CHAPTER XIV

CAUGHT IN A TERRIFIC DRIVE

"Did he land in that tree?" asked Ralph, addressing a bystander.

"Yes, the machine seemed to be pretty badly riddled, and became unmanageable long before he reached the tree; but he went into it at a smashing speed. The officer was thrown out and shot down into that small tree, which broke the fall. If it hadn't been for that he would have been mashed to flinders," was the response.

Shortly thereafter the captain showed signs of recovering consciousness. He raised the uninjured arm, and soon opened his eyes. He glanced at the boys, but did not seem to recognize them.

"He seems to be very much better," said the doctor. "He is bruised up about the same as you were when you were brought to the hospital at Cortier," he said, addressing Ralph.

After a wait of half an hour more, the doctor announced that the patient could be moved, and he was accordingly carried to the van and comfortably fixed on the hammock within.

"So you knew the captain?" inquired the doctor.

"Yes; we happened to be crossing the aviation grounds at Dunkirk, at a time when the captain was aloft, and some part of the machine broke. He had a bad fall, and we were, fortunately, close at hand and helped to rescue him from under the machine," said Alfred.

The captain opened his eyes; he tried to smile, but the attempt died away. Then he seemed to make another effort, and this time succeeded.

"You were right," said the captain in a weak voice. "We found it; report to the colonel. The battery must have wiped them out by this time."

He closed his eyes and was silent for a time. It seemed as though he actually dropped off into a sound sleep.

"What does he mean? Do you know what he is talking about?" asked the doctor, turning to the boys.

The patient's eyelids began to quiver, and the boys quietly nodded their heads. "That was a corker!" continued the captain. "Tell the colonel, by all means."

"What colonel does he mean?" asked Alfred. "The colonel commanding the battery, or his brother?"

"Both, of course," suggested Ralph.

The van started, the boys mounting their wheels and following.

"We are going back to the base camp, and put him in the hospital there," said the doctor.

"That is where his brother, the colonel, is in command," remarked Ralph.

"Yes," answered the doctor.

During the foregoing period of time there was not a moment when the firing on both sides of the lines had ceased. As the boys turned to the right to reach the road, they saw hundreds of soldiers rushing across to reach the third line, and it seemed as though the firing had grown heavier than when they had come out the road an hour before.

"Something unusual is going on," remarked Ralph. "Why are they gathering the machine guns behind those trenches? That is the third line; the second line cannot be more than three hundred yards behind us."

They were about to turn to the east and west road, when the most intense shell fire was opened up on their right.

"Get under cover quickly!" shouted a voice.

The boys turned, but were unable to detect the speaker. "I suppose we must obey," said Ralph.

"Hide? But where?" asked Alfred.

"Wheel down to the hollow," cried Ralph.

The hollow was reached, and in their eagerness they almost fell into the ditch. It was the third line, filled with men ready to do their duty. Frisky tumbled in with a yelp and a growl.

"What's the matter?" asked Ralph, as he picked himself up from the bottom of the trench.

"The Germans are making a counter attack over a front of a mile," was the reply of the corporal.

"Then we are just in time," said Alfred. "Any guns handy?"

The men looked amused at the request. "Well, that's no laughing matter," said Ralph. "We're not here for the fun of the thing."

This prompt answer was an additional cause for merriment, in which both boys joined.

Crack! crack! crack! R-r-r-r-r-r. The machine guns began to speak. The men on each side became subdued, and their faces exhibited set expressions, for they knew that the voices of the machine gun meant an enemy near at hand.

At a little alcove, cut in the side of the trench, was an orderly with a telephone transmitter in his hand. The corporal leaned over to catch his words, for the din was now intense.

"The Germans have taken the first line and are moving the 22d back on the Corbeville road. The third line must hold them until the additional guns are brought up. We shall counter attack in the next section to the south." Such were, in part, the orders and instructions which the operator imparted to the corporal.

"Why, this is the Corbeville road," said Ralph in a tremor of excitement.

"Then we are in for it this time," said Alfred.

"You may have the guns," said the orderly, as the boys stood before him and repeated the request.

There was no time to give orders as to the positions they were to take. Almost instantly there arose a column of troops three hundred feet ahead and every man, without an order, leveled his gun across the parapet above the trench and fired as fast as the levers of the guns could be manipulated.

"Fire deliberately!" said the corporal, as he walked along the short stretch of the ditch directly under his command.

The moment the boys began to fire they seemed to be animated with an entirely different feeling. The tremor and excitement had gone, and they were keyed up to the most extreme earnestness. The dark, greyish line on the other side of the field kept moving toward them, but gaps in the ranks were plainly seen. Would they dare charge all the way up to the trench?

They fired and fired and fired, until their shoulders began to ache; then something happened. No more Germans were in sight. What had become of them?

"They are digging in," said the corporal. "Get ready, boys."

"I wonder what that means?" asked Ralph.

"Why, don't you see the Germans have stopped and are digging trenches, and the corporal is going to order a charge to drive them out?" answered Alfred.

The order came sooner than expected. "Ready! Forward! Open order!" shouted the corporal, and he was the first to scramble out of the ditch.

There was no firing now on the part of the British, for they were too busily engaged in springing forward and avoiding the obstructions which beset them every foot of the way. If the hidden Germans were firing at them they were not aware of it, for the din was too great to distinguish anything. The singular thing, to the boys, however, was the fact that at almost every step, some one would halt and drop down.

"Halt! Down!" cried a voice. Suddenly the line was prone on the ground. The man between the boys thrust his bayonet into the sod and loosened it, and with his hands quickly built a small parapet in front of him. Looking about they saw others do the same.

"Is that called digging in?" asked Ralph.

"That's one way," replied the soldier. The sod was rolled up and pushed from him, and he dragged himself forward until his body rested in the shallow trench thus made, while the roll of sod in front became, in reality, a protection.

"Ready to repel!" shouted the corporal.

They now understood; for no sooner had the words left the corporal's lips than the Germans sprang forward. Every gun must have cracked at the same time, and the aim was evidently careful, for their first volley caused the line to halt and waver.

"At them, boys! Forward on the run!" fairly shrieked the corporal. Frisky was the first one out of the trench.

Every man was on his feet. As the boys rose to follow they happened to glance back for the first time. The sight that met them created the greatest enthusiasm and confidence, for, climbing out of the very trenches they had occupied twenty minutes before, were hundreds of khaki-clad veterans,—the reserves, who had come up to support the counter attack. That banished every fear, if such a thing was lurking within them. At every step, and whenever a favorable object came into view, the gun would be raised and a shot or two given by each soldier, which only slightly impeded their forward movement.

Suddenly there was a tremendous cheer to the right; the boys could see hundreds of men leaping over the brush, and stumbling across the remains of a stone fence. The Germans were giving way, and when the line on their right had passed the ridge and began to rush down the little incline, the corporal cried, "Halt!"

The movement of the troop cut off the only line of retreat of the enemy in front of the position occupied by the company the boys had engaged. They stopped but for a moment only, when the second order came. "Forward march!"

"Kamarad!" shouted several voices, as the forms appeared through the smoke.

"Come forward!" came the order.

Instantly there rose from the ground, as if by magic, dozens of men. They stood up with hands upstretched, and formed themselves together in columns. The lieutenant in charge of the British advance stepped forward, gave a quick command, and the men, now prisoners of war, marched forward and were ordered to halt long enough to permit the officer in charge to point out the detail which was selected to take the prisoners to the rear.

The corporal looked at the boys, and they knew that it meant their detail as well. The orderly marched ahead, and the prisoners with the guard began the march to the village two miles in the rear.

As they were about to enter the village, Ralph shouted to Alfred, who happened to be on the other side of the row of prisoners: "Say, we forgot to bring our wheels back!"

The remark brought forth the first ripple of laughter in that party. It was such an unexpected thing. Who cared about a couple of wheels? Escorting prisoners of war to the detention camp was certainly of more importance than recovering a pair of bicycles.

"Never mind the wheels," replied Alfred. "We have better business to attend to just now."

The German lieutenant, who understood the language, enjoyed the remarks quite as much as the guards, for he laughed in spite of the disaster to his troops. Thereupon he and Alfred had quite a conversation on the way.

The village was entered and passed. Frisky now darted from one side of the column to the other and yelped his approval.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Frisky, making fun of these poor fellows," said Alfred.

"No, he oughtn't to!" shouted Ralph, in reply, and the smile faded from the face of the German lieutenant.

The names of the soldiers and officers were taken down, their clothing searched, and one by one they passed into the enclosure to remain until the end of the war, unless exchanged.

"I suppose we are out of a job now," said Ralph to the corporal. "To whom shall we turn over the guns?"

The corporal designated two soldiers to take the guns and cartridge belts. "Before you go, just give me your name and the detachment to which you belong," he said.

"Never mind about that," said Alfred. "It isn't necessary," he added.

"Yes, it is part of my duty; I must include it in my report."

While speaking, Alfred noticed the orderly belonging to the battery approaching. He advanced and handed an envelope to him. Alfred hurriedly opened it.

"The commandant on the hill desires your presence at the battery without delay," said the communication.

"All right! We are ready! Come on, Frisky," said Ralph.

"The colonel's machine is outside waiting for you," said the orderly.

"Well, how did you know we were here?" asked Alfred.

"Colonel Winston, whose machine will take us up the hill, arrived a quarter of an hour ago, with some friends of yours, and when he learned you were not here, sent me down with orders to hunt you up. I had no idea you came in with the prisoners, and just stepped over out of curiosity to have a look at them, and thus, fortunately, found you," said the orderly.

"Well, who can our friends be that called with Colonel Winston?" asked Ralph.

"I really don't know," replied the orderly.

"And, by the way, where is Captain Winston? Does Colonel Winston know about the accident to his brother?" asked Alfred.

"I presume that is what brought him over so quickly, for the accident, as you know, happened less than three hours ago," replied the orderly.

The motor car was not long in making the trip to the top of the hill. When they passed the ruins of the cottage, Frisky jumped up onto the seat, gave a few distinct yelps, and then settled back into the seat beside Alfred. It is singular that from the time he attached himself to the boys, there seemed to be no desire in his mind to return to his old home.

"Go direct to the commandant's quarters," said the orderly to the chauffeur.

The commandant and Colonel Winston were at the door as the machine drove up. The boys were out and sprang toward them.

"Is the captain all right, sir?" asked Alfred hurriedly.

"Yes; I left him a half hour ago, very comfortable, indeed," replied the colonel.

"We received the note, ordering us to come here at once," said Ralph.

"Yes; we want to inform you that we have every reason to believe that 300 meters to the right hit the spot," said the commandant.

"Well, we _know_ it was the right spot," replied Alfred. "The German battery there was literally wiped out."

"How did you learn that?" asked the commandant with the greatest eagerness.

"We learned it from Captain Winston; he told us about it since the accident," said Ralph.

"I know it from another source," replied Alfred.

"Where? What?" asked the colonel, in astonishment.

"The German lieutenant whom we captured this morning told me on the way over, that of the six guns they had south of the hill there wasn't enough left to gather up, and that was the main reason why they started the drive that failed so miserably," said Alfred.

"But the orderly said some friends were up here to see us," said Ralph.

"Yes; I brought them over with me; they were afraid you'd get into more trouble," said the colonel, as he opened a door leading into an adjoining room.

Ralph stepped forward with some curiosity on his countenance. He could not speak as his mother appeared and rushed toward him.

"Oh, you're not my boy any more," she sobbed, as she embraced him and held him at arm's length for a moment.

Alfred was no less astounded as his mother first took him in her arms, and his father also put his arms around him.

"What naughty boys you've been," said Alfred's mother. "We didn't hear from you for four months, and once we were notified that you were dead; what a joy it is to see you again!"

"But how they have grown," said Ralph's mother.

"But you must remember, Mother, that they are men now," said the colonel, with a smile.

THE END

THE MOTION PICTURE COMRADES

SERIES

By ELMER TRACEY BARNES

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Jack Sheldon, a clean-minded and popular student in the academy, gains the enmity of several of the boys, but their efforts to injure him fail. A mystery, connected with Jack's earlier life, is used against him, but he comes off with flying colors.

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A strange situation arises in which an airship figures as the bearer of an important letter. The head-master acts without investigating all the facts, but matters are all finally adjusted to the satisfaction of all concerned.

=The Hilltop Boys on Lost Island; or, An Unusual Adventure=

The scene now shifts to the West Indies and Jack figures as the hero of a daring rescue. Their experiences in tropical waters form a most stirring narrative, and the young reader is assured of a tale of gripping interest from first to last.

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Six real stories for small boys, each complete in itself, telling about the many interesting doings of "Toad" and "Chuck" Brown, and their friends, "Fat," "Reddy" and others.

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MERRYVALE BOYS ON THE FARM

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Six delightful books for the smaller girls, each a complete story in itself, describing in simple language the interesting experiences of Beth, Mary and Jerry, three little maids of Merryvale.

Beth's Garden Party

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A Day at the County Fair

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Geraldine's Birthday Surprise

Geraldine, whom we know better as Jerry, plays hostess to her many friends, although it must be admitted that her guests knew of the affair before she did. A jolly evening is spent by the girls which is shared in by our young Merryvale boy friends.

Mary Entertains the Sewing Club

Mary has the club at her home, and the efforts of the members cause many outbursts of merriment. The girls hold a "fair of all nations" for the benefit of the Merryvale Day Nursery, and their plans succeed beyond their expectations.

Merryvale Girls at the Seaside

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Transcriber's Note

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation have been standardized but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

"List of Illustrations" made complete.

Pg. 53, 56, 57: Added captions to the illustrations.