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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Jed's Boy - A Story of Adventures in the Great World War - -Author: Warren Lee Goss - -Release Date: August 17, 2020 [EBook #62956] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JED'S BOY *** - - - - -Produced by Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net -(Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University -(http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) - - - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_), and text -enclosed by equal signs is in bold (=bold=). - -Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end. - - * * * * * - -CIVIL WAR STORIES BY WARREN LEE GOSS - -=IN THE NAVY=, (7th Thousand) Illustrated, 399 Pages, =A Story of naval -adventures during the Civil war=. - - “_The Marine Journal_” says of it: “The author, takes as usual for - his fiction, a foundation of reality, and therefore the story reads - like a transcript of real life. There are many dramatic scenes, such - as the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac, and the reader - follows the adventures of the two heroes with a keen interest that - must make the story popular especially at the present time.” - -=TOM CLIFTON, A story of adventures in Grant and Sherman’s armies.= -(13th Thousand) Illustrated, 480 pages. 12mo. Cloth. - - “_The Detroit Free Press_” says of it, “The book is the very epitome - of what the young soldiers, who helped to save the Union, felt, - endured and enjoyed. It is wholesome, stimulating to patriotism and - manhood, noble in tone, unstained by any hint of sectionalism, full - of good feeling; the work of a hero who himself did what he saw and - relates.” - -=JACK ALDEN: Adventures in the Virginia Campaigns, 1861-65.= (12th -Thousand) Illustrated, 404 pages. - - “_The New York Nation_” says of it: “It is an unusually interesting - story. Its pictures of scenes and incidents of army life, from the - march of the 6th Massachusetts regiment through Baltimore to the - surrender at Appomattox, are among the best that we can remember to - have read.” - -=JED. A boy’s adventures in the army.= (28th Thousand) Illustrated, 402 -pages. 12mo. Cloth. - - “_The Boston Beacon_” among other complimentary remarks about this - book says: “Of all the many stories of the Civil War that have been - published--and their name is legion--it is not possible to mention - one which for sturdy realism, intensity of interest, and range of - narrative, can compare with Jed.” - -=A LIFE OF GRANT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.= Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth. - - “_The Christian Advocate_” (_Cincinnati_) says of it: “One of the - best lives of U. S. Grant that we have seen--clear, circumstantial, - but without undue and fulsome praise. The chapters telling of the - clouds of misfortune and suffering over the close of his life are - pathetic in the extreme.” - -=THE BOY’S LIFE OF GENERAL SHERIDAN.= Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth. - - The “_Living Church_” (_Milwaukee_) says of it: “The story of the - dashing officer in his war career and also afterwards--in his - campaigns among the Indians, form a thrilling story of American - leadership. The book contains a thorough review in thrilling language - of the various campaigns in which Sheridan made his mark.” - -Order from your bookseller. Send for Catalogue. - -THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY, NEW YORK - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: _Frontis._ “I GRIPPED MY NERVE AND SHUT MY TEETH. COULD -I REACH A PLACE OF SAFETY?”--Page 111.] - - * * * * * - - - - -JED’S BOY - - - A STORY OF ADVENTURES IN - THE GREAT WORLD WAR - - BY - WARREN LEE GOSS - - AUTHOR OF “JED,” “JACK ALDEN,” “TOM CLIFTON,” ETC. - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - NEW YORK - THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - * * * * * - -COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY - -THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY - - * * * * * - - DEDICATED - TO THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS - OF THE GREAT WORLD WAR - - - - -PREFACE - - -During the progress of the Great War, the writer has been often -requested by his boy friends and others, both by letter and verbally, -to write a book like “Jed” (“A Boy’s Adventures in the Army, ’61-’65”) -depicting the scenes of this later war. Some of them have even -suggested that he recreate some of the characters therein. To do this, -of course, was a logical impossibility, since those not killed in that -story would be too old for military service. Prompted, however, by -that demand, he has taken a nephew of Jed as the hero of this story. -Incited by his mother’s patriotism, and her recital of her brother -Jed’s heroism, he enlists and serves his country on the battlefields of -France. - -The author’s main purpose in writing this book, as with his other -books, is to stimulate a true spirit of Americanism. Patriotism thrives -best where it is best nourished, and is not a plant of accidental -growth. The Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic through their -exercises on Memorial and other patriotic days, and their teachings of -patriotism in the public schools, have been springs of liberty flowing -throughout the land nourishing a love of country in our youth. That all -this has borne fruit is shown by the spirit in which the boys of to-day -have sprung to the defence of human liberty in the great conflict of -their own time. - -We have been privileged to see the last shreds of hatred left over from -our Civil War burned away in a fervor of patriotism, that has sent the -sons of the Gray shoulder to shoulder with the sons of the Blue to the -defence of liberty on the fields of France and Belgium. - -If the writer has made clear that the young manhood of America has the -same spirit to-day as had their fathers, in our great conflict of the -sixties, and as had the Nathan Hales of the Revolution, he will have -satisfied his own aspirations. - -W. L. G. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. THE TRAMP BOY 1 - - II. WORKING ON THE FARM 9 - - III. IMPENDING WAR CLOUDS 15 - - IV. WITH THE COLORS 22 - - V. FROM CAMP TO TRANSPORT 31 - - VI. IN BEAUTIFUL FRANCE 43 - - VII. IN THE TRENCHES 53 - - VIII. “WHO COMES THERE?” 64 - - IX. A CALL RETURNED 73 - - X. IN REST BILLET 83 - - XI. A SIX WEEKS’ HIKE THROUGH FRANCE 91 - - XII. ON THE BATTLE LINES 99 - - XIII. IN THE TIDE OF BATTLE 106 - - XIV. THE CROIX DE GUERRE 114 - - XV. ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE 120 - - XVI. A STRANGE DESERTION 128 - - XVII. ANOTHER DESERTER 136 - - XVIII. A RAID ON THE ENEMY 143 - - XIX. THE GERMAN PEACE STORM 151 - - XX. AN ADVENTURE OF ARMS 161 - - XXI. IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY 169 - - XXII. HELD BY THE ENEMY 176 - - XXIII. A HAZARD OF FORTUNE 183 - - XXIV. LOOSE AMONG THE BOCHES 190 - - XXV. AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER 198 - - XXVI. A HOSPITAL CASE 208 - - XXVII. THE MIX-UP OF BATTLE 217 - - XXVIII. A MYSTERY SOLVED 224 - - XXIX. THE SUPREME SACRIFICE 230 - - * * * * * - -JED’S BOY - - - - -CHAPTER I THE TRAMP BOY - - -It was November, in the year 1914. The snow had come with the gloom of -twilight, and an angry wind whistled over the Western Massachusetts -hills. - -I was then a lad, trying to fill his father’s place on the farm. I had -just finished milking when I heard Bill Jenkins, our hired man, call -out in rasping tones, “No, there’s no work for you here, I tell you!” - -Turning, I saw at the barnyard gate the person to whom Bill had spoken. -He was a tall slim boy apparently near my own age, fourteen. - -“What is it, Bill?” I said; “what does he want?” - -“You run along with your milkin’ pail,” said Bill. “I’ll ’tend to him. -You don’t know nothin’ ’bout dealin’ with tramps.” - -I repeated my question, and the boy answered, “I am looking for work.” - -“An’ I told you there’s no work here for you,” said Bill roughly. “An’ -if you can’t understand such plain words as them air, you’ll have to -get a dictionary.” - -“Can’t I stay here over night?” persisted the boy. “I can pay for my -lodging. It’s getting dark, and these parts are strange to me.” - -There was something in the high-pitched voice that told me the lad -was weak as well as cold, and the trembling tones appealed to me more -strongly than the request itself. There was, too, a peculiar accent in -them that excited my curiosity. So before Bill could again interfere I -answered, - -“Yes, you can stay; and if there is no other bed, you can sleep with -me. I am sure mother will be willing.” - -“You are soft and foolish. You don’t understand folks that go traipsing -’round the country,” growled Bill. But ignoring his protests I led the -way to the house, with the strange boy following. - -When we reached the kitchen and the lights were brought, Bill, with a -surly air, carried the pail to the milk room. Mother coming in saw the -boy and asked, “Who is this, David?” - -“A boy who wants to stay all night, Mother,” I replied, “and I have -invited him to sleep with me. Can he?” - -“What’s your name?” asked mother, turning to the boy and looking him -over with an inquiring glance that meant more than words. - -“Jonathan Nickerson--they call me Jot for short. That is not my whole -name, only a part of it. My father is ’way off, I don’t know just -where, and my mother is dead; I couldn’t agree with the folks she has -been staying with, so I must find work or go hungry.” As he spoke of -his mother, his voice grew husky as though he were keeping back the -tears. - -There was a straightforwardness in his answer that pleased mother, -as I knew it would, for she liked direct answers to questions. This -may account for her keeping Bill Jenkins in her service most of the -time since the Civil War, where he had served as a drummer for three -months. He had appeared at her father’s door, ragged and disgusted with -military life, after the battle of Bull Run, from which he had beaten -his way with some of the rest of those who had got back to Washington. - -Mother looked at the boy keenly from over her spectacles, but made no -remarks, while I summed him up, as follows: He was very dark, thin in -feature and in person, his eyes dark and bright, chin prominent; and -notwithstanding thin-patched clothes and apparent weakness, there was a -manner of independence and decision that cannot be expressed in words. - -“Come here, Mother!” I said, turning to another room. - -“What do you want now?” asked mother. - -“Don’t turn him away in the cold and dark,” I pleaded. “Suppose I had -no place to sleep tonight, out in the wind and snow.” - -“He looks clean, if he is patched and darned, and seems a decent boy,” -she said in an undertone, as though thinking aloud, and then added, -“Yes, David, he can sleep in the ell bedroom. It is cold there, but -there are plenty of good comforters, and I guess he can put up with it, -if we can; and as our Master said, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it to the -least--’” and she left the quotation unended. - -Supper was ready, and mother said to the boy, “Yes, you can stay here -tonight, and if you have not had your supper, sit up to the table with -us.” - -“Thank you, ma’am,” he replied sturdily, “but I have no money to pay -for my supper--only enough to pay for my lodging--only twenty five -cents at that. - -“I did not say anything about pay,” said mother; “you are welcome to -your supper.” - -“Mother told me never to take anything without paying in some way for -it,” he protested; “and I am not very hungry.” - -Mother gave him another searching look, as if to learn whether there -was any purpose back of his words, and then as though satisfied, said -with softening voice, “Never mind about that, my boy; if you are not -afraid of work, you may pay for your supper and breakfast too. There is -plenty to do here.” - -When he asked for a place to wash, and had gone to the kitchen sink for -that purpose, mother remarked, “The pail is empty and the pump doesn’t -work; so you must go to the well for some water.” - -When supper was ended, Jonathan asked, “May I try to fix your pump, -m’am?” - -Mother hesitated, glanced at Bill, and then replied with a smile, “Yes, -you may try. At any rate you can’t make it any worse than it has been, -since Bill fussed with it.” - -Jonathan went to work with his jackknife and such tools as were at -hand. He had not more than started, however, when Bill came in with an -armful of wood for the kitchen stove. Stopping at the pump he said in -his dictatorial tones, “You can’t do nothin’ with that pump! I’ve tried -it, an’ I tell you it’s past mending by any botch or boy. An’ I tell -Miss Stark it will be cheaper to buy a new one, by gosh! For I put in a -half a day tryin’ to fix it.” - -Jonathan, without reply, kept on with his mending and, to our surprise, -after half an hour had the pump working. - -“Where did you learn to fix pumps?” mother inquired in a pleased manner. - -“Our pump got out of order once, and the man who fixed it explained its -working to me, and I have learned about them otherwise since.” - -“That pump,” said the disgruntled Bill, “will be out of order again as -quick as scat, or I miss my guess.” - -“You see,” said Jot, ignoring Bill, “that piece of leather is a valve -and must fit quite tight. When the air is pumped out, the water comes -up to fill the partial vacuum. All I have done is to limber and adjust -the valve so that it fits tighter.” - -“My!” said mother trying the pump, “it works quite well, and it does -not matter where you learned it; you have earned your supper and -breakfast too, for we would have had to send to Chester for a man to -repair it, besides the inconvenience of waiting.” - -The next morning mother asked Jot what pay he would want to do the -chores and other light work about the place. “I will work a month,” he -replied, “and you shall say how much I am worth.” - -The answer pleased mother since it seemed to insure faithful service. - -Thus it was that Jonathan Nickerson came to work on the Stark farm. - -My father, Captain David Stark, had been a soldier in the Civil War. He -had enlisted when only sixteen years of age and, by military aptitude -and bravery, had won a captain’s commission, before he was twenty-one. - -Over the mantel of our front room, secluded from light and flies except -when we had company, hung a sword which had been presented to him, so -its inscription read, by his admiring officers and men. - -He had married my mother some years younger than he, quite late in -life, and I was their only child. He had died before I remembered much -about him. - -One day Jot noticed the sword and read its inscription. He removed his -hat reverently and said: “I would like to be a brave soldier like him. -My mother’s only brother, Lieutenant Jedediah Hoskins, was killed while -leading a charge, just before the surrender at Appomattox. She was but -a little child when that occurred, but she had his back pay and other -property to help us, and often called me Jed’s Boy, hoping that I would -be like him.” - -Jonathan, or Jot as we began to call him, was careful and handy; he -repaired locks, and even put in running order a disregarded mowing -machine that Bill, who didn’t like “new fangled farming,” declared was -good for nothing. We soon began to regard him as one of the family, and -mother liked him because, as she said, he was both honest and careful -and “had not a lazy bone in his body.” - -Bill usually read the weekly newspaper in the evening, sometimes -commenting aloud on what he read. One evening while reading he looked -up exclaiming, “Gosh!” - -“What is it, Bill,” I asked, “anybody dead?” - -“Matter! The Germans are marching on Paris”, he answered, “and there -has been the all-firedest fightin’ you ever heard tell of.” Then Bill -read aloud the news of the first fighting in the Great World War. - -“I believe,” he concluded excitedly, “that I shall have to go myself -and help lick them consarned Dutch.” - -“I wouldn’t,” said mother with a gleam of fun in her eyes, for she -liked to tease Bill, “You might wear yourself out, as you did at Bull -Run, scampering back.” - -“Well,” acknowledged Bill with a grimace, “I am getting old, and I like -farmin’ a consarned sight better than I do fightin’; but when I read -’bout them Germans tryin’ to run over everybody, it makes my dander -rise, darned if it don’t!” And Bill was not the only one of us who felt -that way. - -Then we got Bill to tell us about his experience in the Bull Run -campaign. So he gave his version of that battle--even the running away, -which, however does not concern this narrative. - -“Didn’t you think it a shame,” asked mother, “to run away?” - -“Well,” admitted Bill, “as a matter of glory it was, but as we fightin’ -fellers see it then, it looked like common sense, plagued if it didn’t! -A man will get sca’t at things he ain’t used to. Them fellers that run -wouldn’t do it again--if the other fellers didn’t. I wouldn’t wonder if -I would stand to the rack an’ take the fodder that was coming, myself, -if I was in another fight. And then my time was most eout, and I was -all the time thinkin’ ’twas best to go home on my legs instead of in a -box, when my time was up.” - -“Were you scared, Bill?” I asked. - -“Gosh, yes! the fust of it, my hair stood up so straight that I thought -it would take my hat off. But I had spunk to stand it, in spite of -being sca’t--’till the others run. D’ yo’ know that I think it takes -more courage f’r a sca’t man to stand fire, than it does for a brave -man.” - -And I have since learned, from experience, that it is indeed a brave -man who, being frightened, still keeps his place in battle. - - - - -CHAPTER II WORKING ON THE FARM - - -The winter school had closed, and my spring work on the farm had begun. -Boys of my age in New England, at least farmer boys, did not, as a -rule, attend school in summer: it was thought that winter schooling -was enough. My mother, however, intended for me to graduate in the -high school later. Like most New England people, mother believed in -the potency of work as a needful part of a boy’s or girl’s education. -Work, she declared never hurt any one; while laziness and the feeling -that one is too good to work were the foundation of shiftlessness and -poverty. People must fight for anything worth having, and farming is a -fight with the soil to make it yield a living. - -“Your father,” she would say, “was a farmer and a good one; he believed -as religiously in fighting the soil and keeping down the weeds, as he -believed in fighting the Confederates and putting down the Rebellion. -If you expect this farm to be yours, and to pay off the mortgage on -it,” she would add, “you have got to learn about the work, or the rocks -and weeds will get the best of you, and it will be of no use when you -get it. You will be selling it, and spending the money, and become a -shack of a man like some others who think they are too good to work.” - -“But you have succeeded in working the farm,” I argued, “without -knowing the work practically.” - -“Yes,” she admitted, “but I was brought up on this farm and have -learned what it will best raise. I know the business part; but if I -understood the farm better I wouldn’t have to stand Bill Jenkins’ -dictation, when he wants to have his way instead of mine.” - -“What makes you keep him,” I asked; “he growls about what you ought to -do, instead of taking your orders and obeying them.” - -“He is faithful,” she replied, “and is to be trusted. If you can’t -trust a man, he is of no use to you anywhere.” - -Although Jot had now been with us long enough to receive several -months’ pay, he still wore the same suit of clothes as when he came to -the Stark farm. I afterward learned it was because he had been paying -for his mother’s sickness and funeral. He was still reticent about his -father, and would give no account of himself, except a general one. He -talked, however, quite freely about his mother, and about his uncle -Jed, and was intensely patriotic. - -“I would like to fight for this country, as my uncle did,” he would -sometimes say, “if I should ever be needed.” - -We continued to read the news of the war as it came across the sea. -Our hearts were thrilled at even the meagre recital given in our -weekly paper, of that great adventure of arms, when like a lion the -great French general with his brave army, stood in the path of German -invasion and said, “They shall not pass!” - -On the farm, meanwhile, Jot had been proving the correctness of -mother’s judgment that he would be worth more than his keep. Among -other traits brought out by acquaintance was one striking one. He was -passionately fond of animals, and had a control over them that was -seemingly the result of sympathy. In mowing time, when I would be tired -enough to be resting, he would often be playing with our two year old -colt, Jack; and he seldom came into the pasture without an apple or -some dainty for him. The colt was of Hambletonian stock, high spirited, -and when with Jot full of play. - -One day, after we had been mowing hay, mother said, “Bill, there is a -shower coming up, and you had better give the boys a little rest.” - -“Well, Miss Stark, I guess it will be a good plan, while we are -loafing, to give Jack a little training. He’s about the hardest scamp -of a colt I ever see.” - -But as Bill in his former attempts to train Jack had lost his temper -and struck and kicked him, he found it hard to catch him. - -“Let me try to catch him for you, Mr. Jenkins,” said Jot. - -“What do you know about colts?” said Bill crossly. - -“I got acquainted with him down in the pasture, and will try and catch -him for you, if you are willing.” - -Jot’s respectful manner mollified Bill and he assented, saying: - -“Well, go ahead with your sleight of hand with the critter; but I can -tell you, he is awful skeetish.” - -Jot called the colt to him in coaxing tones, holding out his hand with -a lump of sugar, and Jack came circling around him with flowing mane -and streaming tail; dropping his tail, snuffed at Jot’s hand, let him -take hold of his fetterlock and, yielding to his caresses, allowed him -to slip the bridle over his head and to be led around. - -But when Bill attempted to take the colt in charge, he couldn’t manage -him. - -“Bill,” said mother, “Jonathan seems to understand him; hadn’t you -better let him try to break him; for I am afraid you’ll spoil him; so -please let him try.” - -After he had led Jack around the yard for a while, Jot said to mother, -“I think that will do for this time, Mrs. Stark.” And then, with a -little more petting and another lump of sugar, sent the colt scampering -away. - -“My!” said mother, “I didn’t think you could do it.” - -In one of our visits to Chester we acquired a dog, or more truthfully, -a dog acquired us. - -We had no dog on the place; for Bill hated dogs; said they killed -sheep, and had fleas, and declared, with some truth, that if a dog -didn’t kill sheep, he attracted those who did. But on this day as we -were coming from a store where we had been making purchases, a dog with -tin things tied to his tail came _ki-yi-ing_ piteously from a near-by -shed where some rowdy boys were congregated. - -Jot coaxed the dog to him, got him in his arms, took off the tin cans -that had been pinched to his tail, and holding the creature in his -arms, said to the boys: “Who owns this dog?” - -“No one owns him,” one of them answered; “he’s been hanging around here -for quite a while.” - -We took the frightened creature to the wagon and, when half a mile -away, put him down to shift for himself. The dog would not be deserted -by his new-found friends, but followed the team and, at every attempt -to drive him away, would roll over on his back and implore in doggish -fashion, to go with us. So at last, when we arrived at home, the dog -was with us. - -Bill, of course, strenuously objected to having the dog on the place; -but after much pleading I got mother to allow us to keep him, though -she also did not like dogs. - -“I won’t have him underfoot,” she declared, “so you must keep him away -from the house--out at the barn;” to which we agreed. - -We were delighted, for what boy does not love a dog? - -Jot taught him several cunning tricks, among other things, to bring -home the cows at milking time. Because of his color we called him -“Muddy.” - -I have told these simple things not alone to reveal Jonathan’s -compassionate nature, but because they were not without influence in -scenes of greater importance, in our later lives, as you shall see. - -Jot worked faithfully on the farm, and with its healthy food and work, -had grown to be a strong though slight young man. He had attended -school several winters, learning rapidly. - -Meanwhile the war was claiming more and more of our attention, and we -read about it with such interest that we had begun taking a daily -newspaper. When the news came of the sinking of the great passenger -ship, the _Lusitania_, with its hundreds of passengers, it seemed too -dreadful to believe. Though public indignation was at white heat over -this cruel deed, it was soon toned to soberness by thoughts of our own -possible war with this relentless military power. - -Soon after the sinking of the _Lusitania_, a great personal sorrow -befell me in the loss of my mother. She passed away after only a few -days’ illness of heart failure. After her burial in the Stark private -burial plot, my Aunt Joe and her husband came to take charge of the -farm. Jonathan continued to work with us, but Bill left to work -elsewhere; for he declared he wouldn’t stand bossing from any one. - -The farm did not seem like home to me after mother’s death, and I fell -into such melancholy at times, that Aunt Joe gave me what she called a -good talking to, saying, “I guess your mother is glad to have her boy -care for her; but it is just as natural to die, as it is to be born, -and it don’t do a speck of good to be blue when we lose our friends.” - -To illustrate her philosophy, she then sat down and had a good cry with -me. - - - - -CHAPTER III IMPENDING WAR CLOUDS - - -It was October, 1916. The harvests were gathered, and the fall -ploughing was done; the frost was in the ground, and the hills were -ablaze with the scarlet and gold of Autumn. - -I was debating with Jot whether I would attend school or not, that -winter. - -“Of course,” answered Jot, “you will go to school just as if your -mother were here to tell you to go.” - -To this good advice Uncle Jim assented by a decided nod of approval. -Now Uncle Jim, I had discovered, had a will of his own and very decided -opinions. As Aunt Joe said, “though mild as skim milk in his ways, he -is as sot as a rock.” And knowing this I thought it best to do as I was -advised. - -I began my studies at once when the winter term opened, but was -discontented, and did not take so much interest in them as usual. When -I brought my books home to study, Jot read them eagerly, and asked me -many questions about the lessons. I think I learned more in trying to -answer his questions than I did by the study of them in the books; -for there is a difference between committing a lesson to memory, and -giving a sensible answer to questions to one in earnest to know about -them--for one is an act of memory, but the other requires thought and -reasoning. - -Our interest in the war was growing in intensity day by day. Our -neighbors often came in of an evening to hear the news and discuss the -war, and among them there was a Mr. Larkin, who was a pacifist. He -was well informed and well read, for a farmer, and though in the main -patriotic had as Uncle Jim said, “a pacifist crook in his mind that -needed straightening.” - -At one of the evening gatherings, after we had dwelt upon the -relentless cruelty of the German army in dealing with Belgium and -France, Larkin said: - -“They had better stop this war at once; for war is so dreadful that it -should not have a place in any Christian country.” - -“Well,” said Uncle Jim, in his slow and drawling tones, “I don’t much -admire war, but if any darned crowd should break into this house and -begin smashin’ things and threaten to kill the folks, am I a goin’ to -sit here like an idiot and see ’em do it without liftin’ my hand to -stop it? No, sir! I am goin’ to stop such works if I break their necks.” - -“But don’t the Master say that we should return good for evil?” replied -Mr. Larkin, “and when smitten on the right cheek that we should turn -the left?” - -“Well,” replied Uncle Jim slowly, “I suppose he did say so; an’ I -suppose if the majority of folks would do so, it would be better. But -it seems to me that I have read somethin’ about the Master’s getting -riled at some wretches that had turned the Temple into a sort of -pawnbroker’s shop, and then drivin’ them out with horse whips, because -they had made it a den of thieves. Now what do you suppose he would -have done, if he had been in Belgium, and had seen them Germans setting -fire to churches, and killin’ women and children?” - -“That,” said Mr. Larkin, “only proves my assertion, that everybody -should set themselves against war; you speak, as though to keep the -peace with all your power, was degrading.” - -“No, no,” said uncle; “you misunderstand me. What I mean is, that when -a bully hits you, you must hit him back so hard that he will never want -to hit you again. To do the contrary would be to encourage him. Such -folks would soon rule the world, if you did not make them take a back -seat.” - -After Germany had violated her agreement with the United States not -to sink any more of our ships sailing the ocean on peaceful missions, -our President declared war, to “make the world safe for democracy.” -Then came the first call for volunteers, to fill up the ranks of the -National army. Men were quiet, but determined, in supporting the -President, and a deep undercurrent of war spirit prevailed in our -little community. - -I had the war fever mighty bad. But uncle said: “Wait awhile an’ see -how that cat is a goin’ to jump--for ’taint best to be in a hurry about -important matters.” - -There were some who differed about the wisdom of declaring war, and, of -course, our neighbor Larkin was among them. - -“Don’t you think,” he said to Uncle Jim, “that it would have been -better if our President had not been so hasty?” - -“No,” replied uncle decidedly, “I think that, instead of trying to keep -us out so hard, if we had ridged up our backs in the fust place, and -had begun to get a big army together, Germany would never have dared -to provoke us to war. We have a right to sail the seas wherever we -choose, on peaceful business--that was decided in the war of 1812--an’ -no nation on earth has a right to say we shan’t.” - -During all this talk and excitement Jot was mostly silent with a -constraint that I did not understand--though I had full faith in his -patriotism. At one time, before the declaration of war, it had been -proposed by my cousin Will Edwards that they should go to Canada and -enlist. But Jot had gravely replied: “I should like to fight under the -flag of this free nation, if she should ever need me; as my Uncle Jed -did in the Civil War.” - -There was something, even in this remark, of reticence, as though there -were other ties that bound him of which he was inclined to make no -mention. - -Soon after the declaration of war, a horse trader accompanied by Bill -Jenkins, and another man, came to the Stark farm to bargain for horses. -The prices they were willing to pay seemed large, and uncle sold one of -our extra horses. Then Bill said, “Why don’t you sell the colt, Jack? -He won’t be good for much for quite a while, an’ I guess you’ll need -the money before long on this place.” - -I did not like the freedom of Bill’s remark and neither did I wish the -colt sold. “Well,” said the trader, “it will be no harm to look him -over.” So we went down to the pasture where Jack had been let loose for -his spring feed. - -Our colt was now full grown and broken to saddle, but not to harness. -Muddy, the dog, and Jack were great friends. The dog slept in the same -stall with the colt and they often frolicked together in the pasture. -When we reached the pasture the colt and dog were on a frolic--the -colt jumping and wheeling and prancing, while Muddy jumped, barked and -capered in front of him. - -Turning to my uncle the trader said: “I will give you two hundred -dollars for that colt. He isn’t worth it; but I know just where I can -sell him.” - -My uncle refused to sell, and the man handing uncle his business card, -said: “Well, when you get ready to sell, let me know.” - -After he had started away I turned to speak to Jot, but found he had -disappeared. Later I came upon him behind the barn talking to the man -who had accompanied the horse trader, and I overheard him using some -words strange to me--seemingly in some foreign language--at any rate -not common English. As I came upon them they parted, and when I asked -Jot what they were talking about he made no definite reply, but said, -“I am so glad they didn’t sell Jack.” - -His evasion made me angry, and I turned away to go to the house. Jot -called after me, but I refused to speak or turn back; and that night we -went to bed without a good-night greeting as was usual with us. - -The first thing, after I awoke, I went to Jot’s room, but he was gone. -Then I went down to breakfast, expecting to find him at the table; but -he was not there. - -“Where is Jot?” I asked Uncle Jim. - -With provoking deliberation he removed his pipe from his lips saying -“Gone.” - -“Where has he gone?” I asked impatiently. - -“Don’t know--suspect he has gone to enlist--said something about it.” -And that was all I could learn--though I half suspected that uncle was -keeping something back,--something he didn’t think it good for me to -know. - -After this I became more dissatisfied than ever, but still continued my -work on the farm, expecting to have a letter from Jot. But no tidings -of him came. - -I constantly pestered Uncle Jim, who was made my guardian, to let me -enlist. But he put me off by saying: “Time enough--wait awhile.” - -Later on, uncle said to me, “I guess we shall have to sell Jack after -all; I have been offered a good price for him by Colonel Walker. The -interest on the mortgage is coming due this month, and I am a little -short of money.” - -So Jack was sold, and that made me still more discontented, and not -long after I “broke out,” as Aunt Joe called it, by saying, “Uncle, I -want to enlist. If I don’t enlist they will, like as not, draft me. -Just think of a Stark being drafted! I am bigger than Jot, and just as -good for a soldier. They will take me, and I am lonesome without Jot.” - -Uncle Jim had finished his breakfast, pushed back from the table, and -began smoking his pipe as was his custom after the morning meal. - -I knew by his long deliberate puffs that he was thinking it over. Then -with shorter puffs, he finished his smoke and I knew he had reached a -decision. - -“What d’ye think, Josephine? David won’t be good for anything at school -or on the farm now; and it is natural for the Starks to want to serve -their country when there is a war on hand. Like’s not, if we don’t give -our consent he will go without it, and that would be worse for him and -us too. What do you think?” - -“But, Jim,” said my aunt dolefully, “We are in Sister Emily’s place. -Would she consent if she were here?” - -I felt that I had won over Uncle Jim, for when he said, “Well, -Josephine, we will talk it over,” I knew that his mind was made up. - -So the next morning at breakfast--uncle slowly and deliberately said, -“Your aunt and I have been considering about giving our consent to -your enlistment.” And then, after a long pause, “If you are still of -the same mind, you may go. I understand that there will be a draft -here--and you might have to go finally anyway--an’ to be _made_ to do -a thing isn’t pleasant, as you say, for a Stark.” So it was settled. I -was to go. - - - - -CHAPTER IV WITH THE COLORS - - -A few weeks later I had enlisted in the Infantry and, with other -recruits, among whom was Sam Jenkins, arrived at one of the training -camps. - -Its size astonished me. It was a city of barracks. Broad streets -designated by letters, with each barrack numbered, stretched out in -endless succession, covering hundreds of acres and miles in length and -breadth. - -On being assigned to barracks, we drew our “property,” including -uniform, blankets, sweaters, and other equipments, usually issued to a -“rookie,” besides a rifle and its belongings. - -I had supposed that the life of a soldier in camp was one of -comparative leisure, but there is where I made a mistake--a delusion -common to the uninitiated. Our duties, or work, seemed unending. There -was a rule to fit every hour of the day. - -Reveille calls the rookie out of bed. Then after putting on his uniform -he takes a position near the line and, at the first sergeant’s command -of “Fall in” takes his place and assumes the first position of a -soldier--which means, heels on the same line, toes turning outward, -chest out, body thrown forward, thumbs at the seams of his trousers, -legs straight, but not stiff, and the weight of the body resting -lightly upon the soles of his feet. - -After reveille, he makes his bed, puts everything in order, then washes -for breakfast, or as it is called “Mess,” after which he puts his -equipments in order for drill. His rifle belts and uniform must be neat -and clean as possible, or he gets a reprimand. Then comes “sick call”; -then “drill call”; at which call he is expected to put everything in -exact order in his quarters, then take his place in ranks for two -hours’ drill. - -Then comes another “Mess” call, which means fall in for dinner. After -dinner there is a short rest, then comes drill call again, after which -there is another short rest, during which he is expected to bathe, -shave, and make himself neat, and ready for retreat--which is the dress -occasion of the day. The next call is “Taps” when lights must be out. - -This is, however, but simply an outline of the routine that one must -follow during each day. - -I, however, liked the military drill and, as Sam declared, learned it -as though it was something that I was made for. But there were many -petty exactions, which looked to me, as it doubtless has to every -other raw soldier since the beginning, needlessly fussy; and the drill -sergeant was exasperating. But there is a difference in men. Some, when -invested with brief authority, have always been bullies. - -But it was when I went on my first “hike” with full pack, that I -thought I was killed. If there has ever been an invention, since the -beginning of soldiering, that has made a soldier boy regret his wealth -of possessions, it is this first regular “hike.” - -It was a beautiful day in July when I fell into line with others, some -seasoned vessels of war--but mostly not. I had admired the pack while I -was learning the minutiæ of making one, for it certainly is a wonderful -invention, and the first half mile I kept up a martial air, with my -sweat-provoking and back-aching pack galling me. Then I began to want -a rest--and didn’t get it! The sweat ran down my face and saturated -me with a sticky moisture. I fully agreed with Sam when he said, in -undertone, “Isn’t it a grunter?” I certainly never knew the sweetest -word in English until, at last, came the order, “Halt!” When I got -through that “practice march,” I recognized that carrying a nine-pound -rifle on my shoulder, and a heavy pack--however admirable the -invention--was not amusing. - -It was, however, not many weeks before my sturdy farmer-boy shoulders -became more accustomed to the pack. Poor Sam, however, who was short -and fat, for a long time persisted in his first opinion, that it was a -“grunter”! He said he had heard Civil War soldiers tell of throwing -away their blankets and overcoats on a march and now understood the -reason of it! - -Some weeks later, when I had learned the drill, and had even been -complimented by a non-commissioned superior who declared that I took to -soldiering “like a duck to water,” I thought there might be something -in inherited qualities. - -One thing, common to all new soldiers, was that I suddenly found -myself unexpectedly fond of home, and couldn’t hear from the folks -often enough. Home never seemed to my mind quite so lovely, as now that -I was away from it. I was, as may be inferred, not a little homesick. - -I have forgotten to say, in its proper place, that Muddy had -accompanied me from home to camp, and was hailed by my comrades as -a companion worthy of the khaki with which nature had clothed him. -He was soon adopted as the Company Mascot; and to a homesick boy his -companionship cannot be over-estimated. - -On coming to the Cantonment I had endeavored, from the first, to find -Jot; but not a thing could I learn about him. To find any one in this -big city was, as Sam said, “like looking for a collar button in a -pasture.” It was more difficult to find a person in this great city of -barracks perhaps, than in an ordinary city, because of the uniformity -of its buildings and the sameness of its uniforms. - -One day I had left Muddy in charge of the mess sergeant and had gone -to the Y. M. C. A. to write to Uncle Jim and Aunt Joe, when the door -opened, and Muddy, like a whirlwind of hair and tail, came yelping and -jumping upon me. - -I looked up to scold him, for dogs were not allowed there, when “Jot” -stood smiling down upon me. He threw his arms around me with a big hug, -and slap on the back, which I returned with interest, notwithstanding -my cool New England habit of reserve. - -During all this time, Muddy had been yelping and wagging both body and -tail with doggish delight and approval, at having brought his friends -together, until the superintendent reminded us of the rules. - -Then I inquired of Jot, “How did you find me?” - -“I didn’t find you,” he replied, “it was Muddy.” - -“Yes; but how did you find my barracks and company?” - -“It was Muddy, I tell you;” he said. “I was on my way to the -quartermaster’s office, when I heard a yelping and he flew like a mad -dog out of one of the barracks; and yelped and whined and dragging me -by my trouser leg as much as to say, ‘Come this way!’ And I understood -enough of his dog talk to know that you were somewhere around here. So -I followed him.” - -It was not until we were on the way to the quartermaster’s that I -noticed, that he wore the chevrons of a “Top Sergeant” (first sergeant) -and learned that his quarters were only a short distance from mine. - -How it was that Muddy knew that Jot was in the street is one of the -mysteries of the dog intellect--or instinct;--for the incident is true. - -Afterwards, I told Jot of the sale of Jack to Colonel Walker, and that -I believed he was in the same encampment. But Jot said he had learned -that he was in one of the more Southern camps--perhaps Camp Green, in -North Carolina. - -“Why was it,” I queried, “that you did not tell Uncle Jim or me where -you were going?” - -To this he replied, “Though your uncle did not tell me not to let you -know that I was going to enlist, he intimated very plainly that he did -not want you to know. He said, ‘If David knows where you have gone, -there’ll be no living with him; and he will follow you as sure as you -stand there.’” I was quite angry with uncle at first, but when Jot -said, “I think he did what he thought was best,” I saw, in part, an -excuse for him. - -Among other things that I learned, during my soldier experience, -was one, that trouble is often brewing when we feel the safest. Now -it was about to overtake me and my dog. I was showing off Muddy’s -accomplishments one day to some dog admirers, when an officer came up -and inquired: “Whose dog is that?” - -“He is mine!” I proudly replied, “isn’t he a dandy, Mister?” - -“You must address officers by their title, he said stiffly, and salute -them.” - -I had been so engaged, that I had not observed before, that he was an -officer. I at once stood at attention and saluted. - -He glanced at me seemingly through and through and then, as though -satisfied, said, returning the salute, - -“About that dog--just keep him out of sight and there will be no -trouble;” and then as Muddy came fawning on him, patted him and passed -on. - -“That,” said one of the men, “is a West Pointer. He is as full of rules -and orders as a book on tactics.” - -“I guess he likes a dog, himself,” said Sergeant Bill, “or he would -have ordered you to put him out of camp; for he is one of them highbrow -officers that live by rule. Them West Pointers are a bundle of rules -and regulations and eat blue books and general orders and such things -instead of grub.” - -It was shortly after the foregoing incident, that an order appeared in -substance, as follows: - -“After the 10th inst. all dogs, not licensed, will not be allowed in -barracks, squad rooms, or mess halls.” - -But as Muddy had a home license and wore a collar showing it, I was not -concerned until, shortly after, there appeared the following: - -“After this date, all dogs, whether licensed or not, will be turned -over to the camp police.” To which some wag had added, “and thereafter -will be included among the missing.” This was thought to be “rough” on -those who had adopted dogs as mascots, and there were several companies -that had, but as the mess sergeant said: “What can we do about it?” - -I had been on guard at post one, in front of the commandant’s office, -and in my distress, at the thought of losing my dog, determined on the -hazardous expedient of interviewing the commandant, to get permission -to keep Muddy. - -So, brushing up my uniform and looking my neatest, I went to the office -of that dread personage. - -I passed the guard, got into the office, and when the commandant had -turned from his desk where he was engaged in writing, I stood at -attention and saluted. Then I saw that it was the same officer I have -before mentioned as being a West Point man, but whom I did not know was -the commandant. - -“State your errand briefly,” he said coldly. - -I was nervously stating my errand when in rushed Muddy, as though to -argue his own case. I picked him up for fear of what further damage he -might do, and as a matter of habit with me, held in my arms. - -“What is your name?” he inquired in a tone of severity that boded ill -for my request. - -I told him, and, in answer to other questions following, said my father -was an officer during the Civil War in a Massachusetts regiment. I saw -his face change from severity to interest, as he said pleasantly, - -“Was your father Captain Stark of the --th Massachusetts?” - -“Yes, sir,” I replied. “Did you know him there?” - -“I am afraid not,” he replied, smiling for the first time; “but my -father did,” and added, “They were friends.” After a pause he added, “I -must grant this request to the son of my father’s friend.” - -I do not know whether this incident had anything to do with a promotion -which I soon after received as corporal; but I am sure it did not -hinder it. And I was prouder of that promotion than any that I ever -received--unless a decoration received long after from the French can -be called one. - -I found, however, that the duties of even this small office carried -with it not a little responsibility. - -Possibly I magnify the office when I say that to be a good corporal, in -charge of new men, required some rare qualities. He should be icy calm, -have dignity like a judge and eyes like a gimlet, and good humor in -profusion; or he won’t get much work out of his men. I was on a detail -shortly after my promotion, hauling provisions for the Regimental Ware -House, and I couldn’t turn my head without losing a man. - -When I told Jot about it he smiled and replied: “You did well not to -send men after those you lost, or you would have lost more men.” And I -knew by that remark, that he had once been a corporal. - - - - -CHAPTER V FROM CAMP TO TRANSPORT - - -Shortly after the incidents narrated in the foregoing chapter, I, with -several others, among them Jot and Sam, was granted a leave of absence -of fifteen days to visit our homes. This, we believed, meant that we -were soon to be sent to France where, from the first, we desired to be. - -When we reached the little village near our homes, we were curiously -viewed by the people, who up to that time had seen little of the -present day soldiers in khaki. We were hospitably treated by our -people, and those who knew us gathered around to ask questions, as is -the habit of New England folks. - -On our arrival home, it is needless to say, we were greeted with -hearty enthusiasm. Neighbors flocked in to see us, and Aunt Josie -expressed her interest and love, after the usual manner of New England -self-contained matrons, by a big dinner. Even Muddy was treated with -affection and, for the first time in his home experience, was not -considered as being “under foot” and in the way. - -“How straight you are!” said Aunt Joe. “I declare I think you have -grown an inch, and you were a big hulking fellow when you went away -from here.” Six months of military discipline had certainly left its -impress upon all of us. Jot had filled out in chest and shoulders and, -though not so tall and “bulking” as I, as Aunt Joe called it, was a -fine-looking soldierly youth, lithe and active. Even Sam’s rather -rotund form, was reduced to soldierly proportions. - -“Gosh!” said his father anxiously, “you ain’t got any belly hardly at -all. Hev’ they been starvin’ you?” - -“No, Dad, we have all we want to eat in camp, and we have the wust kind -of appetite after one o’ them drills. I guess you don’t know what they -do to a feller down here to take the fat off him and the kinks out of -him?” - -“Yes, I do, Sam,” responded his father; “guess I’ve been trained a lot -myself.” - -“Did y’ ever go through the settin’ up drill?” asked Sam. - -“Yes, Sam, I have set up nights a lot, but I never had to drill it. I -got sort of used to it when I was courtin’.” - -“I guess, Dad, you don’t understand; now I will give the orders and -drill you.” And then Sam put his father through enough of the physical -exercise to show him what he meant and until Uncle Jim smiled to see -him puff. - -The months of drill had certainly improved us physically. The -difference between slouching country boys and soldierly youth, was -written all over each of us. - -Muddy, too, had his receptions; and even Bill Jenkins who was again -working on the farm, said: “Well, he’s a pretty good dog, and will do -well enough now that he’s been trained.” - -My aunt was a proud woman when she took Jot and me to church with her, -and introduced us to the new minister. The old church where my mother -and father had worshipped was filled, and we were greeted on every -side by friendly people, especially by the teachers and members of the -Sunday School to which Jot and I had been constant attendants when at -home. - -One of the young ladies of the class was Miss Emily Grant, of whom, in -former times, I had been an ardent, though shy admirer. She introduced -both Jot and me to a visiting friend, Miss Rose Rich, whom she had -brought home with her from a Massachusetts boarding school. - -Jot, usually so reticent, showed his approval of her, by saying: “Isn’t -she fine? Her father is a doctor and she is going to take up Red Cross -work.” - -The friendliness of the two was observable to others besides myself. -Miss Grant said to me, “Rose seems much taken with your friend.” - -“He is the smartest noncommissioned officer,” I replied, “in the -training camp. He’s top sergeant, and that means something, I can tell -you.” - -I told Uncle Jim about Colonel Burbank and what he said about my -father. And Uncle Jim said, “Seems to me I heard your father mention -him. I wonder if it was him that your father brought from between the -lines badly wounded durin’ the Winchester fight? Shouldn’t wonder if it -was.” - -But I had never heard about it. - -When Jot and I had visited, for the last time, the familiar scenes -of the farm, and he had petted and talked to the horses and cows, we -left our home for the camp again. A boy never realizes what a home -means to him until he is leaving it, possibly forever; for I had a dim -perception of what was possibly before me. - -Several friends, besides my aunt and uncle, were at the station to bid -us good-bye. Among them were Emily Grant and Rose Rich. - -With the usual leave takings and waving of handkerchiefs from friends, -the engine puffed, the train clanked out from the station, and we were -off. - -Back at camp we entered upon another course of training in company, -regimental and battalion drill, with bayonet exercises, machine-gun -fire, and the digging of trenches, as a preliminary to participation in -modern warfare. - -An old Civil War veteran, who had viewed our preparations, said to me, -“If Grant had had these machine guns and other arms, he could have made -the Rebs howl and ended the war in short order. Why, there is as great -a difference between the equipments of this new army and our old Union -Army as there is between a stage coach and an express train.” - -Jot had been transferred to our regiment, at his request, and became -first sergeant of a company. At one of our meetings at the Y. M. C. A. -he said to me, “Don’t say anything about it, but I think that we are -likely to break camp soon and go to France.” - -“What makes you think so?” I asked. - -“Well,” he said, “they have been making shipping lists for the -regiment; and then the furloughs they have been giving, and other -little things make me think so.” - -I soon found that a rumor of the same purport was all around camp. Like -most youngsters, I was hungry for a change; so when the top sergeant -ordered us to be ready to move within a few hours, I was glad at the -prospect of the change to some other place. Yet I thought of submarines -and other scarey unpleasant possibilities, that night, before I slept. - -The order came at last--it was on Sunday--for an army has no days more -sacred than duty. Though we were not supposed to know where we were -going, we all guessed--the Yankee birthright--and guessed France. Our -outfit consisted of two suits of _Olive Drab_, canvas leggins, two -woolen shirts, woolen underwear and stockings, two pairs of garrison -shoes, a Mackinaw short overcoat, a belt, three blankets, and a -comforter, all of which were carried in our packs. On top of the pack -roll was the haversack, containing our kits, which consisted of a -long handled aluminum fold pan with removable cover, in which were a -knife and fork and spoon; two oblong cases for meat, hard bread, sugar -and coffee. The ammunition belt was hung to this pack, and a canteen -nesting in the cup hung from it. There was also a barrack bag belonging -to our outfits, but this was carried by motor truck to the station. - -This I remember to my sorrow, as did others in similar cases, for I -did not see it again until our arrival in France, though it contained -goodies from home, and chocolates. Others did not see their cigarettes -and tobacco again until long after. - -At dark, with our packs strapped upon our backs, we moved to the -station and were embarked on board of ordinary passenger cars--a -noncommissioned officer at the doors of each car to see that none went -out and that no one not belonging there went in. Each commissioned -officer had a list that showed the place of each man and saw that he -_stayed_ there. - -The next morning we found our train at a big New York terminal, and had -our breakfast--of sandwiches and hot coffee that had been prepared for -us the day before. - -From there we were embarked on a ferry boat. Our company was on the -top deck where we could see the tugs, steamers and ferry boats, busily -moving on the stream, as we swung up the broad Hudson to the piers -where several big transports lay. - -Sailing lists of every man’s name in order of formation had been made -in duplicate, one for our officers and another in the hands of the -embarking officer. So he knew just how many of us there were, and had -already designated a berth for each man. - -The railroad transport officer met us with the inquiry: “Is Company ----- of ---- Regiment on this boat?” - -“Yes, sir!” - -“Colonel Burbank?” - -“Here, sir!” - -“Good. Disembark at once, sir. Your transport sails in half an hour. -Form your men on the dock opposite the freight clerk.” - -“Yes, sir!” - -“A loading detail of ten men!” - -“Yes, sir!” - -We disembark; but before the first company could be formed a -transportation officer without saying by your leave marched us on -board. He is the supreme officer on the dock--no matter if the general -commanding be present the officer is the boss. - -Along the deck we went in column and on board the huge transport. - -“Your sailing list, sir!” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Are you formed in order of list?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Good! Load the company, Mr. Blank.” - -The clerk, with a lieutenant by his side with a duplicate list, calls -out, “First Sergeant Smith.” - -“Here, sir.” - -The sergeant is handed a ticket, goes up the gangplank where he meets -another sailor who sends him below; there he meets another sailor who -sends him still further below, and so on until he is at the bottom of -the ship where the bilge water smells. The others follow until the ship -is stowed with a human freight of three thousand five hundred men. - -Every man has his bunk of collapsible iron tubing which stand in tiers -three high, with a passage way between. Later on, the top sergeant gets -a second class room. No dogs allowed; but I smuggled Muddy in under my -big coat. - -We were all on board by night, and slept in our new quarters, but were -surprised to awake in the morning and find our ship still at the dock. -We were allowed to go ashore for exercise on the dock, and the ship -routine began. Our canteens were ordered to be filled but not to be -used except in an emergency. - -Before daylight, next morning, we swung out into the river and down -into the broadening harbor, to the sea. We were all allowed on deck. -As I stood viewing the scene on every side, of brilliantly lighted -cities and towns, Jot came up, touched me on the shoulder and, with a -sweep of his hand, said, “Don’t it put you in mind of that verse in -the Bible,--‘Gazar and her towns and villages, unto the river of Egypt -and the great sea and the border thereof?’” Then, as we waved an adieu -to the Statue of Liberty he added, “We are the vanguard of the army -to make good the meaning of that Statue that France has prophetically -placed there. We go to deliver France and the world.” - -The land began to fade as daylight brightened. The broad sea spread -out before us and with it a possible broader vista of life’s great -drama and of the freedom of men as yet unborn, whose destinies we were -perhaps carrying across the sea. - -The naval officers were in supreme command of all on board and we -soldiers were put to ship routine at once. - -“It looks to me,” said Sergeant Nickerson, “like a huge job to feed all -of us in this one dining room.” - -“But it isn’t our business,” I replied, “so long as we get the grub.” - -“But it may be everybody’s business if they don’t get it; and that’s -what I am thinking about.” The difficulty was solved in this way. The -men were marched to the room, and ate standing in line or at long -tables. As fast as one batch was fed, another took its place. By the -time breakfast was over, lunch began. It was a sort of endless chain -made up of men, moving on schedule time. - -Men began to growl--growling is a soldier’s safety valve, and his -privilege ever since soldiering first began. - -“Sure,” said Pat Quinn, “it’s ating tactics we are being drilled in. -Ye’s open ye’s mouths so many toimes and then swallow--one toime and -three motions!” - -“What are you growling about?” said Private Shaw. “There’ll likely be -another motion on this ship soon, so that you can’t swallow at all!” - -So with rough jokes and gibes we ate our first breakfast on board ship. -Then ship drill began. Each man was assigned to a boat or raft, and we -learned the ship calls. When the bugle sounded “Assembly” every man -was to go on deck and take his place at his boat or raft. At “Abandon -Ship,” the boats and rafts were supposed to be got into the water. -“Quarters” meant every man below, to his bunk. - -We go through the motions--only--of getting the boats and rafts over -the side of the ship. When our instructor said that a raft was safer -than a boat, but that we were never to climb onto one, but hang on with -both hands, we were skeptical about it. - -“He wants to keep a boat for himself,” said Sam. “That is what he is -preaching it for.” - -We knew, however, that the safety of all on board might depend upon our -efficiency at this drill. - -With boat drill--mornings and afternoons--scrubbing decks, eating, and -seasickness, our time was pretty fully occupied. I was dreadfully sick -for a time, and did not care whether a submarine sunk us or not, but -got over it before long. It was very close below decks, where we were -mostly confined, and a hardship to those accustomed to the free air. - -Our company was so fortunate as to be detailed as extra deck watch, -and a group of us were on duty at all hours, day and night. It was -an autocratic job--we were “_It_.” We could refuse to take orders or -answer questions from even the colonel! Our post for this duty was a -little box of a pen where, with fine binoculars, we kept watch for -submarines. I liked the duty; it was a change and much like guard duty. - -Before entering the danger zone we got detailed instructions against -lights. Every match and flashlight on the ship had to be given up, and -all hatches were closed at twilight. Even illuminated wrist watches -were forbidden on deck at night. - -One day a submarine was actually sighted. I was on duty in the watch -box with several of my company, when I saw something sticking out of -the water like a small flag staff. - -“Submarine!” I yelled excitedly. Just then “bang!” went the forward -deck gun and the periscope disappeared. Soon it was seen again at -another quarter and another gun banged at it. Sam took up his rifle to -shoot at it, but was restrained, though he declared he could put a -bullet through it. Then “bang” went another of our guns, and we were -told that she was sunk, but I doubted it. - -“Shucks!” growled Sam, “how can we shoot a Boche if we have to wait for -orders? He will get away from us, before we can get them!” - -There was no excitement, though a young lieutenant rushed around -saying, “Be calm, men! be calm!” But some of us thought he was not -living up to his own orders. - -Soon after this Colonel Burbank sent for me to come to his cabin. After -several kind inquiries about my folks, especially my father, he said, -casually, “Sergeant Nickerson, I learn, has lived at your home? What do -you know about him or his people?” - -I told him all that I knew about him, and said, among other things, -that he had told my mother that Nickerson was only a part of his name. -And I interspersed with this information not a little praise of Jot, to -camouflage the fact that I didn’t actually know much about him. - -The purpose of these inquiries the colonel did not, of course, reveal. -I was not a little surprised, however, when he said: “He looks like -a German officer I once knew. I infer, from what you have told me, -that he does not talk much about himself or his business. It’s a very -soldierly quality!” - -As I went to my quarters below decks this remark was buzzing in my head -like a bumble bee in a haying field. As the colonel had not instructed -me to the contrary, I informed Jot, when I again saw him, about the -colonel’s remarks--all except the last one, about the German officer. - -Jot stood for a moment, as though in thought, and then said, “It will -do no harm to tell you that I can speak a little German which I learned -from my father and his people. The first words I ever spoke were -German; but mother didn’t like it.” Here he stopped as though he had -already said too much, then, putting his hands affectionately on my -shoulders, added, “Does it really make any difference to you, David, -who my father was, when you know me so well?” And I knew that it would -be useless to ask him further questions on that subject. - -We soon began to meet ships and fishing craft, mine sweepers, and -tankers, which showed that we were nearing the coast. Next came a point -of land like a cloud on the horizon, and then the top of a lighthouse -appeared. - -Was it France or England? It was France. - -We learned that we were the first American transport to land at this -port. - -Entering a narrow channel which widened out into a broad harbor, we -were safe in France! - -“No one lands until ordered to do so by the commander of the port,” was -the next order. - -It was not until the next day that the colonel, and some other officers -were ordered ashore to see the port commodore; then, after some more -waiting, we were told to get ready for landing. Shortly after, we saw -the lighters coming up on which we were to disembark. - - - - -CHAPTER VI IN BEAUTIFUL FRANCE - - -Our first view of the land we had come to rescue was not prepossessing. -Some men were standing on the sidewalks, as we marched through the -narrow street ankle deep in mud. - -“Are we in France, or in the mud?” facetiously queried one soldier. As -we marched through the narrow streets there was much cheering--not like -American cheers, long drawn out, but sharp and not all together. There -were some personal allusions in English. - -“I give you a kees;” said a girl. “You big fine Americans!” - -The salutations were as unlike our home calls as were the city and its -buildings. The buildings were crowded together as though land were -scarce, they were of stone with carvings and copper ornaments, which -even the soldier would notice, they were so fine. - -We wanted to break loose and see France and talk to the people, but -discipline held us in line. To men who had been confined for three -weeks in narrow, stifling ship quarters, the air was invigorating. - -We reached the station on schedule time, and were embarked on third -class cars, a squad of eight men to a compartment. No dogs were -allowed, but I got Muddy in all the same, the guard taking pains not to -see him. - -To Americans, accustomed to our large coaches, these little box-like -cars seemed like toys. - -“Sho!” said Sam, “do they intend to give us one apiece? They are like -baby carriages!” - -They were, however, fairly comfortable, but after jolting along for -several hours, when the train stopped, naturally every one wanted to -get out. Our officers had a full-sized man’s job to get them back again -on time. - -Peter Beaudett, a French Canadian Yankee, protested, “I was saying -something to a fine leetle girl; she speak de French to me.” - -Then we steamed on again, and after some hours we stopped at a station -for hot coffee, then rode all night. - -“I didn’t suppose,” said Sam Jenkins, “that France was big enough for -so much travel.” - -At last we stopped, and were told that we had reached our destination. - -We had reached the “Base Station,” or “Rest Camp,” and went into -quarters. They consisted of low, one-story, portable barracks, lightly -built with dirt floors, white oiled cotton cloth for windows, and -with wooden cots similar to those in our home barracks. Though not as -luxurious by a big sight, they were comfortable. It was one of several -similar camps on the outskirts of an inland historic city. - -We took our ease for a few days, slept, ate, and visited the town when -we could get a pass. None was allowed out of our well-guarded camp -without one, and all must return at 9.30 P. M. or be punished. Then we -began the routine of drill again, with French officers to teach us the -new methods of fighting, such as bomb throwing and trench duty. - -At retreat one afternoon we were informed that we were to be reviewed -the next day. So after mess we shaved, bathed, brushed up our -equipments and uniforms with unusual care, and with a French regiment -for escort, marched and countermarched, with the stars and stripes -flying and bands playing; and then marched some more! - -The contrast between the French escort and our men was great. The -French were different in many ways, some of them impossible to express -in words. They were of inferior stature, many of them being not over -five feet, two inches, and by contrast our men seemed giants. Their -step was quick and brisk, while the strides of the Americans was a -long, swinging stride, the step of men accustomed to hills and rough -land, not that of good roads and pavements. - -We were greeted heartily by the crowds of people gathered on the -sidewalks and at the windows of the buildings. Cries of “vive les -Amerique!” and other calls, that I did not comprehend, were heard. -Flowers were thrown at us. But there were no long-drawn-out cheers such -as we were accustomed to hear at home on similar occasions. After much -marching and parading there came the order: - -“Halt! Right dress! Front! Present arms!” - -We were being reviewed by that great French soldier who, when the -German hordes were marching on Paris, threw himself like a lion in -their path and turned the current of the battle, General Pétain. - -Some of us had read of him and looked with intense interest at this -soldier of France. He was an erect martial figure, a little stout; with -eyes keen, steady and penetrating, a white mustache, all the whiter -by contrast with the darkening tan that told of long service in the -field. No one could mistake him for other than a soldier; he bore that -undefinable stamp of long service, discipline, and command of men. - -Then we passed in review with our wagon trains, cannon, and machine -guns, the people cheering in their way, and showering us with wreaths -and flowers. - -Even our mules, because they were American, came in for a share of -attention. One fractious animal, that on account of bad conduct had -been taken from a baggage wagon, drew attention by standing on his -front feet and waving his hind legs and tail in the upper air, as -though trying to make holes in the sky, and paint his displeasure with -his tail. He was saluted with applause and laughter. - -One thing was preeminently seen, we American soldiers held the hearts -and minds of all. Later in camp we came to know more of our hosts. - -The enlisted man has this advantage of his officers in learning to -speak a language. He is not kept from trying to speak, by fear of -making mistakes. He blunders on, and at last makes himself understood, -though he makes fearful mistakes. - -I was not long in the camp before I was hailed by a _poilu_ who spoke -the “American language.” He greeted me by saying, “How is little old -New York?” He told me that he had lived there, but had come back when -the war started to fight for his country. - -One day while I was writing a letter to the home folks, with Muddy -lying by my side, Jot, accompanied by a woman, the English-speaking -poilu, and with a little girl in his arms, came to me saying: - -“Dave, I want to show the dog to this baby and its mother.” So Muddy -was put through his cunning tricks, and was played with and petted to -his doggish heart’s delight. - -At this time I was in my eighteenth year--broad shouldered, and five -feet eleven and one-half inches in height. My uniform emphasized my -stalwart form, now filled out and straightened by military training. -Though I was never considered a big man at home, I felt myself, by the -side of the smaller French soldiers, somewhat of a giant. - -I stood up and saluted the little sad-faced woman and the “poilu”, and -heard, or rather saw that she had asked some question about me. - -“What is it she is saying?” I inquired. - -“She wants to know,” replied the poilu, “if I knew the blond giant in -America. Our people don’t know what a big country America is. They -think it mostly New York city. You Americans are taller than our people -but,” he added proudly, “my countrymen are big in courage and spirit.” - -I remarked upon the large number of women who wore long crepe veils, -when he replied, “Yes; there are many in mourning for their dead. This -little woman had already lost two sons in this war, and has just now -got word that her only remaining son had been killed in battle.” - -“She is not crying,” I said. - -“No,” he replied. “Her loss is too deep for tears, and she is consoled -by knowing that she has given them to France.” - -“Express to her my sympathy,” I said, and Jot added, “Tell her that we -are very sorry indeed for her.” - -Then seeing that she had made some reply, we asked what she had said. - -“She said: ‘God gave them to me, and I have given them to France.’” - -While this conversation was going on, a man came up and stood -apparently intent on watching the child and dog, and seeming to give no -attention to our talk. Then touching Jot on the shoulder and drawing -him out of hearing, he began to talk to him, as though trying to get -his consent to some proposal, and then moved away with him towards -the colonel’s quarters in a nearby château. He looked to me like the -same man I had seen talking to Jot at home when the horse trader -visited us. I wondered at this, for Jot was not given to making chance -acquaintances. Then I saw them disappear in the large house where the -colonel had his quarters. - -After undergoing intensive training for several weeks, we were thought -fit to receive more practical and strenuous duties and practice, by -being moved to real war trenches within reach of the guns of the enemy. - -We in the ranks knew that something was up. The Eagle (colonel) had -summoned our Skipper (captain), a clerk had copied a list of names that -had been given him, and now all the officers were in with the eagle. -The supply sergeant was already nailing up boxes, and the mess sergeant -had been heard to say: - -“I can’t see how the oven can be moved again”--all of which were signs -to any soldier that our regiment was about to “pull out.” - -We were all on tiptoe when the order came. - -Every man whose shoes did not fit him got a chance to change them. Then -a list of promotions was published and, to my surprise and pleasure, I -was promoted to be a sergeant in place of one reduced. I was assigned -to a loading detail by the top, and with nineteen men went to the -quartermaster’s depot with an auto, and loaded up with ten days’ -traveling rations, and hauled them to the depot. By ten o’clock the -barrack bags came down, seven days’ rations were put in a freight car, -and three laid out on the platform. - -All was ready, and after dark the companies marched down to the station -to entrain. I fell in line in my place on the platform with the rest. -Then the mess sergeant and cooks dealt out enough “chow” (rations) for -the corporals, so that each man had for his squad a can of beans, two -cans of Willy (corn beef), and four packages of hard bread, and a can -of jam. - -“It has got to last you three days,” cautioned the mess sergeant; “so -go easy on it.” - -The top came along and checked every squad as it embarked. The officers -shook hands with the railroad transportation officer and, together with -the French interpreter, climbed aboard. - -They were little box cars, and painted on the outside “32 hommes, 8 -cheveaux.” There were portable benches at each end and a good lot of -straw. - -“Sure,” said Pat who was in my car, “it is comfortable enough for a -pig.” - -“Aw!” rejoined Shaw, “Cheveaux means horses, you wild Irishman!” - -[Illustration: “AW!” REJOINED SHAW, “CHEVEAUX MEANS HORSES, YOU WILD -IRISHMAN!”--Page 50.] - -Then we settled into the car; rifles in place, kits hung up on the -sides, a lantern swung in the center. We were, despite all the -growling, very comfortable. There was a seat for every man. All voted -that it beat third class cars. - -We reached a coffee station, and lined up outside the car in double -ranks, and each man got a cup full of French coffee. Then came an all -night ride. The men took off their boots and, with a haversack for a -pillow, slept snug as bugs in a rug. - -I slept, sitting up, with my back against the door, querying to myself -if the buck private’s job was not easier than that of a sergeant. And I -thought, possibly the skipper himself did not have so easy a time as I -had sometimes thought. - -The scenery was beautiful. We followed the course of a river. On the -banks were old castles, beautiful châteaus, villages with red topped -roofs, and always stone bridges. - -“Say, boys!” exclaimed Sam, “we would have to pay big money for this -sight seeing excursion, before the war.” - -It was getting so interesting that we forgot to eat. - -“Where are we going, Sergeant?” - -“Don’t know.” - -“How long will it take to get there?” inquired another inquisitive -Yankee. - -“Don’t know,” I replied, “there are three days’ rations on board, and -seven in a freight car.” - -“Don’t the skipper or eagle know?” - -“Guess not; we are travelling on confidential orders; perhaps the eagle -does know.” - -So on through France we travelled, to heaven knows where! - -At last we halted at a small station. An officer met us and inquired -for the commanding officer. The train pulled in to a high platform, -where we unloaded. We had reached the limits of our railroad travel. It -was dark, and we were tired and hungry, with prospects of cold grub for -supper. - -We were assigned to billets by an American officer--stables, barns, -stores and lofts. Some big galvanized cans of hot coffee were sent us -by the officer of an American regiment already established. - -“Thanks!” I heard the colonel say. “I hope to return the compliment -some time.” - -“You can return the coffee out of your ration tomorrow; it is the rule -here to help each other.” - -The most expressive part of our location was that for the first time, -we were within sound of guns. We heard a dull boom! boom! and at times -thought we heard the sharper sound of rifles. We were near the front at -last, and were to get practical experiences in the trenches, further to -fit us for the grim duties of soldiering. - - - - -CHAPTER VII IN THE TRENCHES - - -I, with others, was billeted in a house and barn tenanted by a little -French woman with a brood of several young children, whose husband -was fighting for France. Others were billeted, by the town major, in -warehouses, lofts, and other places. - -After a few days’ rest in our billets, we were marched to the trenches. - -The American front in France at this time, so far as there was any -front, was in Lorraine. In reality there was no American front, -because our army had not had the training to hold one. While we had -received the drill of ordinary soldiering, we lacked experience in the -prevailing war methods then in use. - -While my regiment is marching forward to take up trench duties in front -of the enemy’s lines, let us take a look at what constitutes that part -of a modern army known as an infantry regiment; for infantry is the -body and mainstay of an army. - -The old Civil War regiments were made up of ten companies of 152 -officers and men; more often less. The modern company has 256 officers -and men; and the regiments made up by these twelve companies, has -103 officers and 3,652 men. The officers of the modern company, -while on a war footing are: One captain, three first lieutenants, two -second lieutenants, one first sergeant, one mess sergeant, one supply -sergeant, twelve sergeants, thirty-three corporals, four mechanics, -four cooks, two buglers, and 192 privates. One of the first lieutenants -is the captain’s assistant; the others each command one of its four -platoons of men. - -The transportation equipment of a regiment is more elaborate than is -generally known. It consists of twenty-two combat wagons, sixteen -rolling kitchens for cooking food, twenty-two baggage and ration -wagons, sixteen ration carts, fifteen water carts, three medical carts, -twenty-four machine-gun carts, fifty-nine riding horses, eight riding -mules, three hundred and thirty-two draft mules, two motorcycles with -side cars, one motor car and forty-two bicycles. - -Arrived at the trenches we were taught, among other things, to -“camouflage” as the French call it, which means to disguise, or -conceal. This has become an art in modern warfare, because cavalry is -no longer the eyes of an army as in former times, and airplanes reveal -what is not carefully hidden. - -For illustration: an artilleryman of heavy guns now seldom sees the -object he is to fire upon. The directions for firing are given by -signals from air-craft. These locate the enemy’s line of battle, -trenches, machine gun and artillery emplacements, magazines or the -“dugout” of some general to be fired upon. - -Hence, to disguise or _camouflage_ them is important. Heavy artillery -firing is not by sighting, but by directions given them by mathematical -calculation. The guns, even, are streaked with paint to resemble the -surrounding country, so that they may be more effectually concealed. - -The concealment of artillery magazine stations, or other important -stations, has been brought to great perfection. Sometimes a road -leading to them is roofed by canvas and painted to resemble the -surrounding scenery of rocks or foliage. - -The war trench is a ditch six feet or more in depth, with a fire step -that brings a soldier to the height needful for firing upon an enemy. -On the top of this trench, along the front edge of it, are laid bags -filled with sand, so disposed as to give loopholes through which a -rifle can be fired without requiring the soldier to expose his head. -This trench is not built on a straight line, but zigzag like the teeth -of an enormous saw, so that its machine-guns and riflemen can fire down -and parallel along the trench. At every twenty feet or more, there is -a barricade built across the trenches, so that if any enemy should get -possession of one part of it, he can not, by artillery, machine-guns or -rifles, fire down the whole length upon the men there; for this would -be tremendously destructive. - -In front and about ten feet from the trench is a barricade of barbed -wire. This is made by setting stakes very firmly in the ground so deep -and solid that they can not be easily removed, and twisting barbed -wire around them. It is impossible to pass through this entanglement -without first destroying it by artillery fire, or cutting it; and this -is costly to life. - -There are, in addition to this trench, three other rear trenches. -These are joined with the front trench by connecting trenches, through -which the soldier can pass with comparative safety. - -In these rear trenches are first aid and food stations; and in a -dugout, safety sheltered and concealed in the rear, is the general who -directs the fighting. To his dugout, or station, are connected wires or -telephones and telegraph, so that he can conduct the fight, and receive -intelligence of everything taking place on the battle line. Though he -is in comparative safety his is a hard position; for he can not leave -it without losing some point of importance, in the work of direction. - -The science of war, in its details, has vastly changed since the Civil -War, though the principles that govern its larger movements are the -same, modified somewhat by the new machinery used in fighting. - -It was October, 1917, when we had landed in France; it was now -February, 1918, cold, bleak, and dreary. Rain, snow and sleet had made -soldiering uncomfortable anywhere; and the trenches were no exception -to this rule--but rather an exaggeration of it. - -It has sometimes seemed to me, that in my army life the most -inconvenient times were always selected for its most disagreeable -duties. This rule held good for our introduction to life in the -trenches. It was a cold day. Snow covered the ground--at least that -portion of it not trampled into the chalky mud, which, partially -thawed, stuck to our feet like poultices. Marching, however, with heavy -packs soon warmed us, and we were glad to arrive at our destination. - -The sector to which we were assigned for duty had been occupied by -some French troops, who were just moving out. They did not cheer -us--for cheers are out of place in some parts of soldiering, especially -where it may give information to the enemy. But they welcomed us with -brightening eyes, and nods, and smiles of approval, as we filed into -the trenches; and looked--so it seemed to me--not a little enviously at -our well-filled packs with the heavy blankets of our outfit. - -We found the trenches which had been constructed for the _poilu_, a -little shallow for taller Americans. And as we had been warned not to -show our heads above the parapets, we had to crouch when moving through -them. - -We were told that some of these trenches occupied by the French had -board flooring; but ours did not, except in spots. - -“By Shorge,” said Peter Beaudett, “do they think we are feesh?” - -“An’ sure,” said Pat Quinn in a hoarse whisper, “no dacent fish would -live here--it’s mud turtles that we are!” - -“Hush up,” commanded the top sergeant, in a hoarse whisper, “no noise; -keep your ears and eyes open, but shut your mouths.” - -Silence followed; but as we threw off our packs, and were told to make -ourselves comfortable, it seemed a little sarcastic. - -“If we mustn’t talk,” said Sam, in a low tone, “I suppose they can’t -hinder us from keeping up a lot of thinking, can they?” - -“An’ how can a man think,” muttered Pat, “with all this half-frozen mud -on his fate and moind?” - -We had settled down, in the mud, as one of the sergeants said to -me with a wink, and with Yankee ingenuity were making ourselves as -comfortable as we could. Private Shaw made a stove by punching holes in -a metal bucket, and kindling a fire therein (which Corporal Sutherland -said was “a kind of lightning bug heater”). He sat with it between his -legs, trying to warm himself. Peter Beaudett, with his blanket wrapped -around him, was saying all sorts of funny things in a low tone, about -soldiering, and the irrepressible Quinn, with Irish combativeness, was -making contrary replies. - -“What made me get into this mud,” grumbled Peter, “when I had a good -home and such beeg lot of comforts that I didn’t know that I had any?” - -“An’ why,” said Quinn “didn’t ye’s stay tied to your mither’s apron -string, so ye’s could crawl under the bed whin it thundered?” - -In spite of all this by-play of growling and seeming grumpiness, the -men were not dissatisfied at being face to face with their enemy, or at -least in the trenches opposite them. - -The opposing lines, meanwhile, were so silent that our men, peering -cautiously through the “gun holes” as Sam called the spaces left -between the sand bags piled on top in front, were curious to see the -Boche, and could be hardly restrained from firing a shot to “stir them -up.” This feeling also was seen in those of higher rank; for is it not -natural for Americans to want to “see something doing”? - -The French, who were acting as our instructors, and who had had -experience in these same trenches, cautioned us against this. They -said that there was a tacit agreement between the contestants, not to -needlessly stir up a fight. - -There was a well of water just to our right, midway between the -opposing trenches where, by tacit consent, two men at a time were -allowed to resort; near it was an apple tree whose limbs enticed one, -provokingly, as good for firewood. - -The next night following these occurrences was one of watchful waiting. -I was sergeant of the guard; but nothing of importance occurred during -the night, except that the weather moderated, and the rain came -pouring down in torrents and then turned to sleet. But when it came -my turn off, it was not too rainy for sound, dreamless sleep--and, as -soldiering goes, it was not so very uncomfortable to strong athletic -youngsters with hot blood in their veins; as grew apparent to us, by -contrast, later. - -With the coming of morning, American restlessness and the desire to see -things moving became more apparent in our ranks, and even among our -officers. - -“Phat the divil are we here for a’ tall?” said Pat Quinn. “Is it to be -sitting with our thumbs in our mouths like the little Jack Horner?” - -It had ceased to rain. The sun had come out, and the clouds cleared -away sufficiently for us to catch glimpses of blue in the sky; and -American blood and impatience began to stir. - -When two German soldiers without arms were seen at the well mentioned, -taking a wash and getting water, they were not at first molested, -though it could be seen that Yankee fingers were itching to take a shot. - -After finishing washing, one of the Boches began cutting some branches -from the tree. That was too much for Private Shaw, who stuck his rifle -between the sand bags and _crack!_ went a shot at the Boches who, -dropping wood and water, scampered in unheroic haste for their holes. - -“Who did that?” inquired the tall lieutenant of our platoon. “Who fired -that shot?” - -“It was me, sir,” answered Shaw. “I wanted some of that wood myself!” - -“Well,” said the lieutenant good-naturedly, “you stand a mighty poor -chance to get any of it now.” And just as he spoke and straightened up -a little, _ping!_ came a bullet that passed through the officer’s hat. - -“The imperdence of the divil!” said Pat; “sure, Lieutenant, are ye -hurted?” - -The lieutenant was mad, and walked away growling under his breath -without reply. - -In a few moments, bang! bang! bang! bang! went our light guns; and then -came replies from the enemy that boded ill for quiet times, for the -Boche guns, speaking from their hiding places, seemed likely to reach -us in our burrows. - -One great eight-inch shot struck near our parapet, exploding with a -crashing roar, breaking a broad path through the barbed-wire barricade -and leaving a hole big enough to bury a whole platoon. - -“Faith, is that phat they call a Jack Johnson?” said Quinn, “or is it a -little light-weight fellow?” - -Our French officer was understood to say that it was the latter. Peter -Beaudett, during the firing, had been struck by a small piece of spent -shell, which knocked him over while barely breaking the skin of his -jaws. He “rustled” as Shaw declared “like a hen with its head cut off;” -then, finding that he was not killed, though two of his teeth had been -knocked out, he angrily shook his fist towards the enemy, crying out: -“Py tam! I no like your doctor pulls my teeth; I fight you now, by tam!” - -We had got our lesson, that two can play at a dangerous game; and after -this the opposing lines settled down for a while, to comparative peace -and quiet. - -Such was our introduction to trench warfare, on the front line, which -finally grew in intensity and became exciting and dangerous enough -to satisfy the most enterprising Yankee. Even this first experience, -however, had convinced us that there were worse discomforts than rain, -snow, or mud. - -Shortly after this, it was my duty to take a turn with a squad on the -listening post. I had with me a young German-American named Kepler, -whose father had been a soldier with my father during the Civil War, -and whose loyalty and patriotism were unquestioned. He was quiet, -phlegmatic, and resolute; absolutely to be depended upon, and, better -still, spoke and understood the German language. - -Silently creeping through the excavation leading under our barbed wire -barricade and, leading to the front of the German trenches, we reached -our station. Here we listened for possible movements of the enemy, but -all was quiet and we had, as Sam said, who was another of our party, -“nothing to report, but a big lot of silence and chills.” - -A listening post, here let me explain, runs underground, in most cases, -beneath the barbed wire barricade which protects the trench from -sudden invasion, such as mining to blow up our trenches; and sometimes -conversation and orders could be heard, which gave valuable information. - -Of course the Germans, on their part, also had listening posts -constantly near us whose whereabouts were, however, not known, though -sometimes guessed at. - -The duties of those on listening posts had not only a spice of danger, -but an appeal to the natural curiosity of a New Englander. Therefore, -with all its “cramped-up-itiveness,” as Sam called it, it was not -without its fascination for our boys. - -When, after a tour of four days’ duty on the front-line trench, we were -relieved and marched to our rest billets in the rear, we found it more -than agreeable. - -As Sutherland stood up at his full six-foot height, he said, looking -around and taking a full breath, “Say, isn’t this a big country!” - -“Shure,” agreed Pat, “ye’s can get a white man’s braith and niver a -fear of getting a bullet to vintelite your head, or a piece of shell to -knock out your dintistry.” - -At which Peter Beaudett rubbed his jaw and ejaculated, “Ugh!” - -With all the badinage and by-play of rough jokes, the men were more -serious when coming from the trenches than when, with some forebodings, -they had taken up its duties. - -My! how I enjoyed “chow” that night when mess call sounded! And the -dreamless sleep that followed, with clean straw and with a blanket -spread over it for a bed! - - - - -CHAPTER VIII “WHO COMES THERE?” - - -One of the first things I did on going into rest billet was to send -word to Jonathan by Muddy. - -Our friendship had grown stronger since entering the army, and we had -kept it up by frequent intercourse; both by meetings and by exchange of -notes back and forth by Muddy. When I put a note in his collar and told -him to carry it to Jot, he seemed to understand what he must do; and -these notes except, in one or two instances, reached their destination. - -There were some jokes about the “Muddy mail,” but most of our comrades -thought it was wonderfully intelligent that the dog understood when -told to carry it. - -There had never been any serious misunderstanding between Jot and me. -Ever since coming to France, however, there had been vague insinuations -that Jot was of German parentage and sympathies. There was nothing that -I knew that warranted such a belief; but since I had learned that he -spoke their language, these whispers of suspicion had increased until -they affected me with just a little inner questioning. What was the -reason for his being always so reticent about his father? - -I did not, however, for a moment distrust his patriotism or loyalty to -our country. The general distrust and hatred of everything German was -common among all classes. It was but the natural result of the wicked -and cruel policy of the German government and army, since entering upon -this dreadful war, which now seemed to menace civilization and free -government, so dear to Americans. - -When Jot came to see me, as requested by my note through the “Muddy -mail,” I told him of these rumors, and said: “Would it not be better to -tell about your family, and stop these sinister rumors, for good?” - -“You have confidence in me, haven’t you, Davie?” Jot replied. - -“Yes,” I asserted, “I think I would trust you sooner than myself, in -any important matter. But wouldn’t it be better for me to know the -truth, so that I can contradict these insinuations?” - -After a moment’s thought, he replied: “Well, possibly it would. But -it is to satisfy you rather than them, that I will say, my father was -born in the United States. He was, in that sense, an American. I have a -half-brother three years older than I, who is said to resemble me, but -we never agreed. And there was a misunderstanding between my father and -mother that was never healed. It was by her request, almost her last -one, that I have taken my present name. That’s all I can tell you, and -that is all there is of consequence to know.” - -This had to satisfy me, and with it I hoped to contradict any further -insinuations that I might hear. - -Soon after this we were on duty again in the front trenches, and were -at first careful not to stir up needless fighting. - -The duties of a soldier call for constant caution and alertness; and -yet he must have a care-free cheerfulness with it all. He must not -borrow either sorrow or trouble. It requires time to nourish either -fear or worry, and the philosophy that does not cultivate them is the -one that produces the most comfort for a soldier. So, during our stay -at the rest billets, we ate and joked and enjoyed more than those -who live in the calm of life. And now, when with a certain confident -jauntiness we again took our places in the trenches we were full of -confidence and courage; and it proved the wisdom of frequent rests in -this nerve-straining duty. - -We were, however, not only getting acquainted with our duties and its -dangers, but were making acquaintance with its other discomforts. - -We were admonished by our officers to keep clean and cheerful. But I -could not see that we needed the advice more than those who gave it; -for I came upon our captain with his shirt off curiously investigating -the seams of it for certain familiar invaders that were a plague to -most of us. It was shiveringly cold and damp, but these pests were no -respecters of rank. Cooties, as Tommy Atkins calls them, can not be put -out or down with a frown, or even by a general order from headquarters. - -“They and the rats are,” said Sutherland, “a providential war creation -intended to keep soldiers so busy as to forget, with scratching and -frequent investigation, all smaller troubles.” However, he used -sulphurous words, common from time immemorial to soldiers, because our -French predecessors had left these pestiferous enemies behind them for -us to fight. - -“By Shorge,” said Peter Beaudett, “I dinks dey carries enough de -cooties away to keep dem busy! But de rats! one got’a hold of the ear -of me the las’ night!” - -Sutherland, who was something of a reader, declared that he had never -before understood why it was that in “Tristam Shandy,” so much emphasis -was put by Uncle Toby in his assertion that “The army swore terribly in -Flanders;” but that the reason was now revealed: for it surely was the -cooties, that caused this profanity! - -No one can understand the discomforts of trench life when simply -depicted in words. No one can describe a trench by word or picture; -he can not introduce any one there by illustration, he must be there -himself, or he can not understand its real discomforts. They did not -seem fit places for civilized men, those who used combs, brushes, soap -and napkins, had clean hands and faces. We were ghosts of the cave men. - -Trench life, however, had its phases of good. It drew men together with -a sense of companionship with danger and death, that they had not known -before. While a needful reserve was kept up between officers and men, -there was greater cordiality and a greater feeling of intimacy,--less -harshness. - -For some weeks there had been a season of peacefulness between the -lines. The weather had become warmer and more springlike, with -occasionally a sunny day. Then there came a change. We had become -accustomed to trench duties and not a little tired at its sameness. - -It was while I was on this duty that the change came. I, with others, -was on detail at a listening post one night, and while intently -listening, young Kepler said in a whisper: “Did you hear that, -Sergeant?” - -“I heard a growl,” I whispered, “as though some one was speaking.” - -“I think they are going to attack, somewhere,” he said. “There, did you -hear that?” - -“No, what is it?” - -“Some one giving orders,” he replied. “I can’t hear distinctly, but I -am sure it means an attack.” - -We sent back word to the trenches, and they in turn sent back word to -the commandant in his dugout, that there was an unusual stir on the -German front opposite us; though we could tell nothing more definite at -that time. - -It was not long before we learned the meaning of what we had heard at -the listening post. - -A tremendous explosion of artillery, about two o’clock, broke the -stillness of the damp gray morning. Gas shells came whistling over us. -We put on our gas masks, and were thankful that the shells were mostly -going over us instead of striking near. Our heads with these masks -looked queer, and laughter-provoking. - -“This means an attack,” was passed down the lines. - -“I don’t think they know any more about it than we do,” some one -growled. - -“It’s meself,” said Pat Quinn, “that wishes it would come along -dacently soon, if it’s coming.” - -This expressed the feeling often felt among soldiers,--to know the -worst and have it over with quickly. - -“They fire all along the line,” said our lieutenant, “so that we can -not tell where the real attack is coming.” - -The continuous whistling of gas shells and the sickening fumes that -partially reached us, the explosions over and near us, and our answers -in like kind made it even then seem like a hell on earth. - -Then the enemy seemed to get a more perfect aim, and their shells swept -away our wire barricades clean to the ground, as though they were -cobwebs, until not even a post was left standing. - -Our men, cowered under the earth embankments, waiting, waiting, with -high-strung, impatient and nervous suspense, until, at last, they were -warned that the attack was at hand. - -Then our artillery quickened in sharp explosions, while the _rat, -tat, tat_ of the machine-guns, like a stick being drawn over a slat -fence, filled the air with a demoniac clamor impossible to describe. -The air was full of hoarsely shrieking shells and shot that made the -air vibrate, and the ground rock, as though the demons themselves had -broken loose! - -Then the nerves that were shaken stiffened, and we were ready for the -attack. - -The Boche came on in two waves, one behind the other, and were met by -the deadly, coolly-directed machine-gun fire and the well-aimed rifles -of our sharpshooters. Still they came on, got possession of one small -part of our entrenchment between two traverses, and tried to drive our -men down the trenches by enfilading them with machine-gun fire. But -they were driven back again with losses in dead, wounded, and prisoners. - -The dark clouds that had hung over the scene during the fight cleared. -The sun came out and as it neared the horizon, like a great disk of -blood, the dark smoke drifted away, revealing the scene in our front. -There a score of mortally wounded and dead lay. - -When we took stock of our losses, we found them slight. One of our -first lieutenants was wounded, two privates killed, and five wounded, -two of them but slightly, and two missing. - -I was so fortunate as to receive praise from my captain for what he -called my “coolness and courage.” But, I must confess the truth, I was -at first woefully frightened but tried not to show it. - -I have since learned that though big gun fire makes an alarming sound, -it also makes a good many holes in the air without touching a head; and -that the most fatal effects in battle are more often from well-aimed -machine-gun fire and rifles. - -After a battle, when the enemy has been successfully met, there comes -a feeling of exaltation among its defenders. The French officers were -generous in praise of us, while our captain said, “You made a good -fight, and I am proud of every one of you.” - -Colonel Burbank also was generous in his praise. “It is your baptism -of fire as soldiers that you will never forget, and can remember with -pride,” he stated. - -When I remembered my trembling knees and the sick feeling at the pit -of my stomach, I doubted if any of the praise belonged to me, but -concluded not to mention it. - -Peter Beaudett, who was wounded severely in the arm and had first aid, -said, with a wink at Quinn, as though he had good fortune instead of a -wound, “By gar! It means to me a bed and much clean sheets.” - -“Shure,” replied our ever disputing Quinn, “and it may mane a doctor’s -saw,” and then seeing by his wounded comrade’s face that his remark was -cutting deeper than he intended, added more softly, “a pretty Red Cross -nurse and a vacation. An’ I almost wish it was meself that was in your -place.” - -Our lieutenant was more severely wounded than was at first thought and -we learned that it was the opinion of the surgeons that it would be a -long time, if ever, before he was able to resume his duties with the -company. - -Here let me, unwillingly, record the fact that Muddy did not prove -to be a hero. When the racket began, he tucked his tail between his -legs and with a whine and an apologetic look at me over his shoulder, -scampered off in a most unheroic manner. - -“This means promotion to some one,” said our men, when it was known -that our first lieutenant, Reese, was not likely to resume duty on -account of the severity of his wounds. - -In spite of hardships and battle, to which, however, we were becoming -reconciled, we professed ourselves enthusiastically ready for another -“bout” with the Boches, and didn’t care who knew it! - -I was very proud, for my friend Jonathan gained the good opinion of his -officers and men, by his soldierly coolness and courage. - -“Say,” said Sutherland confidentially, “them German chaps don’t take a -back seat in fighting, I guess.” - -“It is no use to dispute the fact that they are brave men,” I answered. - -“Aw!” said Pat, “of course, or they wouldn’t be holdin’ on here in -France by their teeth like so many divils. An’ I haven’t a doubt that -ould Satan himsilf is a brave one too.” - -Thus ended our first real fight in France, the memory of which gave -us courage for the fighting before us. One of the results was seen -a few weeks after, when First Sergeant Nickerson was promoted to be -second lieutenant of my company, in place of Lieutenant Reese, who was -mustered out of the service with honors on account of wounds. I was -also promoted to be a second sergeant, and no one but myself knew how -undeserved was my advancement; though there came a time soon when I -thought I deserved it better. - - - - -CHAPTER IX A CALL RETURNED - - -“See here!” said our burly top sergeant, “the Boches have made a call -on us, and it seems to me it is up to us to return it, as is usual in -polite society.” - -“I wouldn’t be so sorry,” growled Sutherland, with a grin, “if I never -saw them again.” - -“An’ sure, as my mither used to say about the O’Flyns,” said Quinn, -“their room is bether than their company.” - -But individual preferences do not count in the army. Everything, even -human nature, must yield to discipline. The making of a soldier is -not the matter of a day, or one of personal preference; it is one of -progressive training; and a part of that training is to put in practice -that which has been learned in theory. - -For illustration: we had been taught, in theory, the importance of -personal cleanliness for the preservation of health; but in the squalor -of trench life, we were apt to disregard it. Especial care in washing -of the feet was enjoined, to prevent trench feet which is not only a -painful infliction but one that unfits a soldier for marching or other -duty. - -“An’ why,” said Quinn, “don’t they put off bein’ so particular until we -have more toime?” - -“Because,” said Sutherland, “the time to do a thing in the army is when -it is the most inconvenient.” - -“I belave yees,” said Pat. “They expect us to shave and kape nate as -though we were going to a dance, or to call on the prisident, instid of -standing on a fire step in a muddy trench, with rats running over us -and cooties for steady visitors.” - -Though others complained of rats, I was not inconvenienced by them; -for Muddy, who was a good ratter, slept cuddled up by me. Woe to one -that was seen within his range by night or day. Though it was at first -feared that he might bark, he seemed to understand that the trench was -not a place for noise. - -There was a rumor that we were soon to go “over the top” to make a -morning call on the Boches. Where or how an army rumor starts no one -knows. But if there was ever a place where rumor first had birth, it -must have been in a camp of soldiers. - -“You can hear anything here but the truth,” said Quinn, “and a -botherin’ soight of that.” - -No matter where this rumor originated it was largely believed. Most of -the men could not see the use of being so polite as to return enemy -calls and, I confess, that I regarded even the thought of it with some -qualms. I wanted to be brave and hated myself for not welcoming the -chance to be in the lists of valor; but I didn’t! - -“It’s bad weather,” said Sutherland jocosely, “and a mighty -inconvenient time to be killed.” And that was the way I felt about -it. But a soldier is not consulted about his likings or conveniences -in doing anything; for he is but a part of a machine that is working -for a great purpose, and which must be fed on human discomfort and, -possibly, on human blood and life. - -When the order came for us to take a special bath and put on clean -clothing, the order that in modern warfare precedes a fight, we thought -it of the same piece with previous exactions for cleanliness and “fuss -scraping,” as Sam called it. I soon learned, however, that it was a -precaution taken as a preventive of blood poison and infection in case -of being wounded. - -There had been a rehearsal in the part which we were to take in the -attack. Every man was assigned his place and instructed as to what -he must do and how to do it. It was like the rehearsal of a stage -piece. To each man was issued an extra gas helmet,--making two in all. -These were examined by professionals to see that they were in order; -and we were drilled in quickly adjusting them in case of need. Our -identification disks, which are carried by each soldier, were carefully -fastened to our persons, to identify those severely wounded or killed. - -Our aviators, like great gulls, flying above the German lines, had been -searching out their machine-gun emplacements, magazines and artillery; -and we knew by all these signs that our trial of arms was near. - -At twelve o’clock at night men were sent out to cut broad paths through -the barbed wire barricades for the passage of our troops. At about half -past one our guns opened fire on the enemy to destroy the rest of their -wire entanglements; and, although I knew that the cannonade was a -friendly one, it seemed to lift the roots of my hair from my scalp, at -the thought that one of them might accidentally kill me. - -I couldn’t make myself feel brave when I thought of taking part in the -impending attack; though I had schooled myself to stolid determination -to get killed, rather than to let my comrades know that I was scared. -Pride is often a good substitute for courage. - -With all my fears and dread, my mind was clear, possibly because of the -stimulant of danger. But I saw too many unpleasant possibilities. A -vivid imagination is sometimes an inconvenient possession for a soldier. - -All at last was ready. Short ladders had been placed all along the -parapet, and rude stairways made of stakes were prepared, so that the -men could quickly go over the top of the trenches. An hour before the -coming attack we were moved to the front trench while others filled the -connecting trenches, ready to follow us over the top. - -It was in the gray hours of morning,--about four o’clock I should -judge,--while the guns were still belching over us, that the shrill -whistle of command sounded for advance. And up and over we went! - -To my surprise, I was less frightened than when contemplating the -danger. My mind worked with peculiar clearness as we went forward at -quick time towards the enemy under their heavy fire from machine-guns -and rifles. - -I saw men fall as though they had stumbled over a stone. One hundred -and fifty yards is not a great distance, but it is a long way to -travel under fire, at least it seemed a long way to me. - -As we neared the hostile trenches their entire front lit up with red -flame from machine-guns and rifles. - -Humming bullets, fierce screams, hoarse attempts at cheers, guttural -shouts, the clatter of machine-guns, all blended in one demoniac roar -as we piled over into the enemy’s trench. The foe at first resisted, -but at last yielded before the impetuous assault of our bayonets and -fell back through their communicating trenches. I saw one sticking out -his head from behind a traverse as much as to say, “I am at home.” -Another big German, swinging his rifle by the barrel for a club, -confronted me. I fended with my rifle barrel, lunged, and down he went! - -Then a confused mingling of men and sounds impossible to describe -succeeded. I was struck by some projectile and found myself wondering -what had happened to me. Then came the shrill whistle for retirement. I -struggled up and, but for a little faintness and an aching place under -my vest, was myself again. - -While comrades were climbing out of the trench, and I was about to -follow, my foot struck a prostrate form. It stirred slightly. I was -excitedly anxious to get back to our lines, but could not leave a -wounded comrade in the hands of the enemy. Picking up the man I threw -him over my shoulder, climbed painfully over the parapet and across the -shell-pitted ground. But on reaching our trench, my memory lapsed, and -down I sank with my burden. - -My first thought on recovering was of Jot. I had caught but one -transient glimpse of him during the fight. - -“Where’s Jot?” I asked. Then, seeing that they didn’t understand I -added, “Lieutenant Nickerson, I mean?” - -No reply was given. - -“Can you walk?” some one asked. - -“I guess I can,” I answered; “I came over here with a man over my -shoulder. I can walk.” - -“I think,” said Sutherland, “that I had better carry you pig-a-back; -these trenches are too narrow for a stretcher. There’s a bullet hole in -the breast of your coat. You are shot.” - -“Nonsense!” I said, “I can walk; but I have an awful sore spot under my -vest pocket; something knocked the breath out of me for a spell.” - -Arriving at the first aid station, with Sutherland’s help, my upper -clothing was stripped off and out fell a bullet! It had struck my -watch, broken the crystal, smashed the works, and left a big dent in -the case, almost half as deep as a thimble. It was directly over my -heart. The watch had saved my life. It had been my father’s watch, -presented to him by his company in the Civil War. - -“Carry him to the Clearing Station,” I heard some one say. - -In attempting to get up from my seat after the examination, I fell -again. I fancied that I heard the Surgeon say, “Collapse!” Then, once -more, everything faded, and next I found myself in a white still place -with many cots. It was a hospital. - -“What’s the matter, doctor?” I inquired; “what’s happened to me?” - -“Bad collapse; need rest. I wonder you did not drop dead, carrying a -man on your shoulder across No Man’s Land after that hurt.” - -One unpleasant fact was evident to me, and that was, I was in the -clutches of a surgeon. I always did hate doctors. - -I got up, looked in a little mirror to smooth my hair, and started back -to see a pale face looking out at me. I turned to go out of the door, -but was confronted by a blue-eyed Red Cross nurse and a burly attendant. - -“Let me alone,” I protested, “I want to see how my friend, Lieutenant -Nickerson, got out of the fight.” - -The nurse pointed, as a reply, to a near-by cot where a still form lay. -“What’s the matter!” I exclaimed, striding to the cot. “Who is it?” - -I needed no answer, it was Jot. - -“What’s the matter?” I again cried. “Is he dead?” - -“No,” said the surgeon; “only stunned; concussion of the brain from a -heavy blow. He will be all right with proper attention, after a while.” - -“How did he get here?” - -“Why, don’t you know?” he answered. “They said that _you_ brought him -across No Man’s Land almost on a run.” - -Thus it was I came to know that the comrade I had brought back into our -trench was my friend, Jot. - -I stayed in the hospital for several days, during which time they fed -me on light stuff, as though I were an infant, instead of a full-sized -doughboy, and I was losing strength. I wouldn’t have stayed there -contentedly that long, but to assure myself of Jot’s recovery. Then I -kicked. - -“There is nothing the matter with me, doctor, except I am faint with -hunger. I shall starve unless you give me something man’s size to eat!” - -“Give him something hearty,--an egg on toast,” ordered the doctor, “and -keep him quiet.” - -Then I knew I was in for “low diet” some more. - -“Lieutenant Nickerson wants to see you,” said the nurse. So I went to -his cot. - -“What is it, Jot? Are you better?” - -“Head’s a little sore, but otherwise fit as a fiddle!” - -“Well, look out,” I said, “or the doctor will starve you.” - -Jot smiled, and then said, “I want to thank you for saving my life. You -have always managed to stand between me and trouble from the first; and -now you have got between me and death, Davie.” - -“Why,” I replied, “I didn’t even know it was you, until after I got -here. I was in a hurry when I slung you over my shoulder. Your face was -downward. So you needn’t thank me for it; but I am as thankful as you -that I did it. I fixed that big Boche that was swinging his rifle for a -club, though.” Then I told him about it. - -“You always were good and brave, Davie.” - -“There is where you are out, this time, Jot,” I said. “Don’t tell any -one; but I was awful scared before we started for the Boche trench. I -would have run away had I dared. I suppose courage is a cumulative -thing, mine had to be given time to accumulate.” - -Jot lay back and laughed. - -“You needn’t laugh,” I said. “It is true as gospel, and I am ashamed to -let you know, I was a dreadful coward; but it is true!” - -After feeding on thin soup and a single egg on toast for breakfast, for -a week, I bribed the nurse to give me a beefsteak and some potatoes -and, on that forbidden diet, grew so strong that I got my discharge -from the hospital in a day or two. - -I am sincerely convinced that the most of my faintness was from -underfeeding,--sheer hunger. But that theorist of a doctor would not -believe it and thought his low diet and medicines had helped me to a -rapid recovery. - -I was glad to get back to my company again, and to receive the rough -but hearty congratulations of my comrades. - -“You still look pale,” said Sutherland. “Are you feeling all right now?” - -“Yes,” I replied. “You’d look as pale as I do if they had fed you on -air. When’s mess?” - -I saw the boys grin, for I had the reputation of being a good feeder; -but I was surely glad to get back to plain, hearty army rations again. - -So it was that I again took up my duties with a heartiness that, before -going “over the top,” I had been a trifle lacking in. - -I learned that on counting noses three of our company were killed and -seven wounded. - -We talked about that skirmish so much that the woman who owned the barn -where we had our billet complained, because her cow couldn’t sleep. And -after all the talk, there was not much of an understanding about the -fight; for a soldier does not see much that is taking place in battle a -great way from his nose. What we afterwards saw dwarfed this first call -on the Boches; but a first experience leaves a deep impression. - - - - -CHAPTER X IN REST BILLET - - -After our first call on the Boches, we enjoyed the rest and -recuperation of our billets. - -“This cow barn,” said Corporal Sutherland, “seems like a good thing -after being in the trenches; don’t it?” - -“An’ faith it does,” said Quinn; “but a fine tooth comb would improve -it.” - -“Pat,” said Dean, facetiously, “is related to that countryman of his -who found fault because he was to be hanged.” - -No sky is perfect without a few clouds; but we had an overshadowing one -because we did not get letters from home. There had been complaint ever -since the American Expeditionary Force first landed in France, that our -letters did not reach us as quickly as they should. - -Some mail had just come in, however, and the boys were gladdened by the -news. - -“Just got some letters from home,” said Corporal Sutherland, “and I -am mighty glad to get them, though they are so old they are like last -year’s birds’ nests.” - -“What’s the matter with our mail service?” queried Shaw. “The poilus -get their letters regularly, I am told.” - -“The poilus manage their mail better, because it is distributed by -women who are in sympathy with their boys; so their letters don’t have -to wait until they are cold and dead with old age,” said Sutherland. -“They reach them warm from the hearts of those who write them; and I -believe that is what gives the blue devils, as the Boches call them, -courage to fight so well.” - -I was fortunate to get some letters from home and a box of goodies, -among which was some spruce gum and a quart can of maple sugar right -from the hills of Chester. You may infer that I enjoyed these good -things after so lately having come from the hospital! - -The little French woman, in whose barn we were billeted, was the wife -of a French soldier. She had three children ranging in ages from three -to seven years. Our men petted the kiddies and shared their rations -with them. - -I shared my goodies with the children much to their delight. I was very -fond of little four-year-old Marie, who was as pretty as a picture and -loved sweet things. One day I was having a great frolic with her. Her -face was smeared with chocolate and maple sugar, and a circle of dirt, -mingled with the sticky sweets, formed a halo around her pretty mouth. -She was in high glee over the possession of peppermints and a doughnut, -which was almost as hard as the chocolate. - -I was dancing her in my arms, and she was piping like a little canary -in attempting to express her delight, when I encountered a French -soldier who, to my embarrassment, hugged me and kissed me on either -cheek. This is to the French the same as a hearty handshake with us. - -“I am so glad,” he said in broken English, “to see you. The madame -has told me in her letters how good you Americans have all been to my -children and to her.” - -He told me that he had lived in New York for a time before he was -married, and loved my country and its good people. He was on a short -leave of absence to see his family. He said he had been a little -jealous, when his wife had told him about the kindness of the Americans -who were billeted at his home. - -One day while I was sitting on a bench by my quarters, holding the -little girl and talking to her father, a slim black-eyed young man came -up, and abruptly said, “Good morning, sirs!” - -I looked distrustfully at him, for we had been warned against -English-speaking German spies, and then opened my eyes with -astonishment, for he looked as much like my friend, Jot, as one English -sparrow looks like another. - -“Who are you?” I inquired. “What do you want?” - -“I am on important business,” he responded politely, “for the army.” - -“What do you mean by that?” I said. “Are you an American?” - -“I was born in America,” he replied with indescribable dignity, “and -have lived there a good part of my life. But I was educated on this -side.” - -Then I remembered what Jot had told me about his half-brother’s -resemblance to himself and I distrusted him all the more. - -“Where’s your uniform?” I asked. “Why are you in citizen’s dress?” - -For answer he pointed to a loosely hanging sleeve. - -I turned my head to speak to my French friend, but found him gone; and -then, turning back again, found the man I had been talking to had also -vanished. I could not understand how he had disappeared so quickly, and -this added to my suspicion that he was not straight. - -When I again saw the French soldier, Maurice, I said, “Where did -you go so quickly? You were standing near me and in an instant had -disappeared.” - -He shrugged his shoulders and replied, “It would not be, as your people -say, ‘just the thing,’ to listen to your conversation with another -gentleman.” - -Knowing something of a Frenchman’s idea of politeness that seemed to -explain his sudden leaving. - -As soon as I got a chance from my duties, I started to see Jot. He -had been discharged from the hospital, I had learned, but I had not -seen him since he came back on duty. Passing the guard I stood before -Lieutenant Nickerson and saluted as stiffly as possible, and waited -until addressed by my superior officer. Jot returned the salute and, -coming up to me, put his hands on my shoulder, saying, “No formalities, -Davie, now that we are by ourselves. What is it that makes you look -so confoundedly troubled? Have the rations given out, or what is the -matter?” - -Then I told him about the man who so much resembled him. - -He stood for a moment as though meditating what to say, and then -replied, “It’s all right, David; I have seen him, too.” - -“Is he your half-brother with whom you told me you could not agree?” - -“We may not have been able to agree, but it does not follow that he is -not straight and a patriot, does it? We may be in agreement in a large -way, if not in little ones?” - -I felt, knowing Jot’s habitual reserve, that it would be of no use to -question him further, and as he had not really told me anything, I was -much confused and uncertain what it all meant. - -“Well, Lieutenant,” I said stiffly, “I feel it my duty to report these -facts to Colonel Burbank.” - -“That’s not military,” he said. “You must report them first to your -captain, and he will report them to the colonel.” - -“Oh, confound the red tape!” I said. “Can’t I report to the colonel in -some way, without passing it around the red-tape ring?” - -“Yes,” responded Jot, somewhat to my surprise, “the colonel was saying -that he would like to see that watch of yours, that the Boche spoiled -and told me to send you to his quarters some time.” - -Then he came to me once more, and, grasping my hand, with a look of -love on his high-bred face, said, “Do what your New England conscience -dictates and God be with you, Davie. I wish I could see more of you. -But whatever happens, remember that I am always your friend.” - -Reaching Colonel Burbank’s quarters, I sent word by the orderly that I -was present to take his orders, if he wished to give any, and, also had -something important to communicate. - -On reaching Colonel Burbank, I clicked my heels, saluted, and waited to -be addressed by my colonel. - -“What is it, Sergeant Stark? What do you wish to communicate?” - -“I took the liberty of coming here because I was told that you wished -to see me.” - -“That will keep,” he replied and repeated his inquiry. Then I briefly -told him what I have here narrated. - -To my surprise he said, “I have seen the man this morning. It was right -for you to report the matter, and I am glad that you did not report it -in the usual way. You will not mention to any one what you have heard -or know of this affair,” he commanded, “or it might do harm.” - -Then he gravely said, as though to dismiss further talk about it, “I -have learned about your gallant conduct during the raid on the enemy -trench, and am pleased with you, and congratulate you.” - -Just then Muddy rushed in like a miniature cyclone, circled around me, -barking, as much as to say, “I have found you!” and then jumped into -the colonel’s lap. - -“He comes here once in a while,” explained the colonel, “and this is -the way he salutes.” - -Then rising, he came to me and said: “I would like to see that watch.” - -“It isn’t a watch any more,” I said; “it’s a ruin.” - -And I took it out and handed it to him. - -“So I see,” he said, examining an inscription on the inner case, -and then reading aloud, “‘Presented to Captain David Stark by his -comrades and admirers.’ Yes,” he added, musingly, “it is the same that -my father, with others, gave to him after the battle of Winchester, -during the Shenandoah Campaign under General Sheridan. Do you know that -Captain Stark saved my father’s life?” - -Then he turned away as though to examine the inscription under better -light, but I saw a tear in his eye, and I was proud of my father. - -As I turned to go, he added, “I have heard my father tell about making -the presentation of that watch, and am pleased to see it; I am sure he -will be glad as I am, that his friend’s son has proved himself worthy -to wear it, and that it has saved his life. Now as a favor to me--will -you allow me to have the watch repaired for you?” - -I felt a lump rise in my throat. The eagle was asking a favor of me! - -I did not get a chance, and did not much care to tell, how little I -really deserved all that my colonel said; and how scared I had been -before the fight. But I thought of a saying of mother’s: “How much -praise is often given to those who do not deserve it.” I determined, -however, to try to live up to the reputation that chance had given me. - -Afterwards, telling Jot about the Colonel’s compliments, I said: “As -Bill Jenkins used to say, ‘I felt as mean as pussley.’” - -“That’s just like you!” said Jot. “Don’t you remember about your -leaving some bunches of grass unmowed where there were bumblebees, -and getting Bill Jenkins to get into them by telling him that you had -left them as fancy spots? Bill said, ‘Confound your fancy spots!’ and -pitched into them, and got all stung up. And you lay awake that night -laughing and repenting by turns? The difference between you and some -other cowards is that you are mostly scared before a fight and they are -scared when in a fight.” - -“What is the reason,” I said, “that I am so scared before a fight?” - -“A vivid imagination,” replied Jot; “and borrowing troubles before they -come.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI A SIX WEEKS’ HIKE THROUGH FRANCE - - -Lists of men were being made. Officers were hurrying with papers. - -An order had come. There was cleaning of rifles and machine-guns, -washing of clothes, inspection, and making up of packs preparatory to a -march. - -Several sick and wounded men were returned from the hospital as fit for -duty. Among these was Private Beaudett, whose hurt had been a clean gun -shot wound which was not entirely healed but the doctors, at his urgent -request, had discharged him as again fit for duty. We were glad to -greet him and have him with us once more. - -A cheerful, hopeful man like him, one who sees the bright side of every -hardship, and who has a stock of good humor, and fun in him, puts a -valuable addition of cheerfulness and life into a company of soldiers. -This characteristic can neither be measured, nor weighed. It is called -its _morale_. Napoleon said that an army with this imponderable -quality, made up in part of hope, cheerfulness and confidence in itself -and its commander, was worth, in actual service, three times as much as -an army without it. - -No doubt it was this fun-loving and fun-seeing quality that had -conduced to Beaudett’s quick recovery from his wound. - -“An’ sure,” said Pat Quinn, “ye’s look as good as new, ye little son of -a gun.” - -“Yes, be Shorge! pretty much better for muche good companee of Red -Cross leetle nurse; an’ I cheets him doctor and de bugs,” responded -Beaudett with a significant scratch and a grin; “_Oui_, I have none of -he.” - -“We will be generous,” said Corporal Sutherland with a wink, “and share -our cooties with you. So you can begin scratching at once.” - -And he did! - -The rain poured down in torrents, and with a persistence worthy of -even France in war, when we began our march. For neither weather, nor -general or special orders, have the least regard for the soldiers’ -comfort in emergencies; and no more consults their convenience than a -brigadier general does a mule or an auto truck. - -The whitish clay stuck to our feet, magnifying them in both size and -weight to such a degree that when, at one time, we halted for rest in a -village Pat Quinn looked ruefully downward, and said: “It’s them that -look like big loaves of gingerbread before they are patted into shape. -An’ sure how will I iver know them again for me feet?” - -“A bog trotter like you,” said Sutherland roughly, “ought to be -thankful for good clean mud like this.” - -And then, had not the mud been so vexingly deep, there would have been -a quarrel. - -That night we halted in a downpour of rain in a small village, wet, -tired and hungry, our packs and feet increased in weight by mud and -water. - -But our hunger was soon satisfied by a plentiful supply of steaming -hot stew with coffee and bread from our kitchen on wheels. Men sing of -sparkling wine; but I have never tasted anything that equalled good -army chow and fragrant coffee for comfort, after a long march. - -Most of our men smoked, as soldiers generally do; but Lieutenant -Nickerson and I, and strange to say, Quinn, were exceptions to this -general rule, and did not use tobacco or whiskey. An Irishman who -neither smokes nor drinks, as Peter Beaudett said, “Was de queer bug, -begar!” - -Pat’s explanation of this was, “Me mither tould me I had better not get -the habit of smoking or drinking, or I might get where I could not get -either whiskey or tobacco.” - -Those soldiers who do smoke say there is great solace in a pipe, but to -my mind a soldier with the fewest artificial wants, is, on the whole, -the most easily comforted. - -We soon began to see some of the destruction that grim-visaged war had -dealt out to battle-scarred France. - -We had halted in a litter of shattered stone and plastered houses which -was once a village. The walls were in unpicturesque ruin. Very few -houses had roofs, and but few walls were standing. Yet we found several -families still clinging to what had once been their homes, reluctant -to leave the ground whereon had stood their dwellings, and which had -sheltered, no doubt, several generations of their kind. These homes, -and even the gardens, trees and vines were torn from the soil. Orchards -and vineyards that had borne fruit for them and their children were cut -down by shot and shell or, with German thoroughness, had been sawed -down so that they would never again bring sustaining comforts to them. - -At the place where my platoon was quartered was a black eyed, sad-faced -little woman, with a family of small children, living in a cellar. -Her mournful face lit up and her eyes sparkled, at the sight of our -friendly faces and uniforms--and for one day, at least, neither she nor -her little ones were hungry. For we shared our rations with them and -gave to them all that we could spare when we resumed our march in the -morning. - -This first glimpse of a ruined village left a deep impression on us. -The surpassing brutality of it all! The homes, the factories and -churches, the gardens and orchards and vineyards to which so much -loving care had been given, can never be replaced to those whose loving -work and sacrifice created them. The needless cruelty of it seemed to -us, so recently from the safe shelter of American homes, almost beyond -belief. - -On our next day’s march we passed through several such ruined villages; -and, in the intervening country, had found women and old men working on -their little farms, with faith in their armies and brave soldiers that -was wonderful and pathetic. - -Later we found peasants laboring to raise crops on land not over a mile -from the trenches where battles raged. - -And all through our march through ruined France were white-aproned -women sitting in ruined doorways, or in huts of corrugated sheet iron -sewing and knitting for their children, or for their absent loved -ones fighting for “beautiful France.” Though their part of it was -blighted by the invader, they were clinging to their ruined homes with -a tenacity of faith in their armies almost beyond belief. The love of -home and country was stronger in their hearts than the fear of death. - -It was well for them and us that we saw these things, for it -strengthened our resolve to fight to the death those who had blighted -these homes. So we marched on, in storm and sunshine, observing all -these bitter cruelties, gaining with every step new resolution to -rescue France from her brutal invaders. - -It seems to me that the German authorities, who sanctioned all the -cruelties of this war, little comprehended how firm a friend they -were making of America for France, and how steadfast an enemy for -themselves, when their pitiless hands were laid on all that is sacred -in humanity, love, and religion. - -At one mass of ruined homes, where we had halted, we were sheltered for -a night in the wine cellars. One of the cellars the Germans had used -as a range-finder. These cellars were so vast, that even the German -hordes had not been able to deplete its stores of wine by their thirsty -demands, though their destructiveness was seen on every side. - -We passed through town after town without roofs to the houses and with -precious little of the walls left standing. All the orchards were -relentlessly cut or sawed down, leaving behind them little of value -save the unconquerable spirit of their brave and home-loving people. - -We slept in barns and houses and under the unroofed sky, as we halted -on our march. At one of our halting places, after a fatiguing day, -we slept in an immense electric-lighted cave, big enough to shelter -several thousand people. - -It had been excavated, we were told, by French soldiers,--prisoners of -war, under the direction of their German taskmasters. It was divided -into rooms, in many cases luxuriously fitted with baths, bed furniture, -rugs, and set bowls with water. - -Apparently all the material for its furnishing was plundered from -destroyed villages and near-by homes. Some of these were left with -scrupulous care, as though their German occupants expected to return -and resume their use. In several of these were insulting inscriptions -such as “Gottstrafe England, der Schweinhund!” - -Jot was with me while I was viewing these wonderful excavations, and -translated for me some of the inscriptions which do not bear repeating. - -I was so indignant that I hastily said to Jot, “I should be ashamed to -speak the language of such brutes!” - -To which Jot replied, “If those who speak German were as noble as their -language, I could almost forgive them their trespasses.” And then, as -though excusing them, quoted a sentence from my Latin reader, “In the -midst of wars the laws are silent.” - -After two weeks’ march through ruined France, the scenes began to -change. Villages and cities unscathed by war’s blighting touch began to -appear along our line of march. These were all the more beautiful by -contrast with those scorched and withered by the destroying hand of the -Hun. - -Stately palace-like residences, lovely châteaus, vine-clad cottages, -stately public buildings and churches, appeared in vivid contrast -to the war-ruined villages over which war had spread its wings of -desolation. - -We saw many sad faces and heard many sad stories from the brave -daughters of France, mothers of heroes then contending with the -German hordes. But their faces brightened at the sight of our flag. -They recognized it as the emblem of freedom, and those who bore it as -faithful allies and friends. Matrons, young women, girls, and children -thronged around us at every halting place. Some offered us food, others -wreaths and bouquets, and all greeted us with glad smiles and cheers of -welcome. - -We had halted, stacked arms, and thrown ourselves sprawling upon the -ground among the vine-covered cottages when, on a little plateau above -us, we saw a fluttering of the stars and stripes from the roof of an -unpretentious dwelling. Then word ran around that it was the home of -an American woman. Soon there appeared a little matron whose face and -bearing proclaimed her nationality--American! - -Nothing in all France with its grandeur and beauty of ages had looked -so fine to our eyes as this little unassuming American lady. She was -attended by her French maid, who, judging by her acts and expressions -was devoted to her. We gave her a reception fit for a queen, and in -return were treated to coffee in delicate china, and dainty sandwiches, -and slices of fragrant American ham. Never to me or my comrades had the -American woman and American language, seemed so dear as when in this -distant land she had brought to us a breath of home. - -A few more days of marching brought us again to the sound of battle and -the distant booming of guns. Here again were signs of war’s withering -touch. We began to meet hurrying French and American battalions with -cannon, machine guns, airplanes, and all the seeming clutter of moving -columns. Here and there were fleeing citizens, mostly women, old men -and children, with wagons piled high with their household goods. - -Airplanes were soaring like the white sea-gulls we had seen when -leaving New York harbor. They flew singly and in flocks, some so high -as to be but dimly seen, others swooping down as though about to attack -us. These latter were said to be German craft in search of information. - -Nearer and nearer came the boom! boom! boom of the guns. Then, late -that evening, we were assigned to billets, and knew that our long hike -was over, and that we were again confronted by the enemy. - -Thus ended our six weeks’ march through France. - - - - -CHAPTER XII ON THE BATTLE LINES - - -We had come to a halt near a beautiful village, with vine-clad cottages -and an old château; and were quartered in billets and temporary -barracks. - -“Have you seen this?” said our French lieutenant interpreter, whom we -met as we were on our way to the “Y”. - -“What is it about?” we answered, Yankee fashion, by asking another -question. - -In reply, he translated from a French newspaper he held in his hand, -the message of General Pershing tendering to General Foch all the -American forces as follows: “_I come to say to you that the American -people would hold it a great honor to her troops, if they were engaged -in the present battle. Infantry, artillery, all are yours to dispose of -as you will. Others are coming._” - -“That’s great!” was the general comment. And then we gave three rousing -American cheers for our general, which drew a crowd of soldiers and -citizens to inquire its cause. - -Then there was a general talk about the military situation, in which -our captain took a part, and some of which I will repeat, to explain -the situation. - -On Tuesday, March 21, 1918, the German army made its first great drive -of the year, by concentrating an immense force consisting of one-half -of its armies, on a fifty-mile front between the Scarp and the Oise -rivers, and drove the British back before they could bring up their -reserves to the point of attack. - -As the captain pointed out, an attacking force has always this -advantage: that they can choose where and when to strike. And this made -the task of quick concentration of forces to meet this overwhelming -blow incredibly difficult. - -The English army had, however, by its stubborn resistance, made up in -part for this difficulty. And, as compensation for its heavy losses, -exacted a terrible reprisal of blood from its enemy. - -At the time of our arrival near the left flank of the German army, -the attacking forces of the enemy, roughly outlined, was not unlike a -gigantic U, the convex part of it pointing towards Amiens. The allied -armies had not only the disadvantage of inferior numbers, but of -difficult concentration. They must march around this curved line in -order to concentrate at the point of attack. On the other hand, the foe -could reinforce every part of his advanced line by marching men across -the U. - -The captain’s talk helped us to understand the situation, and the -reasons why we Americans were assembled in force. - -How, or when, we were to have a chance to prove our American temper, -we did not know. But we did understand the power given to a united -command. Though at first our work would be of minor importance, it was -soon apparent that it was not to be that of holiday soldiers. We were -to contend against an army of wonderful efficiency. - -“Dem guys,” said our New York boy, “can fight, an’ don’t you forgit it. -We’s got to give them a wallup, or take some.” - -There was a general feeling that we must meet a supreme test. We had -scarcely got into these trenches before there came a trial of endurance -under fire. First a great flock of air craft, with inquisitive noses, -came buzzing above us. Our big war birds, moving in spirals, flew up to -meet them and, if possible, put them to flight. We could see, high in -air, little puffs of smoke of gun fire; sometimes hear the chatter of -machine-guns, and even the buzz of their propellers and sharp report of -rifles, which showed that they were “out a-gunning.” - -Sweeping around in curved lines, circling upward, darting downward, the -combating planes fought with daring temerity, a wonderful battle in -the air. We saw one plane, struck by a bomb, fall fluttering downward -a thousand feet, right itself, and escape over the lines. However tame -this may seem in recital, it was a thrilling sight to see. - -At first, the enemy began to fire gas shells over us, and we had to put -on our gas masks. Occasionally puffs of the poisonous stuff would reach -us; but we were thankful that the shells were mostly going over our -heads; for they were so numerous that they gave one continuous whistle. - -There came a burst of artillery that defies description. It did not -seem possible that an ant could live under such a destructive fire. -Shell, shot, and shrapnel scarred the ground as though there had been -a series of eruptions. Then the Germans charged our lines, their -green-gray uniforms so blending with the smoke and rocks and ground, -that it was difficult to see them. They were like so many fog banks or -moving rocks or roads, so completely did their color intermingle with -their surroundings. - -Our artillery from the rear laid down a barrage with a terrific -deafening roar like locomotives traveling the air above us. And now -came the bugle call--over the top and at them--for which we had -impatiently waited. Our nervous American temperament wanted action; we -were at our best in attack, rather than in defense. - -The enemy received us with a storm of machine-gun and artillery fire, -under which, for a time, it seemed as though nothing could live. We -made quick rushes forward, then throwing ourselves upon the ground -with such protection as was afforded by the land, opened fire, -and then another rush forward, again throwing ourselves upon our -faces,--“sprayed them” as one of our men called it, with rifle and -machine-gun fire. - -Again we rushed forward until we could plainly see our targets. We gave -them the best we had. It was sharp work; and apparently the enemy were -not used to our Indian tactics, and did not relish it. Still we did not -have it easy. Men fell before their gun fire. Others limped out of -line, and headed for the first aid stations. - -The confusion of sounds made it almost impossible to hear the bugle -calls. The enemy gathered himself together and rushed upon us again, -leaving a trail of dead and wounded behind, so effective was our -sharp-shooting. Still they came on with a rush, as though expecting to -scatter us by their impetus. Seeing that we were outnumbered, we fell -back to a rise, leaving two machine-guns behind. - -“That won’t do! We need those guns!” called out Lieutenant Nickerson, -who was in command of our platoon. - -With several others I rushed forward under the cover of smoke clouds -and rescued them. But they were out of order, and for the time being -could not be used. - -Lieutenant Nickerson, a little in the rear, with his old mechanical -dexterity stooped to rearrange their parts. He soon had them on the -firing line with some of his own men to work them. - -Getting more ammunition for them from the machine-gun unit, their -steady clatter was again heard “spitting bullets,” as Sam said, like -mad rattlesnakes. - -It was hot work! When our line wavered under the enemy’s concentrated -fire, our lieutenant placed himself in front of his platoon, and looked -sternly in the faces of his men, with an indescribable magnetism, which -seemed to hold them to their desperate work. - -The lobe of one of his ears had been cut almost away, and was bleeding -profusely. Whether it was that, or the undaunted look in his face that -inspirited them, the men broke into a hoarse cheer and again moved into -line under a heavy fire. - -Our regiment, with others, had fallen back slightly, to a road, part of -which gave us shelter by a low embankment. - -“Say,” said practical Sam Jenkins, “I saw a big roll of wire down the -road a little way. Supposing we get it and twist it around these trees -along the road.” - -The suggestion was adopted, and happily for our regiment and others -too; for the Germans made one last effort to drive us from the field, -and were checked before the fire we gave them from behind this -barricade in front of the railroad embankment. - -We had suffered heavily. Many a good man had gone down, or had been -carried, or had limped to the rear with desperate wounds. It was late -when we at last repulsed the enemy and they had faded away before our -fire, blending with the smoke behind them. - -Our men were exalted: their spirits rose high when they found that they -had withstood the Hun in the open. Hoarse cheers ran down the line. -“Shure,” said Pat Quinn, “Lieutenant dear; we bate the devils; but it -was a toight squake.” - -“Aw,” said Goodwin, “you’s can bet we’s give ’em a wallup. Say! our -lieutenant is great stuff, an’ don’t you forget it! T’ain’t so sure but -that they’d knocked the stuffin’ out of us, but for him!” - -And that was the common agreement in our regiment. - -We were not a little proud of our company and ourselves. We had, as a -whole, done well, and as Sam said, so we agreed, although it may seem -boastful, “given the Boche their belly full of fighting” and we had -gained new confidence in ourselves and our officers. We were gratified -to get the praise of the French General, who was in command on the -field, though I was not without suspicion that he gave us more praise -than was our due. Then came word officially that the enemy had fallen -back all along the line. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII IN THE TIDE OF BATTLE - - -The end of the German drive on the western front, as my readers know, -had failed to break the Allied lines. The enemy, however, had succeeded -in driving them back for miles, inflicting and receiving great losses -of men and material. To those who understood the situation, it must -have been disheartening, though we in the ranks, of course, could know -but little beyond that which was taking place before our eyes. The -high officers, who did know, feared that the enemy, by the advantage -of quicker concentration because of holding interior lines, might by -successive drives be able to force their army so near Paris as to -endanger the city, or, on the farther western front, be able to reach -the channel ports and thus divide the Allied armies. - -It was while victory was trembling in the balance on the far-flung -battle lines, that our regiment was called to battle. - -We removed from ground we occupied to a point west of an ancient city, -not far from a river. - -Regiments of French and American soldiers were marching on the roads -to places assigned them. Machine-gun emplacements were being made. -The effective light guns were hurrying into place. Here and there -cavalry was sparsely seen. Engineers, with their sappers and miners -with shovels and picks, moved along with pontoon trains of collapsible -canvas boats and wooden batteaux for bridges. Here and there were -pitiful families of refugees, with wagons high piled with household -goods, escaping from homes about to be swept by the fiery tide of war. -The women with babes in arms, and children hugging rag dolls and toys, -were straggling on in pathetic groups. - -To the ordinary eye all seemed confusion, but there was a thread of -order controlling this mass of moving material and men. - -“This is going to be a sure enough battle,” remarked Corporal -Sutherland. - -“Not for us,” said a lieutenant; “we shall get in the edges of it, -possibly.” - -“We have got to do our best today,” said our “Top.” “They,”--making a -gesture toward the French regiments--“are watching us.” - -“They will find fighting stuff here,” proudly replied the lieutenant. -And our captain, looking along his halted company with a critical but -satisfied glance, said, “They will do!” - -An enemy airplane, hovering high in air, viewed us. Several of our -craft flew upward in circling flight to punish his inquisitiveness. -Near us marched a regiment whose uniforms and long strides showed them -to be Americans. Some horses were passing with the marching column. -Muddy flew out, barking vociferously. One of the horses gave a whinney -of recognition, as the dog jumped and yelped at his head. - -“I think it is ‘Jack,’ our colt!” I said to Lieutenant Nickerson. - -“I think so too,” he replied. But we had no time to investigate; we had -more serious business, for the uproar of battle had already begun. - -With other regiments we moved forward and were halted behind a small -clump of trees. But not for long, for the Boches wanted the ground. Gas -shells came whistling over us and we quickly adjusted our gas masks. -We were so grotesque that again a laugh was heard along the line, and -jokes were exchanged. - -“Even the officers,” said Sutherland, “have to hide their glory in -these things.” - -“I hate ’em,” said Sam Jenkins; “they interfere with a good aim!” - -Then came the thunderous roar of guns from our rear, and the replies -of the enemy, who had not, as yet, got our range. Followed the chatter -of machine-guns and the mingling rifle fire of contending men on our -front. Some of our men upon trees, observing, reported long lines of -German infantry in sight. Then broken French troops appeared, slowly -and doggedly falling back. - -The German lines sweeping onward, we open on the mass with our light -guns, machine-guns and rifles. Our gun fire, increasing in intensity -and deadly effect, did not halt them. On they came, their green-gray -uniforms blending with the smoke and mists. All our weapons sharply -spoke, but still the foggy columns advanced their heavy guns from -the rear scarring and pitting the ground on our front. Explosions -threatened our annihilation, while lurid flames sprang up on all -sides. We clung to the ground as though fearing that we might go up in -some of the explosions or be consumed by the flames. - -Then the welcome order came to “Charge!” and we went forward in open -formation at quick time. I noticed Chaplain John in line. You could -always reckon on him to care for the wounded, though he carried no -arms. The Boche doesn’t like cold steel and he breaks as we rush upon -him with yells and gleaming bayonets. We had one thought and one -purpose: we must beat and drive the enemy. We were but a small part of -the advancing line that was in the attack. We were near enough to see -shells from our guns explode on their front, and men, and fragments of -men, hurled in the air, leaving gaps in their ranks. Our gun fire was -immense. For an instant the gray mass wavered and then fell back. - -A hoarse shout went up from American throats, “We’ve licked them!” But -the French, more experienced in battle, were not so confident. The -enemy have only halted to reform their shattered line. We also halted -and then the order came to fall back to conform to the rest of the line. - -We reformed our line, disordered by the advance; stretcher bearers -gathered the wounded. Others limped to the rear with reversed rifle for -crutches, or were helped by comrades. - -Soon the enemy opened fire again with violence. Muddy, despite his -fear, came barking and nipping at my puttees. “What’s the matter?” I -heard some one inquire. “Where is the Sky pilot?” He had been left -behind helping a wounded or dying man. Muddy pulled at my coat. A look -from Jot, and I followed the dog through the screen of sulphur-white -smoke that hung over the field. I advanced cautiously and the dog, -as though understanding the necessity for silence, did not bark. I -followed, slowly peering into every shell hole and depression as I -cautiously went forward, with bullets humming on every side and an -occasional exploding shell. Then I saw a prostrate form beside a dead -man stir. - -Up to that time I had been careful; but then, forgetful of everything -but that my friend, our loved Chaplain, was lying there unsheltered, -I threw off caution and hurried to him. He was alive but apparently -desperately wounded. His head, legs and arms seemed unhurt, but I saw a -gaping hole in his coat through the right side. Tearing away the coat, -with my stock of first aid lint and bandages I stopped the bleeding as -best I could. The smoke was clearing, and I must act quickly. - -Lying down, I got him on my back, and on hands and knees backed away -towards a shell hole a few yards distant. I made it. Then, believing -that the enemy would conclude that I would remain there, I gathered him -in my arms and ran to another shell hole still nearer our lines. Before -reaching it the bullets hummed around me like angry hornets. There I -rested a little, and then ran on to another more distant depression in -the ground. - -Up to this time I did not know that I had been hit, though I had felt -something like a sharp blow strike my hip. Now I felt a warm trickle -of blood down my leg, and knew that I was wounded and that I must reach -our sheltering lines in one desperate run, if at all. If my strength -would only last! - -With a full breath and with desperate resolution, I ran with my burden, -the hum of bullets from snipers saluting. I gripped my nerve and shut -my teeth. Could I reach a place of safety? I had made good progress, -but my eyes blurred and I began to waver in spite of all my will. At -last as I swayed and fell, I heard the welcoming shout of comrades. -Then I fainted. - -When I recovered consciousness I found a surgeon fishing around in my -hip for bullets. - -“How is the chaplain?” I asked. - -“Don’t know,” said the surgeon laconically; “another surgeon has his -case.” - -“I must see,” I said, trying to get to my feet; for I felt, as wounded -men often do, that my wound was not a serious one. - -Next it occurred to me that I was again under a surgeon, and that -another starvation time was before me; and it made me mad. - -“Let me alone!” I cried, “I want you to understand that I am not dead -yet. I want to find out about the Sky Pilot!” - -“Be calm,” said the surgeon, “and I will send around and see.” - -I must have become unconscious again; for the next I knew I was in a -white bed, with other white cots, and a white-dressed nurse attending. -I was in a hospital. - -“How came I here?” - -“You were brought in a minute ago,” said the nurse, “and you are to be -kept quiet. Here, take this drink.” - -“No,” I said, smelling of it. “It will put me to sleep. I want to see -how the chaplain is! - -“He is all right,” answered the nurse. “I was told to tell you so.” - -“All right,” I said, pushing away the drink. “Then I shan’t need that -stuff to keep me quiet.” - -This surgeon did not turn out so bad, after all. He at least gave me -enough to eat; and I was told that I would be all right in a few months! - -“I guess I will!” I said. “I am not hurt very bad, and I will be up -sooner than that. I know it by my feelings.” And I was! - -I was pretty cross for a while because they would not let me get up and -walk around. - -“It is a clean wound,” said the doctor, “and you are an uncommonly -healthy boy.” - -“Boy!” I said, “I am a man, and I feel fit to go now.” - -But that surgeon was of another opinion. “A friend of yours,” said -he, “a lieutenant, and another officer from the chaplain, have been -inquiring for you.” - -“Why didn’t you let Lieutenant Nickerson in here with the dog?” I -asked--for I knew Muddy would stick with Jot--“I want to see them.” - -Next day Muddy was actually admitted with Jot, and both of them made a -lot of fuss over me. - -“All of our men say that it was the bravest thing they ever saw,” -praised Jot. - -“Nonsense!” I said, “to tell the truth, Jot, I was so busy thinking how -to get the chaplain back that I absolutely forgot to be scared.” - -Jot laughed and said, “Colonel Burbank sends his compliments, and -regrets for your wound, and says ‘like father like son.’” - -And that to me was the best praise of all. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV THE CROIX DE GUERRE - - -The bullet that put me in the hospital for several weeks had struck -the fleshy part of my hip, glanced off from the bone, and had been -extracted from the side. While a clean wound, I had lost a good deal of -blood and this had weakened me. - -Just after the doctors had diagnosed my case and had discouraged me, -Jot came in again to see me. I told him that I had hoped to stay in -the service long enough to win a commission, but that the doctors were -determined to have me tied up by my leg for several months; and that -the war might be over before I could get back to duty again. - -“Don’t worry,” said Jot. “There will be enough fighting to last until -you get onto your legs again. I guess the saw bones have camouflaged -their description of your wound with their Latin, so that what is -really a mole hill of a wound is made to look like a mountain, and have -frightened you.” - -“No,” I said “not frightened, but discouraged me.” - -The chaplain’s wound was much more serious, though the doctors thought -he would be able to resume his duties again if his wound healed as -well as they expected. But they made so many qualifications that I -mistrusted they were in the fog about it themselves. - -I was getting well fast; but was, as the surgeon said, “subconsciously -restless.” The truth was, I could have sat up if they had let me. But -they had me down! They were in command and there I was, like a healthy -pup tied by the leg, and only able to run to the end of his string and -yelp. - -It was three weeks before I was allowed to sit up! - -When the surgeon came to me I said, “Doctor, what is the matter with my -getting out in the sun and having a breath of good air? I feel as well -as I ever did.” - -The doctor, with cat-like softness, gave me a number of alarm calls in -camouflaged language, which really meant, “Your quick recovery depends -on obeying our orders, and keeping quiet!” - -All things have an end, however, and after a few weeks, that seemed -months to me, I was allowed to get out into pure air. The nurse and -doctor had not been so very bad, after all my growling. They had given -me good things to eat, though a little stingy with mutton chops and -beefsteaks; but I had plenty of good food. - -Then I called on the chaplain, at his request. He was looking pale and -peaked but his courage was good. He was a fine fellow with a lot of -stuff in him besides common sense. He did not make me feel shame-faced -by “plastering it on” about my bringing him into our lines, nor make -any fuss over me at all, for he understood. It was just what he, or any -other decent man, would have done under similar circumstances. - -Later the colonel sent his orderly to bring me to his office. He was -another sensible man! - -I stood at attention and saluted. - -“You are looking fine, Sergeant,” he said, “and I am glad to see you -looking so fit!” - -“Yes, Colonel,” I answered, “a flesh wound should not keep a man tied -up long. I am ready for duty now.” - -“Sit down,” he invited me; and just then Muddy rushed in and made a -fuss over me; he had been living with the colonel since I had been tied -up by my leg. - -“I have good news for you, that I may as well tell you now,” he -continued. - -“The French general has recommended you for the _Croix de Guerre_.” - -“I’d be glad to get one,” I stammered “if they think that I really -deserve it, Colonel.” - -“Oh, I think that’s all right,” he replied. “You did a good act and -saved a good man. The regiment couldn’t spare its chaplain.” - -“Yes,” I said, “the chaplain is a brave, good man. I hope that doctor -he is under won’t starve him as he did me, the other time I was hurt.” - -“I don’t think he will,” said the colonel, smiling as though amused at -something. Then, after a pause, he continued. “There is a possibility -that I may be given a higher command than this, and in that case I may -wish you to serve with me.” - -“I shall be glad to serve you, Colonel, in any place I can fill,” I -answered, rising and saluting. - -I felt pretty good. Had it not been undignified and my hip still -hurting a little I would have ran and jumped. - -It was part of the system of our Expeditionary Force in France that, -every four months, soldiers were to be granted a few days’ leave and -though I had been in the service much longer than that time, I had not -yet asked for one. - -The surgeon strongly recommended that I should take a permission, in -order to recuperate before going to duty again. Jot suggested that he -also get permission and go with me. - -“Where shall we go?” I said. “I should like to go where I can get a -good swim.” - -“Just the thing,” said Jot, “I have been recommended to go to a place -on the south coast--a watering place; they say it is fine.” - -It was so arranged. - -At this time our army in northern France were holding a sector in the -world’s great battle where our regiment, with other American and French -forces, faced the German army at the peak of a German salient. At some -points the American positions were maintained in the shell holes that -pitted the battle ground; and I felt guilty at leaving my comrades when -I felt myself fit for duty and there was fighting to be done. - -I was ordered to report to the colonel and receive instructions. - -I stood and saluted. He looked me over critically and said, “You will -do, Sergeant.” - -“Yes, sir,” I replied, “I feel fit for duty, and it doesn’t seem right -for me to leave now.” - -He again radiated one of his indefinable smiles, partly of amusement -and partly something else, and said, “A little lame yet, I see.” - -Then, grasping me by the shoulder, he looked in my face and said, “The -decoration ceremonies are to be tomorrow, of course you know?” - -“Yes, sir,” I replied, “I have just received the notice.” - -“I am proud and glad, my friend!” - -“Thank you, sir,” I said, my heart glowing with pride that he should -name me, a sergeant, _his friend_! I am not sure but that those words -gave me more pride and pleasure than the decoration I afterwards -received. - -After receiving directions for my simple part in the ceremonies I -saluted and left with, I confess, grateful tears in my eyes. - -It was a great day for me. American and French regiments were drawn -up in formation on a green field back from the river. Those to be -decorated formed a group of five, two American and three French -soldiers. - -Our general, strong and tall and simple; the French general, soldier of -international fame, with a group of attending officers, were there. - -A trumpet sounded and the great French soldier came forward. He pinned -the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor on the coat of a grizzled French -captain--and then kissed him first on one cheek and then the other! -Then came my turn: he made a little speech in French--which of course -I did not understand--and pinned the green and yellow ribbon of the -_Croix de Guerre_ upon my coat, and--shook hands! I felt relieved. - -But I was proud of the honor and the handshake from so great a soldier, -and wished that my mother had lived to know about it. Perhaps she did; -who knows? - -Before leaving for my trip I called at the hospital to see Chaplain -John and had a heart-to-heart talk, such as I sometimes had had with -mother. For though I have not said much of anything about it, in these -pages, she at times seemed nearest to me, and thoughts of her still -gave me pangs of sorrow mingled with deepest gratefulness and love for -all she had been and still was to me. - -I had never given much thought to religious things, outside of the -talks I used to have with her. The talks which the parsons gave me were -usually more distressing than comforting. Boys will understand without -my saying more. But this brave fellow, not many years older than I, -with his common sense backed by his manly, self-sacrificing spirit, was -different. - -When he asked me to pray with him I was a trifle disconcerted and -shamefaced, for mother had taught me to pray in secret--and I hadn’t -prayed much since I had been with the army. But when I rose from my -knees, I had a feeling that I had been blessed by his prayer, and that -a new and sweet spirit had entered into my life. - - - - -CHAPTER XV ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE - - -I was heartily congratulated by officers and comrades, on receiving the -_Croix de Guerre_. I would have liked to wear it at once; but rules are -rules, and I decided to wait till my own Government gave me permission -to do so. - -The next morning we left by train travelling over a beautiful country. -By the middle of the afternoon we reached one of the large cities of -France where we spent the night. - -In the evening we went to an opera. It was good to hear the music and -to see the enjoyment of the people. The house was only partly filled; -mostly by soldiers home on permission. The artists were from Paris, and -though I did not understand much of the language, the acting was so -fine that I enjoyed the performance thoroughly. Jot, who was well up in -French, said, “They did as well as though a king were in the box.” - -When we got back to our hotel a surprise, a disagreeable one for me, -awaited us. Jot’s acquaintance, the one who looked so much like him -that I had thought him to be his half-brother, was there awaiting his -return. - -“I saw your name on the register,” he explained; “and as I wish to see -you on business of importance, I have been waiting here.” - -When I, in turn, had shaken hands with him, I said, “I have seen you -before, but did not get your name, sir.” - -“Adolf,” interrupted Jot, as though to prevent his giving any other. - -“Yes,” he said quietly, “Adolf Von Rucker, it’s a German name, and -an honorable one.” Then, taking Jot by the arm he added, “I wish to -communicate with your friend. Will you excuse my taking him away?” - -The striking resemblance of the two, the German name, all added to the -mystery of their acquaintance and, as I believed, their relationship. I -was worried about it in an indefinable way; for I had but little faith -in anything that was German. - -I went to bed worrying; but in those days nothing could keep me from -sleep. I was awakened the next morning by Jot who came to my room and -greeted me by saying, “I was sorry to leave you last evening, David.” - -“Was that man your half brother, Jot?” I asked. - -“Yes.” - -“Then your real name is Von Rucker, not Nickerson?” - -“Nickerson is a part of the name my mother gave me, and which it was -her wish I should be known by. I have told you that before.” - -I knew that it would be useless to question him further; and I had an -instinctive feeling that he had good reasons for his reserve, though I -couldn’t understand it. So I dropped the matter, though I still felt -that his association with one with such a name could bear no good fruit. - -That morning we resumed our journey on the train, and were speeding -down a broad beautiful river, with mountains here and there on the -opposite side, and with lovely villages and gardens with flowers, -orange trees, palms, and fruit trees. Jot, who had been thoughtful -and, as I thought, gloomy, threw off his depressing mood and entered -heartily into the enjoyment of these scenes. - -In the afternoon we reached the sea, and passed the night at a busy -throbbing metropolitan city. On the streets were people and uniforms of -all nations--French, British, American, Algerines, Turkos, Canadians, -East Indians and others that I can not name. - -We took a walk along the water side, and then up, up, up, to the top -of a high cliff on the top of which was a church, old, quaint and -beautiful. There we had a magnificent view. The sky so blue, the city -with its green trees and red tiled roofs seen through the blue haze, -the white limestone and the distant mountains, formed a picture never -to be forgotten. - -The next day we were on the train again, with standing room only, the -crowd was so great and the service so poor. But this inconvenience was -forgotten in the constant panorama. Beaches of white sand and pebbles, -flowers, orange, palm and peach trees. To me it was like a scene of -enchantment, for beautiful nature had been supplemented by the arts of -the landscape gardener. I had never seen anything like it before. - -We reached the city of our destination that afternoon, and went to the -Hotel Beau Rivage, which had been recommended to Jot by some French -friends. The accommodations were fine,--two rooms and a bath! It was -nice to get a hot bath once more, and wash away the stains of travel. -There was not as many people in the hotel as usual, we were told, on -account of the war. - -It was the most beautiful sea resort of France. There was a fine beach, -not of sand but of pebbles, beautiful drives, and a broad cement walk -all bordered with palms, parks full of flowers of every kind, and -the broad green, ever changing sea. And then the swim! I had been -accustomed to swimming in fresh water, and the salt sea was so much -more buoyant that I could almost seem to fly, when I took my favorite -overhand swinging strokes through the clear salt water. It was grand! -Swimming was my best hold as an athlete and I enjoyed it. Muddy also -enjoyed the water. - -On our return, I took a nap, while Jot went to make some calls on -people to whom he had letters of introduction. I had a long dreamless -sleep, and was not awakened until Jot shook me by the shoulder, crying -out: “Do you want to sleep forever, Dave? I have got some stunning news -for you. Wake up!” - -I answered with a sleepy yawn, saying: “Stun away, Jot!” - -“Who do you suppose is here?” - -“I don’t know and don’t care,” I said indifferently; “I know I am here -with both feet. Wasn’t that a fine swim? Shoot away, Jot; let me know -the worst!” - -“Miss Rich and her father and Emily Grant!” - -“My!” I cried, springing up. “Where is Emily,--Miss Grant, I mean?--and -Miss Rich.” - -“She is here at this hotel,” he replied, “and you had better hurry -up and get down to the reception room; for she has got a half dozen -lieutenants and captains in tow already.” - -That hurried me! I dressed and went to meet these people from home. - -It was like a breath from my native hills. It was, as Jot said, “as -though they had just stepped out from New England,” bringing with them -all its homely sweetness; and--Emily Grant was more beautiful than -ever. My heart was full: it was a moment worth living for to meet them -amid such beautiful surroundings. - -That afternoon we, Miss Grant, Miss Rich, Jot and I, took a trolley -ride down the coast. Fifteen miles of beautiful roads mostly cut -into the sides of the cliffs, which ran up and up and up, and on the -terraces of which were magnificent gardens with vines and olive trees -and flowers, above the white stone. With such company it was all too -entrancing for words! - -Doctor Rich was interested in scientific inquiries connected with his -profession, and was glad to have us take the girls off his hands. Such -good times as we had, swimming and boating, and on the cliffs! Such a -contrast was it to the squalid trenches. - -Jot had evidently told Miss Emily about my gaining the _Croix de -Guerre_, for she asked me about it. We were far upon the cliff looking -down on town and sea, and at her request I took it out of a case where -I had enshrined it, and showed it to her. - -“Oh, how fine in you!” she said, and then asked me questions about my -winning it, until I was tired. So I snapped it in the case again to -resume my--view of the country. - -Jot teased me by declaring that I did not even care to take my swims, -without Miss Emily for company, for fear of giving several lieutenants -who were hovering around, a chance. - -“No,” I said, “I’ve learned that it is not fashionable to swim here; -they tub.” - -I confess that though I believe myself to be a sensible young man, my -heart sank like a piece of lead to the bottom of the sea, when those -young fellows bowed and cast languishing glances at her which she -answered with a smile. Every rose has its thorn! - -Our leave of absence was soon to be over. And then the parting came. -I took Emily out for a walk and a climb on the high up cliffs--but it -was of no use. I did not have the courage to tell her all that I felt; -though I was encouraged by her looks and silence. - -So I parted with my friends at last, she giving me her address in -France, and both girls inviting me to see them at the ---- hospital. - -Furlough was nearly over, and we were on the train at last, speeding -for contending armies. Perhaps I might never see Emily again! Jot was -looking even more grave than usual; but there was a new light in his -eyes that mine did not reflect; which led me to inquire: - -“Are you engaged to Miss Rich, Jot?” - -“No,” he replied, “but we have an understanding.” - -“If you have an understanding, why not engaged?” - -“A man,” he replied, “should have something to offer a girl besides -himself and possibly wounds or death, to be engaged to marry her. Did -you,” he continued, “engage yourself to Miss Grant?” - -“No, I did not mention it to her.” - -Jot laughed a teasing laugh and said: “Well, Dave, I should not have -even thought of putting such a question to you. You look more like a -funeral than an engaged man just now!” And I guess I did. - -“Cheer up, Dave!” he teased. “The girls are going to be in a hospital -near us. Who knows but that we shall both be half killed and be sent -there? Perhaps you will have Miss Emily to nurse you.” - -“Who said anything about Miss Emily?” I replied crossly. - -“No one but your face, Davie. You can not hide that; it always was a -telltale! I know you are blue. I am, too. I am hard hit, like some one -else I know.” - -After this conversation we sat for a while in silence, and I thought -Jot’s face grew more and more grave as we neared our destination. - -“What is it, Jot, what’s troubling you?” I inquired. “Is it something -that Von Rucker wants you to do against your will?” - -“No,” he replied. “I never shall do anything contrary to my -convictions, for either love or money.” - -“Why don’t you use the name you are entitled to?” - -“Mother, as I have told you, objected to it.” - -“Was it because he was a German?” - -“No,” he replied; “she married him knowing that, but there was -something she didn’t know. She had very strong prejudices, or -convictions you may call them; and I have the same myself. She was -heart and soul a Union woman.” - -“Was he a Southerner?” I said. “Was that the trouble?” - -He did not answer me, but looked with a far-off glance as though into -the future, rather than the past. - -We at last arrived at our destination and separated. So we left the -sunshine for the clouds of war. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI A STRANGE DESERTION - - -Upon my return to the front I found that our forces had been reinforced -by new regiments. American troops, we were told, were arriving in -great numbers. This information was hailed with satisfaction by -French soldiers as well as by ourselves; for, while we did not doubt -our ability to meet any equal numbers of the enemy, we wanted the -backing given by superior numbers on our side; especially as the enemy -were attacking from interior lines with the advantage of quicker -concentration at the point of attack. - -Reporting for duty, I was cordially received by my comrades. - -“Now, I suppose that we shall lose you?” said Corporal Sutherland. - -“I think not,” I said, “I have had my leave and had a good time, and it -is not likely that I will get another for a good while.” - -“Haven’t you heard,” queried one of the sergeants, “that you have been -promoted?” - -“Promoted!” I replied in surprise; “I hope that they have not made me a -top sergeant. I am not big enough for it; and it’s a hard job.” - -Just then my captain came up with extended hand, saying, “I -congratulate you, as well as myself and our company.” - -“For what, Captain?” I replied, saluting; “I don’t understand.” - -“On your promotion to be second lieutenant of this company,” he -replied; “I thought you had received your commission.” - -“Well,” I answered rather ungraciously, “I suppose that _is_ promotion. -But don’t a sergeant have a better chance at fighting?” - -“The fighting will come along,” he laughed. “We are not likely to get -a scrimp measure of it this summer, I assure you. There will be enough -for everybody.” - -When I called on my colonel, by his order, he in turn greeted me with -congratulations. - -“Thank you, Colonel,” I said, “but I fear that I owe promotion to your -favor, rather than anything that I have done to deserve it.” - -His cordial manner changed at once to severity, as he rebuked me -sternly. “All my promotions, everything I do here, is for the good of -the service. Had I not thought you fit for the place, I would not have -recommended you for it.” - -“I beg to apologize,” I answered, “and again to thank you for your good -opinion. I value that more than the promotion.” And I did. - -His manner changed to graciousness again, as he placed his hand on my -shoulder, and said while gripping it, “My boy, I have been watching -your conduct. You’ve made good. You have qualities I need in an -officer. I should have recommended your promotion before, had I not -feared that my liking for you might influence my judgment. I do not -believe in favoritism in military affairs.” - -I was deeply affected, and said with tears of heartfelt affection -for him, “I will do all I can to deserve your good opinion and the -commission.” - -I assumed the duties of my rank at once and was glad, as I thought how -it would gratify Aunt Joe and--some one else. - -That evening while I was at the “Y” writing letters--one to my aunt -telling her of my promotion, and another to Emily Grant--and, I confess -my vanity--telling her of the colonel’s kind words, Jot, accompanied by -another officer whom I did not recognize, interrupted me. - -“Congratulations, Lieutenant!” cried Jot, gripping my hand with one -of his, and the other arm around my shoulder in his old affectionate -manner. Then, turning to the officer, he introduced him as the one who -owned “Jack,” our colt, and said: “I thought you would like to know -that I have bought Jack from him.” - -I was delighted. We went to Jack’s stable in a near-by, shell-shattered -barn--Jot, myself and Muddy--and held a reunion celebration--Jack -whinneying, Muddy yelping and jumping, and Jot and I seconding these -demonstrations with approving petting. - -“But, Jot,” I said, for I had been thinking it over, “what are you -going to do with the colt now that you have got him?” - -“I think I will get some officer who requires a horse to keep him until -I need him. Anyway I wanted him and have got him;” and added, “I may -have to ride him sooner than I expect.” - -At the time of my return to duty, our regiment with other American and -French troops were on a line with a river which divided a historic -city. On our left was a broken bridge, cleft as though by a huge blunt -sword near its center. The fight for this bridge had, first and last, -cost many lives. - -Far away in the distance was a wood, occupied by a large force of our -troops, that had been fighting for its possession. In the half-ruined -town was our division headquarters, the huts of the Y. M. C. A., and -hospitals, some of them occupying temporary buildings like those -elsewhere described. - -“This looks as though we were going in for some real fighting,” I said -to a fellow officer. - -“Yes,” replied Captain Cross, who had come up, “those are ‘the -symptoms,’ as our doctors say;” and then thoughtfully added, “A year -ago, most of us here were green as grass so far as fighting was -concerned. Some of us were recruits that scarcely knew one end of a -rifle from another. But now look at them! They have been trained down -to a fighting edge and have already shown great soldierly qualities; -and the Boche recognize it by being mighty cautious when they are -facing us. That’s why we are on the fighting line here. Our soldiers, -I learn, are on the front line in nearly a dozen different places from -the Picardy to the Alsace front.” - -“I hope that we may be able to give a good account of ourselves before -long,” I asserted. - -“Never doubt it,” rejoined our adjutant, who was in the group. “Our men -have got the right stuff in them, and association with French soldiers -has strengthened their confidence in themselves.” - -“Yes,” said another confidently, though in a jocular vein, “we will -wipe the Prussian monarchy from the map, and hang the Kaiser to a sour -apple tree!” - -“What we lack now--so I understand,” said Captain Cross, “is better -means of getting information of the plans of the enemy; a better spy -system.” - -“Well,” said my friend Jot, “gentlemen, we must do everything necessary -to win the war, or the world won’t be a safe place for Christian men -and women to live in. There can be no peace until it is done.” - -The captain as he turned to go to his duties said, “A million of our -men will soon be here, and other millions are coming, that will put -victory beyond doubt.” - -Several days passed and I was becoming accustomed to the duties of -my new station and office. I enjoyed it, for it brought me in closer -intercourse with men of a higher social grade than I had hitherto been -with; and it was especially gratifying to be in closer social touch -with Jot and Chaplain John Fuller. - -At every opportunity, when off duty, Jot had been riding and teaching -Jack. “He is the most intelligent creature I ever saw,” he said to me -one evening. - -“You remember we used to call him by a peculiar whistle? He remembers -it, and answers it; no matter where I am, he will come when he hears -me. I was at the colonel’s this afternoon about keeping him, and had an -understanding about other matters, not so pleasant.” And then his face -darkened, as a cloud dispels sun-light, and I saw that something deep -like an undercurrent of reflection was worrying him. - -That night as we parted, he said, “If anything should ever occur to -make you doubt me, always remember that I love you and love my country.” - -“What in heaven’s name,” I said, “_can_ occur to make me doubt it! -Don’t I know you?” I little thought then how terribly this confidence -was to be shaken. - -“Strange things happen sometimes in army life,” he said, “and we don’t -know.” And then, with the shadow still on his face, we parted for the -night. - -Before daybreak, the next morning, our regiment was moved to relieve -troops that held an advanced post along the very verge of the river, -when as we silently marched through the moon-lit, half-ruined city -streets to take our places, I again exchanged silent salutations with -Jot. He seemed, as I thought, more like himself--cheerful and smiling. - -We held a line on the river near the bridge which I have mentioned, -where a street ran down near the water’s edge from the bridge road just -above us. Everything was silent. Not a German soldier could be seen, as -moonlight gave place to daylight. - -As the sun came up there was heard an occasional crack of rifle, as -though to let us know they were “alive and watching us,” as I heard -one of the men say in an undertone. Then came the steady purr of our -airplanes and occasionally the more irregular sound of German air -craft, which, like great buzzards seeking prey, soared far above us. - -It was high noon and we were eating our dinners, when I heard a sharp, -twice-repeated whistle. I could scarcely believe my senses; for it was -the signal by which Jack was called. - -While I was wondering, Jack trotted up whinneying. Jot caught his -bridle and, fully equipped with arms and uniform, mounted bare back, -walked him to the river, and, horse and man were seen swimming for -the opposite shore. Before we had fully recovered from our surprise -they were on the opposite side moving at a swift gallop. Then shots -were fired; there were calls, confusing and uncertain before we -fully comprehended that it was a case of desertion! Then rifle and -machine-guns opened fire; but it was too late. Jot had deserted to -the enemy, there was, apparently, no doubt about that. The deserting -horseman had paused for a moment for a defiant salutation, before -riding away with awaiting German soldiers. - -I was paralyzed with astonishment! I would not have believed it, -had I not seen this disgraceful act with my own eyes. There it was, -notwithstanding: Jonathan Nickerson, a trusted officer, had deserted in -the face of his comrades, and gone over to the hated enemy! - -When I thought it over, it seemed to me that it had been planned from -the first of his entrance into the service of the United States. -His known conferences with his half-brother of German name, and -his assuming another name than his real one, his interviews with -another stranger, probably German, his buying Jack, all pointed to a -deeply-laid, dangerous act of treason. - -Was he a German spy? How long had it been going on, and what damage -had he already done to our cause? His desertion was bold, aye brave, -but that was no atonement for the deep damnation of it! Could I ever -believe in any man’s profession again? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII ANOTHER DESERTER - - -The desertion of Lieutenant Nickerson was the subject of many ugly -remarks. A few asserted that they had suspicions from their first -acquaintance with him that he was disloyal; but this assertion was -not backed by any evidence to justify it. Others stoutly defended him -by declaring that, while his desertion was a mystery, it would be -explained sometime to his credit. But these were in a minority, and -naturally so; for men will prefer to believe what they see, rather than -theories or explanations. - -For my start I was simply dazed. At one moment, remembering Jot and his -many manly qualities, I could not believe him to be a traitor to his -country. Then, with the cold facts before me, how could I explain what -I had seen in any other way? - -For a time I was heartsick and gloomy; but I did not let this mood -interfere with my duty as an officer. I was more intensely loyal if -possible than before. - -Shortly after Jot’s desertion I went to visit my wounded friend, -Chaplain John, who was slowly recovering from his wound. The surgeon -who had him in charge explained to me that it was a complicated case. -A bullet had perforated his lung and,--but could not follow his -diagnosis. (Why can’t a doctor speak plain English?) But what he -really meant, I inferred, was, that after a time he would recover if-- - -The chaplain greeted me heartily. He was cheerful though weak and, as -he said, tired out with lying in bed. - -I purposely avoided mentioning Lieutenant Nickerson, for I could not -bear to discuss his desertion, since I could not explain it to his -advantage, and with the facts all against him. My friend himself -introduced the subject. - -“I am sorry about Nickerson. I know you must feel blue over it, Stark; -I do myself.” - -“Thanks,” I said, “for thinking of us, when you have so much to bear -yourself.” - -“Oh,” he said, “this is mere physical pain, isn’t it, after all, the -least of pains we have to bear? Mental distress--soul pangs--are the -hardest, it seems to me.” - -“I don’t know about that,” I replied. “Have you ever had the jumping -toothache, or been seasick?” - -“Yes,” he replied, laughing heartily, “and they were tough nuts to -crack;” and then soberly added, “but, after all, they are not to -be compared with mental anguish; for one knows that when they are -conquered that will be all of it. Now you are sad hearted and see no -way out of it; and there is but one way, and that is by asking help -from Heaven. That is never denied us, however great our distress.” - -Every word was balm to me, and seemed to bring a benediction. It was as -though his courage and spiritual confidence had entered my soul to heal -and purify. - -Then we had a comforting talk. The mere words were nothing in -themselves, it was the spirit of the man. It was such a communion of -thought and feeling as I had never had with any one before, except my -dear mother--and it seemed at times as though she was present with us. - -It did me a lot of good. It was as though the sun had come out from -a long-clouded sky. In some way, which I can not express in my poor -words, I went out leaving my gloom behind me, and feeling in some -indefinable way that the “clouds would break with blessings on my head.” - -With this new feeling of faith or confidence I went to duty again. - -“Have you had good news?” asked Captain Cross when I met him. - -“Yes,” I replied; but I made no explanation, for the news was not of -the kind he had meant. - -I met Colonel Burbank at the officers’ mess, and was greeted as usual. -I wanted to ask him about the nature of the interviews he had had with -Nickerson, at times that I have mentioned, but did not know how. But -when we came out and walked through the narrow street together, he -kindly took my arm and said, as though he had read my thoughts: - -“What is it, Lieutenant? What do you want to say to me?” - -“I have my troubles,” I replied, “but I do not know if they can be made -less by asking you to resolve them.” - -“Possibly not,” he replied gravely, and then in a low tone, “Sometimes -a great cause demands and accepts great sacrifices. There are great -self-forgetting souls that are so devoted to a cause that they -willingly make surrenders greater than life! Can you understand?” - -What was I to understand by these words? I felt that I could not ask -him, for with all his graciousness there was a barrier of reserve, -though unexpressed in words, which I felt must not be passed. - -At parting he gripped my shoulder and said, looking me earnestly in the -face, “You don’t ask for explanations--possibly you may never get any.” -In this talk neither of us had mentioned Lieutenant Nickerson’s name. - -I had written to Emily Grant telling her the circumstances of -Lieutenant Nickerson’s desertion without, however, a word of -explanation, or what I felt or thought about it. In her reply, she -wrote as though she knew I was blue and troubled about it, and simply -said, “You can not do anything but wait. Time sometimes brings -explanations that can not be given otherwise. Miss Rich is deeply -troubled; but she will not believe that your friend is a traitor.” - -Shortly after the talk I had with Colonel Burbank, there was another -desertion that hurt me. Muddy mysteriously disappeared for parts -unknown. I inquired at the mess sergeant’s, where he sometimes went for -a bit of meat or a bone; but he had not been seen there. Neither was he -at the colonel’s, where he was often to be seen asleep in a chair. The -last I had seen of him he was asleep on my blankets. - -Several days passed without his appearance, and I was annoyed and -perplexed; for he had never absented himself like this before. - -The enemy, who had been unusually quiet for several days, began to show -greater activity. Their air craft came inquisitively nosing around, and -when one was brought down or driven back, others persisted in coming to -take their places in spying. Their heavy guns, that for a time had been -inactive, now began firing with increasing intensity. - -“It looks,” said Captain Cross, “as though another drive was maturing. -Possibly they have got some new information about us, and have been -training their men for a decisive drive and are now about ready to -strike.” - -The cannonading continued quite active for a day or two, and then -slackened and died away. That a sudden attack was feared was shown by -the unusually watchful guard kept on the line of the river. Occasional -raids began to be made on the enemy’s positions. The slightest movement -there was regarded with suspicion, sometimes with amusing results. Our -gunners were exceedingly proficient. An artillery officer had said to -me, “I can always place the third shot in a five foot square. And then, -as he saw an enemy soup kitchen coming down a far-off hill, added, ‘Now -watch me do it!’” - -He fired two shots, and the second one was a perfect hit, the “soup -gun” flying into flinders. - -“Some of the poor devils,” I said, “will have to go without their soup -tonight.” - -Then, shortly after, our artillery in the sector to the right of us, -opened up a wonderful barrage with an impressive roar of guns and -exploding shells. We relished it a good deal more, since we knew that -our men were “pulling off” a raid, and not the Boches. - -Just then my attention was called by Sam Jenkins to an object in the -river. - -“Say, Lieutenant, just see me hit that muskrat,” said Sam, bringing his -rifle to his shoulder to fire. - -“Don’t fire,” I said; “let the poor creature live!” For I felt that -where there was so much needful destruction, that innocent creatures -should be protected. - -In another moment, it was seen that it was a dog, as the little -fellow came dripping and shaking his shaggy coat from the water. I -whistled and Muddy, as was his habit when caught in mischief, came -crouching with apologetic waggles at my feet. I tried to reassure him -of my forgiveness, but he rolled over on his back with paws dangling -imploringly. Then I took him in my arms, wet as he was, I was so glad -to see him, and he snuggled down, whimpering. - -When I had taken him to my quarters and fed him, I discovered that he -was very hungry; for he ate as though starved, and then whimpered and -barked and fawned upon me, as though to tell me that he had had a hard -time, and was glad to get back to me. I left him asleep on my blanket -and went to duty again, for he seemed too tired to go with me as usual. - -Colonel Burbank knew that Muddy had been “lost and found,” and when -later I called at his quarters, seemed pleased to see Muddy as well as -myself. - -While I was standing at attention, Muddy jumped to his lap snuggled -down, and then I saw him fumble with Muddy’s collar and take from under -it a small package of paper which he put in his pocket. - -“This was something for me,” he coolly replied, to my look of -astonishment, and then added: - -“You are not to mention anything you see in my office.” - -I did not know what to make of it all. Muddy must have been with -Lieutenant Nickerson, for I knew that no one else could coax him away -from me. But what about the message he had brought back? - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII A RAID ON THE ENEMY - - -As has been seen in foregoing chapters, we were now fighting beside the -French in northern France, and holding a sector in the world’s great -conflict. - -Infantry, artillery, machine-guns, and other branches of the service -were awaiting the resumption of the great German drive, by which the -enemy were hoping to obtain a victorious decision and give to their -brutal government supremacy in the world. - -While we recognized how serious would be our failure to ward off the -impending blow, we were keen and alert for action, and proud that we -had been chosen to defend this half-ruined but quaintly beautiful city. - -“Where do you expect the Huns will strike us next?” I asked a staff -officer of our division. - -“I do not know, and can only guess it will be right on this southern -line in a drive towards Paris; but, meanwhile, I think that we will -do a little fighting before he begins. You know that it is the policy -of our general-in-chief to keep up an incessant nibbling along -their lines, not only to gain information, but to break up their -combinations--disrupt their plans.” - -“Yes, I suppose that it is good tactics,” I replied, “to do the things -the enemy don’t want you to do; and just now they seem to be willing to -be let alone.” - -Shortly after this conversation our regiment, with others, began -rehearsing movements that looked as though we were to cross the river. - -Before daylight one morning we were marched a quarter of a mile or more -up the river, where light canvas pontoons were unloaded near us, with -balk (string pieces) and chess (floor covering) for a pontoon bridge. -An abutment of a single timber set into the ground and secured by pegs -for the five claw balks, one end of which grasped the abutment and the -other the gunwale of the boat nearest to the shore. Then a section of -the bridge was built on the shore, launched and swung into the river -and anchored. Then, still in comparative darkness, our artillery -laid down a terrible barrage, under cover of which the pontoons were -anchored, balks fastened to the boats by the pontooniers, and covered -with chess with inconceivable rapidity, until the bridge reached the -opposite shore. Then with a rush we went over. - -All this had been done with such clock-like precision that but little -opposition had been met: and the crossing had been planned so well and -so quickly executed, that it had been a complete surprise to the enemy. - -The line of barrage fire had been so accurately laid down by our -artillery that the Huns were not able to escape or to receive -reinforcements. Taking advantage, however, of a fair wind, they -launched a gas attack. Several of our men were overcome by its -poisonous fumes before they could put on their gas masks, for it was -unexpected. I was first aware of it by feeling slightly sickened, -but the gas gong sounded and I adjusted my mask before being, as I -thought, seriously affected. - -We were over the bridge, as I have said, with a rush; and then moving -up the river began a fight for the possession of the northern part of -the town. It was light when our brave men hurled themselves upon the -enemy, driving them from buildings, hunting them from the cellars, -shelters and dugouts. It was quick, sharp and decisive fighting. The -men were on edge, crying out, “Eat ’em up. Gee! we’ll get ’em!” as -the sharp report of rifles and the rat, tat, tat of the machine-guns -were heard above the uproar of barrage fire in our rear, and exploding -shells beyond us. - -The Boches, being unable to retreat or get reinforcements, hid in shell -holes and cellars, or surrendered. We brought back thirty officers and -men--all we could lay hands on, without remaining too long on the north -side of the river. Then, obeying orders, we recrossed; the bridge was -dismantled and withdrawn, and the raid was over. - -Several of our men had been killed, and the wounded were being sent to -the hospital. As I stood watching to see if any of my old associates -in the ranks were among them, Sam Jenkins rushed up to me crying out, -“Have you heard the news?” - -“No,” I replied stiffly. “Salute your officers before addressing them.” - -For Sam in his excitement had forgotten to salute, and I was careful, -as a man promoted from the ranks must be, that my former associates did -not presume on our former relations. - -He saluted, and cried: “They have captured Lieutenant Nickerson!” - -If I had been struck by a club I could not have been more badly hit. I -grew sick and staggered. - -“Who told you that?” I ejaculated hoarsely. “Where is he?” - -“Under guard out here,” he said; “I’ll show you.” - -I hurried forward with Sam. As I caught sight of his face I said, “Wait -a minute, it may be his brother.” I watched to see if he had a disabled -arm. But when I saw him put that hand to his head I knew the worst. -Under guard of two of our men, there he stood with apparent unconcern, -in the uniform of a captain of German infantry! - -“Oh, Jot!” I cried, forgetful of everything but that here stood my -former friend, so dear to me, in peril and disgrace. “How could you, -Jot!” I again exclaimed; all my love and sympathy recalled by his once -dear face. - -He smiled calmly, with an expression that I had never seen on his face -before, as if in reply to my call, and with his right hand brushed away -his hair clotted with blood from a wound. - -I held out my hand to him, while weak hot tears ran down my face; -for though I knew of his treason, one of my lifetime idols was now -shattered by the sight. Still he smiled calmly and with shameful -indifference, or sarcasm, without reply in words. - -One singular thing here occurred. Muddy, with his bark of greeting, -came leaping and fawning on me; but, without one wag of his tail in -greeting for Jot! - -“Even the dog,” said Sam, sadly, “has turned against him.” - -My heart was heavy with pain. Jot had not offered to take my hand. Had -he been hardened in shame by his treason? - -A division staff officer had come up, with others, for his questioning. -There was evidently about to be a drum-head court martial. - -Still preserving his outward indifference, Jot was questioned. - -“What is your name?” - -Turning his face with an ironical glance at me, he replied: “Adolph Von -Rucker.” - -“What is your rank?” - -“Captain of the 21st Prussian Guards,” he replied, proudly. - -“Do you know this man?” said the interrogating officer to me. - -“Yes,” I replied, saluting. “It is Jonathan Nickerson, late lieutenant -of Co. ---- Regt., U. S. A. Reserves,” for I thought that his -masquerading could not serve him for long. - -“What do you reply to that?” interrogated the examining officer. - -“I make no reply,” he replied firmly, “other than that it is false; -a mistake probably. Lieutenant Stark has mistaken me for my brother, -who is very like me. I am Captain Adolph Von Rucker, as I have before -asserted.” - -“How do you identify him?” asked the officer, turning to me. - -“Adolph Von Rucker, whom I met, had an arm that hung loose in his -sleeve,” I answered. - -“Yes,” he replied, lifting his helmet with the left hand and brushing -away the clotted hair with the other; “he’s right.” Then putting both -hands in front of him he called attention to the arms explaining, “One -arm is two inches shorter than the other because of resection.” - -“Remove your coat, Captain,” said the officer. - -One sleeve of his coat was slipped from his arm,--the undergarment was -rolled back disclosing the scar of a wound. - -“A clever piece of surgery,” explained the prisoner. “Two inches of -bone sawed away and united by a silver wire. It is a little loose. But -I can use it quite handily--when I choose,” he added with a side glance -at me. “I am Captain Adolph Von Rucker, as I have declared.” - -Then turning again to the examining officer he spoke in his ear a few -words that could not be understood by others. The officer nodded as if -in assent and the prisoner was led away. - -My heart rose again. I was not to see Jot shot or hanged. It was not my -former friend, thank God! but Adolph Von Rucker, his half-brother. - -The excitement and the reaction was apparently too much for me. I was -sick and prostrated. In this condition I was attended by our surgeon, -who said briefly, “It’s the gas. I have been attending similar cases -since the men have recrossed the river.” Then he became preoccupied in -his own professional diagnosis, as though there had never been neither -a Von Rucker or a Jonathan Nickerson. - -I did not recover under his treatment, but grew worse and worse under -the poisonous influence of German gas. This, the surgeon told me, -was often the case with a new gas which the enemy were using; that -sometimes its effects were but little noticed at first and afterward -became fatal! - -I was under the best and most tyrannical care--a slave to the -scientific theories of a doctor, and my readers know how well I loved -that. - -I was surprised to learn, later, that Captain Von Rucker had been seen -in Colonel Burbank’s office in conversation with him and the division -general. “Possibly,” suggested my informant, “he was allowed to explain -his former presence within our lines in citizen dress--but!” - -When I was allowed to call at the ward where my friend, Chaplain John, -was confined, I met with a surprise that drove all other thoughts out -of my mind. Emily Grant was a Red Cross nurse there! I was now willing -to be sick for an indefinite time if I could only be in that ward; -but that ward was for the wounded, and I was not supposed to be so -afflicted--but I was not so sure of that. - -I was placed in a ward where Dr. Rich was in charge, as a specialist in -gas poison. I have no doubt that he understood my case, though other -things engrossed my thoughts. I gave him a clear field for thought and -speculation, while _my_ thought and attention were directed to other -matters. Emily visited me each day, and expressed great sympathy with -my case; in fact I appeared to be, in that hospital, no longer an -individual but an “interesting case.” - -We talked however, about my friend, Lieutenant Nickerson, and tried -so hard to account for his desertion--besides other matters--where I -did so much more thinking than talking, that Chaplain John, I think, -enviously, called it a case of close-communion. Even a good man tries -sometimes to be too funny, as children do. - -In two weeks I was pronounced cured. I can not say I was entirely -pleased to be cured so quickly; for I was becoming intensely interested -in scientific nursing. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX THE GERMAN PEACE STORM - - -It was currently reported that the Germans were about to launch a new -attack. Anticipating, in advance, a decisive victory for their arms, -they designated the contemplated attack “a peace storm.” - -Whatever may have been the feelings of our allied soldiers regarding -this impending “drive,” the Americans were full of confidence. - -“If the Boches,” I heard Captain Cross say, “will only come out and -fight in the open, we will give them something hot to carry back to -Germany.” And this was the confidence expressed on every side by the -American doughboy. - -“Shure,” said Pat Quinn, “it’s ourselves that will give them a -belly-full if they will stand up like gintlemen and take what is coming -to them.” - -“A fair field and we will account for the rest of it,” was a sentiment -that was often expressed by our soldiers of all ranks. - -They were soon to have the desired field and achieve a victory, -fighting side by side with their dauntless French allies who, on many a -field during the most discouraging period of the war, had proved their -constancy and courage. - -In order to understand more clearly the battle to be described, let us -step back a few months for a better background for our perspective. - -It was five months since the Germans opened their campaign of 1918 by -their successful drive at Cambrai. During these five months, however, -a new contestant had stepped over the threshold of the war’s arena. -Seven hundred and fifty thousand American soldiers had, during that -time, been landed in France, making in all a formidable army of over a -million men, to aid in “making the world safe for democracy.” - -In their attack on Monday, May 27, 1918, the German army had -practically destroyed the troops on the French line north of the Aisne -River, and on the Saturday following had reached the Marne between -Dormans and Château Thierry. This brought them within forty-five miles -of Paris, which they planned to capture, and therefrom to dictate a -peace on their own terms. - -In a conversation, which several of us younger officers had with our -colonel, he pointed out to us that if General Foch had thrown his -reserves in front of the German advance at that time, it would have -brought them south of the Marne, and by the extension of the enemy’s -lines between the Aisne and the Oise it would have brought his reserves -far from the main battle. So, after the Germans had passed the Aisne -River, he put aside the temptation to halt his enemy north of the -Marne, and put all his available reserves to holding a line from -Soissons to Château Thierry on the west, and from thence on the east -to Rheims. The lines so formed might be likened to an immense letter V -with its two arms each not far from twenty-five miles in length. - -It was along these lines that, on the 15th of July, 1918, the tempest -of the peace storm broke. - -The allies had survived three great blows with their military -organization unbroken, and it remained to be seen what could be done -with them when used for an offensive battle. - -The German concentration of troops was greatest between Dormans and -Rheims,--a front of about twenty-five miles on the eastern arm of the V. - -At several points between the places last mentioned, the enemy threw -a score of bridges across the Marne, and while these bridges were -crowded with their soldiers, they were swept by a fire of artillery, -machine-guns, and rifles which checked their advance and killed them in -masses. - -Simultaneously with this onset, the Germans attempted another -formidable attack along the western arm of the V and northwest from -Château Thierry. This was met by the French with a deadly barrage, so -that the Germans were unable to debouch from their own positions. - -Such was the opening of their attempt to overwhelm the allied forces on -the Marne and march on Paris. - -On the morning of the 15th we heard the tempest of battle on every -side, and stood ready to take our part in this great adventure of arms. - -I, for one, forgot all else but that a great battle was impending -in which Americans were to have a part, and I had an intense desire -to acquit myself bravely as my forbears always had in the supreme -tests of battle. A war, too, which was to make the world safe for the -principle for which my father had fought in the Civil War and which was -to bring, it was devotedly hoped, a reign of righteousness and peace -for all the world. - -While the sound of battle was heard on every side, we waited orders to -move. The order came at midnight, during a heavy downpour of rain; and -it was dark as dark could be when it came, and the march at last began. -But every man knew his place in line and had his equipments ready at -hand. - -We silently crossed the river without opposition, and were in the -northern half of the city which for six weeks had been in the hands -of the invaders. Daylight revealed columns of French and American -troops marching through its ruined streets. The men were jubilant with -expectation. On their faces shone the light of youthful enthusiasm. The -sharp report of rifles and the _rat, tat, tat_ of machine-guns, mingled -with the roar of artillery, assailed our ears. - -“We’ve caught them on the fly,” said one of our enthusiastic boys, “and -we are after them!” - -“It looks to me,” said another, hopefully, “that we have got our -innings, and that we are going to make a home run.” - -The city showed signs of a hurried and disorderly departure of the -usually methodical Germans. Here and there in the streets was a German -helmet and, occasionally a dead man whom they could not stop to bury. -There were barricades built up with fragments of masonry, benches, -tables, wheelbarrows, unhinged doors, mattresses and even a cradle -and bird cage. The houses were only shells, with windows broken, holes -gaping in their walls, doors wrenched from their hinges. The beautiful -furnishings had all been destroyed or wantonly ruined. - -The cellars showed signs of having been largely occupied as places -of refuge. Mattresses, benches and chairs and cooking utensils were -collected there. - -Some of the inhabitants were still there, clinging with French tenacity -to their ruined homes. They were principally old women and men and -children. During the six weeks of German occupancy they had lived on -vegetables dug at night from abandoned gardens, and on goat’s flesh and -one cow that had been killed by our gun fire. - -Upon our coming they had begun to gather from the seemingly hopeless -ruins, household goods with which to rebuild some of the comforts of -homes. The German soldiers, they said, had used them fairly well, but -took possession of their cellars for their own use and protection from -our gun fire. - -In one place we found a machine-gun nest that had not been ousted. Our -men surrounded it, and soon the German soldiers came out with uplifted -hands, crying “Kamerad!” and were made prisoners of war and marched to -the rear. By their expressive looks I thought that they expected to be -killed rather than fed. We learned afterwards that many of the Boches -called “Kamerad!” when they had no intention of surrendering--but used -it as a trick. - -We did not tarry long in this ruined city. On our right and left we -could hear the crackling of musketry and the steady roar of artillery; -and at times I fancied I could faintly hear American cheers. - -Our force of French and Americans was commanded by a French officer who -had been trained in French colonial armies and was notably brave and -skillful. His soldiers loved him, for he asked no exposure or danger -that he was not willing to share. - -The clouds had cleared away and the sun had come out as if in promise -of victory, as we marched forward encountering surprisingly little -opposition. - -“What does it mean?” queried Sutherland; “are the Boches all dead?” - -“No,” said Corporal Quinn, for he had won that rank, “Shure I think the -divils are thrying to get away wid themsilves. Don’t ye’s hear the guns -on both sides of us?” - -“Gee!” ejaculated Hen. Goodwin, “them chumps knows when they’s licked. -And you’s can bet that they’s can run!” - -All reports that reached us showed that the Germans were getting out of -the claws of the V as fast as circumstances would admit, and before the -mouth of it “snapped shut,” as Shaw said. - -The sounds of battle were calling us young Americans as we marched on. -We felt that we had a task before us that must speedily be performed. -The battle called us, trumpet-tongued, for energy and action. We glowed -and were consumed with eagerness to be in at the death; for we felt -that it was a crisis in the campaign for American soldiers. - -“Why don’t you stop and get some hot chow?” said one of the sweaty -cooks to our men. - -“Aw! we ain’t got time,” answered Goodwin; “hard-tack is good enough -when you’s are gettin’ after the Dutchies.” - -“It’s a regular rabbit hunt,” said Sam Jenkins, “an’ we are out -a-gunning and can’t stop, or the rabbit’ll get away.” - -We were in sight of the red roofs of a village, when from a wooden hill -there came the _rat, tat, tat_ of machine-guns. - -“They’ve got a nest there,” was the cry from our men. “Let’s rout ’em -out!” - -Twenty of our best marksmen took advantageous positions to pick off -their men, while our light arms and machine-guns sprayed them with an -intense fire. - -It was but a little time before they had enough of it; and those who -could do so got away, while others came out with uplifted hands crying -“Kamerad!” They had been told that the Americans were savage, and would -shoot them without mercy, and some of them believed it. - -During our morning’s march, Muddy, who had been following closely at my -heels, flew out after the Boches that were hustling to get away and, -without a yelp or bark, ran so that we couldn’t see his tail for the -dust. I did not see him again until afternoon, when he came crouching -in apology with his tail at half-mast. I had whistled to call him back, -but he either would not hear or would not heed. What did it mean? - -As I was in command of the platoon I had other duties and could give -little thought to a dog. - -Twice later that afternoon we met with fitful opposition from the -enemy, and it was late before we reached the village whose red-tiled -houses, as we have before mentioned, we had seen in the distance. - -“That looks good,” said our captain. “Possibly we can halt there for -the night, unless we have to fight for it.” - -As we approached the village there burst forth from in front and on -both sides of us the chatter of machine-guns and rifle fire, as if to -say, “Stand off! we are here!” - -Some of us took shelter behind a rise in the land and fired upon -them, while others circled around the village. Then their fire began -gradually to die away. - -“Gee!” said Goodwin, “you’s can just bet your bottom dollar they’s -litin’ out.” - -“No chance to bag your rabbits, Sam,” said Sutherland sarcastically. -“They won’t stop to say good-bye.” And they didn’t. - -We had opened a hot fire and then by making sudden rushes and throwing -ourselves on our faces and firing had driven them out. It was an old -method, used by the regulars in fighting Indians; but it answered. - -“I have no respect for the Boches any more,” said Sam, “except as -runners.” But therein he was wrong. They were fighting a rear-guard -fight, and were not only acting in a prudent way, but also under orders. - -A few people, old men, women, and children, who had been sheltering -themselves as best they could in cellars and behind thick walls, came -out and greeted us with French enthusiasm. - -It was quite embarrassing for Sutherland when one sweet-faced old woman -threw her arms around his neck in a fervent embrace. He was awkward in -receiving her hug, but at last recovering from surprise, he patted her -and told her not to cry. When one attempted to hug and kiss the doughty -Sam Jenkins, instead of bravely standing fire he turned and ran. - -Peter Beaudett, more educated in French ways than the rest of us, -returned, as Pat Quinn afterwards declared, “blarney for blarney,” and -kissed one of the younger women effusively. I thought it a shame that -we had not been educated up to the point of receiving such grateful -demonstrations as they were meant. But, New England people check, -rather than give way to, their emotions. Do they gain, or lose by it? - -Though Peter Beaudett could not speak Parisian French he could -partially understand and be understood. - -“What are they saying?” I asked the French interpreter. - -“They say, ‘May God and his holy angels have you all in his keeping!’” -he replied. Thus it was that we awkwardly received the blessings of the -good, suffering women of France; and I trust in part appreciated them. - -“Not all the Germans were bad,” said one old woman; “one young officer -helped us, and gave us part of his small piece of bread, and assisted -us in getting together things to make us more comfortable.” - -This description somehow reminded me of Jot, and his helpful ways. - -The clouds had cleared away and, under a star-lit sky, we lay down to -the sleep of tired men, with the camp sentinels walking their posts -protectingly around us. - - - - -CHAPTER XX AN ADVENTURE OF ARMS - - -The next morning, when we resumed our march on the heels of the -retreating enemy, I was unaccountably depressed. I felt that I was -standing on the verge of calamity. I will acknowledge that I am -superstitious. Ever since I can remember I have had warnings when -unusual trouble was impending. I did not, however, allow this feeling -of coming misfortune to impair my work as an officer; for I had no time -to consider such minor things as personal feelings, when the interests -of my country were looming large ahead of me in battles about to be -fought. - -The tendencies of a soldier’s life are to make him a fatalist. He gets -to feeling and thinking that what is to be will happen, and that he has -only to do his duty faithfully as his part in it. And he is confirmed -in that belief by the everyday happenings of his adventurous life; so -why borrow trouble about that which you can’t help? - -This, though not often put in words by them, is a very common -feeling--or I may call it belief--among soldiers who are constantly -offering their lives to the hazards of battle. - -When I speak of the retreating enemy, I do not mean that we had an -easy time of it always, or that they were running away. They had -been forced into such a position by the strategy of Foch, and the -hard fighting of the Allies, that it was essential to their safety to -retreat. But to do this they must fight at certain points for the -protection of their divisions and the vast munitions of war which they -were removing to another line. - -We soon came upon a detachment of the enemy on our immediate front -strongly posted and defended by their light artillery, machine-guns, -and infantry. When we attempted in our over-confidence to rush them and -drive them back we were checked by a bitter fire. - -Then our heavy guns from the rear opened on them. And as shell and -shrapnel, with loud-mouthed defiance, went screaming over our heads, -hissing as though saying to the foe, “Get outtt offf thattttt!” it was -comforting to us, who had met with the check. - -“I tell _you_,” said Hen. Goodwin approvingly, “them gunners are -hustlers, and that Boche bunch will have to climb down or get out -pretty soon!” But they didn’t! - -Then information came--how, I do not know--that the enemy lines were -so formed that we could get at them by a flank approach. A plan was -accordingly made to strike their flank and front simultaneously and -capture or drive them back. - -The land was rolling ground, like that of my native Massachusetts; and -the enemy at this place was posted on a ridge with their right flank -imperfectly protected by their machine-guns. The plan was to strike -this exposed flank and at the same time attack in front. - -I was put in command of about a hundred men, besides my platoon, which -I had for some time been commanding, to make the contemplated flank -attack. - -The night was as dark as “a stack of black cats,” when we silently -marched to the position assigned for assault on the enemy’s flank, and -where we were to await the signal to charge. - -We got there all right and in the darkness were ambushed ready for our -part, when the enemy in some unaccountable way discovered our approach. -This upset the plan we had formed, and I was, naturally, undecided what -to do; whether to retreat--which I had no inclination for--or assault; -when the Boche forced my hand by a furious onset. - -I did not stop to argue the question of fight or retreat then, with -myself or any one else. The time had come to fight; and all questions -of strategy must yield to this simple fact. We had four of the new -machine-guns which had lately come to us, and which could be carried -like an ordinary rifle on the shoulder, and I had a good deal of -confidence in them. - -My orders were for every man to go forward, protecting himself by the -ground, when he could, and fight with all the fight that was in him! -The sun was up when I gave the order, “Forward!” The men answered with -a cheer, and rushed in quick time to a place about twenty yards from us -to the front. Every man was ordered to reserve his fire until he could -make sure of downing an enemy, or for dangerous emergencies--which, -heaven knows, were more likely to occur than not. Then we made another -rush, relying upon our courage and our bayonets to drive out the -foe. We were successful at first in rolling up Fritz’s flank, by our -audacious and unexpected tactics. I gave the order for the line again -to go forward at a jump and, as Sam sometimes expressed it, for every -man to “holler his head off,” hoping by this means to shake the nerve -of the enemy and, at the same time, let our main force know that we -were fighting, and guess that we were in need of help. - -For personal defence I had my revolver and an old German cavalry sword -which I had picked up, and though without great confidence in the -outcome, I could see no other way than, as Hen. Goodwin said, “to get a -good run for my money.” - -My men, without exception, fought like wildcats and, if noise counted, -the Boche must have thought that there was an army of us, and those new -guns must have helped them think so. Hen. Goodwin had one of them, Sam -and Sutherland one and I have forgotten who had the others. - -We were in the midst of the fracas, when we heard a long, wild -heartening cheer from our lines. That encouraged us. We were then -sheltering ourselves as best we could, picking off the enemy at every -chance, hoping to hold them back until rescue came. The new guns were -_great_, and were worked to the utmost by the men who had them. - -We were trying to make a cautious fight; but the enemy would not let -us. They outnumbered us three to one. But we didn’t mind that so much -as we did that they could better protect themselves than we could, -and attack, while we found it hard to get at them over the rough -intervening ground. - -Such was our situation when we heard the bugle from our lines sounding -the retreat. - -We were losing men fast it is true; and it was not likely to be a -winning fight if we got no help. But I could see no good in retreating, -when I could save more men by fighting. And I had no stomach for -running away from the rascally Huns, so long as I _could_ fight. The -advantage was with the enemy both in superior numbers and in knowing -the ground. It was plain, then, that we _must_ fight or--do worse. - -I gave a little talk to the men, during a momentary lull. “It is going -to be some fight, men! And possibly we may get the worst of it. But it -will be better for our pride and our skins to fight it out, than to -turn tail. So let us trust to luck and our American grit and possible -help, to lick them before they get us. Now fight like devils!” - -An amen of cheers was the response, and we continued to make short -dashes over the rough ground, firing at every head we saw; for it was -agreed we must thin the Boche off all we could, before the final tussle -came. - -We got as near the enemy as was prudent by these short dashes, and then -dug in; that is, we threw up with our knives and bayonets a little -ridge of earth in front of us. We were on a slight rise in the ground -which gave us a good view of the enemy, and a chance to pick them off. -I had at that time about ninety-five men. I had lost in killed and -wounded about thirty. But several of the wounded, including Goodwin and -Sam, could still fight. None of my men had been made prisoners; but -several--to put it mildly--were absent without leave. - -There was one friend that had stuck to me like wax, and that was my -dog. Then a thought came to me. I scribbled a short note and addressed -it to my captain, saying: “I am fighting in a tight place; Help!” -Then fastening it in the dog’s collar, I headed him towards our lines -saying: “Go!” He answered by running like the wind, and I knew that it -would not be long before the captain got that message. - -[Illustration: “HE ANSWERED BY RUNNING LIKE THE WIND, AND I KNEW THAT -IT WOULD NOT BE LONG BEFORE THE CAPTAIN GOT THAT MESSAGE.”--Page 166.] - -We were in a tight corner, almost surrounded, but fighting for all we -were worth. Several of our best men were wounded or dead and the enemy -shots came fast and thick. Hen. Goodwin, wounded in the arm and head, -being no longer able to use his Browning machine-gun, I had taken it. -I was firing fast, when I heard a prodigious cheer from our lines. My -message had reached them. - -“Help is coming, men!” I said. “I have sent word by the dog, and that -is the answer. Cheer up! We’ll get ’em yet!” - -Our group of fighters at this time was in pitiful plight. I had lost in -killed and wounded over one third of my men since taking refuge behind -that rise of ground. Sam was wounded but still fighting. Pat Quinn -was bleeding from a wound in the head, but still firing--and making -sulphurous talks to his comrades. It looked so discouraging that, but -for the undaunted courage I saw in the faces of my men, I could almost -have given up the fight in despair. - -“Hold on a little longer!” I cried. “Our men are coming!” But minutes -seemed hours, as one after another of my men fell or cried out in -anguish from their hurts. - -Strange to say, I thought of other things than the fight I was making; -of my mother, of Jot and--some one else. One minute had passed--so my -watch said--since hearing those reassuring cheers, but it seemed hours. -I thought that Joshua must have been in the same kind of a fix when he -thought the sun had stood still to give him victory. - -Another moment passed, then we heard a cheer still nearer. - -“Hear that!” I cried. “They are almost here! Help is coming!” - -But the Germans had heard it too. That which had encouraged us warned -them. They were gathering for a final rush upon us. Why they had not -rushed us before was a mystery to me (for I had been expecting it) -unless they thought to fight safely--and in the end were confident they -would get us. - -“Pick them off!” I cried. “Don’t let one of them get away!” It was a -foolish command, perhaps, for there was a big band of them. _Crack! -Crack! Crack!_ and every rifle and machine-gun did its work, until they -were dangerously near. Just then I felt a sharp blow on my left arm, -which made me drop the Browning gun. - -We fell back a few yards to get time, but it wouldn’t do! “Stand up, -men!” I cried. “Go for them with your bayonets!” - -In another instant, volley after volley from our rescuers sent the -Boche staggering back. We were rescued. - -I had turned my head to see our comrades who had delivered us, when my -foot caught between two stones. In trying to liberate it, I wrenched -my ankle sadly. Before I could get away I was seized by two Boches and -absolutely carried away as a prisoner of war. - -My only consolation was that I had made a good fight. And that _was_ a -consolation; though being a prisoner to the Boche was not. - -The result of the fight, as I learned later, was that a small part -of the German line was driven back from their strong position, many -killed, and many prisoners taken. We had made good. - -Still I was far from being reconciled. A prisoner seldom is. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY - - -The German soldiers, who were guarding me, seemed to be decent sort of -men, and treated me fairly well, as soldiers who have been fighting -each other usually act. All through my army experience I have found -that those in safe non-combatant positions are the most fierce and -relentless towards those who are disarmed and helpless. My captors -allowed me to use my first aid bandages, with which I bound up my hurts -as best I could. - -The sprain was so painful that I could not walk, and they had almost to -carry me to the rear. My arm also stung. - -I noticed on every side the destruction wrought by war. I could not -have believed such ruin possible, had I not seen it. Abandoned guns, -broken gun-carriages and air craft, ammunition piled up to be abandoned -or destroyed, supplies and munitions amid wrecks of ruined buildings, -and trampled yellow grain. Several of these grain fields had been -fired by the invaders and extinguished by the merciful rain. Among the -life-sustaining grain were dead men, dead horses and in two instances -I saw badly wounded Prussian soldiers that had been abandoned in the -necessity for haste, or because they were of no further use. There -were, also, the lesser wreckage of fragments of clothing, knapsacks, -broken rifles and innumerable small fragments of war’s ruin and ravage. - -I was in considerable pain and constantly cried out when hurried; for -I intended to emphasize my injuries for purposes of my own. My captors -were, apparently, disgusted with me. They talked and gestured until I -began to fear that they were debating whether or not to lessen their -trouble by knocking me on the head. Finally they picked up a discarded -rifle, halted, and fitted a piece of wood in the muzzle, and handing it -to me, made motions that I was to use it for a crutch. - -That night, while shut in the room of a partially ruined dwelling, I -was helped to wash, and put cold water bandages on my hurts and slept -fairly well. In the morning the pain from my sprain was mostly gone. -I washed my wounded arm and wet and rewound my bandages. I could have -walked had I chose; but I determined to keep that hurt for strategic -use; for I had firmly resolved not to go to a German prison. Their -reputation as providers was so bad that, to use expressive slang, “I -couldn’t see it.” - -All the food I was given up to that time was some coarse wheat bread -and not a scrap of meat; and some hot water bewitched into imitation of -coffee. But the guards themselves did not have any better fare so far -as I could see. - -One of my two guards was a clean-faced, good-looking German boy who -seemed of a higher class than his heavy-faced comrade. He took my -crutch from me and made motions that I was to stand. I tried to look -meek and obedient, and cried out and buckled up with pretended pain. -Seeing this, he restored my rifle crutch, and put one hand under my arm -to help me as I limped painfully along. - -While I was on the outlook for a chance to use my crutch for a club and -my legs for escape, my hopes were dashed by the guard taking me to a -large house, around which sentinels were stationed. - -After a parley with a sentinel who was pacing the broad doorway, I was -conducted into a large room where were several officers, orderlies and -clerks, some of them writing at a big table, on which were spread maps, -papers, and big books that looked like ledgers. - -No notice was taken of me at first. The clerks continued writing, the -officers talking, until there bustled into the room a tall, blond -officer with several decorations flashing on his breast, and an air -of decision and command that can not be expressed in words. The other -officers clicked their heels and saluted, the clerks did the same. The -officer made a careless but graceful acknowledgment by return salute, -spoke a few sharp guttural words that set several of the officers and -attendants hustling and addressed a few words to a man, who but for his -uniform looked like a clerk. Then turning to me, he motioned for me to -stand, and in good English interrogated: - -“What is your regiment?” - -I told him, for I could not see how he could get any good out of the -truth. - -“Oh,” he said, “a Massachusetts man. What part?” - -“Western Massachusetts, Berkshire county.” - -“Your name?” - -“Second Lieutenant David Stark.” - -“How many men have you here?” - -“I don’t know, but a lot of them and more coming.” - -He spoke a few words of command to the clerk, who pulled out a big -ledger-looking book, ran his finger over its pages, and made some -answer, then resumed his interrogations. - -“Why are you in the army?” - -“I like it, sir.” - -He smiled a wry smile, and asked, “You’ve got over that by this time?” - -“Not much,” I replied defiantly. - -“Ach!” he snarled. “You like it?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“You are of the New Hampshire Starks, perhaps?” - -“My folks came from there originally.” - -I was amazed at his exact knowledge--and showed it. - -He smiled and continued, “The Cromwell Roundhead breed!” - -Then he questioned me sharply about the American army, to most of which -I replied, “I don’t know.” I think that he got little satisfaction out -of the answers. - -“Did you know,” he finally said sharply, scrutinizing my face closely, -“a Lieutenant Nickerson of your regiment?” - -The question, coming abruptly, threw me a little off my balance, but -I replied steadily, “I did know a person who called himself by that -name; but I should not know him now.” - -“How’s that?” he inquired crisply. - -“I once thought him to be a true man, and I would not like to kill him, -as I might have to do should we meet again.” - -“Why?” - -“He has turned traitor and spy. Such men should be shot.” - -“Ach! Then you’d kill a Prussian soldier--a gentleman?” - -“Yes, sir; that’s what we are here in France for!” But my own words cut -me to the heart, when I had spoken them of Jot. - -With a gesture of dismissal he turned from me to one of the officers, -and made a remark that I did not understand. But his face and manner -led me to believe that he had got something out of my replies not -displeasing to him. - -Sharply giving more orders, with more clicking of heels and salutes, -he entered a near-by door to his private office. I was informed, -afterwards, that this officer had, previous to the war, been a -professor in one of our New England colleges. - -Under guard of the young soldier I have mentioned, I was conducted, -limping, to the street, helped through the doorway of an isolated -wall--all that was left standing of a building--and found myself in an -enclosure of barbed wire. - -In this pen were other American officers and soldiers, and several -Frenchmen. - -“More fish,” cried out a corporal. - -I was in bad humor and replied savagely: “Speak for yourself. If you -think it is funny to be here, I don’t.” - -“It’s Lieutenant Stark!” exclaimed a soldier, coming to me and -saluting. He was one of my men of yesterday’s fight. - -Then a captain came forward with extended hand saying, “You made a good -fight. I was with the rescue party and saw some of it and heard more. -Were you wounded?” - -“Slightly,” I said, with a motion towards the wounded arm; “but they -wouldn’t have got me, but for this sprained ankle.” And I limped -forward and sat down with my back to the wall. - -“Then you didn’t surrender?” - -“No, sir.” - -“He ain’t that breed of cats,” said my soldier--Private George Williams. - -“Then what breed of cats is he?” asked another flippantly. Prisoners -don’t stand much on ceremony. - -“Tiger cat!” replied Williams. Then I saw him talking with those around -him, and I inferred that he was telling about the fight. - -A lieutenant whose manner I did not like--and there are a good many -things I am not pleased with, when I am hungry--came to me, and in an -insinuating way asked, “Any chance of making a break here?” - -“I haven’t thought of it,” I replied. “I have just come.” - -I distrusted the man, I do not know why, except that his manner was -over sweet. Then he suggested a plan so impractical that I wondered if -he was in his senses. - -“What do you think of it?” he inquired. - -“Good idea!” I replied, “if you are figuring to get killed.” - -I turned my back on the fellow, and made up my mind that whatever plans -might be made in the future, I would have no part in any that _he_ -might have a part in; which only shows how strong my prejudices are -about people to whom I have taken a dislike. - -“What are the chances for ‘chow,’ Williams?” I called. - -“Haven’t seen any, or smelled a sniff of any since I got here,” he -replied. “I guess the Kaiser when he planned this war forgot that cog -in its wheels; for prisoners at least.” - -It certainly looked like it, and I was hungry enough to eat a Boche -uncooked, when about four o’clock in the afternoon some wheat bread and -vegetable soup were given us--but not enough for a hungry man. - -I still persisted in having a lame ankle, and if my face and actions -were to be taken in evidence, it was a corker. - -I made several acquaintances among the officers and privates too during -the day, and talked with Williams about the prospects of making an -escape. To which he replied: “There ain’t any!” And I finally agreed -with him. - -So I rolled up in my blankets, and went sound asleep. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII HELD BY THE ENEMY - - -I was awakened by a tumult of voices, and by men stumbling over me. -So sound had been my sleep that at first I did not recognize my -surroundings. A throng of new prisoners was coming through the narrow -door near where I was lying. - -I sat up with my back against the wall, to see if there were any that I -knew, and also to take advantage of any circumstance that might favor -me. I did not recognize any of the men, but spoke to some of them. One -big fellow trod on my feet and, stumbling, sprawled across me. - -“Look out!” I cried, “there’s more room standing up than in lying down!” - -“What’s the matter, boy?” said the stumbler; “what are you yelping -about?” - -“Matter enough,” I replied, “when a ton of a man hits a sore leg!” - -He made no immediate reply except to say, “Which leg is it?” And then, -unwinding my puttee and the bandage, began rubbing my leg with his -strong magnetic hands. Then skillfully rewinding the bandage, he asked: -“What’s the matter with your arm?” - -“Bullet hole,” I replied. “But it is all right.” - -He turned back my slit sleeve, unwound the bandage, took a critical -look, and said, “See here, youngster, you haven’t been giving that arm -a fair chance.” - -“What do you know about it?” I asked rather testily. “It don’t hurt -much.” - -“It’s inflamed and in pretty bad shape,” he replied half to -himself; and then in answer to my question, “I am something of a -surgeon-graduate of a medical school.” - -Then, with medicaments taken from his kit he cleansed and bandaged the -wound, saying emphatically as he turned down my sleeve, “You’ll be -short an arm if you aren’t careful!” - -“I guess not,” I replied carelessly. “I am expecting to get among -civilized folks before long and have it fixed all right.” - -“Oh, that’s it, is it? Well, you’ve got confidence in yourself. How do -you plan to get away?” - -“I am watching for a chance.” - -For awhile he made no talk, remaining silent as though thinking, -then said, “See here; suppose we chum together? I see that you are a -lieutenant. My name is Gordon; I am an assistant surgeon. You’ve got -confidence and courage. I’ve got some sense and lots of strength, -besides a good arm and leg. Any objection to my following your lead?” - -“No,” I said, “I like you; I think that you’ve got the right stuff and -I may need you.” - -He smiled quizzically, and inquired, “Had much to eat?” - -“No, I feel as empty as a vacuum.” - -“Stay here, and I will see what I can do.” - -Making his way through the crowd, he disappeared. - -It was stifling hot, and the newcomers injected into this small area -had crowded it unmercifully. - -Meanwhile I thought over the situation, and tried to form a general -plan for escape. I also thought over the possibilities of Jot’s being -in that sector of the enemy’s lines. I inferred from the questions -asked me under examination, that he was known in that sector and that -his loyalty to the German cause had been questioned. - -I was turning over in my mind some of the incidents of our long -acquaintance, and wondering at its contradictory phases. In the midst -of my reflections I felt my arm grasped by Gordon who exclaimed softly, -“Wake up, Lieutenant! There’s something doing!” - -In an instant I was alert and observant. “Yes,” I said, “it looks as -though they were going to take us away from here.” - -A German officer with several non-commissioned officers and privates -had begun to count the men, form them into military groups, and march -them through the doorway. - -“They are separating the men from the officers,” said Gordon. “Possibly -we may remain here.” - -“I think not,” I replied. “They will be keeping us on the move. If I am -not mistaken their whole army is falling back. They need all the wheels -they have got and legs are cheaper, especially if they belong to us; -and they don’t care a bit for our comfort.” - -So it proved. - -After the men and non-commissioned officers had been moved out, there -remained about twenty French and American officers. - -Rations of bread, vegetable soup, and imitation coffee, were given us; -and, after giving our names and rank, we too were marched from the -enclosure and through the half-ruined village. - -On all sides were evidences of hasty but methodical retreat. Long -lines of German infantry, light artillery and heavy guns on tractors, -caissons, ammunition wagons, pontoon trains and other belongings of a -monster army, were moving over the roads to the rear, or into position -for defence and battle. The roads, gullied by rains, cut up by wheels -of heavy gun carriages, tractors and other vehicles, were in poor -condition for haste. - -On one side of the heavily burdened roads, directed by the guard, we -picked our way. Everywhere were the German wounded, some conveyed on -gun carriages, others in baggage wagons and ambulances. Some of our -guard even were slightly wounded men, others were old and war-worn -soldiers. - -About six o’clock that afternoon we came to a halt in a field where -grain had been harvested and stacked. A guard was stationed around us, -and we were glad to rest. The weather was hot and uncomfortable; but -the sky grew suddenly darkened, and a tempest was upon us. Gordon, who -had been with me during the day’s march, pretending to help me, hurried -me to one of the grain stacks where with our blankets we were able -partially to shelter ourselves from the rain. - -Soon as we had protected ourselves from the downpour, Gordon said, -“We have got to escape before we get too weak from being underfed and -overmarched, and they get us on a train to take us to a German prison. -I have bought, begged, and stolen all the food I could get before we -left that barbed wire coop where I found you. What have you got?” - -“Not much,” I replied; “a piece of bread about as big as my hand. I -have been too confounded hungry to save more from the little that I -have received.” - -He sat thinking for a while, and then said: “Everything will count -in an escape. A starving man would be in poor shape for quick and -determined action.” - -“Yes,” I assented, “a full stomach gives courage!” - -He laughed one of his inward chuckles and observed: “I guess that you -are a good feeder like myself, and that you are right hungry.” - -“Just that,” I agreed; “but I won’t mind that if we can only get away.” - -“All right, comrade, we will divide up now,” he decided; “for you may -have a chance to get away before I do, or if we escape together we may -be separated. It ain’t much, but I am going to whack up even.” - -“You are a good fellow,” I said. “Where are you from?” For up to this -time I had not asked that question. - -“Virginia,” he replied, “and I am proud of it. You are a Yank, I -reckon, but I know a white man when I see him. My old dad was a -Confederate soldier.” - -“And mine,” I said, “was a Union soldier.” - -“Shake!” he said, extending his hand. And we shook hands heartily. - -After awhile I saw him with his hands among the grain. - -“Say,” he said, “here’s a find! They haven’t threshed this grain yet. -Stow some of it away in your pockets. It’s good food at a pinch without -cooking.” - -I had a wallet-like envelope of oil cloth which I showed him. - -“Just the thing,” he said. - -We rubbed the ears of grain in our hands, and secured about a quart -apiece before we went to sleep that night. - -On awaking I found the sun shining, the sky clear, and the weather -cooler than the day previous. As there were no immediate indications -of moving, we spread our blankets on the grain stack to dry. And then -we had a long talk. - -I told him all about Jot and his desertion, as I had never told it -to any one before. There was something about him that drew me out to -confide in him my inmost thoughts. He asked several questions and then, -after a moment’s silence he looked me in the face, and gave one of his -inward chuckles. - -“What is it?” I said. “To me it seems a _crying_ matter.” - -“So it does, chum,” he said soberly; “I can understand your feelings. -But you have, with all of your Yankee intelligence, a childish streak -in you.” - -“What do you mean?” I asked with some stiffness. - -“Don’t you see that it is more than likely, your friend and his brother -are both in the secret service of our army? You know that Foch got -information of the German plans, and has been posted from the first -about what they were going to do. I shouldn’t wonder if your chum and -his brother had a hand in it. From what you have told me I infer that -they know how to keep their lips shut. And that dog and horse! My! If -it is as I think, it’s fine! But still, it _may_ possibly be the other -way.” - -I forgot my present troubles--even my hunger--as I grasped his hand. -“By George!” I cried, and turned my head to hide the tears--but they -were tears of joy. - -He radiated an indefinable smile and said, “There’s nothing certain, -but I reckon that your friend is white.” And then added, “You are a -good deal of a child yet, Stark. Don’t mind if I tell you so. You see -things more with your eyes than with your mind, and can’t understand a -two-sided game--because you haven’t any two sides to yourself. You’re -honest.” - -I didn’t exactly understand his view, and asked: “How about this -sprain, Gordon? Is that honest, too?” - -But he only laughed one of his internal chuckles, and began talking of -other things. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII A HAZARD OF FORTUNE - - -Again we found ourselves on the march. - -The weather was warm and moist, something like our dog days, though -cooler at night and during the morning hours. Our guard of six were old -or war-worn soldiers, inclined to be ill-tempered, and disagreeable -enough upon little provocation. One of them near me struck a lieutenant -with the butt of his rifle because, having a head wound, he had become -unsteady and had staggered against him. As he struck him the second -time, I would have interfered, but for my comrade who, seeing my anger, -restrained me. I uttered, however, an angry imprecation, which of -course the guard did not comprehend, though he evidently did understand -that I resented his brutality. - -“Wait,” said Gordon, “by and by it may be more convenient to have a -row with him--but I reckon not; it’s a mighty poor plan to play with -powder.” - -During the day, we were often required to march in the fields by the -side of the roads, to make way for passage of troops and war vehicles. -In the afternoon, however, we turned off on a road in a north-east -direction that was less congested with troops and military material. - -When we were halted, and rations of the same meagre and unpalatable -kind were issued to us, my comrade and I held a consultation, taking -care, however, that our manner should not excite suspicion. - -“It is possible,” said Gordon, “that before long we may be put on the -cars and sent by train to some German prison; and then, our chances to -escape will be small.” - -“I wonder if any of these men speak English,” I mused. - -“I reckon not,” said Gordon. “But I can speak enough German to make -myself understood.” - -“Have you heard them say where they are taking us?” - -He shook his head. “These men know nothing beyond their orders, and -possibly only that non-com. knows that much. These German officers give -orders, but don’t explain them. I do know that they expect to cross a -river soon. I heard them asking if there was a bridge, and making jokes -about swimming.” - -“Can you swim, Gordon?” - -“Like a duck,” he answered, “and I sure would like to take a dive right -now!” - -“Same here,” I said; “I had some fine swimming when I was on my -permission. Can you guess what time we shall reach that river?” - -“By the way they are hurrying us, I should say it would be late in the -day; but I really know nothing about it; it’s only a surmise.” - -“I have a plan,” I said, “I know something about pontoon bridges made -of boats. I wonder if we could make them believe that neither of us -can swim?” Then I told him of my scheme. - -Nothing more was said for a long time, as we marched along the road, -I still hobbling on my improvised crutch and my comrade pretending to -help me occasionally. - -Quite late in the day we came to a narrow but apparently deep stream -where the guard halted. Gordon told me later that they discussed with -the non-commissioned officer, whether or not it wouldn’t be best to try -to find a ford, as it would save a mile or more of travel. - -Then they made motions to us, to know if we could swim, to which we -both replied by shaking our heads and pretending to be frightened. - -So again we began our march by a road that led along the stream. I -pretended to be very tired, and occasionally jostled against the guard -that was marching near me. He cried out angrily and pushed me with his -rifle. When I jostled against him again, he threatened me with the -butt of it. I was getting on bad terms with him; for he did not have -the sweetest of tempers. I am afraid my face showed him that it would -be more than agreeable to me if I could kick him; for he grew more and -more disagreeable. - -It was nearly dark and clouds darkened the sky, when we came to a -pontoon boat bridge. - -“I am awfully afraid of water,” I said to Gordon with a wink. “It would -be just my confounded luck to fall overboard here and drown. It don’t -look safe.” - -As our group reached the bridge, I pretended to grow very timid about -trusting myself on it. The guard near me was tired and ugly. I started -and jostled against him, and he struck me with the butt of his rifle, -which I returned with an angry look and gesture; for that is a language -that any one can understand. - -The bridge was made up of about twenty boats, which showed me that the -stream was about two hundred and seventy feet in width, or more. The -water looked dark, but I was not sure that it was deep. - -About the middle of the bridge I lurched against the same guard -heavily, as though by accident, and he struck me a heavy blow with his -rifle. With a yell I went overboard, threw up my hands, and sank. - -I had taken a deep breath for a long swim under water, for I had fallen -on the down tide side and would have to swim against the current to -come up under the bridge, as I intended to do. I was almost exhausted -when, looking upward, I saw I was under one of the boats. I took -another long stroke and, fortunately, came up between two boats, but -to my alarm saw that I was not under the covered portion that formed -the roadway. I quickly submerged, and without being seen reached a safe -place and clutched the gunwale of a covered boat. - -I heard a tumult of trampling feet on the planks above me, with calls -and outcries. Then it occurred to me that some one might look under the -planking; so I dove under the boat, swam to one that was nearer the -shore from which we had come, and waited again until their footsteps -receded to the other end of the bridge, and I was satisfied that they -had abandoned further search for me. - -But what had become of my chum? He was to have followed me. - -I stayed under the bridge, keeping myself above water by holding on -to a boat, until it was very dark, then swimming quietly down stream, -landed on the shore, thinking it safer to keep away from the roadway -for a time. - -I was lying on my stomach, looking and listening, and trying to make -out which was south, but with neither moon or stars visible, I could -only guess. I was in a quandary. It would not do to blunder, for fear -of getting caught, which was likely enough with the country swarming -with Boches. - -I finally made up my mind to reach the bridge once more, and get the -points of the compass thereby. I walked for a long distance without -seeing the bridge, which I had thought to be near me. Was it possible -that they had removed it? - -I was lying in the grass thinking it over, when I heard the roar of -wheels and the tramping of men on what I knew must be the bridge; but -it was in a different direction from what I thought it to be. - -I waited an hour until the sounds died entirely away. Then I crept -cautiously to the bridge to get my bearings. I had approached the -bridge through the field, mostly on my hands and knees, and was about -to get to my feet, when I saw--or did I only imagine it?--a dark figure -slowly moving on the road, occasionally stopping as though to look or -listen. I saw this figure so indistinctly that, as I have said, I -at times questioned its reality. Then the moon came out from behind -a cloud, and I no longer doubted. It was a man. And I had but little -doubt that it was a German soldier who had been left behind to hunt me -down. - -I moved cautiously, crouching in the short grass, observing the -movements of the man, and dreading lest he had spied me out as I had -him. Then he suddenly disappeared from view. I waited awhile; then, not -seeing him, I began cautiously to move along the field parallel with -the road, occasionally stopping to look and listen. At last, believing -the course to be clear, I walked as fast as my feet could carry me, -though still keenly observant with eyes and ears, of everything near me. - -Again I heard a rustling sound near by which sent me crouching to the -ground again. But, seeing and hearing nothing more, I went forward -again, and again dropped to the ground to listen. - -Then I heard a loud, hoarse whisper, which, but for the words -distinctly enunciated, I should have mistaken for the wind in the -tree tops: “Stark! Stark! David!” I did not trust my senses, for my -imagination had deceived me more than once in my life when under -excitement, and might again be deluding me. - -From the shadows again came the whisper--“Dave! Dave! Dave! Is it you?” - -I sprang up, and there stood erect a form I could mistake for no one -else than my comrade, Gordon. - -In another moment we had clasped hands. - -So deep had been my emotions of fear and hope during that short -interval of suspense, that I could only thank God for that which had -seemed to be peril, was the reverse. - -“It won’t do to talk here,” he said; “let us get back into the field.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV LOOSE AMONG THE BOCHES - - -“It is plain to me,” said Gordon, “that you are not a hunter, and have -never stalked deer as I have often done. If it had been a Boche instead -of me, you would have been captured or shot, when you were so near me.” - -“But how,” I asked, “did you get away from them?” - -“When you were knocked overboard,” he answered, “there was a good deal -of confusion. The sergeant commanding the guard made motions urging me -to go to your rescue. None of them wanted to try it, and when I had -made him understand that I could not swim, enough time had passed for -any reasonable man to drown; and no real effort was made to rescue you -or to retrieve your body. Then the guard who knocked you overboard was -scolded by the sergeant, not particularly for striking you, but for -making it hard for him to account for a missing prisoner. There was a -rejoinder that there was one less American pig to feed, which caused -a laugh. And just then, when attention was drawn from me, I softly -slipped into the water and, swimming under for some distance, at last -crawled upon the shore. - -“Apparently they did not discover my absence for some time. Then they -came tramping back across the bridge, looking in the ends of the boats -and then beneath the planking. When they got to this end of the bridge, -I heard one of our officers suggest to the sergeant that you were not -drowned but faking it.” - -“Did that fellow who was giving me away have a voice like the purr of -a cat--too sweet to be honest?” I asked suddenly. - -“I reckon that’s him to a T. How did you happen to know him?” - -“I spotted him,” I answered, “the first hour I was in that Boche wire -coop, and I wouldn’t trust him for a cent’s worth.” - -“I reckoned you felt it rather than reasoned it; didn’t you?” - -“That’s about it,” I replied. “I always did have ‘hunches’--and I -wouldn’t have shaken hands with him with a pair of tongs.” - -“I reckon we are twins. I have that same feeling about some folks -myself.” - -Gordon and I were glad of each other’s company, though neither of us -said much about it; for between some folks there is no need to say -things. That night we walked rapidly; for my comrade’s trained senses -enabled him to see and travel in the dark without missing the right -direction. Sometimes we kept the road in view for guidance, but he -seemed never to have doubts of the right road. - -When daylight came, we found a hiding place in what, at first, we -thought was a quarry, but soon saw excavations that told us it had -been used by both the French and German soldiers for bomb proofs and -other military service. We halted and made a breakfast from our tins -and wheat bread, and lay there for most of the day, taking turns in -standing guard, while the other slept. - -I think that I was, possibly, doing more than my share of sleeping, -when Gordon awakened me, and with a motion to keep silent, said in a -whisper: “There are some folks near here--quite a lot of them--sounds -like women--and I think they are French. But as we used to say in the -Medical School, ‘Don’t be sure of your subject until you are certain it -is a dead one.’ So you stay here until I find out what it means.” - -It was a full half-hour before he returned, saying, “There is a nest of -people in an underground dugout. I reckon that the question before the -house is, shall we make their acquaintance, or skip them.” - -“Can you speak French?” I inquired. - -“Not ten cents’ worth,” he replied. “Can you?” - -“Well,” I said, following his simile, “about twenty cents’ worth.” - -“A few words,” he observed, “are sometimes better than a sermon.” - -“All right,” I said, “we will chance it.” - -“We’d better doll up a little first,” suggested Gordon. “You’d look -better to get them weeds and burs out of your hair, chum.” - -“And you,” I retorted, “would look less like a bear from the wilderness -if you shaved and washed.” - -“No soap or razor,” said Gordon, “but I will do it, if you will produce -them.” - -“I am more provident,” I said; “when I travel, I travel first -class”--showing a comb and other articles. - -“That’s fine!” he agreed. “But I don’t see what you carry a razor for -with nothing to shave--that I can see.” - -When he had shaved, as he said, “with tears,” for he declared that -the razor was as “full of gaps as a hand saw,” we were ready for the -interview. - -After some search we found the entrance to the excavation, and -introduced ourselves to the people. But instead of the welcome we had -expected, they drew together like so many frightened sheep, and made -outcries of fear and held up their hands in supplication. - -“We are Americans,” I said, expecting that this would calm their fears; -but to my surprise they became still more frantic. - -Then an old crippled man cried out in broken English, “We know -you--devils! The German soldiers have warned us that Americans are -savages and kill everybody on sight.” - -It was some time before we convinced them that the Americans had come -to France to help them, and were fighting on their side. - -This German lie to these people showed the deep cunning of the enemy to -prejudice the French peasants against American soldiers. - -One old Frenchman told us that he had once lived in Montreal, and had -a little shop there, but had come home two years before the war. The -Germans, he said, had taken everything away from them and destroyed -their homes. - -We tried to tell them of the victories the French and Americans had -achieved, but they could not believe it; for the Germans had told them -that they were besieging Paris and that London had been destroyed. It -was hard to convince these poor people of the truth, and they still -shrank at our approach. - -We remained with them two hours or more and then, fearing that some -of the Huns might return, we resumed our journey, which, with the -information the Frenchman gave us, and a little compass that Gordon -carried offered fair directions for reaching our lines. - -When morning came we recognized by the sound of guns and in other ways -known to soldiers, that we were near the German lines. We found a -hiding place in a field where there were some stacks of straw, and soon -saw the troops of the enemy moving over the near-by roads. - -“I judge,” I said, “that there is going to be a fight near here, and -the enemy are concentrating for it; but I believe it is a rear-guard -action, to make their way clear for still further retreat.” - -It was not long before an outburst of artillery and machine-gun fire -confirmed this belief. The sound of combat grew nearer and nearer -showing that the Boches were falling back. - -“Let’s get out of this,” said Gordon, “for the enemy will be falling -back here before long, and we will be caught. When it comes night, they -will be after this straw for bedding.” - -It was fortunate that we got away when we did, for before long we saw -soldiers going into the field and streaming back with sheaves of straw. - -In another hour by crawling through a bit of woodland we came to an -abandoned village which, apparently, the Huns had occupied, and which -now was a wrecked heap of masonry and jagged walls. Here we thought no -human being would resort, or Huns approach, for there was nothing to -steal or destroy, but to our surprise we came upon an aged couple still -clinging to their ruined home. They had a few tattered bed clothes -and garments, some wheat that they had apparently gathered from the -near-by fields, a few potatoes, but not a scrap of bread or meat. Their -condition was so pitiable that we attempted in our poor French to -condole with them. They must have partially understood, for the old man -shook his head and with trembling voice said, “_C’est la guerre_.” - -Thus we traveled for several nights, lying very close during the day, -without incident worthy of record except getting wet and tired. The -country hereabouts was rough and hilly and sparsely inhabited by French -speaking people, mostly of the peasant class, with whom we came in -contact but twice, and that in an accidental way. - -It had been raining almost constantly. After traveling all night, -drenched to the skin and weak with long hunger and exposure, I felt -that I could not go further without rest and warmth. So, just before -daylight, we crept into a thatched little barn where, in one secluded -corner, there was some straw. - -“Say, chum!” said Gordon, “this is right comfortable.” - -“Yes,” I replied petulantly, “but ain’t it ‘right’ dangerous?” - -“We can’t have everything, Yank,” he replied. “We’ve got to chance it -once in a while.” - -“Yes,” I assented, “but I’m afraid I’m all in. I’m all of a shiver.” - -After looking at my wound, my chum said, “That arm is right bad; and -I don’t like them shivers you are having. If we don’t get into God’s -country pretty soon, I reckon we shall have to do something desperate -to get that arm fixed.” - -He covered me over with his coat, and heaped straw on top of that, and -then after a while, asked anxiously, “Getting over them shivers?” - -“Yes,” I replied, “I am getting comfortable and warmer than I have been -for a good while. Better take your coat.” - -“That’s good!” he said with a relieved expression. “Never mind about -the coat. I was afraid that them shivers meant something more than -cold.” - -I had dropped into the dreamless sleep of exhaustion when I was -awakened by a sharp punch, and the rustling of the straw. Looking up, I -saw an old man with a pitchfork in one hand, staring down upon me with -eyes big with surprise and inquiry. - -My chum sprang up with a greeting in German, and was answered in French -by the inquiry: “Who are you?” - -“Un Americain,” I answered quickly. - -He dropped his hay fork, and held out his arms to embrace me, then -called to his wife; and as she spoke German quite well, we soon had an -understanding with them. - -They said that though some of the French people of that country had -become Germanized, they still loved “la belle France” and prayed for -deliverance from the hated, overbearing Germans. They had conscripted -his son and had taken his horse, his crop of potatoes and other food, -for their soldiers. - -From them we learned that there was a heavy force of Germans a few -miles away, but that they were constantly falling back before the -French and Americans. They said, further, that many of the Boches they -had met were discouraged and feared that they could not continue to -fight much longer. - -The old man gave us food to continue our journey, saying: “We are good -friends,” and then added ruefully, “_C’est la guerre_.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER - - -A few days after this meeting we saw, while hiding in some woods, -German artillery moving over near-by roads, and by this inferred that -we were near the German lines, and that they were falling back. - -I was not sick but weak and tired. I lay down to rest and hide, while -my chum left me to get some water, and forage for turnips or other -food, still unharvested. - -I had waited for a long time--so it seemed to me--and becoming alarmed -I cautiously started out to find him. Just as I had about given him up, -he came creeping on his hands and knees through some underbrush saying, -“Hist! The German devils are right thick around here; I have been -trying to dodge them for an hour. Get down out of sight, chum!” - -All this was uttered in a hoarse whisper, and with an expression of -alarm more ominous of danger than his words. - -We remained in our hiding place during most of that day, and at night -began once more to travel cautiously, with many misgivings, westward, -hoping to get through the German lines. - -“If it were not for our uniforms, chum,” said my comrade, “we would -stand a better chance; but they are ‘a dead give away.’” - -We traveled slowly and warily--but at last, in some unexplainable way, -we fell into a trap. - -We had stopped in a little depression of the ground in the outskirts of -a wood near a little brook. Thinking it as good a place for concealment -as we would find, we refreshed ourselves by bathing our hands and -faces, after which Gordon began dressing my wound. He was rewinding -the bandage, after washing it, when he stopped short and, in a whisper -said, “What’s that?” - -But there was no need of an answer, for there came the sharp call: -“Hande hoch!” And to enforce this order of “hands up” several rifle -barrels pointed towards us from behind trees. We were caught. - -Our German captors were mostly young fellows who looked like students. -With one exception, and that was an old grizzled sergeant, not one -of them, I should judge, was over seventeen years of age. I learned -through Gordon that they had but lately come in to the service, and -they were greatly pleased to have captured us. The old sergeant spoke -fair English. - -“Who are you?” he interrogated. “How came you inside our lines?” - -“We are Americans and escaping prisoners,” Gordon answered in German. - -“Ach!” he responded in English. “You gets avay?” - -“Yes.” - -He allowed Gordon to finish dressing my wound, and after taking a look -at it himself, said, when he saw that Gordon had some clean bandages, -“Verbande” and coolly took most of them, with the grim remark: “May -need these myself.” - -From this I inferred that linen bandages were scarce with them. - -Then came the order: “Vorwart!” and we were hurried forward to their -headquarters, where we were halted and turned over to a new guard. - -For a while but little attention was given us, and we were allowed to -lie down while awaiting--we knew not what. - -“It is rather disheartening,” I said, “to be gobbled when we were so -close to our lines.” - -“Yes,” replied Gordon coolly, “but that was the place where we were -most likely to get caught. Don’t look so glum; never say die, chum, -until you are dead, and then--you can’t.” - -“They will be marching us to prison soon, I suppose,” I said. - -“Very likely,” replied Gordon; “but I will do my best to vote in the -negative, as we used to say in our debating club.” - -We were brought to our feet by a command, and conducted by a guard -to a shattered house, where we found ourselves in the presence of -a black-headed, blotch-faced, severe-looking officer, who began to -question us in imperfect English. Then, as we were unable to understand -his questions, and he equally unable to understand our replies, he -spoke a few guttural words to an orderly, who saluted and went away. - -As I stood at attention looking the ill-natured officer in the face, I -noticed some one stop at my side and brush my elbow never so slightly, -as if in warning, and at the same time slip something into my side -pocket. - -I turned my head to look, and saw Lieutenant Jonathan Nickerson in -the uniform of a German officer, clicking his heels and saluting his -superior. It took all my resolution to appear unconcerned. I was so -astonished that I could have been knocked down with a straw. But I knew -I must be on my guard. - -Under direction of the officer, Jot, whom I took to be his aide, began -to question me. - -“You are Americans?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“What regiment?” - -We answered that question and several other correctly. - -“How came you inside our lines?” - -“We had been made prisoners, but escaped, and at the time your men -captured us, we were trying to get through your lines to our own.” - -The questions that followed were mostly about our army, and were -answered in such way that little information was given. - -Gordon told me afterwards that Jot reported to the officer, “These are -ignorant Americans. They don’t know anything that is taking place a -foot beyond their noses. They are not educated like our soldiers.” - -So we were dismissed, and marched to a place where there were other -prisoners, but none that I knew. From them, however, I learned that -my own division was now on that front, and also got the comforting -information that the Boches were being constantly beaten. But though -comforting, it made me all the more impatient to be with my regiment -again. - -My heart had given a great throb of pain when I had seen Jot’s face. It -was worn as though by mental suffering and, at one time, when we were -about leaving, it had such an expression of imploring love, that all my -anger and distrust gave way to sympathy at sight of his dear face. As -from our first acquaintance, I could not distrust his truthfulness or -his friendship when in his presence. - -Then, remembering that something had been dropped into my coat -pocket when he passed me, I drew out a little book. It was Jot’s New -Testament, that I had often seen before, and had been given him by his -mother when on her death-bed. - -I knew how highly he prized it, and as I held it in my hand I could -almost feel his presence. - -I opened and examined it. The page on which his mother’s name had been -written, with his own, was torn out; and upon examining its blank -leaves I saw nothing to indicate why it had been given me. I was about -to return it to my pocket, without further examination, when on one -corner of a fly-leaf I saw written “1st chapter of St. John.” Then I -remembered that we used to play at secret communications with each -other, by marking the pages of a newspaper. - -I turned to that chapter, but could discover nothing, and was about to -put it away, when I saw at the bottom in faint pencil lines the word, -“Marked.” - -On further examination I found letters and words underscored, and by -patient examination I got this message. “When you see me, watch. If I -remove hat, _be careful_; if I take out handkerchief, _make ready_, _I -have plan for your escape_. _When Jack is in your lines, rip saddle._” - -I had no need to re-read the message, for it was stamped upon my memory -by the pains I had taken in deciphering it. Then I carefully erased the -marks. - -All that day and the next we remained in the same place, but I saw -nothing of Jot. It was Tuesday when we were put here, and by Wednesday -several other American prisoners had been added to our party. The -nearing sound of artillery and of fainter rifle fire told that a battle -was on. - -A young non-commissioned officer who spoke English was put in charge -of the guard. Once as he walked by my side, Jot came up and spoke a -few words in German to him, and then took off his hat and used his -handkerchief. It was the signal. - -Our next march began, with the sound of battle closing in around -us. Later we halted to rest, and Gordon remarked while dressing my -wound, “There don’t seem to be a right good chance for us to get away -together, so do your best for yourself, and I will do the same for -myself, and trust to chance for the rest.” - -Before I could reply the young sergeant on guard came up and said, “You -are talking too much,”--and peremptorily ordered Gordon to another part -of the line. - -Gordon shook hands with me at parting, saying, “When you get back into -God’s country again, look me up,” and was gone. - -“Are you not needlessly severe?” I remonstrated to the sergeant. “He -was dressing my wound, and you are taking away what little comfort a -prisoner has by separating friends?” - -But he answered loudly as though accidentally addressing me in German: -“Wenn sie versuchem sich zu entfernen, schiesse ich!”--and repeated in -English, “If you try to run away, I’ll shoot you.” Then he added in a -whisper while scarcely moving his lips, as he turned away, “Wait!” - -I could hardly believe I had heard it. Was _he_ in Jot’s service and -a part of his plan? Nothing else occurred just then to confirm that -belief. Could I have imagined I heard it? Hardly! - -Before night came on it began raining, and as I marched on, I was a -prey to thoughts as dark as the clouds above me. Was this young German -trying to test Jot’s loyalty to the German cause through me? Was there -a trap set for both of us? But how could he do it? - -We were marched into a field, where there were stacks of straw and -hay, and halted for the night. With the slight shelter afforded by my -overcoat thrown over a portion of a straw stack I lay down, the young -guard loudly and roughly repeating his warning about running away -in German, and as though to enforce this, he sat down with his back -against the stack near me. - -Most of the guard by this time were trying to shelter themselves from -the storm by taking refuge near the stacks; but the young sergeant, as -though determined to keep an eye on me, stretched himself by my side. - -I was napping when, to my surprise, the sergeant, clutching my arm with -a whispered precaution for silence, said, “When you hear me snore, take -my revolver, put on the coat that covers me, without getting to your -feet. When I pinch your arm, creep to the other side of this stack, -then go on keeping in line with the next stack ahead, and then the -next, until you reach a tree on the road at the end of this field. If -the alarm is not given, wait awhile and then give two whistles through -your fingers for the horse. Give him the rein when you get into the -saddle; he knows the way to your lines.” - -I could hardly believe my senses, much less my good fortune. I waited, -it seemed for hours, and thought the signal would never come, or that -I had been dreaming. Then it came and, reassured, I followed his -instructions. I stealthily took the revolver, put it in my pocket, then -removed the coat and put it on, and was about to move to the other -side of the stack, when in a whisper, the sergeant said, “Wait. The -countersign is _Blood and Iron_. Don’t use it unless obliged to; now -wait again until I pinch.” - -I then saw, what I had not before observed, that there was a sentinel -walking post at a little distance from the stack. - -At last there came a sharp pinch, and the whispered caution, “_Go -softly_.” I crept to the other side of the stack, then stealthily -proceeded to the one ahead of me, and so on until I reached the tree. -Peering in every direction and seeing no indications that I had been -observed, I gave two sharp whistles. It was not long until I heard the -tramp of a horse. I softly called, “Jack!” and the little horse came -to my side, tossing his head and rubbing his nose against my arm, as -though recognizing me. - -I mounted and gave the horse the reins. Before long rifle shots rang -out, showing that my escape had been discovered. But we soon left them -in the rear. - -At times galloping swiftly and at others walking softly, Jack went on -in the rain and darkness. In my impatience it seemed as though daylight -and safety would never come. Then close ahead came the sharp command -“Halt!” and at the same time my bridle was seized, and I was pulled -from my horse. - -I thought I was in the hands of the enemy, and was about to cry “Blood -and Iron,” and struck the horse to urge him forward. He gave a startled -jump but did not move onward. Then I heard a voice say, “Look out for -the Boche and his horse,” and knew that it was an American outpost. - -I said not a word as they conducted me to a shattered building a few -hundred yards away, then into a room where a candle was lit, and a tall -form indistinctly seen by the dim light, shot out the question, “What -are you doing here?” - -“Trying to escape,” I replied, half amused at the situation. - -“What is your name, rank, and regiment?” - -“Lieutenant David Stark,” I replied, and was about to add my regiment, -when I was interrupted-- - -“Great scott! Is it Dave?” And my old colonel, forgetting military -etiquette, was slapping me on the back and almost dancing, as he cried -out “My! David, I am glad to see you!” - -He had no need to tell me that. - -“I little thought yesterday,” I said, “that I should be here this -morning, or possibly ever again. I can hardly believe it even now.” - -As I told of my escape, and about the horse, the colonel said, “I -see--the horse has been here before, and knew the safe way.” - -Calling to his orderly he commanded, “Bring the saddle here at once, -and feed the horse well.” Then, looking at his watch--“It is thirty -minutes past four. What time did you get away?” - -I couldn’t tell. It had seemed an eternity since I had started, so long -was the way to freedom. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI A HOSPITAL CASE - - -When the saddle was brought in, I told the colonel what Jot had written -about ripping it open. With a smile which I could not interpret, he cut -the stitches with his pocket knife and, inserting his fingers, drew -out two packages, passed one to me and retained the other. Giving the -saddle to his man he directed him to restore the stitching, and bring -the saddle back to him. - -“There are some blankets,” he said to me. “Make yourself comfortable -and get your sleep. If there is anything else you want call on me.” - -“Since you are so kind to mention it, Colonel,” I said, “have you got -anything to eat around here? I feel pretty empty, and have ever since I -struck the Huns.” - -The colonel smiled and directed his man to feed me. And that darkey got -me up a lunch to which I did full justice. - -“Golly!” said that personage, with astonished awe at seeing his -provender disappear about as fast as he could bring it on: “You’s de -most powerful eater I’s eber seed; you’s done gone an’ beat de Kernal -fo’ sure!” - -When I had finished my repast, I said, “I want to see the little horse -before I sleep, and to thank him for bringing me through safely.” - -So I went out with Sam but found the colonel there before me. He -explained that Jack must be sent back that night, so after I had petted -and talked to Jack I clapped my hands and sent him swiftly away over -the fields. - -“You must not mention this,” said the colonel; “but it is not the first -time, and the horse always finds his way back to the place from which -he last went.” - -I understood. - -“Now, Captain,” he said, “get your sleep. I have much still to do -tonight.” - -I was getting ready for bed, when in rushed Muddy, frantically barking -and yelping to give me welcome. - -“De colonel thought you’d like to see him powerful well,” said Sam, “so -I lets him out.” And Muddy snuggled down beside me to share my bed, as -he had often done before. - -It was late in the morning when Sam called me to breakfast where I -found the colonel waiting for me. - -“We shall have time for breakfast, this morning,” he said, “as we are -likely to have a little peace now; for yesterday we sent the enemy to -the right about face with a kick! But all the same we’ve got orders to -hold ourselves in readiness to move at a moment’s notice, Captain.” - -“Lieutenant sir,” I corrected. “You forget.” - -“No,” said my colonel, “you’ve been promoted. We all agree that you -deserved it, for the fight you put up when you were captured. Captain -Cross has been promoted to be major.” - -“I am ready to begin fighting right now,” I said, blushing with pride -in spite of myself; “but I don’t know how I shall fill a _captain’s_ -place, though I suppose that I can walk around in it.” - -“Oh, that will come,” said my colonel, “and you can study up a little -while you are on permission. I have been promoted too: Brevet Brigadier -if that is promotion.” - -“Fine!” I said. “I guess I will stay with the company and learn my -duties; but I’d like to get this hole in my arm fixed up a little.” - -“Wounded! I hadn’t noticed it; why didn’t you mention it before? Here, -orderly, show the captain the way to the surgeon’s station.” Then -looking at my arm from which I had removed the bandage, preparatory to -putting on a clean one, he said, “Whew! It’s gangrened; you can’t go on -duty in that shape!” - -I went to the station slowly and sorrowfully, for I had looked for -plentiful _chow_, and my experience told me that a surgeon was likely -to put me on short rations. I had had, heaven knows, enough of that -while in Bocheland to last me the rest of my life, and I was not -anxious for its continuance under a sawbone. I should not have cared so -much, had I thought it needful; but I _knew_ that plenty of food was -good for me--all theories of doctors notwithstanding. - -I found several letters from home folks, and also one from Emily Grant -that delighted me. Its contents were enough to make a less susceptible -heart than mine beat fast. Sentiments and feelings that had almost -been starved out of me were revived and, when General Burbank suggested -that I go to the hospital where Doctor Rich was in charge, I fear I -consented rather too willingly; though I did want to get at those -Boches again. But as the colonel had said that the division was to go -to another sector for rest, I was the more willing. - -When I first reported to the hospital the doctor didn’t seem to know -me. He examined my wound, sniffed at it, grumbled out something about -inflammation and ulceration, and a little of his camouflage Latin, then -directed his assistant to apply caustic with such calm indifference -to my wishes, that I had an inclination to bang his eye. And then he -fussed some more while giving directions to his assistant, until I was -out of patience with him. - -“What dunce,” he said, “has been fooling with this wound?” - -“No dunce at all, sir,” I replied, “but as good a surgeon as you are. -Only he didn’t have the stuff to care for it as you have. Like myself, -the Boches had him.” - -The doctor, who knew me as well as I knew him, had been so absorbed -with examining the wound that he had taken little notice of the soldier -attached to it. Now he recognized me and greeted me heartily. - -“You’ve grown thin, Stark--and your clothes!” - -“I have been starved,” I said, “and I am ragged and dirty too. I need -good food and a lot of it, so that I can get my strength back. As -for dirt, I haven’t been traveling in Pullman cars or sleeping in -first-class hotels, Doctor. I am satisfied to be here, dirt, rags and -all. But don’t give that food the absent treatment.” - -“You will have to go on low diet for a while, I’m afraid,” said the -doctor, “until the wound heals.” - -I growled some more, but it did no good. If Surgeon Williams failed to -understand my views about diet, he at least did not slight the wound. -He had made a “history of the case” and applied a new dressing, all -within two hours; for was I not Captain Stark, and not merely “a case”? - -When I escaped that doctor, got some clean clothes, a shave, a hair -cut, and a good dinner, I felt fit for anything, and wanted to see my -comrades. - -They had heard of my return from Fritzland, and came clustering around -me with many expressions of good will; and _my_, wasn’t I glad to see -the boys that had stood by me so stoutly in the fight? The painful part -of it was that there were so many absent ones who would never report -for duty again. The boys were as glad to see me as I was them--for had -we not fought side by side through thick and thin? And this gives a -feeling of comradeship that can never be gained in any other way, one -that can never be broken, and which soldiers who have stood by each -other in danger alone can fully appreciate. - -“Shure,” said Pat Quinn--now a sergeant--saluting, “we give them Boches -wan Hail Columbia drubbing, Captain!” - -“Yes,” I replied; “but I got ‘The Watch on the Rhine,’ and didn’t like -it.” - -“Well,” said Sutherland, who had just returned to duty from a severe -wound, “we can’t have all of it our own way, but we must try and get -the best of the exchange of drubbings. If the Boches would only fight -a fair fight we might forgive them, but some of our men were killed in -that last fight by explosive bullets--the savages!” And it was true. - -In the heartiness of our greeting we forgot rank, and only remembered -that we were comrades who had stood by each other in the pinch of -battle. Muddy was a great favorite. - -“That little devil of a dog,” said Quinn, “knows too much for wan dog. -Shure by carrying your lether, he did as much as any tin av us in that -fight.” - -I reported once more to Colonel Burbank who turned me over to Major -Cross, who said with a provoking wink, “You will have to go to a -hospital--perhaps you would prefer the one Doctor Rich has charge -of? When your wound is healed, you will get a permission for two -weeks more. Perhaps you will prefer to stay near there during your -permission!” Then with a chuckle of amusement he added, “I see that -Monte Carlo has been offered as a leave area, but has not been -accepted. Just imagine the ‘Y’ or the Salvation Army setting up -headquarters in front of the Casino.” - -“I don’t want much of a permission,” I said, “for I have a debt to pay -the Huns before I die; and I am afraid that in spite of your going into -a rest sector soon, you will get them licked before I can get around to -fight them.” - -“Don’t worry about that,” answered he. “There will be fighting enough, -so that half of us may possibly be dead before we have finished this -job; especially if the last sample of fighting you gave us is repeated.” - -“I know that I lost more men than I should,” I replied. “Still I don’t -believe the Huns thought that their fun paid for their powder.” - -“No, nor I either,” said the major, putting out his hand and grasping -my shoulder with the other. “You made a good skillful fight of it.” - -“I have some doubts about the skill,” I said; “but my men! weren’t they -daisies for a scrap?” - -And we agreed about that. - -The next day I took my departure for the hospital with conflicting -emotions. I wanted to go, and yet I wanted to stay, for fear that I -might miss a chance to hit back at the Huns. But obedience to orders -and--other considerations--tipped the scales. - -I can not describe my reception at the hospital without appearing -egotistical. While my wound was given proper attention, it was pleasant -to feel that, for once, in a hospital, I was something more than a -“_case_.” - -Emily’s face beamed with pleasure as with smiles and blushes she -greeted me. She was not so wordy in her expressions of welcome as was -Miss Rich; but somehow I liked Emily’s way best. - -Dr. Rich had common sense; he did not prescribe any special diet, but -when I hinted that a liberal one suited me best, said: “Eat what best -agrees with you. A patient ought to know what agrees with him better -than a doctor.” - -That suited me exactly. He gave me perfect liberty to go and come just -as I pleased--only I must report once a day to have my wound dressed, -and of course three times a day for my meals, and also sleep there. - -I stuck to that hospital, and one of its nurses, more faithfully -than perhaps my case demanded; and I was interested in cases and in -everything else of which Emily had charge. - -There was one young whipper-snapper of an assistant surgeon, who -evidently thought that she devoted too much time to my case, for he was -around when he wasn’t wanted and constantly annoyed me by detailing -her to some other case she had in hand. I wouldn’t have needed much -encouragement to have kicked the puppy, he made himself so disagreeable -to me. - -There were several men of my company who had been seriously wounded -when I was, to whom I gave personal, sympathetic attention. I requested -Emily to give them special care--and I brought them cigars and other -luxuries, with the consent of Doctor Rich; for such little attentions -go a great way in comforting boys who are wounded and away from home. - -I found my friend, Chaplain John, so far recovered from his wound, that -he was about to return to the regiment again. We had many comforting -talks, and he congratulated me on my promotion, and spoke of the brave -fight my men had made at the time I was captured. - -“I was afraid,” I said, “that they would find fault with me for losing -so many men.” - -“No,” he said, “it was thought that you did the best thing possible -in fighting, rather than retreating; and the colonel praised your -judgment and firmness.” - -There’s one thing I liked in Chaplain John, which was that he never -made a fellow feel cheap by plastering it on too thick. - -“I’m afraid that the colonel is rather partial to me,” I said -bluntly. Emily, who was listening to our talk, cast down her eyes and -blushed--she has most beautiful eyelashes--as the chaplain said, in one -of his miserable attempts to be funny, “So are others!” - -All things must have an end. My wound healed, and my permission, in -addition, was about to expire; and but for that young peacock of an -assistant surgeon, I should have been glad--almost--to get back to my -company and duty again. - -Before going I had a private conversation with Miss Rich, and told -her something about Lieutenant Nickerson that brought the happy -tears to her eyes. “How could you have doubted him?” she said half -reproachfully. “I never did!” - -The day that I was to leave the hospital for the front, I requested a -private interview with Emily--to bid her good-bye. As she stood there -with her hand in mine, perhaps a trifle longer than necessary, that -puppy of a young doctor knocked at the door--and would have pushed his -way in had I not placed my back against it--and called out that she was -needed on a case at once. - -I was so annoyed at this intrusion that I told Emily--well never mind -what--but we had an understanding that was so nice, that I almost -forgave the puppy for “butting in”--and something better than words -cemented the understanding. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII THE MIX-UP OF BATTLE - - -I have not had the opportunity as yet, to tell of the message brought -back with me, in Jack’s saddle. - -The latter was in Jonathan’s minute and familiar handwriting. It began -abruptly, without being addressed to me. - - “Whatever else you may believe of me, my dearest friend, I am true - to you. I do not deny that what I have done may have justly brought - upon me the stigma of disloyalty. We can not divide our love; one - must either hate or love one’s country, and serve one flag, only. I - have been tried in the furnace of war as few others have ever been. - If I have erred in serving the country of my love, and to which I am - devoted and owe allegiance with every fibre of my being, then I have - erred honestly. - - “You must not believe me other than I am, though I may not always - be what I seem to be. My allegiance is given, right or wrong, heart - and soul to the country I love. And I must go on in this chosen path - though it lead to misunderstanding of my motives by those I love, and - though I may know that it leads to darkness and to death--for it is - the path of duty. - - “I have a difficult and heart-and-nerve trying part to play, on a - larger stage of the world, than perhaps any one of my age and small - abilities ever before attempted. - - “When I learned that you were a prisoner, I made a plan for your - liberation. I am risking my life to set you free; for I love you - more than I do my life. If I should meet you in battle--which God - forbid--you should kill me, rather than I would harm you. - - “I have confided in one who loves and trusts me, and who likewise - loves his country. He will help you to escape. - - “JONATHAN N. VON RUCKER.” - -What did this strange letter mean? I sat, after reading it, like one -confounded. It made me heartsick to believe that it was a declaration -of disloyalty to my country. It crushed, for the time being, my belief -in Jonathan’s loyalty to our flag, that he had professed and promised -to love and protect when he enlisted to fight its battles. But by the -same process of thought must I not mistrust General Burbank? Whom could -I trust, when the men of all others I had loved and believed in, seemed -disloyal? Though reason said that they were false to their country, my -heart said “no”; for I felt, against reason, that it could not be so. - -I read and reread Jonathan’s letter, and finally decided to take a -plain course--a straight cut. I took the letter to General Burbank -and asked him to read it, and to make some explanation. Was it not a -declaration of disloyalty? - -A flush passed over his face as he read the letter. Then with a -thoughtful look he read it again and passed it back to me saying, “He -had his reasons for writing this letter, but what they are I do not -know. But don’t you see, he does not say it is Germany that he is -serving? I _know_ that he is loyal to our flag.” - -“Thank you, General, for the assurance,” I exclaimed. And stretching -out my hand to his, grasped it, for I had no longer the least doubt of -him or of his word. Whatever the mystery, I must and did believe in -him, though I confess, Jot’s letter had puzzled me. - -Upon my return from my permission, I had found my regiment occupying -a rest sector, where they had been for nearly two weeks. Here, let me -explain, that under prevailing conditions in the great war, a battle -lasts sometimes for several weeks, and no troops can remain for that -time in line of battle. They must be sent for rest at intervals, to -more quiet sectors, to recuperate and reorganize. - -Our division was now, after more than two weeks’ rest, again ready for -active service; though Sam Jenkins and others attempted to explain that -hunting cooties was active duty enough for any one. - -The marching and fighting that followed is hard to describe; for we -were now a part of a great whole, whose operations no one man could see -or understand fully. When a battle stretches out on a front of fifty or -sixty miles or more, a single participant, even though he be a captain -or a general, can not know much more about it than what he sees. - -We had been moved from place to place for several days; sometimes by -marching and sometimes by auto trucks. - -We were now on the march. I was in my place, having left my horse as -too good a target when near the enemy’s snipers moving along a pathway -that skirted a forest. The rising sun reflected from the helmets of -the men who came tramping wearily but cheerfully--for they had been -marching for over twenty hours with little sleep--with prospects now of -both rest and sleep. - -When the order, “In place, rest,” came, and the brave fellows had sat -down to eat, though they were hungry, some of them got to napping, in -spite of it. - -It was before daylight, when orders came to leave even their light -packs behind--which shows what a hurry they were in--for a forced march. - -Over strange roads, in a strange country, to a destination we knew -not of--possibly “to that bourne from which no traveler returns,” we -marched on all that day. We met regiments of _poilus_ who hugged us and -held our hands, joyfully telling us that there was to be a big advance -on the Boches lines, and that we were to be “in it” with them. - -We got a little more sleep and chow, then were loaded into trucks, and -buzzed off--heaven knew where--we didn’t! - -We met still other Frenchies, who told us there was to be a big drive -on a thirty-five mile front. We laughed incredulously; but began to -believe, when we caught sight of a lot of tanks rumbling and waddling -along in a stubborn manner, as though they meant business. Our men -roared out, “Hooray! there’s going to be another dance and we are -invited!” - -The roads were filled with all kinds of soldiers--doughboys and more -doughboys, _poilus_ in all sorts of uniforms, and then some more; -horses prancing and snorting, mules heehawing and kicking, officers -shouting sulphurous orders, guns and caissons, trucks and baggage -wagons, all floundering along in the rain and mud, like dark rivers of -humanity. On they came over crooked country roads that twisted around -hills and plunged down into valleys, cut up and stirred up in muddy -batter by heavy teams that had preceded us: a medley and jam of horses, -mules, teams, guns and men! All this, though in seeming confusion, had a -real thread of order and purpose controlling the whole. This confused -picture will possibly convey some idea of an army on the march hurrying -to get into action. - -Some of the units were divorced from their wheeled kitchens, and were -savagely hungry,--we were--but wanted to get into the mix-up just the -same with both feet. We had a little hardtack and bully beef but that -made us mighty thirsty. We succeeded in getting a little water from the -cart, and I told our men to keep some for future use. Some of my men -had lost their gas masks. That wouldn’t do, and the top had to steal -some from the Frenchies--which was unprincipled--but it had to be done. - -At last we were in it! As a starter we came upon some Huns hiding in -dug-outs with a bunch of machine-guns--and then it was literally--what -Sherman called war. But our men were there doing their best, and their -best was pretty good! - -I saw our Major standing in a ditch handing out ammunition with his own -hands, amid a confusing uproar of exploding shells, whispering bullets -and sputtering bombs. We thought we knew what gun fire was, but we -didn’t know the real thing until then. - -Everybody was doing the best he could. There stood Top Sergeant -Sutherland shouting with a voice that seemed to come far down from his -boots, “Right dress! you lousy sons of guns! Better than that! or I -will drill thunder out of you when we get back to camp, if you can’t -form a better line!” - -We found a bunch of Dutchies playing they were dead. “Get up!” I -yelled. And tapped some of them with the stick I carried--“get up and -march!”--and though they may not have understood what I said, they knew -what I meant, and obeyed as docile as puppies. - -That evening we captured a little village which was as full of Huns, as -an anthill is with ants. We swept them in and headed them for the rear. -One of these was a husky officer that Sam Jenkins said he had hauled -from a dug-out as deep as a well. - -“And that chap,” added Sam, telling me about it later, “had some nerve. -He stopped short, took out his cigar case, and lit a cigar from a pipe -one of the doughboys was smoking, and then went on ahead as cool as -though he had come from an ice chest instead of a dug-out.” - -We steered a lot of them to the rear like that. There was a lot to -think of, and a lot to do, and I was doing the best I could for the -company, with help of the lieutenants and noncoms. - -At the first aid station, one of the doctors caught sight of me and -called out: “This way, Captain!” and almost dragged me into his coop. - -“Not much,” I said. “I am all right!” - -“No, you ain’t,” he insisted, “your face is all covered with blood.” It -was a slight scalp wound, and though I had bled like a stuck pig, I did -not know about it until then, and needed only a little sticking plaster -to fix it all right. I was as glad to escape from that doctor as though -he had been a Boche. - -Turning away, I saw one of our men up a roadside tree that was strung -with telegraph wires, apparently. A man had just been knocked out, he -was explaining to me, and as he had been in the business at home, he -thought he would finish the job. Just then, _whiz bang!_ came a shell -that knocked off his tin hat without hurting him and sent it spinning -away. After recovering from a transient daze, he coolly remarked: -“Captain, I guess I’d better finish the business now that I have begun -it.” - -Then he came down and saluted in a shame-faced way, and I hadn’t the -heart to censure him, though he had no business to be up that tree -without orders, and away from his real duties. - -When we got together that evening some of my men were missing, and -naturally so, after such a mix up of a fight. We got some boss chow -that the Salvation Army had brought up, and then bunched down on the -ground for sleep--and we sure needed it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII A MYSTERY SOLVED - - -Just after the scenes described in the foregoing chapter, there was -comparative quiet along our front--the calm that follows a storm. - -The British army under Haig had struck a staggering blow at -Ludendorff’s northern lines, and had driven him back in defeat. -This had seemingly withdrawn the German attention, or ability, to -concentrate for the defeat of the American and French armies on their -southwestern front. - -General Burbank explained to me that it evidently was the policy of -General Foch, while remaining in watchful touch with the enemy, to -strengthen by rest and reorganization the forces that had for so long a -time been hotly engaged at our part of the line; and in this way keep -them fresh and vigorous for service. - -I was favored through the kindness of the general in being allowed to -take up my quarters in the same building with him. This gave me the -benefit of his daily counsel and association, and was of inestimable -value to me, both in increasing my military knowledge and improving my -bearing. Both were needful for my further advancement as an officer as -the general was so kind as to say that I was naturally endowed with the -qualities of a good soldier. I valued this association and by daily -contact with him grew more and more to love and admire my general. - -Neither of us had, since the assurance he had so graciously given me of -Jonathan’s loyalty, spoken on the subject; though my brain was still -puzzled. It had, however, been a habit with me to put aside that which -I could not understand, until circumstances or a flash of intuition, -made its meaning clear. With me, the more I pondered over perplexing -problems, the further was I from their solution. - -General Burbank often discussed and explained to me the larger -operations of war and, by suggestion, set me to thinking on them giving -me thereby a clearer insight into its problems and greater love for the -profession of a soldier. - -After reveille one morning, the general called me to him. The moment -I saw his face, I felt that he had something to communicate of more -than usual interest. He simply handed me a message of three words in -Jonathan’s minute and delicate handwriting, “_Saddle not ripped_.” And -then, pointing to the saddle on his chair, said, “I have been at work -all night and must get some sleep,” he left me. I guessed that the work -he referred to was connected with another message from Jot. - -I began without delay, cutting the stitches of the saddle until I found -deftly concealed under the saddle’s lining, some papers in Jonathan’s -handwriting addressed to me as follows: - - “Dear Davie: - - “When you receive this I may not be among the living; for suspicion - and doubts of my loyalty to German interests at last have put the - hounds of their secret service on my track. I have a foreboding as - I begin this paper, that possibly I may never see you again in this - life, and I can not let this chance pass without justifying my course - to you. I would love to clasp your hand once more and die--if I - must--under the Stars and Stripes. - - “I am concealing this in Jack’s saddle, in the hope that it will come - to your hands, and that you will understand my former message written - with a purpose to deceive the enemy, and give to them a belief that - I am loyal to their cause, though I have plotted for your escape. I - think that you will understand. - - “I know that your heart, dear David, has been torn with doubts of my - loyalty, by evidences that have come to you. - - “Before we had landed in France, your colonel had shown me the - necessity of self-sacrifice, by presenting to me the needs of the - secret service in France, and of my opportunity to render great - service by appearing to serve the German cause. My brother, whom he - knew, was already in that service; for whatever might be his faults, - he loved the dear old flag and its cause. The strong resemblance - between us suggested to him greater opportunities, by our working - together, in obtaining information much needed by the Allies, of the - German war plans. - - “With this in view, and to give the enemy greater confidence in him, - information of great seeming value was, by consent of the French, - given him to convey to the Germans. Then he told the head of the - German secret service, that he had a brother through whom he had - gained the important information which he had given to them. The - Germans, meanwhile, knew that he professed when in the Allied lines - to be a spy for them. Adolph also suggested that I be encouraged - to desert to the German lines. But the hard-headed chief of their - secret service thought I could serve them better by remaining where - I was. It was not until he had convinced them that I was in danger - of arrest, and that the Americans might obtain information from me - that would impair my brother’s usefulness as an agent of their secret - service, that they consented to his plans. - - “It was a bitter thing for me to leave you to believe that I was a - traitor, and I did not take the course I did until convinced that it - was needful for General Foch to have more intimate knowledge of the - situation of the German troops on the southern front. - - “I had promised my mother to be unswervingly loyal to the flag of my - country. My father had been an officer of the Confederate service, - and after the surrender had come North. Her constant admonition to me - was to be true under all circumstances, to the flag of my country and - be worthy of being called ‘Jed’s boy.’ - - “The thought of using Muddy in furtherance of my designs had long - been planned, but my scheme for using Jack was not conceived until - after I found that I could buy him, and had tested his wonderful - intelligence for that service. - - “The enemy was led to believe that others high in the confidence of - the American commander were willing to assist in my treason and, - among them, Colonel Burbank; and thus I was able to carry out my plan - of deception. I never, however, trusted them with the knowledge that - Jack was carrying messages without a rider. The colonel’s messages - to me were seemingly disloyal, but by previous arrangement of a - code, they bore a different meaning to me; and the real information - received by the enemy, by his communications, were only those agreed - upon by high military Allied officers. - - “Of late, since all German plans founded on the information I have - given them have miscarried, they are suspicious that I have betrayed - them. I have been constantly watched--sometimes by men who are in - our secret service--but I have been able to elude them by several - devices--one of them by exchange of identity with my brother. They - have not, with all their acuteness, suspected the horse or dog. - - “When you were captured, your answer to the first official who - questioned you about me did much to give them greater confidence in - me. When I was called to assist in questioning you, it was a part of - their plan to make me commit myself; our faces were closely watched. - Your angry manner at seeing me convinced them that you, whom they - knew to be my former friend, believed me to be a traitor to your - country. My act in dropping the book in your pocket as I passed you, - with all their keenness, was not observed. - - “Now, however, doubt and more than suspicion, yea, almost certainty, - that I have played them false is closing around me; their hounds of - the secret service are on my track. If I feared them or death, I - could not keep my nerve. - - “I have learned that my brother is under arrest and in prison, and - possibly by this time has met his fate; for these men do not hesitate - to kill even on suspicion. Now that all their cherished plans for - universal dominion have been foiled, they are suspicious of every - one--even of each other--and this alone may lead to their final ruin. - - “I feared, when I connived at your escape, that they might capture - you; I therefore, as a precaution, put the misleading letter to - you in the saddle, with that to Colonel Burbank. For though it was - seeming plain treason to the American flag, yet to him I knew it - would have another meaning. The letter would explain my conduct, and - throw them off their guard from looking further. - - “I knew how much you must have suffered from doubts of my loyalty. - It cuts me like a knife when I think of it. I had written ‘_rip the - saddle_’ thinking you must understand; I then dared to write no more. - - “The information I have just sent to Colonel Burbank of the German - plans are of but little value, because I am watched so closely, and - my brother can not relieve me, to give me time. I think you will - understand. - - “With hopes that this may safely reach you, and that you will make - clear to one I may never see again on earth, my loyalty to the flag, - I am your faithful friend, - - “JONATHAN NICKERSON.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX THE SUPREME SACRIFICE - - -The men of our regiment were falling in line, and my company had -already formed, as I took my place on its right awaiting orders to -advance. The bugle rang out and the advance began. - -At the foot of a little hill which was scarred by battle-marks we -halted, while our air craft circled about it for observation. The tanks -were awkwardly trundling into place. A first aid station was set up, -and surgeons and devoted Red Cross helpers were coming to do their -part. It presaged a battle. - -Then I heard the sharp crack of rifles, and calls and cries of men in -the distance. - -“The Boches are coming!” I heard some one say. - -“It’s new,” said another, “for them to advertise a raid in that way.” - -“And don’t you believe it,” said another; “they haven’t gone crazy yet. -But something is up.” - -The shouts and rifle shots grew nearer, and we were on the tips of our -toes for action, when there came into view a lone horse speeding like -the wind, while the outcry behind him showed that he was escaping in -desperate flight from the enemy. - -What did it mean? The horse seemed riderless. But a nearer view showed -that a man or boy was on the side furthest from the enemy, with his -arms around its neck, and his heels holding to the cantle of the saddle -like an Indian. - -“It must be some one of consequence, to make all that row about,” said -our top sergeant. - -“Gee!” said Goodwin, “they are determined to kill or catch him!” - -On came the horse like mad, head outstretched, with foam flecked -flanks, and at last out of range of the enemy’s guns. But still the -rider did not right himself in the saddle. An involuntary cheer went -up from our ranks for the rider and horse, as they passed the line of -danger. - -“He is wounded and bleeding,” I cried, viewing him through my glass. -And then, a moment later, my heart gave a great jump of pain. I -recognized in the rider, Jonathan, and rushed forward to his help. - -The horse whinneyed in recognition at my approach and stopped. In -another moment I had taken Jonathan from the horse into my arms. His -eyes met mine with a faint smile of recognition, and he tried to -speak--but could not. I hurried regardless of everything else to the -first aid station, sending a messenger ahead, on the run, that they -might have everything ready. - -“Hurry!” I cried. “Have them ready when we get there!” - -The surgeon cut away his shirt, revealing a wound in his left breast -and made a rapid examination. “They have done their work,” he said; -“there is but little that we can do!” - -“Don’t say that!” I cried. “Do all you can to save him!” - -Then, seeing the auto that was at my service near by, I said to my -messenger, “Go to the base hospital and bring Doctor and Miss Rich. -Hurry! Tell them that Lieutenant Nickerson is here desperately wounded.” - -The first aid surgeon administered stimulants and more critically -examined his breast wound. Then, seeing that his patient was in pain, -said: “I can ease his pain, at least.” - -“No,” I said with sudden inspiration, “don’t give him morphia; I forbid -it!” - -“Surgeons command here, sir,” said the doctor sternly, “not captains.” -But he put aside his instrument saying thoughtfully, “Perhaps it -will be better not to. I don’t see how he can be saved, anyway, from -anything but pain.” - -“That he is in pain,” I said, “shows that he is alive. And as long as -there’s life, there’s hope.” - -The surgeon shook his head. - -It was not long until Rose and Doctor Rich had come. The doctor -examined Jonathan’s eyes and listened to his heart beats, inquired what -had been done, and then said, “It is fortunate that no opiates have -been given him, for it would have lessened his chances.” - -The battle alarm proved to be false. So I asked and was granted a leave -of absence to convey Jot to the hospital. He was still conscious, and -asked for General Burbank--whom I found there on my arrival. - -When the general had come, at Jot’s request, the room was cleared, and -the door closed while he delivered a message to the general. - -“He would have it so,” said Doctor Rich, “though he fully understood -that the exertion of speech might, and probably would, be fatal. He -insisted, for he said, ‘My country’s cause demands it and what is my -life when weighed with that?’” - -So Jot had given his message, and then relapsed into unconsciousness. - -“But still,” said the doctor, “there is yet a chance,--a mere -chance,--for the interview seemed to have done him as much good as -harm.” - -I understood. It had eased his mind to deliver that message. - -No effort was made to rouse him at that time, and at the surgeon’s -request we withdrew from the room. Then the general came to me, -greeting me with a silent handshake. - -I could not rest, but walked back and forth in the small room. Then -came word from Miss Rich, “Jonathan is conscious, and wants to see you.” - -I went at once to the room where lay my stricken friend. - -A brave look swept over his face, as he held out his hands with -imploring invitation, but without words, for me to come to him. - -I could not speak, but knelt by his side. His voice came to me in -almost a whisper, so faint was his utterance. - -“Good old Davie--the first friend I ever had. It is good to be here -with those I love. It is so good to die under the dear old flag and -for my country. Don’t grieve, Davie. It is good that you believe--and -know. God bless you, Davie.” His voice grew weaker. “Take care of Jack, -and Muddy. Call Rose--dear Rose!” Then, after a pause, with a smile -illumining his thin worn face, he held out his hands to an unseen -presence. “Mother, dear, I’m coming--Jed’s boy!” and then fell back -with the smile still on his face. - -[Illustration: “GOOD OLD DAVIE--THE FIRST FRIEND I EVER HAD.”--Page -233.] - -The surgeon stepped to his side, made a brief examination, and shook -his head. - -General Burbank uncovering said, his voice vibrating with emotion: -“There is the truest, most unselfish patriot that I ever knew or expect -to know. He was a hero without a stain of selfishness. He was willing -to sacrifice all that he held dear, to go down to death branded as a -traitor by the friends he loved best, that he might serve his country.” - - * * * * * - -A simple wooden cross marks the grave of Jonathan, but the little mound -that covers his mortal remains blooms with the flowers of France, -brought to this American who died to save France, even as Frenchmen -died to save America. - -And I who had gone into the war with the buoyant spirit of youth, -turned from that grave with a man’s stern determination, that to the -uttermost of my powers, his death and that of thousands of other -American boys should not have been in vain; that I, side by side with -all true men, would offer my life towards that world-wide freedom for -which they had given the last full measure of devotion--the supreme -sacrifice. - -THE END - - * * * * * - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are -mentioned. - -Punctuation has been made consistent. - -Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have -been corrected. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jed's Boy, by Warren Lee Goss - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JED'S BOY *** - -***** This file should be named 62956-0.txt or 62956-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/9/5/62956/ - -Produced by Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net -(Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University -(http://digital.library.villanova.edu/)) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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