and bustle at the armory. Then the next morning the great +doors swung open and the regiment marched forth, headed by its band. + +Through the old familiar streets it marched, amid the cheers and tears +of those who packed the sidewalks, past the commercial house of Moore +and Thomas, where old Peterson waved his hand tremulously and Reddy, +with Oliver Twist perched upon his shoulder, shouted himself hoarse and +nearly fell out of the window in his enthusiasm, down to the railroad +station where the long train waited for them. + +There they broke ranks while friends and relatives, fathers and +mothers, sisters and brothers, sweethearts and wives, crowded around +them, pressing last gifts into their hands, caressing them, enthusing +them, crying over them, until the warning whistle blew and they were +forced to tear themselves away. + +Those few moments had been precious ones to Frank and his mother, for +in them they had compressed a world of affection, that fell from their +lips and looked from their eyes. + +"I won't say good-bye, little Mother," said Frank. "It's just _au +revoir_." + +"Yes, dear," agreed his mother tremulously. "_Au revoir_. What is +that?" she interrupted herself with a start. "Ah, it is the whistle. +My boy, my boy, I cannot let you go. Yes, I will be brave," Frank +turned his head aside to hide his own emotion as his mother +pathetically tried to smile. "There, go, dear, go,--before my +resolution breaks entirely. _Au revoir_--my boy--my boy--" + +With a little strangled sound in his throat Frank tore himself away +and, without trusting himself to look back, climbed into the car with +his jostling comrades. Then he leaned far out of the window, caught +his mother to him and kissed her. + +The whistle shrieked again, and amid a storm of cheers and waving of +handkerchiefs the train moved out. The old Thirty-seventh had started +on the road to victory! + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A NEW LIFE + +For some time after the train had started the spirits of the men were +subdued. All were thinking of the dear ones they had left behind and +might never see again. They were thinking too of the new life--or was +it, perhaps, death?--that they were facing. + +But it was not in the nature of things that this feeling should long +persist amid such a buoyant, boisterous gathering of young fellows and +before long the cars of the train were resounding with jests and +laughter. + +"How far off is this Camp Boone?" asked Bart, who had secured a seat at +Frank's side. + +"I haven't exactly figured it out," replied the latter, as he stretched +his long legs comfortably, "but in the rough, it's about three hundred +miles. The way the tracks are crowded now, I don't think we'll get +there much before to-morrow morning." + +"I don't suppose they'll have it half ready for us," continued Bart. +"The Government's had to put it up in an awful hurry." + +"We can't expect to find all the comforts of home," returned Frank. +"But as long as we have a place to sleep and three square meals a day I +guess there won't be much kick coming." + +"There will be no discount on the grub," put in Billy Waldon. "Uncle +Sam's a good provider and he'll see that his boys have plenty to eat." + +Frank's prediction was fulfilled, for it was early the next morning +when the train stopped at the little town from which Camp Boone was +about three miles distant. + +It was a glorious morning for a hike and after the commissary +department had done its duty and each man had tucked away a good +breakfast under his belt the regiment fell into line and covered the +intervening miles in quick time. All were filled with eagerness to see +the place that was to be their home during many months of training. + +It was a busy scene that met their eyes when at last they came within +view of the camp. A small army of workmen was swarming all over the +place and the sounds of hammers and groaning of derricks and hum of +machinery filled the air with a deafening din. + +"Didn't I tell you it would be only half finished?" said Bart. "I hope +they've got roofs on the barracks. They say they have bad weather +around here and I don't want to get killed before I meet a German. +Gee, that would be tough luck!" + +"You can't build a city in a single night," Frank replied, as he saw +the apparently endless row of buildings prepared for their reception. +"And that's what this is going to be--a city in itself. The wonder to +me is, not that they've done so little but that they've done so much." + +"They say there are going to be thirty thousand soldiers here," put in +Billy Waldon. "Before a month is over there'll be more fellows living +here than people in the whole city of Camport. That gives you some +idea of the work the Government has to do. But Uncle Sam is some +worker when he once takes his coat off. Even the Kaiser will admit +that before he gets through with him." + +The regiment had filed through the great gate in perfect order, but +once inside, the officers quickly gave the command to break ranks, for +they themselves were quite as eager as the men to inspect their new +quarters. + +The camp had been skillfully laid out by one of the most distinguished +architects in the country. Its general form was that of the letter U +about two miles long and a mile in width. The ground was slightly +rolling and had been nearly cleared of trees in order to permit the +erection of the buildings. + +But the architect had not sacrificed everything to mere utility for in +one corner of the camp a large grove of noble trees had been left +untouched and took away from the bareness of the general plan. + +Along the sides of the camp stretched the barracks, plain, two-story +frame buildings hastily put together and guiltless of any attempt at +decoration. + +On the floors were endless rows of cots with just enough space left to +afford a passage between them. There were no heating arrangements as +yet, but, as summer was just beginning, this was a matter of no +importance and there would be ample time for that later on. + +There were separate buildings that served as mess halls for the various +regiments. The officers' buildings were grouped together in a special +section and these, although plain, were a little more elaborate than +those destined for the men. + +Besides these there was a host of other buildings, stables for the +horses, laundries, lavatories, shower baths and all the other +structures that were essential to a city that had sprung up like +Jonah's gourd, almost over night. + +"Not half bad, eh, old man?" said Bart, giving his chum a bang on the +shoulder. + +"I should say not," replied Frank. "They don't seem to have forgotten +much. It's neat but not gaudy." + +"Now if our friend, the chef, is all right," grinned Bart, "and isn't +stingy with the grub, we'll have nothing left to ask for." + +"We'll get a line on that pretty soon, I hope," said Frank, his eyes +wandering wistfully in the direction of the mess tent. "That hike's +made me hungry enough to eat nails. When the mess horn toots you won't +be able to see me, I'll run so fast." + +"I'll race you," said Bart. "Mother used to say I had the appetite of +a wolf. Now I feel like a pack of 'em." + +Any misgivings that they might have had on that subject were promptly +dispelled by their first meal in camp. The food served was well cooked +and abundant and those who sought a second or even a third helping were +not denied. + +"Well," remarked Bart, with a sigh born of comfort and repletion as he +rose from the meal, "I guess Napoleon was right when he said that an +army travels on its stomach." + +"Gee, if that's so, Uncle Sam's boys will travel some distance," said +Billy Waldon with a grin. + +"As far as Berlin, you bet!" cried Frank emphatically. + +Before many days had passed the regiment had fully settled down into +the routine of army life at Camp Boone. + +That routine was almost unvarying and therein lay its value in molding +the growing army into a perfect fighting machine. It fostered team +work of the finest kind. + +At six o'clock the bugle blew reveille that called the sleepers from +their cots. There was no disregarding that imperative summons, no +turning over for another "forty winks." + +In an instant the sleeping camp had sprung to life. Uniforms were +donned, faces washed, hair slicked back and cots made inside of fifteen +minutes. + +Then came the "monkey drill" and setting-up exercises, when the boys +had to go through all sorts of grotesque but beneficial motions to +exercise the muscles and stir the blood. + +Of course there was some grumbling at first. Bart, who with all his +physical fitness, liked to get his sleep out in the morning, had hard +work to get his eyes open and feet on the floor at the same moment. + +"Gee, how do you do it?" he grumblingly asked of Frank one morning, +just after reveille and while he was rushing around with tousled head +and one eye shut. "By the time I know I'm awake you're all ready, and +worse than that, you look as if you enjoyed it. Gee, it's a gift!" + +"You're like the man," Frank had remarked cheerfully, as he trussed up +his trousers, "who was sentenced to die at daybreak. 'Oh, that's all +right,' he answered. 'I never get up that early!'" + +But the setting up exercises never failed to banish the last vestige of +drowsiness, and by seven o'clock breakfast began to assume gigantic +proportions. And how they ate! + +After breakfast came the manual of arms, field practice, drilling in +semaphore work and sometimes--this the boys looked forward to and +enjoyed most,--a long hike in the spring sunshine to the exhilarating +beat of martial music. + +Then from eleven to two they did as they pleased and as dinner came +within that period they mostly, to quote Billy Waldon, "wolfed." + +The meals continued hearty and satisfying and as the days went on the +boys broadened out and seemed, by the aid of muscular training and +upright carriage, even to gain in height. + +One morning Frank found a poem in a magazine he was reading and recited +it to a group of laughing comrades. Thereafter it became the popular +mess chant and the boys standing in line with their dishes would shout +it out at the top of their lusty lungs to the great amusement of all +concerned. It went something like this: + + "You may mutter and swear at the reveille call + With its 'Can't get 'em up in the morning;' + And you may not be fond of assembly at all + But you drop into line at the warning; + Police call will cause you a lot of distress + Though you answer at once or regret it, + But you jump when the splinter lips bugle for mess + And the hash slinger yells, 'Come and get it!'" + + + Then came the chorus in which all joined: + + "For you know that it means + 'Form in line for your beans + With your mess kit in hand--do it now!' + And you cheerfully come for your coffee and slum, + For your coffee and slum + When the splinter lips bugle for chow!" + + +It was all great fun, this jolly camp life, but it had its serious side +also. All the boys felt the inspiration, almost exaltation of being +one of so great a body of men, men fired with the same enthusiasm, the +same great purpose to accomplish their glorious mission or die in the +attempt. + +Training in the use of modern weapons of warfare sobered the boys a +little. + +"I suppose I'm squeamish," said Bart to Frank one day, when they had +finished a lesson in the throwing of hand grenades, "and I won't blame +you or anybody else if you laugh at me. But I don't like those things. +Every time I throw one I think of the possible mark it'll find some day +in the German trenches and it makes me sick." + +"Yes," said Frank, nodding gravely, "I know just how you feel, only +it's the bayonet practice that gets me most. If those dummies were +human instead of stuffed rags, I couldn't feel much worse about +sticking the point into them.' + +"Oh, we're soft yet," said Billy, sauntering up to them. "I suppose it +will take us quite some time to get hardened to this wholesale +slaughter. But when we feel too squeamish, we want to remember the +Belgian women and children murdered and tortured, defenseless old men +slaughtered--" + +"Yes," said Frank, his shoulders squaring and mouth setting grimly. +"There's nothing like the memory of Dinant to make a fellow grip his +bayonet!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH + +As time went on the boys became quite expert in bayonet practice. A +French officer who had seen some of the bloodiest fighting on the Somme +was their instructor, and he was voluble in his praise of the "_esprit +de coeur_" the young men showed. + +Of course in the beginning there were some laggards, but these were +promptly whipped into line by officers and comrades. + +"It is maybe all right now to laugh and take the little interest," the +Frenchman was fond of saying to these few who lagged behind. "But when +you are in the trench, fighting hand to hand with your enemy, more +accomplished than you, it will not be so great a joke. You will not +laugh then!" + +"He's right too," remarked Fred Anderson, one of the veteran members of +the regiment who had seen service in the Philippine Islands. "There +will be plenty of hand-to-hand fighting where it's cut and thrust, and +the man who can handle his weapon best will come out on top." + +"I suppose most of your own experience has been along that line," said +Frank. + +"Yes," replied Fred, as a reminiscent look came into his eyes. "Of +course that dinky little war in the Philippines wasn't to be compared +with this, but there was lots of savage fighting just the same. More +than once I've been within an ace of losing the number of my mess." + +"What's the tightest place you were ever in?" asked Bart. + +"The thing I remember most was a scrap we had with the Moros," replied +Fred. "That was pretty hot while it lasted. + +"You see," he went on, "those fellows had been acting nasty and had +given a good deal of trouble to one of our outposts. So our lieutenant +was ordered to take a detachment in a launch and go up a little river +that led to a settlement of theirs and give them a lesson. + +"We landed at the nearest point and had about five miles of jungle to +go through before we could get to their village. We did our best to +make it a surprise, but in some way they got wind of our coming and lay +in ambush. We were picking our way in single file when suddenly there +came a rain of bullets and several of our men went down. The rest of +us took to cover and the fight was on. + +"The Moros you know are Mohammedans, and about as nifty fighters as you +can find anywhere. Like all men of their religion, they believe that +any one who dies on the battlefield goes straight to Paradise, and that +gives them an absolute contempt for death. They were well armed too +with Mauser rifles that they'd managed to get hold of somehow, but +luckily for us they hadn't learned to handle them well and most of +their shots went wild. If their shooting had been as good as their +hearts were stout, they might have wiped us out, as they outnumbered us +two or three to one. + +"Has anybody got the makin's?" he inquired, as he stopped to roll a +cigarette. + +"Give them to him, somebody," said Bart exasperatedly. + +"For the love of Mike don't keep him waiting!" ejaculated Frank. "I +want to hear how Fred got out of it." + +Fred, not a bit averse to the interest he had aroused, was +tantalizingly slow in taking his time. + +"Keep your hair on," he drawled, as he struck a match. "I got through +all right, or I wouldn't be chinning to you now. + +"Well," he resumed after a preliminary puff, "we kept picking them off +whenever a head showed itself until they found that we could outplay +them at that game, and then they resorted to other tactics. Throwing +aside their guns and grasping their machettes--those murderous knives +of theirs that will cut a man's head off with a single blow--they came +charging down upon us. We didn't propose to stand on the defensive, +and after a vast volley that swept a lot of them away we fixed bayonets +and rushed to meet them." + +The group that had by this time gathered about Fred drew a little +closer. + +"It was touch and go for a few minutes," continued Fred, "but our +weight and discipline told, and soon we were pushing them back. Just +then however I stumbled over a root and fell to the ground, striking my +head and stunning myself. At that same moment the Moros were +reinforced and came back with a wild rush that by sheer weight of +numbers forced our line back for twenty-five feet or more. + +"I was trying to get to my feet when four or five of the nearest Moros, +brandishing their knives, swooped down upon me. It would have been all +over with me, if one of our fellows, a big fighting Irishman named +Hennessy, hadn't come plunging through the crowd swinging his rifle +round his head like a flail. They went down like bullocks hit with an +axe. They simply couldn't get inside the circle made by that gun and +by the time he had knocked down a half dozen or more, our boys had +rallied and had the beggars on the run." + +"Phew, but that was a close shave!" ejaculated Frank. + +"Close is right," agreed Fred. "I'd certainly have cashed in right +then and there if it hadn't been for Hennessy. I told him that he had +saved my life and that I owed him more than I could ever repay, but he +wouldn't have it so. The joke of it was that I think he was really +grateful to me for giving him a chance for such a lovely scrap. He +told me that he hadn't enjoyed himself so much since the last time he +had gone to the fair at Tipperary." + +There was a general laugh. + +"If it hadn't been for him, you wouldn't have had your chance now to +get a hack at the Huns," remarked Bart. + +"No," assented Fred, "and that would certainly have been hard luck. +But to get back where we started from, I want to put it up to you +fellows that what the Frenchman said was true. We can't take this +practice too seriously. Especially bayonet practice. We've had lots +of proof that the Germans don't like cold steel. They're brave enough, +but the French and English put it all over them in bayonet work." + +"That's right," agreed Frank, "and it's up to us to show that Uncle +Sam's boys can do the same." + +The hand grenade throwing was of special interest to the boys and was +the one most readily mastered. This was due chiefly to the fact that +it had points in common with baseball. Many of the boys were +proficient in the great national game. + +The firm of Moore and Thomas had maintained its own nine, and in the +season before they had carried off the championship of the commercial +teams in Camport. Frank had officiated in the pitcher's box and had an +assortment of curves and drops together with great speed that had been +the chief factors in the winning of the pennant. Bart had "dug them +out of the dirt" at first base. + +Billy Waldon, too, had been as quick as lightning in "winging them +down" from short. + +So that their throwing arms were fully developed and they took up this +new and grimmer game with the skill born of long practice. + +"This ought to be nuts for us when we get to the trenches," remarked +Billy, as he cut loose with a grenade in practice that landed within +two feet of the object aimed at. + +"It sure gives us a big advantage over the Germans," assented Frank. +"Of course they're drilled in throwing, but by the time they've started +in with it their muscles must seem strange to it. We've been throwing +a ball around ever since we were kids. It's in the blood. Our eyes +and arms have learned to work together. And then, too, a thing you've +learned to do from the love of it must be better done than when it's +forced on you." + +"Imagine a crack pitcher with a grenade in his hand and the Kaiser a +hundred feet away," said Billy with a grin. + +"An A1 pitcher wouldn't do a thing to him!" chuckled one of the other +recruits. + +"Would he put over a bean ball or a fadeaway, do you think?" asked Bart. + +"It would be a strike-out, whichever one he used," declared Frank. +"The Kaiser would do a fadeaway." + +The bomb they used was the Mills bomb which had been adopted for +general use in the British army. + +"Let's hope there'll be plenty of them, whatever else we're short of," +remarked Bart. + +"They're handy little things to have around when the Boches come over +for a friendly call," observed another lad. + +"If we run short we can make some ourselves," declared Frank. "They +won't be quite so nifty as these Mills bombs, but they'll do the work." + +"Listen to Edison talking," chaffed Billy. + +"I'm not kidding," declared Frank. "I got the tip from one of the +Tommys who was wounded in the Ypres fighting and is over here on leave. +Hustle around some of you chaps and get me an old tin can and I'll show +you what the Tommy showed to me." + +"What kind of a can?" asked Billy. + +"Oh, any old kind," answered Frank. "An old soup can, tomato can, any +can that Eli hasn't eaten up already." + +Eli was the big goat that served as the mascot of the regiment. He had +an omnivorous appetite and ate anything from cigarette butts to +washrags, and if anything was missing it was customary to charge it +against Eli. He was not only a billygoat but a scapegoat. + +A little search however brought to light an old can that Eli had +spared, and the boys looked on with interest while Frank prepared his +homemade bomb. + +"I'll roll up my sleeves, gentlemen, to show you that I have nothing +concealed there," said Frank, in his best conjurer's style. "Now watch +me carefully and I'll try to instill some scientific knowledge in those +thick noddles of yours." + +He took a handful of clay from the edge of the trench where they had +been practising and lined the inside of the can with it. + +"Now for the dirty work," joked Billy. + +Frank withered him with a glance. + +"Get me a lot of junk," he commanded. + +"That's rather indefinite," suggested Bart. "Junk shops are not a part +of this regiment's equipment. Uncle Sam's had so much on his mind that +he hasn't got to them yet." + +"A handful of nails or bits of iron or cartridge shells will do," +returned Frank, putting a detonator and explosive in the can and +tamping it down in the clay. "Anything will do that will make Fritz +see stars when it hits him." + +Bart volunteered a broken jack knife; one lad contributed a couple of +metal buttons; others handed over nails. + +Frank arranged the miscellaneous collection in as compact a mass as +possible, put in more clay and then put on the tin cover, into which he +first punched a hole. Through this hole the top of the fuse protruded. +Then he wrapped wire around the can so that the top could not come off, +and the bomb was ready. + +"There," he said, as he held his handiwork up for their inspection, +"when that is sent over to the enemy trenches there will be something +doing. It isn't much in the beauty line but it will get there just the +same." + +"Great head!" said Bart admiringly. + +"Not mine but the fellow's who first figured it out," said Frank. "But +it's a good thing to know, and you never can tell when it may come in +mighty handy." + +"I hear we're going to be gassed to-morrow," remarked Bart, as they +made their way to their quarters. + +Billy made a wry face. + +"That's one of the most hideous things the Huns have brought into this +war," he said. "I can imagine Satan chuckling when he heard of the gas +attack." + +"I don't think he chuckled," said Frank bitterly. "More likely he was +jealous to have a German think of it before he did. It isn't often +that he lets anyone get ahead of him." + +"He'll have to step lively to keep ahead of the Huns," said Bart. +"They say there's no torture equal to that suffered by a man who has +been gassed." + +"And even if they don't die of it after days of agony, they might +better have died," added another, "for it leaves them ruined for life." + +"Surgeons get hardened in carrying on their profession," commented +Frank. "They have to be or they couldn't keep their nerve. But they +say that even the surgeons broke down when they stood beside the beds +on which the gas victims lay gasping for breath. They had never seen +such horrible anguish." + +"Well, there's no use expecting Germans to carry on war like a +civilized nation," declared Frank. "They've thrown all decency and +humanity to the winds. They've raised the flag of the skull and +crossbones and want to make all the rest of the world walk the plank. +They're pirates and barbarians, and there'll be no peace or security +for mankind until they're punished for their crimes." + +"It's a tough job that's put up to us Allies," said Bart. "A man's +job. But we'll put it through, no matter what the cost may be." + +"Right you are," ejaculated Frank fervently. "It wasn't only Nathan +Hale who wished that he had more than one life to give for his country. +There are a million Nathan Hales among Uncle Sam's boys and millions +more to come." + +As Bart had predicted, their squad was lined up the next day for a +practical test in gas defense. They had already had preliminary drills +in adjusting the masks, which had to be slipped on in six seconds. It +took a long time before this stage of excellence could be reached, for +some of the men were doubly slow, slow in thought and slow in action. +The quicker ones had soon acquired the habit of adjusting the masks in +the required time, and Frank and Bart could do it sometimes in five +seconds. But the drill went on unceasingly until all acted as one man, +for a single second's delay in fending off the infernal attack might +mean all the difference between life and death--and such a death! + +It was not a pretty sight, for the masks were hideous and the men +looked like weird monsters from another planet. + +"If only our friends could see us now!" murmured Bart to Frank in an +undertone. + +"They'd drop dead from fright," returned the latter. + +"Deep sea divers have nothing on us," chimed in a third lad. + +"You're insulting the divers," said Billy. "If they went down looking +like this, the sharks would throw a fit." + +At last the drill worked with clock-work precision, and the perspiring +lieutenant wiped his brow and gave vent to a sigh of relief as he +looked along the grotesque ranks. + +"I guess they're ready now," he said, turning to the sergeant. "Take +them down half a dozen at a time and let them get a sniff of the gas." + +"_Let_ them," murmured a lad. "What a blessed privilege. Anyone would +think that he was giving us a furlough for good conduct." + +"Save your breath and come along," admonished Billy. "You'll need all +you've got in a little while." + +The squad was marched off to a little hut that stood in a distant +corner of the camp. It was a crude creation with a door and only one +window. Long before they got to it the boys could detect a faint acrid +odor in the atmosphere. + +"Now," said the sergeant halting his men at a little distance, "you +fellows break ranks and come along in single file." + +The single room of the hut had been filled with the same kind of gas +that the Germans were using along the western front, but in greatly +diluted form. + +"Take off your masks," commanded the sergeant, "and go along past that +window one by one. Make quick time too. I want you to learn just what +the gas smells like, so that you can detect it the minute it comes near +you after you get to the trenches." + +The men obeyed orders, and, as they passed, each got a whiff of the gas +that was escaping through a slight opening of the window. There was a +gasp, a cough, a wry face and a hurried scuttling by as each man went +through the ordeal. + +It is needless to say that there was no disposition to linger. Even +the slowest man of the squad displayed unsuspected capacity for speed. + +"Look at Fatty Bates," chuckled Billy, alluding to the most ponderous +member of the company. "Talk about winged heels! Mercury has nothing +on him." + +"It certainly got a rise out of Fatty," grinned Bart. "It's worth a +dollar to see him jump. Put a gas cloud after him and I'll bet he'd do +a hundred yards in ten seconds flat." + +"You'll jump too when your turn comes," prophesied Frank. "You'll +think the lid has been taken off of the infernal regions." + +The prophecy was verified, for though there was no danger, since the +gas had been vastly diluted, yet the odor was so vile and the death it +suggested was so horrible that they could not get away from it quickly +enough. + +"It's like passing close to a rattlesnake whose fangs have been drawn," +commented Frank. "You might know that he couldn't kill you, but if he +struck at you you'd jump instinctively, just because he was a +rattlesnake." + +"Some perfume that," remarked Billy with an expression of dire disgust. + +"New-mown hay--I don't think," growled Bart, sneezing as though he +would shake his head loose from his shoulders. "I got a bigger dose +than the rest of you slackers," he added with an air of superior virtue. + +"Martyr to duty," mocked Frank. "But we're not through yet, fellows. +The worst is yet to come." + +"Nothing can be worse," grumbled Fatty Bates, with profound conviction. + +"Oh, yes, it can," said Billy, assuming the role of Job's comforter. +"We've got to go inside that Chamber of Horrors and stay there five +minutes by the clock." + +"Will we come out on our feet or be carried out?" asked Fatty Bates +with a worried expression. + +"You'll never be carried out, Fatty," chaffed Billy. "It would take +the whole regiment to do that. It'll be a crane and derrick for you +sure." + +"We'll put a torpedo under him and blow him through the roof," added +Bart. + +"Now men," said the sergeant, "put on your masks and go inside, one +after the other. There's no danger if you've learned to put them on +perfectly. But if there's any sloppy work, the fellow that's careless +will find it out soon enough, and he'll get all that's coming to him." + +"Not much nourishment in that," muttered Billy under his breath. +"Suppose the mask's defective, got a hole in it or something like that." + +"If it is, it's better to find it out now than when we're actually in +the trenches," answered Frank. "I suppose that's the real reason for +this test. Here's hoping that no shoddy contractor had put one over on +the government." + +They filed into the grim little room after having adjusted their masks +with especial care and stood crowded closely together looking in their +ghostly attire like so many spectres. + +It was a grisly five minutes that seemed more like an hour to each one +of them. The dead silence added to the discomfort of the occasion. +Death seemed to be all around them, reaching out to them with its +skeleton fingers. They were in the "valley of the shadow," and it +sobered them. + +It was an immense relief when the knock of the sergeant on the door +summoned them forth and the test was over. And there was great +satisfaction when it was learned that all the masks had held and shown +that they could be relied on. + +Once out in the clean, sweet air and under the blue sky that never +before had seemed so beautiful, the boys tore off their masks in a +hurry. + +"Now I feel like a respectable member of society and not like one of +the Ku Klux Klan!" exclaimed Bart, as he looked around on the flushed +bronzed faces of his comrades. "My, but it's good to be out of this +hideous rig. I'd like to throw it into the river," he added digging +his fingers viciously into the unoffending mask. + +"You'll be glad enough to have it some day before long," prophesied +Frank. "Then you'll count it the best friend you have." + +"Isn't it pretty nearly time for mess?" asked Fatty Bates wistfully. + +"Not yet, little one," remarked Billy. "The sergeant's got something +else up his sleeve, or I miss my guess." + +A groan went up from Fatty, which was quickly suppressed when the +sergeant looked sternly at him. + +"Form in single file, men," commanded the sergeant, "and make your way +through the trench. Bend over as you go, for you're supposed to be on +the enemy front, and not a head must show to be a mark for snipers." + +They did as they were told, and after they had reached a designated +portion of the shallow trench they were halted by their leader. + +"You're going to be gassed right and proper now," he said. "Some gas +shells are going to be thrown over toward you and it's up to you when +you see them coming to get those masks on mighty quick." + +Crouching low and on the alert, the men waited until a gas shell with a +hiss and a scream came hurtling in their direction and broke a hundred +feet in front of the trench. A cloud of gas came rolling toward them. +On went their masks in the twinkling of an eye, and the vapor passed +over them harmlessly. + +Several times this was repeated until the keen eye of the sergeant was +satisfied with the dexterity shown by the squad. And there was a +general sigh of relief when he summoned them out of the trench and +announced that drill was over for the morning. + +"Phew, but that was some strenuous work," remarked Frank, as holding +their masks in their hands the men strolled back in groups of twos and +threes toward their quarters. + +"I feel as though I had been drawn through a knothole," said Fatty +Bates. + +The thought of Fatty being drawn through a knothole was so ludicrous +that it provoked a general roar. + +"I guess we all feel pretty well used up," said Bart when the merriment +had subsided, "but all the same it's things like this that are going to +help us lick the Huns." + +And so the days passed in learning the grim lessons of war, and the +shadows, lengthening into evening, brought supper, perhaps some special +musical entertainment, a vaudeville show, or moving pictures, sometimes +only bonfires with smoking, laughing, joking crowds about them. The +boys enjoyed these latter evenings most when the funny events of the +day could be passed in review and enjoyed by them all. + +Then, promptly at nine the bugle called for "all lights out," and the +young soldiers, early as was the hour, obeyed it willingly. The +strenuous days in the open air made the narrow cots in the long +barracks particularly appealing. + +"Did you hear that joke Jameson was telling about the Yankee soldier?" +Bart asked one night, when all the rest were either asleep or on the +way. + +"No," said Frank, sleepily. "What was it?" + +"It seems a guard challenged him," chuckled Bart, "with the regular, +'Who goes there?' and he answered, 'Aw, you wouldn't know if I told +you. I've only been here a couple o' days'." + +"That's all very well here," yawned Frank. "But it wouldn't go in 'No +Man's Land'!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +NICK RABIG TURNS UP + +"What is that? Shrapnel?" asked Bart, one morning, as he opened his +eyes after the reveille and heard the rain beating a tremendous tattoo +on the roof. + +"Hardly as bad as that," laughed Frank. "If it were, I bet you'd be +out of that cot more quickly than you're doing it now. But it sure is +coming down." + +"So much the better," said Bart, as he jumped out and hastily began to +dress. "That'll cut out the drill to-day and I'll have time to answer +some of my letters and darn my socks." + +But such roseate dreams were quickly dispelled. The storm increased in +violence after breakfast and the wind blew great guns. + +The Y.M.C.A. building was being erected for the use of that +organization but was not yet completed. In the meantime, the +Association had put up for temporary use a canvas tent, and as the +storm increased in fury the flimsy structure gave every evidence of +taking to itself wings and flying away. + +The captain ordered a detail of men to go out and surround the tent and +hold the tent pins down by main force if necessary. + +There was nothing alluring about the prospect, for it meant a thorough +drenching for the entire detail. + +But the boys had already learned the first great rule of military +life--to obey instantly any command given by a superior officer. + +So Frank and Bart, who happened to be among those chosen for the work, +jumped at the word. But they also had the soldiers' immemorial +privilege of grumbling among themselves, and Bart chose to exercise it +as they made their way in the teeth of the storm to the threatened tent. + +"Just our luck to catch the captain's eye," he muttered. + +"Stop your grumbling," adjured Frank. "Think how much worse it would +be if we were plowing through the mud in No Man's Land. Let's make a +lark of it." + +"We'll be up among the larks all right," returned Bart, "if this thing +ever gets away from the tent pins." They laid hold of the straining +ropes and hung on for dear life. "An aviator would have nothing on us." + +It was hard work while it lasted and their sturdy muscles were put to +the test, but they had the satisfaction of keeping the tent in its +place and after a while the storm subsided and the danger was over. + +"Isn't it about time for those drafted men to get down here?" asked +Frank, as they were on their way back to the barracks. + +"I heard yesterday from Billy Waldon," returned Bart, "that two or +three regiments were expected to-day. Up to now all the fellows here +have been volunteers. I'm curious to see how the drafted men will take +to the life." + +"I suppose some of them will be sore at having had to come whether they +wanted to or not," replied Frank. "Still there will be lots of good +fighting material in them. I've heard Peterson say that the drafted +men in the Union Army fought as well as the volunteers. They'll all be +good Americans when they face the Huns." + +Even as they spoke they heard the far-off music of a band and saw the +men who were off duty hurrying toward the great gate of the camp. + +"I shouldn't wonder if some of them were coming now," remarked Frank. +"Let's leg it to the gate and see them come in." + +They reached a favorable position just as the first of the advancing +troops entered the camp. The boys studied them critically and in a +somewhat patronizing spirit, for they already felt like veterans and +were inclined to look down a little upon the "rookies." + +There was, of course, a good deal to criticize about the newcomers. +Most of them, up to a few days before, had never touched a gun in their +lives, many of them were in civilian clothes, and although they tried +to keep in line and step briskly to the music of the band, their +marching was ragged. + +Some of them, used to a sedentary life, were winded, even by that short +hike of three miles to the camp. They were raw material in the fullest +sense of the word. But the officers who led them and the men who +watched them, knew perfectly well what wonders could be wrought in that +outfit by a few weeks or months of training. + +The regiment broke ranks as soon as they were fairly within the +precincts of the camp. + +"Look there!" cried Frank suddenly, as his eyes fell upon one of the +near recruits. "If that isn't Tom Bradford, I'll eat my hat." + +"Sure thing!" shouted Bart, as he looked in the direction Frank had +indicated. "Hi there, Tom!" he yelled, and they both made a break for +the place where Tom was standing. + +In a moment they each had one of his hands and were shaking it as +though they would wrench it off. + +"Good old scout!" ejaculated Frank. "How in the name of all that's +lucky did you get here?" + +"Oh, I'm like a postage stamp?" grinned Tom, delightedly. "I stick +until I get there." + +"But I thought they wouldn't take you when you tried to enlist," said +Frank, a little bewildered. + +"Can you beat it?" returned Tom. "When I wanted to enlist they +wouldn't have me. Then when I was moping along and raving against fate +I was called up in the draft. The doctors there passed me without +letting out a peep. Say, maybe I wasn't tickled to get in on any +terms. It makes me sore though, to think I can't be in the old +Thirty-seventh along with the rest of you fellows." + +"Never mind," said Frank. "The main thing is, you're here. We'll be +in the same camp and in the same division and we'll be able to see a +lot of each other." + +"I'm not the only Camport fellow that's here," chuckled Tom. + +"Is that so?" said Frank with interest. "Who is it?" + +"Give you three guesses," grinned Tom. + +"Hal Chase!" + +"Wrong," said Tom. + +"Will Baxter!" + +"Come again." + +"Dick Ormsby!" + +"You're all off," replied Tom. "But you'd never guess in a thousand +years and so I'll put you out of your misery. It's Nick Rabig." + +"Nick Rabig!" they yelled, in unison. + +"Cross my heart and hope to die," laughed Tom, enjoying the amazement +of his comrades. + +"Nick Rabig, in a Yankee uniform!" chortled Frank. + +"And going to fight the Huns!" crowed Bart. "Say, isn't it rich?" + +"How does he feel about it," asked Frank, surprise and glee giving way +to curiosity. + +"Like a bear with a sore head," responded Tom. "Of course he doesn't +dare to say much, but what he's thinking isn't fit for publication!" + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +FOR FRANCE + +The young volunteers looked about for the unwilling conscript and soon +caught sight of him, standing moodily apart from the others and with a +scowl upon his face as black as a thundercloud. + +"Papa's little sunshine," chuckled Frank. + +"Same old cheery disposition," grinned Bart. "Say, if he looked at +milk, he'd turn it sour." + +"I suppose we ought to go over and speak to him," said Frank, +thoughtfully. "He must feel like a cat in a strange garret." + +"Maybe you're right," said Bart, doubtfully. "I'm willing to try +anything once." + +They strolled over to the place where Nick Rabig was standing and +saluted him pleasantly. + +"Hello, Rabig!" cried Frank. "How do you like your first look at our +camp?" + +"If it was the last look I'd like it better," snarled Rabig, his sullen +resentment flaring forth at this unexpected sight of his old enemy. + +"You'll change your mind, maybe, when you've had a chance to look +around some," said Bart, still trying to be agreeable, though the +strain was telling on him. + +"Yes," added Frank, "if there's anything we can do for you, let us +know." + +"The only thing you can do for me," said Rabig, his brows drawing +together in a still blacker scowl, "is to get out of my sight and stay +out." + +"Oh, so that's all, is it?" said Frank with a careless laugh as they +turned away. "Well, that's the easiest thing we ever had to do; eh, +fellows?" + +"You said it," they agreed as they walked on, leaving Rabig to glare +after them with helpless hatred in his eyes. + +After that, though they remained in camp several weeks, the boys saw +little of Nick Rabig and were just as well satisfied. Friction was not +in their line. They preferred the easy, happy comradeship that existed +among nine-tenths of the fellows. + +"I should think," said Bart, after a day of particularly hard but +fruitful practice, "that we were almost ready to meet the Germans." + +"Well, I don't know about that," returned Frank. "But I shouldn't +wonder if we'd soon be sent over to France to finish our training +behind the lines." + +"Right you are," said Billy Waldon, strolling tip with Tom. "I +overheard a couple of officers talking about the immediate plans for +the regiment, and they seemed to think that we might expect orders +almost any time to go to a camp nearer the sea." + +"And from there I suppose we go across," said Tom. + +"I hope that's right!" cried Frank, eagerly. "I'm just spoiling to get +into action." + +"All the fellows feel that way," said Bart. + +"All but Rabig," put in Tom with a grin. + +One day, the longed-for orders came and the camp with its thirty +thousand men hummed with excitement and activity. About ten o'clock +one bright sunshiny morning the regiment marched out of the gates of +Camp Boone, to the martial music of its band, no longer a collection of +raw recruits but a company of trained, vigorous young soldiers, ready +and fit for any work their country might apportion them. + +Two days and two nights they spent on the train and on the morning of +the third day started the march to the camp which was to be their short +abiding place. + +"Say, fellows, you can smell the ocean!" cried Frank, drawing in deep +breaths of the invigorating, salt-laden air. "Say, I'm not a bit +anxious to get on it!" + +"You'll be lucky," responded Bart, who was hungry and therefore not as +cheerful as was his wont, "if you don't find yourself under it before +you get through. They say those submarines are doing pretty slick +work." + +"They may be doing now," said Frank whose high spirits refused to be +dampened even by hunger, "but some day they're going to get done! You +just let that sink home, Bart, my boy." + +"I'd rather let some good juicy beefsteak sink home, just now," +grumbled Bart, rebelliously. "If I have to feel like this much, I +won't mind being sunk!" + +An hour later, however, Bart's spirits had soared to ecstatic heights. +His voracious appetite had been satisfied--and with beefsteak. + +One night, less than a week later, a startling thing happened. The +boys had turned in as usual sharp at nine o'clock, and were in the deep +sleep of exhausted youth when they were suddenly awakened by the +imperative notes of a bugle. + +"Wh-what's that?" cried Frank, sitting up on his cot and straining his +eyes through the darkness. "It's reveille--but it's dark as pitch." + +"It c-can't be morning," stuttered Bart, while a babel of questions and +answers arose all about them. "Gee, isn't six o'clock bad enough +without getting routed out at--what time is it, Frank--my watch has +gone on a strike." + +"Just two o'clock," returned Frank, consulting his radio watch, while +all about him was noise and confusion as the boys hastily got into +their things. "I know what it is," he added, shouting to make himself +heard above the din. "The time's come to sail and they didn't give us +any warning for fear the news would get out! Bart, here's adventure +for you!" + +"Sure, I'll begin to enjoy it too," grumbled Bart, "when I get my eyes +open." + +The boys never forgot that ghostly march to the great transport which +was to bear them across to the scene of conflict. No sound was heard, +save the steady tramp, tramp of their feet, the occasional hoot of an +owl far off in the woodland, and the eerie sighing of the wind among +the trees. + +When at last, after several miles of this weird marching, the huge, +shadowy bulk of a ship rose before them, their hearts beat madly and +they thrilled with a wild exultation. + +Silently they marched on board. Then, the whispered commands of +officers to men, the throbbing of the screws, the soft gliding of the +great ship from the pier--and they were off! + +"For France," murmured Frank, his eyes gleaming in the starlight. "For +France and victory!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE LURKING PERIL + +The shipping of the men had been carried through so smoothly and +swiftly, and everything had moved with such clockwork precision, that +before the sun fairly rose the giant steamer was out of sight of land. +And any spy who might have been lurking at any point on the coast would +have had his trouble for his pains. + +The night had been a broken one, but the army boys were so excited that +no one cared for the loss of sleep. Here at last was action. Now they +were fairly launched on the great adventure. Every mile that the great +ship traversed was bringing them nearer to the scene of actual +fighting, the roar of the cannon, the shriek of shells, the hand to +hand conflict with the enemy. + +"It must make the Huns sore," laughed Frank, "to think that one of +their own great ships is carrying us over the ocean to fight the men +who built it." + +"Sort of poetic justice, eh?" grinned Billy Waldon. + +"They felt they had the goods on us when they smashed the machinery," +said Bart. "They figured it would take at least a year before we could +get the ships in shape again, and yet its only five months since they +scrapped the engines and here they're pounding along as good as new." + +"It's not the first mistake the Kaiser's made," agreed Frank. "What +was it that fellow Von Papen called us?--idiotic Yankees." + +"We weren't so idiotic after all, that we didn't get on to his game and +send him and his pals packing," said Tom. + +"There goes the call for breakfast," cried Billy, as the bugle rang out +its welcome summons. "This sea view is great but we'll have plenty of +time to enjoy that. Me for the mess and we'll have to get in line +quick or with this crowd we won't have a Chinaman's chance." + +"Billy wants to eat while he can," grinned Bart, as they plunged along +in his wake. "He's afraid he'll be seasick, later on." + +"Not on your life," flung back Billy. "You can't get seasick on this +ship. She's so big she rides half a dozen waves at once and she's as +steady as a church." + +Although the great ship was unchanged as regards the external +appearance, a complete transformation had been effected inside. When +it had first been built, it had been fitted out and decorated with +princely magnificence but now all the costly and beautiful fittings had +been ruthlessly torn out. It was like a great, hollow cavern from +stern to stern. Everything had been sacrificed to the need for space. +Cots and hammocks by the thousands took up every available inch that +was not absolutely needed for other purposes. + +It was a gigantic, floating hotel and apart from the crew, who +themselves ran into the hundreds, it carried many thousands of Uncle +Sam's fighting men. + +"A U-boat would certainly make a ten-strike if it sent a torpedo into +this craft," remarked Frank, as, after breakfast, the three friends +secured a point of vantage on the upper deck. + +"He'd get the iron cross from the Kaiser, sure enough," replied Billy. +"It's so big a target that he could hardly miss it if he took a pot +shot at it." + +"I don't think there's much danger," said Frank, as he glanced at the +guns with their trained crews that guarded the liner fore and aft. "If +a U-boat attacked us she'd be the more likely of the two to get sunk. +These guns out-range anything that a submarine carries." + +"To say nothing of the convoys," put in Bart. "It's all right to +attack an unarmed merchant ship but it's a different thing when United +States destroyers are on the job." + +"Where are they?" said Billy, looking about over the broad expanse +which showed no trace of any other vessel. + +"They'll meet us when we get further out," said Frank. "There will be +no danger for a day or two yet. The U-boats are hugging the English +coast pretty tight." + +"I don't think we ought to reckon too much on that," said Billy. "You +know, a U-boat did cross the ocean a year or so ago and sank five ships +right off Nantucket. That's coming too close home for comfort." + +"One swallow doesn't make a summer," replied Frank. "At that time we +were neutral and after the U-boat once slipped past the British fleet +there was nothing to stop it before it got to the American coast. But +you bet it would be no cinch to do it now, with the United States navy +on the job." + +The next two days were fair and the sea smooth. The great liner reeled +off the miles with tremendous speed. As Billy had prophesied, the ship +was so steady that there was very little sea-sickness and there was so +much to be seen and done under these novel conditions that every waking +hour was filled with interest. + +Two days later they picked up their convoy and all felt a very +comforting sense of security in the presence of the destroyers with +their business-like air and wicked looking guns. + +They kept pace with the liner, within easy reaching distance, +occasionally exchanging signals, and keeping sleepless watch day and +night over the huge transport. + +"The finest navy in the world!" cried Frank, with enthusiasm, as his +kindling eyes rested on these "bulldogs of the sea." "That's one +branch of the service where Uncle Sam has never fallen down. Man for +man, gun for gun, and ship for ship, there's nothing in the world can +beat them. Just watch them clean out that U-boat nest when they once +get over there in force." + +"They'll do to them what Decatur did to the Barbary pirates years ago," +said Bart. "Every other nation was paying tribute to them, but that +idea didn't make a hit with us and we went in and wiped them off the +face of the earth--or rather the face of the water. And what we did +once, we can do again." + +Frank's eyes had been idly roaming over the sea while they were +talking, but suddenly his gaze became fixed and he started to his feet. + +"Did you see that, fellows?" he demanded, sharply. + +"Where?" asked Billy + +"I didn't see anything," said Bart. + +"It looked like a flash of light on the water," explained Frank. +"There it is again. Great Scott, it's a periscope!" + +Almost as he spoke, the forward guns on the liner roared their +challenge, followed by the deeper bass of the guns from the nearest +destroyer. + +In an instant there was great excitement, though without the slightest +trace of panic. The ship swung around in response to a bell from the +bridge and began to zigzag in a bewildering fashion. + +Then a great white furrow appeared in the sea and along that whitening +lane came hissing a monster torpedo. Nearer and nearer it came with +lightning speed straight toward the vessel. + +Had the liner kept its course the torpedo would have struck it +amidships. As it was, it passed just back of the stern, missing it by +not more than a dozen feet. + +The destroyers came racing like mad toward the spot from which the +torpedo had been launched. No trace of the submarine was visible but +the destroyers circled round and round the spot, dropping their deadly +depth bombs in the hope of striking their unseen foe. + +Thousands of pairs of eyes watched for the result, while in their +excitement their owners almost forgot to breathe. + +Minutes passed and then a mighty cheer went up. For on the waters +appeared a gradually widening smudge of oil on which floated bits of +wreckage that told their own story. + +The U-boat had fired its last torpedo. One of the depth bombs had +sought it out in its invisible lair, battered in its sides, wrenched +open its seams and sent its pirate crew to their last account. For +that one boat, at least, the Kaiser's admirals would watch in vain. + +"We got it!" yelled Billy Waldon exultingly. + +"They can't always get away with it!" cried Bart, jubilantly. + +"What did I tell you about our navy?" crowed Frank. "They can't put +one over on Uncle Sam!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE WAR-SWEPT LAND + +"You've got to hand it to that fellow, though," said Billy. "He had +his nerve right with him to try to cop out a transport right under the +nose of a convoy." + +"Yes," agreed Bart. "Although, after all, it may simply have been a +chance meeting. The captain of the U-boat might have been as surprised +as we were when he came up to breathe and found himself so close to us. +But being there it was too good a chance to miss and he let fly." + +"Maybe there wouldn't have been a high old time in Berlin if the +torpedo had reached its mark," said Frank. "Think of being able to +boast that they'd sunk thousands of Uncle Sam's troops! They'd have +hung out the flags and rung the bells and given the school children a +holiday." + +"Well, a miss is as good as a mile," returned Billy. "It's a heap more +comfortable sitting here and talking about it, than it would be to be +in the water or rowing about in small boats while the submarine shelled +us." + +"Well, that particular submarine will never do any more shelling," said +Bart. "It's all over with them now. It must be a fearful thing to die +the way those fellows did, like rats in a trap. It's no wonder that +the Kaiser finds it hard to get men to man his U-boats." + +"It is pretty rough on them when luck goes against them," admitted +Frank. "But if those fellows played the game fairly I'd feel sorrier +than I do. Don't forget, that if they saw us struggling in the water +they'd be standing on the deck of the submarine, if there were no +destroyer about, grinning and mocking at us. And if women and children +were drowning, it would make no difference to them." + +"Right you are," declared Billy. "Do you remember what that U-boat did +that sank the _Belgian Prince_? Smashed the small boats, threw away +the oars, and took those of the crew who were left on top of the +submarine." + +"Yes," said Bart. "Then the Germans made everything tight and went +below, leaving their prisoners on the deck. The U-boat sailed along +the surface for a few hours and then slowly sank leaving their captives +to drown. If that wasn't brutal, cold-blooded murder, there never was +any in the history of the world." + +"I hope this submarine was the one that did the trick," said Frank. +"Perhaps drowning didn't seem such a rich joke to them when their turn +came." + +From that time on, the vigilance aboard ship was redoubled, for +although the general opinion was that it was only a chance meeting, no +one knew but what this U-boat was simply one of a fleet whose +companions might look for better luck where their comrade had failed. + +But nothing more was seen of the undersea terror until they were +approaching the French coast and then the boys were witnesses of an +exciting game that held them breathless. + +"Look at that speck up there in the sky," exclaimed Frank. + +"Biggest bird I ever saw," remarked Billy. + +"That's no bird," declared Bart, after a prolonged inspection through a +pair of glasses that he produced from his kit. "That's an aeroplane." + +"An aeroplane!" exclaimed Billy. "So far away from shore as this? +You're dreaming." + +"You can see for yourselves," replied Bart, as he handed the glasses +around. "Take a squint at it and you'll see that that bird never wore +feathers." + +"It must be a seaplane," announced Frank. "It's been launched from the +deck of some vessel and now it's hovering up there like a hawk, looking +for submarines. It's a funny thing, but they say that those seaplane +pilots can look right down through the water and see a submarine when +it can't be seen from the deck of a ship." + +"What's the dope?" asked Billy, with great interest. "Suppose he does +spot one, what good does it do?" + +"He's got a wireless equipment," explained Frank, "and he sends out +signals to trawlers and destroyers. They come on the jump and the +seaplane tells them just where the submarine is lying." + +"By jiminy, I think he sees one now!" exclaimed Tom Bradford, who had +just come up. "See that smudge of smoke over there? That means a +steamer's coming and there's another." + +As though by magic one boat after another hove in sight until there +were four, coming from as many points in the compass and heading toward +that point in the sea over which the seaplane hovered. + +The boys were on edge with excitement at the prospect of being in at +the death and as the liner was rapidly approaching the scene of action, +they had a clear view of what followed. + +Guided evidently by signals from the seaplane, two of the trawlers +stretched a long chain between them and advanced slowly toward the +other two who, with a similar chain approached from the other direction. + +"What do you suppose they're trying to do?" asked Billy, curiously. + +"The idea is, to get those chains under the submarine," explained +Frank. "After they've done that, they'll crisscross them from above. +If they once succeed in doing it the sub is done for. He's got to come +up and surrender or else they'll slip him a depth bomb and blow him to +flinders." + +Deftly and quickly the work went on under the direction of the skilled +veterans who held command of the trawlers. Then they waited for the +submarine to come up. + +But it did not come. Instead, it released a group of mines on the +chance of wrecking one or more of its captors. But they were on the +lookout for just such a contingency and fended off these "floating +deaths," waiting till they had finished their more important work +before rendering them harmless. + +Minutes passed and still the U-boat lay like a sullen monster, trapped +but not subdued. + +Then it was the trawlers' turn to take the offensive. Two depth bombs +were placed on the taut chains and slid down through the waters to the +hull of the doomed submarine. + +There was a muffled boom, a geyser-like rush of water, and then the +telltale oil that came to the surface showed that all was over. One +more of the assassins of the sea had paid the score it owed to an +outraged world! + +"And that's the Kaiser's weapon that was going to bring England to her +knees!" ejaculated Tom. + +"The Allies are getting the best of them," declared Frank. "It looked +at one time as though Germany were going to put it over. But we're +sinking them now just as fast as they can be built and when America +gets fairly to work we'll sink them still faster." + +"Just wait till Edison gets on the job. He'll find something that will +finish the U-boats in jig time. He'll make them look like thirty +cents," declared Tom. + +A little later they caught their first sight of France. Only a blur on +the horizon at first, it grew steadily larger, and the bow of the boat +was packed with the eager young soldiers, straining for a sight of the +war-swept land that had suffered so much and done so much in the fight +for liberty and democracy. + +Here they were to fight, here they were to suffer, here they were to +carry their country's flag to a glorious victory! + +Frank breathed hard as the land came closer, for to him France had a +greater significance than even to the others. It was his mother's land +and for that reason doubly dear. + +As the great vessel followed by others drew near the port, it was seen +that the wharves and shores were black with people. News had been +wirelessed of their coming, and the city had gone wild with joy at this +visible token of help from the great sister republic across the sea. + +Bells were ringing, whistles blowing, cannon booming. Flags were flung +out from all the buildings and the whole city was in holiday garb to +welcome Uncle Sam's army boys to France! + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +WITHIN THE SOUND OF GUNS + +"Here at last!" cried Frank in wild jubilation, as the transport was +made fast to the wharf. "Pinch me, fellows, to make sure I'm not +dreaming." + +"It's real, sure enough!" exulted Bart. + +"Now we'll see action!" exclaimed Billy. + +"And get a chance at Fritz and Heinie!" added Tom. "I'm aching to get +a hack at them." + +Frank did not answer to this. Now they had arrived in France his mind +had drifted back to his mother and what she had said about the property +she had inherited. Would they ever be able to claim his grandfather's +estate? + +If the army boys could have had their way, they would have leaped +forthwith from the deck to the dock. They were wild to feel the soil +of the gallant country beneath their feet. But discipline had to be +observed and several hours elapsed before the troops were ready to +leave the ship. + +Then at last they poured over the gangplank, line after line, wave +after wave, in what seemed to the delighted multitude of watchers an +almost endless procession. + +They formed in line and after a formal exchange of greetings between +their commanders and the city authorities, the troops swung into the +streets with the bands playing alternately, the "Star Spangled Banner" +and the "Marseillaise." + +Such cheers as greeted them, such tears, such pelting of flowers, such +waving of flags as the stalwart young Americans marched through streets +that were packed to the curb with joyous, shouting, frenzied natives! + +It was a royal greeting that not one of the boys could ever forget. + +They reached the great barracks that had been assigned to them by the +French Government for a temporary halting place before they should go +to a place in the interior right behind the fighting lines. + +There was plenty of room, for the barracks were empty now, every son of +France of fighting age that could be spared, being at the front. + +"They sure seemed glad to see us," grinned Frank, as, after the march, +the regiment broke ranks and the men went to their quarters. + +"I don't wonder," replied Bart. "I suppose America felt the same way a +hundred years ago when Lafayette and his comrades went over there." + +"Gee, it seems strange to speak of America as being over there," said +Tom, a little soberly. + +"Not getting homesick, are you, Tom?" questioned Billy, with a smile. + +"I have an idea I will," Tom answered with a grin, "when I have time to +think about it. But it would make me sicker still," he added stoutly, +"to go back before we'd licked the Huns." + +"Right-o!" cried Billy. "When I go back I want to take a lot of German +helmets along to give to some girls I know." + +"Some girls," chaffed Bart. "You talk like a Mormon, Billy." + +The next few days were busy and delightful ones for the boys. The +townspeople opened their hearts and homes to them, and they were +feasted and entertained to their heart's content. Everything was so +new and strange to them that they were constantly stumbling upon +surprises. + +The language, to be sure, offered some obstacles. The boys had been +taught some of the most necessary French phrases while in their +training camp, and these along with some language primers they carried, +sufficed for their more simple needs. But their vocabulary was limited +and their accent was a fearful and wonderful thing, though their hosts +were too polite to laugh at them. + +Frank had some advantage over the others because his mother, being a +French woman, had taught him her native tongue, and it was a great +comfort to the rest of the Camport boys to have Frank along with them +as interpreter when they themselves were stumped--which, it must be +confessed, was often! + +Tom especially, who had no gift for languages was usually in hot water. +His struggles with the language were frantic, not to say pathetic. + +"You're game, old scout," chaffed Billy, after Tom had wrestled in vain +with the pronunciation of the French word for soup. "But why in +thunder did you make that waiter crazy by asking for bullion? Any one +would think you were trying to cop off the United States mint." + +"Well, what should I say?" Tom defended himself stoutly, as he thumbed +over his phrase book. "There it is, plain as day," he added, +triumphantly--"b-o-u-i-l-l-o-n. If that isn't bullion, what is it?" + +"You're all wrong, you're all wrong," said Bart condescendingly. "It's +_bwe-yone_, just like that." + +Tom tried it once or twice desperately and then gave it up. + +"I'd have to have a cold in my head to talk that way," he protested, +pocketing the book in disgust. "I'm not going to try any more. The +more I try the worse I get. The next time, I'm going to ask for soup, +plain, old fashioned American soup. S-o-u-p. Get that? Then the +waiter can do the guessing!" + +"Yes, and then he'll serve you spaghetti," laughed Frank. + +"So much the better," grinned Tom. "Let him go through the whole +shooting match. Sooner or later he'll come to soup and when he does +I'll be there." + +"And you intend to eat right through the menu?" queried Billy +admiringly. + +"The which?" asked Tom. "Oh, you mean the bill of fare. Sure thing. +I don't care whether it's soup to nuts or nuts to soup, I'll catch it +coming and going." + +"And you're the fellow they wouldn't let enlist on account of his +teeth," moaned Billy, with a doleful shake of his head. + +"They didn't know me," grinned Tom. + +The army boys spent nearly a week in the barracks to get rid of their +"sea legs," and then the order came to go to the new camp, right behind +the lines that had been assigned to them. + +It was too far for a hike and the railroads were taxed to their +capacity in taking supplies to the forces at the front. But the +problem was solved by a multitude of gigantic motor trucks, lorries, in +which two score of men could find accommodation. + +They were high-powered machines capable of tremendous speed and they +rushed over the fine French highways like so many express trains. + +"This is the thing that saved Paris," remarked Frank. "If Gallieni +hadn't packed all his troops and rushed them up as reinforcements, +France would have lost the battle of the Marne." + +"They're great goers all right," commented Bart. "We're sure breaking +the speed laws. But I don't see any traffic cops stopping us." + +"They'd only cheer us on," grinned Tom. "We can't get to the battle +lines too quick to suit the French." + +Up hill and down dale they raced, through thriving cities, and quaint +villages, past peasant cottages and princely chateaux, lying beautiful +and serene in the bright sunshine. + +They were in the garden spot of France, a place that had yet been +spared the horror and devastation of war, and the only thing that +seemed unnatural was the striking absence of young men. + +Women everywhere were doing the work, in the fields, in the stores, at +the railroad stations, on the streets and country roads. Scarcely any +males were seen except old men and boys. + +There was no need to ask where the young men were. At Verdun, on the +Somme, on the Aisne; everywhere on that long line of trenches that +stretched from the Vosges to the sea, they were fighting like heroes to +keep the Hun at bay. + +And on the heart of each were written those immortal words spoken at +Verdun: "_They shall not pass!_" + +Hour after hour went by. Suddenly Frank asked: + +"What was that, fellows? Did you hear it?" + +"Sounded to me like thunder," said Bart. + +"With a sky like this?" replied Frank. "Never. Listen!" + +Borne on the wind came a long, booming sound, growing longer and louder +as they sped toward it, falling fitfully at times, only to swell into a +mightier rumble like the roar of waves dashing against the coast. + +They looked at each other with comprehension dawning in their eyes. + +"It's thunder all right, Bart," said Frank, quietly. "It's the thunder +of the guns! We are getting near the fighting front at last!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE AIRSHIP RAID + +The signs multiplied now that they were approaching the battle lines. +Apart from the ominous roar which had now become unceasing, war showed +its grim face on every hand. + +They dashed through "rest billets"--the towns behind the lines where +the exhausted soldiers, who had served their term in the trenches, were +sent back for a few days or weeks of rest while fresh troops took their +places. + +The roads became more congested with trucks carrying supplies and +ammunition to the front. Ambulances came past in an endless stream, +bearing their quota of wounded men. Hospitals were everywhere, marked +with a Red Cross that bespoke their mission of mercy and healing. + +And there were cemeteries too, with their endless rows of simple wooden +crosses on which were inscribed the names and regimental numbers of +those who slept beneath. + +Cripples, too, there were, with missing legs or arms, and blinded ones, +who had looked for the last time on scenes of warfare. + +It was the seamy side of war that thrust itself upon their sight. But +though it sobered, it did not daunt these eager young Americans who had +come to do their part and "see it through." It only deepened their +indignation at the merciless military power that had brought such woe +and misery upon the world, and each breathed a vow to himself that he +would not rest until that power was curbed and punished as it deserved +to be. + +"This looks like the real thing," remarked Frank. + +"That's what!" agreed Bart. "You can see already that war is what +Sherman said it was." + +"This is nothing," put in Billy. "It's only the fringe. It's only +when we get in the trenches that we'll know anything about it." + +"Some of us may not know much then," put in Tom. "It all depends on +how long we succeed in dodging the bullets." + +"Yes," observed Billy. "Or our experience may be like that of the +Tommy who said 'First, I 'ears a 'orrible noise and the next thing I +'ears the nurse sayin', "Sit up and drink this!"'" + +There was a laugh that broke the tension, and before long they reached +the district that had been chosen for their intensive training. + +It was a wide stretch of rolling country several miles in extent, and +it had been chosen because it resembled in its main features the actual +territory where the fight was going on. + +There were brooks and hills, valleys and quarries, woods and +meadowlands with a few small hamlets of scattered houses. + +There were no spacious barracks such as they had been used to in the +cantonments at home. The troops were quartered here and there as +opportunity offered. + +Thousands of dog tents had been erected on the level places and in +these the majority of the men were sheltered. + +Every cottage and chateau also had its quota, and farmhouses with their +outlying barns and stables were utilized to the utmost. + +"Hope they don't separate us, fellows," said Frank, as he watched the +corporals and sergeants picking out various squads and assigning them +their billets. + +"Gee, so do I," echoed Bart. "The old bunch has been together ever +since we left Camport and I have a hunch our luck's going to continue." + +The "hunch" proved to have a solid foundation, for the four army boys +were all sent off together with about forty more of their comrades to +an old mill that stood near the edge of the camp. + +It was a low, rambling structure with plenty of windows that gave it +ample light and an air of homely comfort that delighted the young +soldiers. + +"This is what I call luck," chortled Tom, as he looked about him and +glanced up at the well-thatched roof that seemed rain-proof. + +"It beats a dog tent by a thousand miles," returned Billy. + +"It doesn't matter so much while the weather's still warm," said Bart, +"but oh, boy! when the winter comes, maybe it won't be good to have a +snug roof like this over our heads." + +A little cottage adjoining the mill served as a mess hall for the squad +billeted there and the presiding genius of the place was a French cook, +who had as his assistant a young Irish lad whose most prominent points +were a shock of red hair and a mischievous disposition. + +"Anatole is a good chef, all right," Frank remarked one day, shortly +after they had had a most appetizing meal. "He may have his faults and +probably does, but he cooks to beat the band." + +"Yes," agreed Bart, "he's a dandy cook but he's got a hair-trigger +temper. I've heard him bawling out his helper in all the French +epithets there are, and that's quite a few apparently." + +"Righto!" laughed Frank. "There's a big lot of them and Anatole knows +them all. He could give points to the driver of a team of army mules. +You've got to hand it to him for being thorough anyway. Without that +outlet he'd probably go crazy." + +"Possibly," assented Bart. "There's no telling. But listen. 'Speak +of the cook and you'll hear him shouting' or words to that effect. +Great Scott! He's mad for fair this time." + +"You've said it!" ejaculated Frank. "He's about as angry as it's +possible for a Frenchman to be--and that's going some." + +Fate had willed that that day the Irish helper in a spirit of impish +perversity should have annoyed the cook in various covert and ingenious +ways until the latter's irritation broke all bounds. + +The cottage door flew open and the boy bounced out, about two jumps +ahead of the cook whose face was crimson and eyes bulging. + +"Pat has an air of haste about him," remarked Frank with a grin. + +"He'd better have," laughed Bart. "Anatole is up in the air for fair." + +"Leetle rat zat you air!" shouted the enraged cook, shaking a ladle +furiously at his helper who stood at a safe distance wearing a +tantalizing grin. "Sacre! but you drive me cr-r-r-azy weet your seely +tricks. You air one Irish monkey, zat ees what you air! Ef I get hol' +of you--ah, you weel not forget eet soon, I tell you zat!" and he made +a clumsy rush for the boy who easily dodged around a corner of the +cottage. The cook raced after him and the pair made several circuits +of the little building, although it was evident that the cook had +absolutely no chance of catching his agile tormentor. + +They made a highly ludicrous sight, and Frank and Bart, who happened to +be the only spectators of the scene, roared with laughter, stamping +about and hammering each other on the shoulder in the excess of their +merriment. + +But the cook was not long in discovering the futility of his efforts +and gave up the chase, puffing and blowing like a grampus. His wrath +had in nowise abated however, and he shook his fist impotently at the +boy, who by his very silence and the ease with which he eluded him +drove the unfortunate chef into a very paroxysm of fury. + +"_Mille tonnerres!_" he shouted, and hurled the heavy ladle he had been +carrying straight at his assistant's head. But the lad ducked in time, +and the heavy missile went whistling past him and found lodgment in the +underbrush beyond. + +"Better luck nixt toime," jeered the imp. "Try agin, why don't ye? +Ye've got plinty uv thim ladles left. 'Tis the bist uv exercise, +throwin' thim things is." + +Frank and Bart shouted afresh, while the outraged cook tore his hair in +desperation and gave vent to a stream of epithets. The boy said +nothing, but put his hand to his ear and affected to listen in a manner +far more irritating than words could possibly have been. + +The cook's face grew more crimson than before and his naturally +protruding eyes seemed about to leave their sockets. He danced wildly +about, shaking his clenched fists madly in the air. At last however, +just when he seemed threatened with a stroke of apoplexy, he stopped +from sheer exhaustion and for the first time became conscious of the +presence of Frank and Bart who were leaning on each other for support, +convulsed with laughter and the tears streaming from their eyes. + +He glared malevolently at them for a few moments but finding that this +had little effect at last turned and went into the cottage still +muttering imprecations on the head of his assistant. + +"Help, help!" gasped Frank. "Hold me up, Bart, or I'll go down. My, +but that was rich." + +"All of that," agreed Bart, wiping the tears from his eyes. "If we'd +only had a moving picture machine and a phonograph handy to take down +that scene. It would be the biggest hit of the age." + +"It would have meant oodles of coin and no mistake," assented Bart. +"We'd have been beyond the reach of want for the rest of our natural +lives." + +"Anatole's got a circus clown beaten by a thousand miles," replied +Frank. "It's too bad that the rest of the fellows couldn't have been +here to see the circus. But I suppose it's ungrateful to criticize +fate after she's been so kind to us." + +"I should say so," chuckled Bart. "If I live to be a hundred years +old, I never expect to see anything funnier," and at the remembrance of +the comical scene he started laughing afresh with his hand pressed +against his side. + +"Just the same," said Frank, when they had at last quieted down, "I +wouldn't like to be in that red-headed helper's shoes. He's got to go +into the cottage soon, and when he does I have a hunch that something +will happen to him." + +"I think it's extremely likely," agreed Bart, "and I can't say but what +he deserves it. It seems to me that Anatole has something coming to +him in the way of revenge." + +It was with considerable amusement that the two chums watched the +actions of the Irish lad. For some time he kept clear of the cottage, +but then the door opened and the cook's head appeared in the doorway. + +"Come here, you Mickey!" he called, in tones meant to be reassuring, +"and peel ze potatoes." + +With a good deal of caution the boy reluctantly approached, but stopped +just out of the cook's reach for a parley. + +"Wot ye goin' ter do wit' me whin ye git holt uv me?" he queried. "I +wuz only foolin' wit' ye before. Can't ye take a little joke?" + +"Nevaire mind," replied the cook realizing his advantage. "Come an' +get beezy, else I tell ze captain you air--wat you call +eet?--inzubordinate. Zen he make you come." + +The boy glanced desperately around in search of some way of escape from +his predicament, but finding none finally went reluctantly into the +cottage. + +"Here's where retribution falls on him," said Frank with a grin. + +He was not mistaken, for the boy had scarcely entered when there issued +forth the sound of several lusty smacks. Then came a high-pitched +scolding which showed that Anatole had had recourse to moral as well as +physical suasion. + +"I don't know but what I'd rather have the licking than the scolding," +chuckled Bart as they listened to the voluble eloquence of the chef. + +"Either one's bad enough," laughed Frank. "I guess our young +red-headed friend has got all that was coming to him." + +Now the intensive training of the boys began in earnest. And training +now had a meaning that it had never had while they were still on +American soil. + +For at that time they had not fully grasped the fact that they were +actually at war. There had been a certain dream-like quality about it +that had been like a scene from a play. + +The only cannon they had heard were those fired in salute or at +practice. The zip of a bullet had only meant that that bullet was +speeding toward a wooden target. + +But now the roar of cannon, multiplied a thousand fold above everything +they had heard before, meant that deadly missiles were seeking out +human life in an effort to maim and destroy. + +And soon--how soon they did not know, but still soon--they themselves +would be the target for whining bullets and shrieking shells. + +Practice now meant something. Expertness might mean the difference +between saving life or losing it. A new spirit ran through the men +like an electric current. No need now for their officers to urge them +on. If anything, they had to hold the young soldiers back, lest they +burn up their vitality and exhaust their strength before they were put +to the final test. + +As far as possible, the camp became a mimic battlefield. Trenches were +dug, precisely like those that they would soon be holding against the +attacks of the enemy. + +Barbed wire fences were built by one regiment and cut through and +beaten down by another, which, for the time being, was chosen to play +the part of the enemy. + +The bayonet practice was no longer against dummies but against a picked +squad of their own comrades. And each side in these mimic battles was +so eager to win that at times they almost forgot themselves, with +slight wounds and bruises as a result before their officers could +intervene. + +"We're getting there, Bart!" cried Frank, as he wiped the perspiration +from his brow, after a particularly strenuous encounter. "I'd back our +boys right now to hold their own against any bunch of equal size that +the Boches can send against them." + +"We sure are doing dandy work," assented Bart. "I wonder when they're +going to put us on the firing line?" + +"Before long I hope," chimed in Tom. "I'm aching to get a whack at +them. It's the only way I can let off steam," he added, ruefully. "I +came near running one of the boys through with my bayonet to-day." + +"I wonder where they'll put us," conjectured Billy. "I suppose they'll +sandwich us in with some of the French troops for a while until we get +our bearings." + +"Maybe," said Frank. "But I'd like better to have us fellows take up +some sector and hold it all by ourselves. The tri-color's a fine flag, +but when I fire my first bullet at a Hun I want to be under the Stars +and Stripes." + +"You've said it!" declared Tom. + +"You fellows are regular fire-eaters," laughed Dick Lever, a young +fellow with whom the boys had struck up a friendship. + +He wore an aviator's uniform and was a fine type of young American. He +was one of those who, on seeing war impending, had not waited for the +formal declaration, but, at their own expense, had sailed to the old +country to help France and, so doing, the United States. + +Bronzed, upstanding, clear-eyed, he had succeeded in making the army +boys like him immensely and had imparted to them many useful and +interesting stories of modern warfare. + +"You're a good one to talk," said Billy. "When it comes to fire +eating, you aren't so slow yourself. I heard from one of the fellows +yesterday what you did at the battle of the Somme." + +Dick blushed like a girl. + +"That was nothing," he protested. "Just part of the day's work." + +"What's the dope?" asked Tom with interest. "I haven't heard the +story, and from the beginning, it ought to be good." + +"Will Scott was telling me about it," said Billy. "He says that Dick +here went over the German lines and started a little war all by +himself. He flew low near the ground, letting loose his machine gun at +a whole regiment of German soldiers just forming up for action. Went +along a little further and lambasted a bunch of German officers in an +automobile, killed two of them and made the others jump out and hide +under the machine. Then came back and, just for good measure, let fly +his machine gun at the same regiment he'd soaked going out. After that +I guess he knocked off and called it a day's work. + +"That's why he wears that decoration," he added, pointing to the cross +on Dick's jacket. + +"See him blush," chaffed Tom. "It's funny how these fellows that can +face any number of bullets, turn coward when it comes to praise. You'd +almost think we were accusing him of a crime." + +"Any other of the boys would have done the same if he had had my +chance," said Dick. "Sometimes I go days at a time without having a +chance for a scrap. That just happened to be my lucky day." + +"The Huns didn't call it that," laughed Frank. + +Dick who, as a matter of custom, had been scanning the sky, uttered a +sharp exclamation. + +"Here's another bit of luck, fellows, perhaps," he cried, and without +further farewell, was off like a shot toward his machine, which had +been waiting, with his mechanic to guard it, a hundred yards away. + +High up in the sky appeared a squadron of airships that by their +markings and designs the boys recognized as enemy planes. They were +evidently bent on adventure and had come much further beyond the lines +than usual. + +The French were quick to accept the challenge and the anti-aircraft +guns got into action at once. Puffs of shrapnel burst like white +clouds in and about the marauding planes. + +Even as the boys watched, one missile found its mark, and the plane, +out of control, whirled round and round and then fell swiftly to the +ground within the French lines. + +But not with guns alone did the Allies respond. Like a flock of +falcons, a squadron of French aeroplanes shot swiftly up into the air, +climbing, climbing in the effort for altitude, so that they might swoop +down upon their prey from above. + +"There goes Dick's plane in the van!" cried Frank, his voice tense with +excitement. + +"That's the place for America!" exclaimed Tom. "Always in the van!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BAPTISM OF FIRE + +All faces were turned toward the sky. It was the army boys' first +glimpse of a battle in the air and the grim game held them spellbound. + +Like great birds the battle planes wheeled and swooped, now diving, now +climbing, each jockeying so as to get the weather gauge of its opponent +and bring its machine guns into action. + +The forces were nearly equal and for some time victory hovered in the +balance. But either the staying quality or the alertness of the Allies +finally turned the scale. Two of the enemy planes were shot down, and +a third, evidently crippled, but not wholly out of control, sought the +ground within its own lines. + +The German force, now depleted, turned east and made off at full speed, +with the Allies in hot pursuit. + +Then the sky clouded over and the finish of the fight was lost to the +eager watchers below. But they had seen enough to know that the +raiders had been beaten back and that victory rested with the Allies +and they were jubilant at the result. + +"The Huns went back quicker than they came," gloated Tom. + +"Right-o!" cried Bart, gleefully. "They came to shear and they went +back shorn." + + + "The Kaiser, he has lost his sheep + And doesn't know where to find them, + Leave them alone and they'll come home + With our planes close behind them." + + +So parodied Billy. + +"I hope Dick comes out of it all right," said Frank, a little soberly. + +"Trust that boy," said Tom, confidently. "I don't imagine anyone needs +to worry about him. If he can't take care of himself, nobody can." + +But the Germans, though beaten in that skirmish, were far from being +discouraged, and the boys were to learn that very night with what a +persistent foe they had to deal. + +It had been a hard and exciting day and now, after a steaming hot +supper, they were scattered about the old mill in comfort and utter +relaxation. + +Some were smoking, others chatting, some mending their clothes, which +in these days of strenuous work were often in need of repair, while one +or two by the light of candles were writing letters to the folks at +home. + +Billy, seated on a stool, was strumming a banjo which had been his +solace many a time while he was stationed on the Mexican border and +which now was doing duty in France. + +"Hit 'er up, Billy," said Bart, lazily. "We don't mind being miserable +if it gives you any comfort." + +"Quit your knocking," grinned Billy. "You know you're just dying to +hear it. What do you fellows want--the Moonlight Sonata or something +else simple like that?" + +"That's too high class for this bunch," said Tom. "Though there's +plenty of moonlight outside," he added, as he looked out the window. + +"I've had all the outside I want for one day," said Frank. "I'd just +as soon stay where I am." He was penning a letter to his mother, +telling her of many things that had happened, and stating that, so far, +he had not had a chance to learn anything about his grandfather's +estate. + +"Well, I'm waiting," said Billy. "What does the gang want? Jazz band +music? That's about your style." + +"No, give us something that sounds like home," said Tom. "Some of +those southern melodies." + +"Yes," urged Bart. "You're a dabster at that, Billy." + +"All right," said Billy, cheerfully. "Anything to oblige." + +He picked the strings for a moment and then began to sing softly-- + + "Swing low, sweet chariot + Gwine for to ca'y me home + Swing low, sweet chario--ot + Gwine for to ca'y me home." + + +_Bang!_ There was a tremendous explosion close to the mill. The air +was filled with a deafening din. + +The boys jumped to their feet. + +"That hit mighty close!" cried Frank. + +"What do you suppose it was?" came from Tom. "A shell?" + +"We're too far away from the German lines for that," replied Bart. + +"More likely it's a bomb from an airship," said Frank. "Let's take a +squint outside and see." + +They rushed out and their first glance was toward the sky. But there +was nothing visible there, nor could they hear the whirring of motors +that was the invariable accompaniment of air raids. + +But when they searched around the mill they were more successful, for +the bright moonlight revealed a freshly dug hole in the ground that +formed a veritable crater. + +"It was a bomb all right," pronounced Frank. "And from the size of the +hole it made it was a lallapalooza. It's lucky it didn't hit the mill." + +"I guess some Hun aviator was flying back to his own lines and dropped +this as a sort of visiting card," said Billy. "Oh, well, what's a +little bit of bomb between friends? Come on back, fellows." + +"Yes, come along in and listen to Caruso," chaffed Tom. + +Once inside, Billy again picked up his banjo and began to croon. + + "It rained all night the day I left + The next day it was dry. + The sun so hot I froze to def + Suzanna, don't you cry." + + +One after another took up the rollicking chorus-- + + "Oh, Suzanna, + Don't you cry for me, + Fur I'se gwine to Alabama + Wif de banjo on my knee." + + +_Bang! Bang! Bang!_ came three quick explosions, blending in a +tremendous roar. + +At the same instant a hole appeared in the roof. Part of it caved in +and came clattering down while a blinding glare filled the room! + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +A GRIM REALITY + +The strumming ceased and the banjo fell to the floor. For a moment +confusion reigned supreme. + +The shock and the glare had a paralyzing effect but it lasted only for +an instant. Then the army boys pulled themselves together. + +"Is anyone hurt?" shouted Frank, as he looked about him. + +A groan came from a distant corner. They rushed in that direction. + +Fred Anderson was trying to struggle to his feet and in an instant +willing arms supported him. His face was pale, blood was flowing from +a gash in his forehead and his right leg crumpled up beneath him as he +tried to bear his weight upon it. + +"I guess the old pin's gone back on me, boys," he said with a faint +attempt to smile. "I don't seem to have any feeling in it. I guess +the Huns got me that time." + +A quick examination showed that the leg was broken just below the knee. + +They quickly improvised a temporary splint and a field ambulance was +called. The gash in the head proved to be only a flesh wound of no +great importance. But it bled freely and gave the impression that Fred +was dangerously, perhaps mortally wounded. + +It was the first time that these young novices in the art of war had +seen blood flowing from American veins from a wound inflicted by a +German, and it brought home to them that they were really in the war +and might at any instant, like their luckless comrade, come to hand +grips with death. + +"That sure was a close call," remarked Frank, after Fred, having been +made as comfortable as possible, had been carried off by the ambulance +to the field hospital. "It might have blown us all to bits." + +"That roof may be all right to keep out rain," said Billy, "but it +wasn't built for bombs." + +"It must have been a glancing blow," commented Tom. "If it had come +plump through our name would have been Dennis. It must have spent most +of its force on the ridge pole and slid off to the ground." + +"Very considerate of it," said Bart, dryly. + +"There may be more where that came from," suggested Billy. "There may +be a whole squadron of Hun flyers up there in the sky." + +"I guess it will be healthier to stay outside for a while," said Tom. +"We can see the bombs coming and dodge them. It will be a new kind of +outdoor sport." + +"It's a new game all right," Bart flung over his shoulder as they made +their way outside. "And a game where the stakes are high. You pay +dearly if you lose." + +They all reached the open, where they found that the entire camp had +been aroused by the nocturnal raid. They quickly learned from their +excited comrades that other billets had been targets for the marauders +and that several soldiers had been severely injured, while one was +killed. + +Searchlights were sweeping the sky in the attempt to locate the hostile +planes. Anti-aircraft guns were popping, and the French escadrille had +already mounted to give battle. + +"There comes one!" shouted Frank, as his keen eyes caught sight of a +tiny blaze coming through the air. "That's the fuse of a bomb." + +"And it's coming right toward us!" yelled Bart. "Run fellows--quick!" + +They needed no second injunction and it was well they moved quickly, +for a moment later, the messenger of death came down close to the spot +where they had been standing and exploded with a tremendous roar. + +But they had thrown themselves flat on their faces, behind whatever +shelter they could find and the rain of iron missiles zipped over and +all around them without inflicting much damage. + +"I went down in a mud puddle that time," growled Bart, as he rose +dripping. + +"I notice you stayed there, though," grinned Tom. + +"Any port in a storm," laughed Billy. "There's no time to pick and +choose when those ticklers are coming down. It's a case of 'the quick +or the dead'." + +"I was quick all right," grumbled Tom, as he rubbed his knee, "and I'd +almost rather be dead than do it again. See that stone? It got me!" + +For some minutes more occasional bombs dropped down over a wide area, +especial attention being devoted to the field hospital in accordance +with the usual brutal German tactics. + +But there were no more casualties, and after awhile the bombardment +ceased. + +"Guess they're all out of ammunition," conjectured Frank, when at last +quiet reigned. + +"Either that or our aviators have driven them off as they did this +afternoon," returned Bart. + +"Let's go back to the mill," Tom suggested. "There'll be plenty of +ventilation in the old crib to-night." + +"And my cot's right beneath that hole in the roof," grumbled Bart. + +"Safest place in the whole shebang," comforted Frank. "Lightning never +strikes twice in the same spot." + +"Yes, but suppose it rains," grouched Bart. + +"Aw, it's good for the complexion," grinned Tom. "Anyway, you're +soaked through now, aren't you? Some fellows are never satisfied." + +"Ah, stop fighting!" said Frank. "It couldn't rain if it wanted to +with a moon like that." + +Once back in the mill, the army boys set about repairing the havoc +wrought by the bomb. + +Billy picked up the banjo, patted it lovingly and was relieved to find +that his favorite instrument had come through the German attack +uninjured. + +"Glad you're all right, old girl," he said, running his fingers over +the strings. "But I guess you're through for one night." + +"Yes," chuckled Tom, as he started to unlace his shoes. "The Huns have +given us their idea of a moonlight serenade!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +NICK RABIG UNDER ARREST + +It might have been expected that a sleepless night would have followed +the raid. But the young Americans were far too healthy and their +nerves were already becoming too well steeled to let the Germans, like +Macbeth, "murder sleep." Their eyes closed almost as soon as their +heads touched the pillows, not to open again until reveille sounded the +next morning. + +They were a little more subdued than usual, however, as they dressed, +for there was poor Fred's empty cot and some dark red blotches on the +floor to remind them of their comrade's plight and their own narrow +escape. + +"I wonder how Fred's getting along," said Tom, voicing the general +thought. + +"All right, I hope," returned Frank. "It will make him sore to be +cooped up now with a broken leg, just when the boys are putting the +finishing touches on their training." + +They were relieved to find on inquiry after breakfast, that Fred was +doing finely, that the wound in his head was negligible and that the +break in his leg was a simple fracture so that in six weeks he would +probably be as well as ever. + +"The old scout will have one satisfaction, anyway," said Bart. "He's +the first one in our bunch who has actually shed his blood for Uncle +Sam." + +"Gee, he beat us to it," agreed Tom. "But don't worry, we'll have +plenty of chances later on." + +In the interval before drill, they strolled about the old mill, seeking +traces of the visitation of the night before. These were easily +visible for there were immense shell holes where the bombs had buried +themselves in the earth. + +They found one of the missiles that had not exploded. Bart was about +to pick it up when Frank shouted a warning. + +"Nix on that funny business!" he cried. "You never can tell when those +fellows will start working." + +"Yes," added Bart. "Those fingers of yours will come in handy later +on. You'll need them in your business." + +"Yes," remarked their corporal, Wilson, who sauntered up to them at the +moment. "For all we know that thing may have been fixed so that it +wouldn't explode when it struck the ground but would the minute +somebody picked it up and commenced fooling with it. The only safe way +is to give them all a wide berth. + +The corporal was popular with the men directly under him, and although +he was a strict disciplinarian and kept the men up to their work, there +was nothing petty or tyrannical about him. And the respect the men had +for him was heightened by the stories that were told in the regiment of +the adventures he had undergone. + +For he had been a rover over the earth, and in his short life of thirty +years had passed through more exciting scenes than fall to the lot of +most men in a lifetime. He had been a miner in Australia, had ridden +the ranges in Arizona, "mushed" in the Klondike, and been at one time a +member of the famous Canadian Mounted Police. He was quiet and +reserved, never boasting of his exploits and extremely efficient in +anything he set about to do. He was a dead shot and could shoot from +the hip with either hand. A coin tossed into the air at a distance of +fifty feet he could clip four times out of five. + +On one occasion the boys had been astonished eye witnesses of his +shooting. The nine of clubs had been pinned to a tree sixty paces +distant and Wilson, pulling the trigger so quickly that the eye could +scarcely follow, had wiped out the spots in nine successive shots. + +He was as courageous as he was skilful, and in case of trouble could be +counted on as one of the most valuable members of the regiment. + +So that when he showed a disposition to depart from his usual reserve +and take part in the conversation the boys made room for him with +alacrity. + +"Fritz is full of cunning little tricks," the corporal continued. +"They played the fountain pen game and got a lot of our fellows before +the Allies got wise to it." + +"That's a new one on me," said Frank. "What is the fountain pen game?" + +"Why," answered Corporal Wilson, as he seated himself comfortably on a +nearby rock and struck a match for his pipe, "the Heinies in the first +line trenches when our boys went over the top and drove them out used +to leave behind them a lot of their stuff because they usually skipped +in a hurry. + +"One of our boys would find a fountain pen among other things and think +he had a prize, but the first time he started to unscrew the cap the +thing would explode and smash his hand to bits. We've got a good many +cripples in the ranks on account of that. But the game's played out +now, and they'll have to think up a new one." + +"We ought to get even with them for that," said Tom. + +"Oh, we've got even all right," grinned the corporal. "We worked them +on the hand grenades. You know how it is sometimes, when the first +line trenches are facing each other. A Frenchman or a Britisher throws +over a hand grenade, the Hun catches it on the wing, as it were, if its +a long time fuse and throws it back in the hope that it will explode in +the Allied trenches and thus become a boomerang." + +"Rather a risky game I call it," said Billy. "It wouldn't be any fun +to have one of those gentle little things go off in your hand." + +"That's where the trick comes in," said the Corporal. "You know of +course, there are two kinds of fuses. The short time fuse has red +threads in it, the long time fuse hasn't. If the German sees that +there are none of these red threads in the fuse of the grenade that +drops near him he figures he's got time to throw it back. + +"Well, one of the British Tommies had a bright idea and he carefully +picked all the red threads out of a short time fuse. Then he zipped it +over. Of course the Heinie picked it up, thinking it was a long timer +and that was about all for Heinie. It blew him and all the men near +him to German headquarters." + +"To German headquarters," said Bart, wonderingly. "I don't get you." + +The corporal grinned. + +"Haven't you heard that?" he said. "A British Tommy wrote home that +he'd had pretty good luck through the war for he'd sent a dozen Germans +to Hades. The British censor scratched out the word, 'Hades' and wrote +above it, 'It is not permitted to refer to German headquarters'." + +The boys laughed. + +"And yet they say the British haven't a sense of humor," commented +Frank. + +"That's why I say," summed up the corporal, "that you've got to be +mighty careful in handling all these contraptions. A fool and his +fingers are soon parted." + +"Does he mean me?" asked Bart with a grin. + +"You've said something," agreed Billy, with unflattering frankness. + +The corporal strolled on. + +"Fine fellow, that Wilson," remarked Frank. + +"He's all of that," agreed Billy, who having been with him when the +regiment was on the Mexican border knew him better than his companions +did. "That fellow could lick his weight in wildcats. There isn't +anything he's afraid to tackle. I heard a story about him once that +you fellows wouldn't believe if I told you." + +"Let's hear it," said Bart. + +"Shoot," chimed in Tom. "We'll see about believing it after we've +heard what it is." + +"It happened down in Nicaragua," went on Billy. "Caribtown, I think it +was, or some place near there. There was some little dinky revolution +going on and Wilson it seems had gone down there on some filibustering +expedition. He drank pretty freely in those days though he doesn't +touch a drop now. + +"It seems he was in one of the town resorts when he heard talk about a +boa constrictor that had recently been captured and confined in a big +cage. The snakes down there don't measure more than ten or twelve +feet, but they can easily crush a man if they get their coils around +him. + +"Wilson just then had got into a condition where he was ready to fight +a regiment, and he sneered at their fear of the snake. They egged him +on until he boasted that he would be willing to meet the snake in a +close room with nothing but a knife. The riffraff there called his +bluff and it was arranged that the fight should take place the next +morning." + +"Some contract!" ejaculated Tom. + +"Is this straight goods, Billy, or are you getting us on a string?" +asked Bart suspiciously. + +"On the dead level," answered Billy. "I had it from a fellow who was +down there at the time and knew all about it." + +"Stop chinning, you fellows, and let Billy get on with his story," +commanded Frank. "He's just getting to the creepy part now and I want +to know how the thing turned out." + +"Well," continued Billy, "when Wilson woke up the next morning he +realized what he was up against. But he was as game as a pebble, and +though he knew the odds were against him he wouldn't back out. + +"The snake, that had been teased and irritated until it was bursting +with rage, was dumped from its cage into a back room of the resort. +Then Wilson, armed only with a long knife that they had lent him, went +in and shut the door behind him, while the natives crowded around the +windows to see the fight. + +"The instant the snake saw Wilson he reared up almost to the ceiling +and flung himself at the man's throat. Wilson dodged and the fangs +caught him in the shoulder. Wilson slashed savagely at the coils that +were trying to coil themselves around his body and they staggered +around the room. But the knife failed to reach a vital spot and +finally one of the folds got around Wilson's legs and he fell to the +floor, still stabbing savagely. The snake had won the first round, and +it promised to be the last." + +There was a gasp from Billy's listeners but their interest was too +tense to permit of any interruption. + +"Just then," continued Billy, "something happened. One of the natives +who had a little more humanity than the rest of the crowd had sculled +off to an American gunboat that was lying in the harbor, and told of +the scrap that was going to be pulled off. The captain sent over a +squad of marines with a rush and they got there just in time to break +in the door and hack the snake to pieces with their cutlasses. Another +minute and it would have been all over. As it was, Wilson was +unconscious, and it was some weeks before he came around ship-shape." + +"What a daring thing that was to do!" ejaculated Frank. + +"He certainly was there with the nerve!" exclaimed Bart. + +"I'll bet he hasn't had any use for snakes since then," added Tom. + +"In one way it was a good thing," said Billy, "for it made Wilson swear +off from drinking and he's never touched liquor since. You see how he +is now, as steady as a church." + +"Well," commented Bart, "he'll have all the fighting he wants from now +on." + +"Yes," agreed Frank with a laugh, "with snakes that wear helmets." + +"Look who's here, boys!" exclaimed Tom suddenly, as they saw four +soldiers approaching with a prisoner under guard. + +"Why, it's Nick Rabig!" they exclaimed in unison as they recognized the +burly figure that slouched sullenly along between the quartette +guarding him. + +"What has he been up to, now, I wonder?" questioned Billy curiously as +they sauntered forward to intercept the party. + +Rabig favored them with a scowl that had rarely been absent from his +face since he had been caught in the draft. + +"What's the trouble?" asked Frank of the leader of the file, whom he +happened to know. + +"Insubordination," was the terse response. "Refused to salute an +officer." + +"Putting him in the jug on general principles," volunteered another, +who was more communicative. "He's been shirking ever since he got +here." + +"A bad egg," added the third. "It's lucky there aren't many of his +type among the boys. The Huns would have an easy job if they were all +like him." + +They passed on to the building that served as a guardhouse, and which, +be it said to the credit of the boys in France, had very few inmates. +For the discipline of the camp was strict and the spirit of the men was +good. They felt that they stood to the French for what America was and +they tried to live up to the high standards laid down for them by +generations of American ancestors. + +"I think that's the best place for Nick," commented Tom as the doors +closed behind the prisoner. "He's a surly brute and he might affect +others. One rotten apple in a barrel can spoil the whole barrelful." + +"He's no good," said Bart. "Remember how he used to talk on the other +side? I'll bet at this minute he'd rather be wearing a Prussian helmet +than an American uniform." + +"Sure thing," said Billy. "'_Die Wacht am Rhine_' is the only music he +cares to hear." + +At this moment Corporal Wilson returned with a paper in his hand upon +which he had been noting down the assignments of the day. + +"Two of you fellows are in for guard duty," he said, consulting his +list. "You, Sheldon, and Raymond will serve till after mess." + +He passed on and Bart made a wry face when his back was turned. + +"Sweet job!" he muttered. + +"Orders are orders," replied Frank, as they shouldered their guns and +marched down to the guardhouse. + +They began to pace back and forth, exchanging a word now and then at +the point where their beats adjoined. + +Nick Rabig was lounging at the barred window in an evil temper. If +anything could have added to his anger it was the fact that the two +young soldiers he most detested had been chosen to stand guard over him +and witness his humiliation. + +Frank's generous nature sensed the prisoner's feeling, and he +studiously avoided catching his glance or taking any notice of him. + +But Rabig, incapable of appreciating Frank's motive, chose to interpret +this as studied contempt, and his rage flamed forth in a coarse epithet +that Frank only half caught but that brought him up all standing. + +"What's that you said?" he demanded quickly. + +"None of your business!" snarled Rabig, but before the glint in Frank's +eyes he did not venture to repeat the insult. + +"Now look here, Rabig," said Frank, sternly. "Cut out that sort of +stuff. I heard what you said and if you were outside here and weren't +in uniform I'd thrash you within an inch of your life." + +"Talk is cheap," sneered Rabig. "Why didn't you do it when you were on +the other side? You had chance enough." + +"I had my reasons," replied Frank, "but they're reasons that a fellow +like you couldn't appreciate. As it was, you came within an inch of +getting what was coming to you. Some day you will get it, Rabig, and +when I cut loose you'll know there's something doing!" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +A RATTLING BOUT + +Just then the officer of the day approached. Rabig slunk away from the +window while Frank resumed his pacing, and the episode ended then and +there. + +At the end of three days Rabig's term expired and he was sent back +again to his place in the ranks, somewhat subdued in manner though +really unchastened in spirit. + +His hatred of Frank was unabated and in fact seemed to have taken on +extra bitterness since the sharp exchange at the guard-house. He +seldom passed Frank without a sneer on his lip or an ugly gleam in his +eye, which betrayed the smoldering fires within. + +Frank, on his part, bore no rancor. His nature was too open and +healthy to nurse a grudge, and although he avoided speaking to Rabig, +he seldom thought of him except when the exigencies of military duty +threw them together. + +"You're as popular as the smallpox with that gink," said Billy one day, +after Rabig had passed them with his usual malignant stare at Frank. + +"You want to keep your eyes open, Frank," added Tom, who, knowing Rabig +better than Billy, distrusted him profoundly. "He's got something up +his sleeve." + +"I don't think it would be safe to be alongside him in the trenches," +put in Bart. "Especially on a dark night. It's an easy thing there to +slip a bullet into a man you don't like, and charge it up against the +Germans." + +"Oh, shucks!" laughed Frank, "Rabig's pretty bad but he isn't as bad as +that." + +Several weeks went by, weeks of strain and hard work that were rapidly +converting the new army into a first-class fighting machine. + +But "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and the officers saw +to it that there was plenty of entertainment for the men when the hard +day's work was over. + +There were improvised vaudeville entertainments and, as there were many +actors in the ranks, including some whose names were famous, the +performances were really good. + +Then too, there were boxing matches, which were perhaps the most +popular of all. The boys themselves took part in these and there was a +good deal of rivalry, all of it good-natured, among the representatives +of the various companies and regiments in camp. + +The Government had been quick to recognize the value of boxing, not +only as a physical exercise, but because it aided vastly in the bayonet +drill. + +The two contests closely resembled each other and excellence in one +meant excellence in both. There was the same sparring for advantage, +feinting, alternate advance and retreat, evading and covering up, +attacking and defending. + +And because of this, every camp had its official boxing instructor and +the sport formed part of the regular drill. + +Great care was taken to avoid any brutal element. The rounds were +limited to two minutes each and the men were cautioned against letting +go with all their weight. + +It was a matter of points secured by skill, and it was closely akin to +a fencing bout with buttons on the foils to avoid any serious injury. + +Frank had always had a fondness for the sport even before he joined the +army. He and Bart had often put on the gloves in a friendly bout at +the Camport gymnasium. He was as quick as a cat on his feet, a good +judge of distance, and unerring in picking out the weak points of his +opponent's offense. + +Under the skillful training that he received from McGrath, who was a +well-known amateur boxer and had been put in charge of the athletic +sports of the camp where the boys were stationed, he had made +surprising progress and was admitted to be easily the best soldier with +the gloves in his own special battalion. + +One night a boxing programme had been staged for Frank's regiment and a +series of interesting bouts was looked for. + +"Are you going on to-night, Frank?" asked Bart. + +"Yes," Frank replied. "And I feel in dandy shape. I never felt more +full of pep than I do just now." + +"Who's McGrath going to put against you?" asked Tom. + +"I'm slated to meet Thompson, of company F," replied Frank. + +"And he's a crackajack, too," put in Billy. "He cleaned up the champs +of all the other companies when the old Thirty-seventh was down on the +Mexican border. You've got your work cut out for you, Frank." + +And Billy's prediction was verified, for on that night Frank found that +Thompson was an opponent to be reckoned with. It was a slashing, +four-round bout with the scales hanging even most of the time, but in +the closing round Frank had a shade the better of it and was announced +the victor. + +Amid tumultuous handclapping of company B, whose champion he was, Frank +waved his hand smilingly and was about to go off the platform when +Corporal Wilson, who was acting as master of ceremonies, stopped him +with a gesture. + +"Pretty well winded, Sheldon?" he asked. + +"Not a bit," laughed Frank. "I'm as fresh as a daisy. Like John Paul +Jones, I've just begun to fight." + +"That's good," smiled Wilson, "because I'm short a match. One of the +pair who were to come on after you and Thompson is rather under the +weather and the doctor won't let him take part, though he's game as a +fighting cock and wants to go on anyway. If you felt in shape for it I +thought perhaps you might help out by taking on some other fellow for a +few minutes so that the boys won't be disappointed." + +"Sure thing," said Frank. "Bring him along." + +"I haven't got anyone picked out, just this minute," said the corporal +a little perplexedly. + +"Send out a call for volunteers," Frank suggested. "It will make it +all the more interesting." + +"That's the idea," said the corporal. "Any of you fellows want to put +on the gloves with Sheldon?" he called out. + +There was a momentary hush and then a figure rose from the throng and +Nick Rabig pushed his way through to the platform. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +PAYING A DEBT + +Frank gave a start of surprise as he saw who his opponent was to be, +and Bart, who was acting as Frank's second, leaned over him with a word +of warning. + +"Keep your eye peeled, Frank," he advised. "You know what Rabig is and +the way he feels toward you. This is just a scheme of his to get even. +He isn't coming up here for a friendly bout. He wants to show you up +and knock you out if he can." + +"Oh, I don't know," said Frank, unconcernedly. "But if he tries on +anything like that I'll give him all he's looking for." + +Rabig's second, Werner, one of the few friends he had in the regiment +and who like himself was suspected of pro-German leanings, or at least +lukewarmness in the service, took a long time in putting on his +principal's gloves, and Bart, who was watching him with the eye of a +hawk, stepped across the platform to witness the operation. + +"Let me look at those gloves," he demanded. + +"What's the matter with them?" growled Werner. + +"This is the matter with them," said Bart, as he pointed to the part +just above where the knuckles came and where the stuffing of the glove +had been kneaded aside so that a blow given would be almost like one +with the bare fist. + +"None of that skin-tight business here," said Bart. + +He pounded the glove until it was normal and then handed it back, not +going to his own corner, however, until they had been fastened on +Rabig's hands to his own satisfaction. + +"That cur can't play fair in anything," he remarked to Frank as he came +back. + +The bell rang and the men came from their corners toward the center of +the platform. + +Frank extended his hand in the customary greeting but Rabig refused to +take it. There was a stir in the audience. + +"Looks like a grudge fight," remarked one, with quickened interest. + +"It does on Rabig's part," assented his neighbor. "But if it comes to +that I'm betting on Sheldon to trim him." + +The boxers sparred for a moment, Frank cool and smiling, Rabig surly +and furious. Then Frank found an opening and landed a deft uppercut +that shook Rabig from head to foot. + +He rushed at Frank like a mad bull but Frank cleverly side-stepped and +countered with a left to the ear. Of the two Rabig was the heavier and +in Camport had won a reputation as a rough and tumble fighter. + +Stung by Frank's cleverly planted blows, he threw what little science +he had to the winds and the next minute the two were at it, hammer and +tongs. + +"I'll do you!" Rabig panted, as he slugged right and left, vainly +endeavoring to get through Frank's guard. + +"Go as far as you like," retorted the latter, emphasizing the retort +with a left jab that nearly lifted Rabig off his feet. + +The bell that announced the end of the round found Rabig winded by his +furious endeavors. But Frank, though breathing a little heavily, was +serene and confident, as he returned to his corner. + +"I told you he was in dead earnest," said Bart, as his principal sat +down on his stool for a minute's rest. "Look out for fouls, Frank. +He'll do anything to down you." + +In the round that followed, Bart's warning was amply justified. Rabig +in one of the clinches, as he leaned on Frank's shoulder, tried to bite +and he butted continually. + +"Cut that out, Rabig," warned Frank in a low tone, after the latter had +twice used his head as a battering ram. "My patience won't last +forever." + +"I'll get you yet!" gasped Rabig. + +Once more he drove his head at Frank's chin and the latter, now +thoroughly aroused by the foul tactics, let fly his right and caught +his burly adversary fairly on the point of the jaw. + +Down went Rabig like a shot. Frank generously reached out his hand to +help him to his feet, but Rabig struck it away and just here Corporal +Wilson intervened. + +"That'll do," he commanded. "We don't want any knockout. Sheldon +wins." + +Frank with a smile and wave of the hand stripped off his gloves and +left the platform, to be pounded and mauled in exultation by his +admiring comrades. + +Meanwhile, Rabig slunk away followed by hisses and jeers at the foul +tactics that after all had only resulted in the beating he so richly +deserved. + +"You trimmed him good, Frank," cried Tom exultantly. + +"You went around him like a cooper around a barrel," jubilated Billy. + +"I guess if you owed him anything, you've paid the score," chuckled +Bart. "I've been aching for months to see that bully get what was +coming to him." + +"I didn't want to hurt him," said Frank, good-naturedly. "But when he +came butting at me that way and even trying to bite, I simply had to +lace him. But even now I haven't a bit of grudge against the fellow." + +"He'll sing small after this," prophesied Tom. "But all the same, +Frank, keep your weather eye open. He'll do you a mischief if he ever +gets the chance." + +It was just after the noonday mess the next day, and the boys were +chatting in front of the mill, when Frank, looking carelessly down the +road, gave a startled exclamation. + +"Look what's coming, fellows!" he cried. + +They came up all standing and looked in the direction indicated. + +"By the great horn spoon!" ejaculated Tom. "Have I got the delirium +tremens?" + +"It's a nightmare," declared Billy. + +Up the dusty road was coming the weirdest creation that the boys had +ever seen. It looked like a great hulking rhinoceros. It moved along +slowly and ponderously, as though it were straining under a burden too +heavy to be borne. + +The sun reflected from its sides showed that it was coated with metal. +There were openings in the armor through which the muzzles of machine +guns protruded. Around its huge wheels there passed what seemed to be +a broad endless chain that formed a path on which the wheels traveled. +There was no driver to be seen and it came lumbering along like a blind +monster feeling its way. But although its progress was leisurely it +was sure, and the boys as they watched it gathered an impression of +almost irresistible force. + +"I've read of the car of Juggernaut," muttered Tom as it came nearer, +"and I guess this must be it." + +"It's going into the ditch!" exclaimed Bart, as the monster gave a +lurch into a deep depression at the side of the road. + +"It'll topple over sure!" prophesied Billy. + +But the prophecy proved false for the car righted itself from an almost +impossible angle and came on as doggedly as before. + +Just before it got to where the boys were standing it came to a halt, a +door opened and a young fellow of about their own age leaped out. + +He was strong and well built, with hair that crisped in curly waves +close to his head and a pair of merry blue eyes that spoke of fun and +good fellowship. + +"Hello, fellows!" he exclaimed, waving the formality of an introduction +and wiping the perspiration from his forehead. "My, but it's hot in +there!" + +They crowded round him in eager curiosity. + +"Where did you dig up this rig?" asked Billy. "Is it real or is it all +a hideous dream?" + +The newcomer laughed. + +"You don't seem to be stuck on my pet," he grinned. "I'll admit she +isn't much on beauty, but when she comes to scrapping she's a holy +terror." + +"She looks it," agreed Frank. "I'd hate to have her bump up against me +when she was in a bad temper." + +"That's the way the Huns feel," laughed their new acquaintance. "They +haven't any use for tanks. You ought to see the way we got 'em in the +battle of the Somme." + +"Were you there?" asked Tom. + +"Very much there," was the answer. "This old rascal of mine was right +in the thick of it." + +"You English have all the luck!" exclaimed Bart enviously. + +"English nothing," replied the operator. "I'm an American just as you +are. My name is Stone, Will Stone, and I was born in Detroit." + +"Bully!" exclaimed Frank, and there was a general handshake and +introductions all around. + +"But how did you get over here before the rest of us?" queried Bart. + +"Well," laughed Will, "you know Windsor in Canada is just across the +river from Detroit and I slipped across and enlisted with the Canadian +troops. I knew a good deal about automobiles--everybody in Detroit +does, because there are so many plants there--and when these tanks were +ready for use and they called for volunteers I was Johnny-on-the-spot." + +"You chose a hot branch of the service, all right," commented Tom. "If +you were looking for excitement I guess you got it." + +"You're a good guesser," grinned Will. "When you're climbing over +trenches and crashing through walls and rooting up trees, with bullets +pattering against the sides like hailstones on a roof, the fellow who +can't get enough excitement out of it is pretty hard to please. But +come along, you fellows, and I'll show you over the old shebang if you +care to look at it." + +They needed no second invitation, and for the next half hour there was +a volley of questions and answers as they examined the offensive and +defensive qualities of the grim monster that had carried consternation +into the German ranks. + +"Well, so long, fellows," said Will, when at last he climbed into the +tank and set its unwieldy bulk in motion. "Here's hoping that we meet +again soon." + +"In Berlin, if not sooner!" Frank shouted after him. + +A few days later one of the French colonels visited the camp. After +his formal reception by the American officers he made a tour of +inspection, going among the men, looking over the barracks and asking +innumerable questions. + +There was an absence of pomp and ceremony about him that was +characteristic of the French officers who, perhaps more than those of +any other nation, live on terms of simple comradeship with their men, +and the boys, to use Billy's phrase, "cottoned to him" at once. + +Unfortunately he knew little English and as the boys knew still less +French, conversation was halting and difficult. The officer's delight +then, can be imagined when, on addressing a question to Frank, the +latter responded in French as pure as his own. + +"Why, my boy," said Colonel Pavet, "you speak as though you were a son +of France." + +"A stepson, perhaps," replied Frank, smilingly. "For my mother is a +daughter of France!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A PROMISE OF HELP + +There was a gratified exclamation from Colonel Pavet, and a new light +came into his eyes. The magic name of France had abolished for the +moment all distinctions of rank. The officer reached out his hand and +took Frank's in a hearty grasp. + +"Then you are fighting for two countries," he ejaculated. + +"Yes," laughed Frank. "I'm luckier than most of the fellows." + +"In what part of the country was your mother born?" asked the colonel +with interest. + +"In Auvergne," Frank replied. + +"In Auvergne," repeated the officer, with vivacity. "Why I come from +that part of the country myself. What was your mother's family name?" + +"De Latour," said Frank. + +"There is another coincidence," cried the colonel. "I know the family +well. Their estate was only a few miles south of ours. Her father was +an old comrade in arms and served in the same regiment with me when we +were stationed in Algiers. + +"Many's the time we've ridden and messed and fought together against +the Bedouins. He's dead now," he continued, a slight shade crossing +his face. "How proud he would have been were he alive to know that his +grandson was fighting for France. + +"Let me see," he went on. "I've been a long time away from Auvergne +but it seems to me that when I was last there, I heard some talk of +trouble in settling his estate--some lawsuit or other, that tied the +property up. Do you know anything about it?" + +"Yes," replied Frank. "My mother has been worrying over it for some +time past. She was just about to sail for France to see about it when +the war broke out." + +He rapidly sketched the details of the legal trouble with which his +mother had made him familiar. The officer listened attentively and +with marked sympathy. + +"It is too bad," said Colonel Pavet. "I will see what I can do. I +have a good many friends in Auvergne and there are many, too, who honor +the name and memory of De Latour and would do all in their power to +help his daughter. + +"And when I tell them that their daughter's son is fighting on our soil +they will redouble their efforts. Count on me, my boy. This terrible +war may delay matters but I will not forget." + +The too parted then, leaving Frank with his heart beating faster at the +thought of what might come from this most unexpected meeting. + +Now he would have something to write home to his mother that would +thrill her heart. That very night the letter should be written, the +letter that was so eagerly awaited, always, in that lonely house at +Camport, but that this time would receive even a more joyous welcome +than usual. + +What a strange twist of fate it would prove if this trip to France, +undertaken in a spirit of pure patriotism, should reap a double reward +in lifting the burden that had weighed upon his mother's heart for +years! + +One day a sham battle had been planned that embraced a front several +miles in length and Frank's company was detailed to take up a position +in a wood at the extreme left of the line. + +The boys welcomed the assignment, for it was to carry them into a +section of the country that had up to now been unfamiliar to them, and +it afforded a diversion from the ordinary drill of the training camp. + +They set off in high spirits after a hearty breakfast, and after a hike +of four miles reached the bit of woodland where they were supposed to +await the attack of the enemy. + +"Gee!" exclaimed Frank, as he filled his lungs with the balsam of the +woods, "this is great. It's enough just to be alive on a glorious +morning like this." + +"It's a little bit of Eden," declared Bart, as he looked about him. +"Listen to those birds singing. If it weren't for the boom of cannon +off there you wouldn't know there was such a thing as war in the world." + +"Yes," chimed in Tom, "but there was a snake in Eden, and there's +another one in the world now, that's got to be scotched before the +world can rest in peace." + +"Well, these woods have escaped so far," said Billy, as he looked +around at the noble elms and birches. + +"Yes," assented Bart, "and I guess they're safe. The German tide has +come a good way into France, but I have a hunch that it's about spent +its force." + +"If the Huns get here they'll have to come over our dead bodies," said +Tom. + +It was some time before, in the plan for the sham battle, the enemy was +expected to approach this copse of woods, and, with sentries posted, to +detect and give warning of an approach, the rest of the men had been +permitted to break ranks and do as they pleased. Some had thrown +themselves on the ground in all sorts of sprawling attitudes, others +were smoking and chatting together, while still others wandered to the +edge of the woods and gazed over the broad plateau that stretched for +more than a mile to the left of the woods. The sky was cloudless and +the sun was shining brightly. + +The monotonous boom of the distant guns, sounding like the roar of +waves upon a beach, kept up unceasingly, but the boys had got so used +to it that they scarcely noticed it. + +But suddenly, among these bass notes came another sound, or series of +sounds, sharp, shrill, metallic, which they had already learned to +identify as the popping of anti-aircraft guns. + +"That sounds as though they had sighted one of the Hun aeroplanes," +commented Frank. + +"More likely it's part of the practice," remarked Tom, carelessly. + +"Look at those shrapnel puffs over there," cried Bart, pointing toward +the sky. + +High up in the air, following one another in quick succession, were +light, bluish streaks, that after reaching an enormous height, suddenly +burst in a cloud of white. + +"They're certainly firing at something," remarked Billy, "but for the +life of me I don't see what it is." + +"I do," cried Bart. "Look! just at the edge of that fleecy cloud. +It's so white you can hardly tell it from the cloud itself." + +They strained their eyes in the direction where Bart was pointing. +High up in the air, miles, it seemed, was a long, silver streak, shaped +like an immense cigar. At that height it seemed almost to hang in the +atmosphere, so gliding and imperceptible was its motion. And yet the +boys knew that it was really shooting along with the speed of an +express train. + +"A Zeppelin!" they shouted, in chorus. + +"A super-Zeppelin, or I miss my guess," observed Frank. "Look at the +size of it." + +"Oh, if the guns could only reach it!" exclaimed Bob. + +"No such luck," groaned Billy, "it's too far up. See! the shrapnel +puffs are half a mile below it." + +"It's on its way back to the German lines," remarked Frank, "and I +guess there's nothing to stop its getting there." + +"Been on a baby killing trip to Paris, I suppose," said Tom, bitterly. + +"More likely London, judging from the direction," estimated Billy. + +They watched the monster as it sailed swiftly on, until it was lost to +sight. + +"I'd have given a year of my life to have seen that thing brought +down," said Bart. "Can't you see the crew of it gloating over the +women and children they've killed, and boasting about it when they get +back to their lines?" + +"Well, you know the Indians used to scalp women and children just as +eagerly as they did men," remarked Billy, "and those Boches can give +the Indians cards and spades and beat them out." + +They were about to go back to the grove, with one last regretful look +at the sky, when an exclamation from Frank brought them to a sudden +halt. + +"There's another one," he cried, pointing to the distant horizon. Even +as he spoke a second Zeppelin came plainly into view, following in the +wake of the first, but with greatly diminished speed. + +"Great Scott!" exclaimed Bart, "there must be a fleet of them!" + +"That one hasn't got off scot free, either," said Frank, his keen eye +noting the apparent distress of the giant airship, as it moved +uncertainly and unevenly, like a ship laboring in a storm. "By Jove, +fellows, I believe it's coming down! Quick! get under the cover of +these trees!" + +Lower and lower, like a bird with a broken wing, the Zeppelin came +toward the earth, while the boys watched it in breathless excitement. + +Whether the Zeppelin could go no further, and sank despite itself, or +whether its commander, looking at that broad plateau, and seeing no +sign of life upon it, had decided to make a landing, quickly repair his +injured machinery, and then rise again to seek refuge behind his own +lines, the boys could not tell. But whatever the reason, not many +minutes had passed before it became apparent that the airship was +coming down, inevitably, right in front of them. + +The word had been passed quickly all through the woods, and the whole +company was on the alert. + +"Ready for action, men," commanded the lieutenant. + +With rifles in hand, and all their senses keenly on the alert, the +soldiers waited for the coming of their prey. + +With a perceptible jar the airship struck the ground, and at the same +instant her crew swarmed out and dropped over the sides. + +"Charge!" shouted the American lieutenant, and out from the woods the +army boys went with a rush. + +The astounded Germans were taken so utterly by surprise that they stood +for a moment as though paralyzed. Then their commander barked out a +sharp order, and two of the men leaped on board and made for the +engines. + +Crack! went the lieutenant's revolver, and as the bullet whistled past +the ears of the foremost man both Germans came to a stop. + +"Forward, men, and surround them, but don't shoot unless you have to," +was the next order, and an instant later the German crew were ringed +about with rifles whose ominous muzzles threatened to mow them down at +the first false move. + +The German officer had started to draw a pistol, but seeing the +uselessness of this, he shoved it back into its holster and shrugged +his shoulders. He was trapped. The game was up. He raised his hands +in signal of surrender. + +Another command from the lieutenant, and the crew were disarmed. A +certain number of the men were detailed to guard them, and others were +placed in charge of the airship. + +The boys were wild with delight at the rich prize that had fallen so +unexpectedly into their hands. + +"We've had two great days, boys!" exclaimed Frank, "if we never have +any others. The day we saw the submarine potted, and the day we nabbed +the Zeppelin." + +"Glory, hallelujah!" crowed Bart. "And to think we've got it in such +good shape. The Allies have been crazy for a long time to find out +just what new wrinkles the Germans have got in the way of machinery and +other features in their latest Zeppelins. Maybe the engineers won't +come running when they learn of this!" + +"And maybe there won't be joy in Paris and London and Washington!" +jubilated Tom. + +"And perhaps the Huns won't gnash their teeth and tear their hair!" +chuckled Billy. "Oh, boy, we sure had luck when they sent us out here +this morning." + +"That German officer is a hard loser," remarked Frank. "See that scowl +on his face. A thundercloud has nothing on him. He's sore through and +through." + +The boys would have liked nothing better than to have had a chance to +explore the Zeppelin and see the many interesting and novel features +embodied in it, but their hopes in this direction were doomed to be +disappointed. The lieutenant was inflexible in his resolve to have +absolutely nothing on the captured airship disturbed until the +government experts arrived to inspect it, and sorely against their +wills the boys were forced to content themselves with an exterior view +of the wonderful fabric. + +The German officer, being utterly without means of escape, had not been +put under the custody to which his crew had been subjected. He stood +stiffly by the side of the American lieutenant, awaiting the +disposition that the latter might choose to make of him. + +The American officer sought to question him, but found his prisoner, +although able to speak English, inclined to reply only in +monosyllables. The courteous persistence of the American, however, had +its effect, and the German became more communicative, but he balked at +telling where he had been, or what his raid had accomplished. After +answering a number of questions of lesser importance, the German +himself became the questioner. + +"To what enemy have I surrendered?" he queried. + +"To a regiment of the United States Army," replied the lieutenant. + +A bewildered look came into the prisoner's eyes. + +"You mean British Army," he suggested, by way of correction. + +"I said United States," said the lieutenant, briefly. + +The puzzled look deepened. + +"Impossible!" he exclaimed. "There is no United States Army in France." + +Despite himself, the American officer could hardly suppress a smile. + +"Just listen to him!" exclaimed Frank, who was within hearing distance. + +"Didn't I tell you the Germans would believe anything their generals +told them?" replied Bart. + +"My, but this is rich!" chortled Tom. + +"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it," chuckled Billy, in +a tone too subdued for the lieutenant to notice. + +"I assure you," said the lieutenant, "that there is an army of the +United States in France, despite your unbelief. Why should it seem so +strange?" + +"But you couldn't possibly have gotten over here," persisted the +prisoner. + +"Why not?" asked the American. + +"Because our U-boats would have stopped you," was the reply. + +"No use," murmured Frank to Bart. "Nobody home." + +"Padded cell number nine hundred and ninety-nine," whispered Billy. + +It was of no use to argue against such credulity, and the lieutenant +gave it up. + +The prisoners were marched back to camp, where the news of their coming +had preceded them. It created a great sensation, and was the main +topic of conversation for many days thereafter. + +"It's been a red letter day," remarked Bart that night, as he prepared +to climb into his bunk. + +"You bet it has," agreed Frank. "We bagged a Zeppelin!" + +Two days after these momentous events, a stir of expectation ran +through the camp. Evidently some important move was in prospect. What +it was, the rank and file did not know, but rumors and conjectures ran +riot. + +"There's something big coming, boys," said Frank, one night after +supper. + +"That's plain enough," agreed Bart. "But I'd give a lot to know just +what it is." + +"The corporal gave me a private tip," replied Frank. "He didn't go +very far into it, but from what he hinted I have a hunch that none of +us will go to bed to-night." + +"What?" they cried, in chorus. + +"That's what," returned Frank. "But of course it may be a false alarm. +Wilson himself wasn't any too sure." + +An hour later the bugle blew, but this call was not for "lights out." +It was the command to "fall in." + +Sudden as it was, the high state of discipline the men had reached was +shown by the fact that there was no confusion. As precisely as veteran +soldiers they fell into line by companies and platoons and waited for +the order "Forward, march!" + +The order was not long in coming, and as quietly as ghosts, with no +band to lead them, the regiment swung into step and started off. + +"We're on our way to the front," whispered Frank to Bart, who marched +on his right. + +"Off to the trenches!" agreed Bart. "Well, I'm glad the waiting time +is over. Now, we'll have a chance to show what kind of soldiers we +are." + +For three whole hours the march went on without a halt. The night was +clear although there was no moon. As the ground was dry and springy +the going was good. + +During that last hour the signs had multiplied that they were +approaching the scene of battle. They passed by bits of woodland where +every leaf and twig had been stripped from the trees by shell fire, +leaving only the scarred and ghastly trunks. + +They went through villages, or what had once been villages, but were +now only heaps of crumbling stone with, here and there, a shaky wall +left standing. + +They had to watch their footing more and more to avoid falling into +craters where the ground had been torn up by shells. There was no +beauty in that part of fertile France that had once been like a "garden +of the Lord." + +War had breathed upon it, blighting and blasting every living thing, +except the dauntless spirit of the people who were fighting and would +fight to the last gasp in defense of liberty and civilization. + +At last they reached a line of sentinels by whom they were greeted, not +with challenges, but with exclamations of delight and welcome. + +A little further on they came to a great gash in the earth that +stretched in either direction like a huge black, zigzag blot. + +They had reached the trenches! + +But they did not stop there. Onward they went again, past another line +of trenches. + +"Gee! we must be going to the first line of trenches!" whispered Bart. + +"That's what!" answered Frank. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +FACING THE HUN + +Just this side of one of the lines of trenches the regiment halted at +the word of the commander. Then it stood at attention and presented +arms while from out the trenches came an endless line of men who had +held that trench for France and now were yielding their place to the +ardent young soldiers of the sister republic across the sea. + +There was a strong impulse to cheer on both sides, but that might have +betrayed to the enemy the change that was taking place in that sector +of the line, and this for strategic reasons, it was desirable to avoid. + +Soon the last of the war-worn veterans was lost in the darkness. Then, +with infinite caution the boys of the old Thirty-seventh marched into +the trenches, guided only by lanterns that waved low before them like +so many fireflies. + +So perfectly the movement had been planned, so carefully had been +mapped out in advance the exact location that each unit of the command +was to occupy, that, within an hour after the substitution had been +made, the entire regiment was placed, and, apart from those detailed +for duty, was sound asleep! + +Curiosity ran riot when the army boys woke in their unfamiliar +surroundings. At last they had reached the trenches, that magic word +that they had heard again and again in the daily discussions of the +last three years, and they studied every detail of their new +surroundings with the keenest interest and zest. + +Here they were to live, here some of them, beyond a question, were to +die. The thought was sobering, and on that first day there was little +of the gaiety and jest that had marked their life in the camps behind. + +"Well, Bart, old scout, we're in for it now," said Frank, after +breakfast, as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. + +"In for fair," responded Bart. + +"We're up against the real thing," added Billy. "We had a little taste +of trench life down in Mexico, but most of the life was in the open. +This is a different proposition." + +Just then a shell came screaming overhead and the boys involuntarily +ducked. + +"That seems to prove it," said Tom. + +"Bad shooting though," remarked Frank, coolly. "Fritz ought to have +the range better by this time." + +"There isn't very much of that sort of thing going on just now," +remarked Corporal Wilson, who came along just then. "This is what they +call a 'quiet sector.' The boys are just put here to be broken in and +get used to the sight and sound of the shells. This is a deaf and dumb +asylum compared to what you'll get later on." + +"Job's comforter," murmured Bart. "To hear the corporal talk you'd +think this was a rest cure." + +In the hours of liberty allowed them the army boys explored the +trenches for a long distance in either direction, and what they saw +tended to upset a good many of the notions they had formed. + +In a vague way they had figured the trench to be not much else than a +gigantic ditch. They found it to be an underground city. + +There was a bewildering labyrinth of passages branching off in every +direction. There were spacious rooms, fitted up in homely comfort, +some with pictures on the walls and rugs upon the floors. + +There were shower baths and laundries, rude in construction but +efficient in operation. The sleeping quarters of the men consisted +chiefly of bunks, rising in tiers, though in some cases, cots were used. + +There was an apparently endless series of communicating trenches with +the listening posts in advance of the main line. There were telephone +wires and electric lights. + +"The moles have got nothing on us," remarked Tom, as he noted the vast +extent of these subterranean passages. + +"It's like the catacombs of Rome," put in Billy. "The only difference +is that those contain dead men while we're very much alive." + +"Knock wood," counseled Bart. "We wouldn't be very long if the Boches +had their way." + +Along the side of the main trench, facing the enemy was a narrow +platform on which the men stood who were on watch. A series of +cunningly contrived loopholes enabled them to look over at the enemy +trenches without themselves being seen. + +Sand bags were piled on the top of the trench in numbers sufficient to +stop the flight of a bullet or even the impact of a shell. + +A series of steps led up to the top and the boys reflected as they +looked at them that before long their feet would be planted there when +the order should be given to go "_over the top_" and charge across the +intervening space to meet the enemy. + +The silent men standing on watch, gripping their muskets, their eyes +peering through the loopholes, seemed like so many statues. + +Each had his gas mask ready to clap on at an instant's notice, for when +that deadly poison should be wafted over the trench, one second of time +might mean all the difference between life and death. + +Before the day was over Frank and his comrades had replaced this line +of sentinels. They peered curiously across to the German trench from +which they were separated by not more than two hundred yards. + +There was absolutely nothing to be seen except the line of sand bags +that they knew marked the positions of the enemy. Nothing broke the +monotonous expanse of shell-torn earth. + +They had an uncanny feeling as though they were the only living +creatures left in the world. + +"It looks as though all the Germans had gone back to Berlin," remarked +Frank in an undertone. + +"Does it?" said the corporal grimly. "Give me your hat." + +He took the hat that Frank extended and lifted it above the parapet on +the point of a bayonet. + +Zip! came a bullet, missing the helmet by a hair and thudding into one +of the sand bags. + +"Take it all back," said Frank as he resumed his hat. "They're on the +job!" + +A week passed by with only two casualties on the American side, for the +sector was indeed a quiet one. But certain signs of a projected +movement on the part of the enemy had made the American officers +uneasy, and one day Corporal Wilson called Frank apart. + +"Sheldon," he said, "Captain Baker has ordered me to take a squad of +men on the first dark or foggy night for patrol duty in No Man's Land. +I want you, Raymond, Bradford and Waldon to go with me." + +"Good," said Frank, promptly. "We'll be ready." + +He sought out his comrades and eagerly imparted the information. They +received it with delight. + +"Bully!" cried Bart. + +"Best news I've heard since Hector was a pup!" chortled Billy. + +"Here's hoping we'll slip one over on Fritz!" chuckled Tom, gleefully. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +IN NO MAN'S LAND + +It was a misty, muddy night upon which the reconnoitering party, +including Frank, Bart, Billy and Tom, was sent out under Corporal +Wilson, with orders to get as close as possible to the enemy's line and +learn all they could regarding their positions. + +This included information in regard to the general direction of the +enemy trenches, the extent and strength of his barbed wire +entanglements and, if possible, the approximate force with which the +trenches were manned. + +Of course, this order involved taking pretty long chances, but the +picked men sent out did not give much thought to that side of the +question. By now it was all, not only a part of the day's work to +them, but the excitement of such an expedition was, in truth, something +of a relief from the growing monotony of trench life. + +They left their own trenches with the least possible sound and crept +cautiously forward toward the enemy defences. The night was heavy and +starless, an excellent one for their project. + +The soft earth deadened their footsteps and they slipped forward like a +company of ghosts, hardly a sound breaking the stillness save the +distant roar of the heavy guns that caused the ground to quiver and +tremble under their feet. + +The mist enveloping them began to grow denser minute by minute and +before they had gone more than a hundred yards it was with the greatest +difficulty that they kept from becoming separated. + +It was an uncanny experience for the young, almost untried soldiers, +and the Camport boys were excited, and each eager to prove himself +worthy of having been chosen for the work. + +Suddenly Frank thought he heard a subdued sound on his right and +instinctively stopped a moment to locate it more definitely. + +In that second his comrades, who apparently had heard nothing, were +swallowed up in the thickening fog. Frank's impulse was to hasten +after them but he had hardly taken a step forward when he was again +halted by a repetition of the noise he had heard before. + +He dared not call out to his comrades as he knew that such a cry would +betray them all in case they were near the enemy trenches. His next +thought was to return to his own lines, but the sound he had heard, +surprisingly like the low-pitched gutturals of a German voice, made him +unwilling to go back without investigating the matter further. +Besides, here was the beginning of an adventure after his own heart, +and he thought with a quickening pulse of the satisfaction that would +be his if he could, unaided, gather valuable information and take it +back to his commanding officer. + +This reflection decided him and slowly and with infinite caution he +stole in the direction from which the sounds seemed to come. + +He had not gone far when his first impression was verified. Through +the mist he heard distinctly the subdued sound of voices. Creeping on +still farther as quietly and stealthily as a jungle animal, he could +finally catch the articulation in the voices, and he knew the language +spoken was German. + +"I must be mighty near their entanglements by this time," he thought +excitedly. "If I can only get through them I ought to be able to hear +something. Here goes for a try at it anyway." + +He dropped to hands and knees, regardless of the sticky mud, and wormed +his way along, one hand outstretched feeling for the wire that he knew +must be close. Sure enough he had not gone ten feet when his hand came +in contact with the wire. He dropped flat on the ground and carefully +drew his wire cutters from his belt. Cautiously he nipped a section +out of the lowest strand and crawled beneath. He knew that he would +soon come to a second line, and when he reached it he cut it in the +same way he had the first, and then cut a third and a fourth. + +"That's probably the last fence," he thought, nor was he mistaken. + +He was now close to the enemy's trench and could hear the subdued +murmur of voices. Above these came every now and then a sharp word of +command and the click of gun mechanisms being inspected together with +other sounds indicating a state of bustle and preparation. + +To Frank lying prone on the miry ground, these sounds conveyed a very +definite and significant message. + +"They're up to something sure as shooting!" he thought. "I'll bet +they're preparing for an attack on our trenches! They're all as busy +as bees!" + +He lay quiet a minute longer until the sounds of preparation increased +to such an extent that he felt sure the Germans would soon be on the +move. + +"About time for me to hunt cover," he thought with a grin that even his +perilous position could not repress. "The sooner I get out of this and +warn our men the better it will be." + +With this thought in mind he turned cautiously about and had started +back when suddenly he saw something that made his heart lose a beat. + +All over the wire entanglements that lay across his path of escape long +sparks were leaping and hissing with a subdued crackling sound like the +snapping of a wood fire. The Germans had electricified their wires in +the hope of entrapping any scouting party of Americans who might chance +to penetrate them! + +Now indeed Frank found himself in a terrible predicament. He knew that +in the maze of wires he could hardly hope to find the place where he +had entered, and he was sure that with the heavy current in the wires +it would be certain death to touch them with his clippers. On the +other hand he knew that the current would be shut off only a minute or +so before the Boches left their trenches to attack. He would hardly +have time to cut his way out before being discovered and shot. + +However his only chance seemed to be to lie still and await +developments. This he did, resolving to make a dash the second the +current was cut off. + +As he lay there his ears caught the sound of measured footsteps +approaching him. + +"It's a sentry!" flashed through his mind. His hand flew to the +bayonet at his side and he prepared to strike quick and hard. + +But then another thought came to him. There must be a way through the +entanglements that the Germans used. If he could capture the sentry he +might be able to make him act as a guide. + +It was a chance--and a desperate chance. Would the sentry prove to be +alert and resourceful? Would his love of the Fatherland, or at least +his training that the individual must be always subservient to the +government, cause him to give the alarm at the expense of his personal +safety? Or would he be slow to think and act, and would the very +training, having undermined his self-reliance, make him yield to the +quick intelligence and the poise that freedom had given to the American? + +Noiselessly he shifted his hand to his revolver and drew it forth. He +knew that it would be fatal to risk a shot, but he grasped the barrel +of the weapon and as the heavy footsteps came abreast of him leaped to +his feet and brought the butt down with stunning force on the head of +the dim stolid figure that loomed through the mist. + +The man dropped without a cry but Frank listened anxiously to judge if +the sound of his fall had reached the trenches. Apparently it had not, +and satisfied of this the young American turned his attention to the +inert figure at his feet. + +Presently the man stirred and then in a dazed fashion started to +struggle to his feet. Quick as lightning the cold muzzle of Frank's +revolver was pressed against the German's neck speaking a language that +all men understand. The soldier stood quite still and Frank felt that +the man, unstrung by the unexpected attack, would not risk death by +giving an alarm. + +He was at a loss to convey a command to the German to show him the way +out through the barbed wire. He knew little of the German language. +But it occurred to him that possibly the German could speak English. + +"Show me the way out of this," he commanded, speaking very slowly. "Do +you understand?" + +"_Yah, yah,_" mumbled the German. "I vill show you, only don't shoot. +Dis way. Follow me." + +"I'll follow you and mighty close too," Frank assured him. "One false +move and you'll never make another." + +The German made no reply but crawled sullenly through the mud, Frank +following with the muzzle of the gun pressing the man's leg. + +Soon the German paused at what appeared to be a sort of gate but would +have seemed like any part of the fence to one not acquainted with it. +After a moment's fumbling the gate swung open and captor and captive +crawled through. In the same way they got through the other lines of +wire. Frank was once more in the open and the proud possessor of a +prisoner besides. + +"Forward march!" commanded the young American. "We will now visit +those pigs of Yankees you fellows are so fond of talking about. I know +they will be glad to see you." + +The big German only hunched his shoulders and went on doggedly. In a +little while they were near the American trenches and after answering +the sentry's challenge they clambered down. + +Frank was met with a wild rush by Bart, Billy and Tom, who had been +almost crazy with anxiety because of his failure to return. + +"Where have you been, Frank?" shouted Bart, "and where did you get the +Boche?" + +"I'll tell you when I get back, fellows," promised Frank. "Take care +of this Hun. I've got to report right away. I think the Huns are +going to attack." + +He hurried away and made his report. + +"You've done well, very well," declared Captain Baker. "And if the +enemy attacks, as you think likely, they will find us ready for them. +You may return to your company." + +Frank saluted and hastened back. Orders were issued, and soon every +man was at his post, strung up to the highest pitch of excitement and +expectancy. They strained their eyes through the baffling fog but for +a while could see or hear nothing. + +Then suddenly a white shaft of light stabbed through the fog and +piercing the damp folds revealed row after row of helmeted figures +moving toward them with a deliberation and menacing weight that might +well have struck terror to hearts less stout than theirs! + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A GALLANT EXPLOIT + +Crouched, tense, ready for the word, the American lads faced the foe. +A thrill of impatience ran through them as the enemy came nearer. + +Were they to wait there, until that grey wave overwhelmed them, pouring +into the trenches like a surging flood? + +The strain of waiting was becoming almost unbearable. + +The captain shouted a command, and up they scrambled like hounds freed +from the leash. But just as their leader reached the top he fell +headlong, stricken by a bullet. + +For a moment the men waited, uncertain, hardly knowing what to do. +Frank sensed the hesitation and like lightning he acted. + +It was no time to consider rank with that grey mass surging on. Above +the noise his voice rang out like a trumpet. + +"Come on, boys!" he shouted. "Over the top and at them!" + +At the same instant he leaped forward and his comrades followed. On +they rushed like an avalanche let loose. They were at Yankee fighting +pitch. + +All the pent-up rage that had been gathering for months leaped to the +fore. The fire that had stirred their ancestors at Bunker Hill and +Gettysburg burst into flame. + +Wounds? They scorned them. Death? They laughed at it! + +On they went like so many vikings. Faster, faster, rushing, pouring +onward--until with tremendous force they fell like a thunderbolt upon +the advancing ranks. + +Into that grey mass they forced their way, shooting, thrusting, +stabbing. And when their guns were empty, or they could not use their +bayonets, they grasped the weapons and swung them about their heads +like flails. + +There was a red mist before their eyes and red patches on their tunics. +Some of them fell but the others kept on stabbing, hacking, hewing +their way into the solid mass until that mass, veteran, as it was, +wavered and broke before the wild, irresistible charge. + +Slowly at first, then more swiftly, the enemy retreated, pursued to the +very edge of their trenches by the American boys, who, having tasted +blood, were not to be denied. + +They would have gone further but this was not in the plan of their +commanders, for the enemy's guns had got the range and a murderous fire +was being laid down. + +The enemy had had a trouncing that he would not soon forget. The +recall sounded, and the American boys turned back, reluctantly, +gathering up their wounded comrades as they came. + +Frank had been separated from his chums in the wild melee, and his +first thought as he neared the home trench was for their safety. His +relief was great when he found them, blackened, panting, their clothing +riddled, but they themselves unharmed, except for a slight wound that +Tom had received from a bullet that scarcely more than grazed his arm. + +Now that the reaction was upon them, they felt unspeakably weary, for +nerve and brawn had been taxed to the utmost. But in their eyes glowed +the light of victory. They had met the veteran troops of the Kaiser +and given them a taste of Yankee mettle. + +It was their first battle and they had borne themselves like men. + +Once more in the trenches and Tom's slight wound attended to, they +peered curiously over the scene of battle. They shuddered as they +looked, for there were still forms lying there that had not been there +when the battle began. Who of their own number had gone? Who from +that group of jolly, eager, vigorous young manhood with whom they had +been living and training for weeks and months--those whom they had come +to like and respect as they toiled and pleasured side by side in the +camp and in the trenches? + +And yet, not one of those who had come back alive from that awful +field, where had been left some of their comrades, but would have +gladly given his own life that selfishness, arrogance, and brutality +should not conquer and rule in this world. + +But they took comfort from the fact that despite their own losses, +which had been numerous, the greater proportion of those still forms +were German. + +The enemy's gun fire was still sending a rain of death across the +intervening space and the American guns were answering with equal vigor. + +It seemed as though no living thing could endure on that infernal plain. + +Suddenly Frank's keen eyes detected a movement on the part of one of +the apparently lifeless bodies and he gave a sharp exclamation. + +"Look there, Bart!" he said. "There's a man still alive. See how he's +trying to get up on his elbow--and he's one of our men, too. That is, +he's French--I can tell by his uniform," he added in great excitement, +as the light from a bursting star shell threw a ghastly radiance over +the field. + +The next instant he was clambering up the side of the trench. + +"Frank! Frank!" cried Bart desperately, clutching at him. "What are +you doing? Where are you going? It's certain death out there!" + +"I'm going, Bart," gritted Frank between his teeth as he tore away from +his friend's grasp, and leaped over the top! + +An instant more and he was on his hands and knees, making his way +toward the stricken man who was about twenty yards distant. + +Around him bullets rained. A pain shot through his shoulder as though +he had been stabbed by a red hot knife, but he kept on doggedly, +reached the wounded man and tried to lift him to his feet. + +But the effort was futile for the man sank back with a groan. Like a +flash Frank's muscular arms lifted him, threw him over his shoulder and +staggering, tripping, stumbling, yet somehow keeping his feet, he +reached the edge of the trench. + +A dozen eager hands relieved him of his burden and then he himself +tumbled in, to be caught by Bart and Billy. + +What happened in the next half hour, Frank scarcely knew. The wound in +his shoulder though not serious had bled freely, and his tremendous +efforts had taxed his strength to the utmost. + +His surprise was great when, having had his wound attended to, he was +ushered into the presence of the man he had saved. + +"Why, it is Colonel Pavet!" he gasped. Of course the French military +man was equally amazed. + +"It is fate!" he cried. "Fate, nothing less, my brave boy! How can I +ever thank you!" + +"You don't have to thank me," returned Frank modestly. + +"But I shall," and the French colonel grasped the young soldier's hand +tightly. He was still very weak and spoke with difficulty. + +"I am glad it was you, Sir," remarked the army boy. + +"It is fate, I tell you," murmured the colonel. "When I am well I +shall tell you more. I have heard from Auvergne, and all about the De +Latour estate, which is in the courts. You may have a fight to get +your rights, but--I am your friend. I shall fight for you and your +mother." + +"Then you think my mother's chances are good?" questioned Frank eagerly. + +"I am certain of it," was the colonel's low reply. Then he had to stop +talking, by the doctor's orders. + +And what was done in the near future to recover the estate, and how +Frank and his chum did their further duty as American soldiers, will be +told in the next volume, to be entitled: "Army Boys in the French +Trenches; Or, Hand to Hand Fights with the Enemy." + +When Frank came back to camp his friends hailed him as a veritable hero. + +"You're the goods!" cried Billy. + +"All wool and a yard wide!" came from Tom. + +"And American to the backbone, don't forget that!" added Bart. + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Army Boys in France, by Homer Randall + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMY BOYS IN FRANCE *** + +***** This file should be named 36424.txt or 36424.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/4/2/36424/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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