Category: Novels
Jimmy McGee, hanging on to a long, lean loaf of brown bread with his left hand and swinging a heavy, dangerous-looking cane in his right grip, moved leisurely over a white road of France toward the four-year-old battlelines that stretched between _Verdun_ and _Saint-Mihiel_.
Jimmy McGee, hanging on to a long, lean loaf of brown bread with his left hand and swinging a heavy, dangerous-looking cane in his right grip, moved leisurely over a white road...
2. CHAPTER II—“AVEY VOUS DE CHAMBRE?Jimmy McGee and O. D., alias William G. Preston, made a great contrast as they plodded up and down hill along the tree-lined route over which passed in 1914 the stream of Paris...
3. CHAPTER III—“THAT MULE WAS A SLACKER“Back in the old States I used to be a little two-by-four newspaper man ’round New York—scribbled a few lines about murders, scandals, subway accidents, and wrote up a lot of st...
4. CHAPTER IV—“SUNNY FRANCE!“You sure had a tough time getting here, Jimmy, compared to me. I came over on an old ocean liner. We had good clean bunks and three settings at table. There were regular bill o...
5. CHAPTER V—WE WAS OFF FOR THE FRONT!Before he had joined the army and been through a lot of front-line stuff Jimmy McGee thought that it was mighty romantic to wear a uniform and carry a gun off to war. But somebo...
6. CHAPTER VI—AMERICAN JOANS OF ARC“A month and a half was long enough for us on the Cheman de Damns front. We _parteed_ ’bout March fifteenth or so and got on another one of them funny little trains—didn’t stay...
7. CHAPTER VII—THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE GUERRE“Long ’bout April second we passed through Toul and hit the American front. The First Division outfits was relieved there by us. Most of our gang got billeted ’round a placed ca...
8. CHAPTER VIII—“GUESS I DIDN’T HAVE THE GUTS“That dug-out was sure one hell-hole. See we had been gettin’ gas right along and it poured in the dug-out, as they had to keep openin’ the door to let ’em in with wounded. Ther...
9. CHAPTER IX—“THE OLD VAN SEEZEUM ON ITS WAY“After the scrap ’round Seicheprey we didn’t _encore_ the battle much except when the Battle of Boucq started. That was one hell of a curious battle. The Boches got mad and bega...
10. CHAPTER X—CHÂTEAU-THIERRY“The Boches began drivin’ from Rheims to where we were. The good old Rainbow boys from the Forty-second Division was near Rheims, so we didn’t worry much ’bout the Boches breaki...
11. CHAPTER XI—A CRAW DE GUERRE“Yep. You’ve got to be a regular three-ring circus acrobat to climb out of a French _lee_ without hurtin’ yourself,” admitted Jimmy as he got a good hold on the side of the bed...
12. CHAPTER XII—O. D. MEETS JIMMY’S GANGAfter going through the same old stuff with the madame, Jimmy, with the help of Gabrielle, madame’s nineteen-year-old daughter, finally succeeded in arranging for a dinner of _p...
13. CHAPTER XIII—“WE’RE GOIN’ TO TAKE METZ.O. D. turned restlessly for a long time before he could adapt his body to the topography of the ground that was his bed. He had funny feelings in his joints as if something was...
14. CHAPTER XIV—“WELL, WE’RE HERE.Just as the sun fell behind the green hills of Verdun and the shadows of night began to fill the valleys a long column of American artillery started rolling toward the lines of...
15. CHAPTER XV—PINCHING OFF THE ST. MIHIEL SALIENTBy noon of the next day Battery C’s guns had all been securely emplaced. O. D. wrote three letters in the morning, all of which centered around Jimmy McGee and the front. In his...
16. CHAPTER XVI—BEYOND VERDUN“Is this place hot enough to suit you, Jimmy?” asked O. D. as he and Jimmy huddled in a water-filled shell-hole while a drove of barrack bags went skimming over their heads.
17. CHAPTER XVII—“FINEE! LA GUERRE FINEE!In the somber shadow of gaunt, historic Verdun the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 crawled slowly toward its epoch-making eleventh hour. The progress of each advancin...