Edward Stratemeyer

“ That night there was quite a celebration in one corner of the large dugout where the company to which Dave belonged was quartered. All the good things purchased by Phil and Ben in the neighboring French town were brought forth, and it may be surmised that all the young engineers did full justice to the “eats” set before them.
“This is almost like one of our old feasts at Oak Hall,” was Dave’s comment.
“Only we haven’t got Big Jim Murphy to watch us,” said Buster.
“Good-hearted Jim!” cried Dave. “He sure did do us many a good turn. I wonder where he is now?” ”

“ Walking along one of the streets, which was still piled high with the debris of the last bombardment, Dave and his chums had occasion to walk under what remained of a bridgeway running from one building across the road to another.
“It’s queer that bridge wasn’t knocked down by the bombardment,” remarked Roger, as he surveyed the ruin left on all sides.
“Some of these old stoneworks are remarkably substantial,” returned Dave. “The engineers of those days certainly knew their business. Under ordinary circumstances a bridge like this will last for thousands of years.” ”

“ You’re in the army, and it is your duty to do the best you can for Uncle Sam.”
“Oh, I’ll do my duty—don’t you fear about that, Dave Porter. I’m just as patriotic as anybody. But, at the same time, I claim I have a right to be patriotic in my own way.”
“Well, you let me give you a little advice, Nat,” was Dave’s earnest comment. “The fellows over here in France are rather serious-minded, and they won’t stand for any nonsense. If they get the least intimation that you are any kind of a slacker, they’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks.” ”

“ The first fellow to come at Dave was a tall, burly individual who looked as if he might be a farmhand. He made a vicious jab at our hero, who sprang aside with a nimbleness acquired by long practice in the gymnasium and on the football field at Oak Hall. Then Dave made a lunge with his own bayonet, and had the satisfaction of catching the fellow in the thigh. ”

“ This move was a fortunate one for our hero, because less than two minutes later the wagon turned in at a massive stone gateway where several men were on guard. Seeing the lights flashing in the darkness and the figures of some men moving along, Dave lost no time in dropping out of sight into the woods on the opposite side of the road.
“Well, I’m about twelve miles nearer the fighting front, anyway,” he reasoned. “I suppose from now on I’ve got to be doubly careful as to how I advance.”
With the coming of nightfall the rumble of battle had died away. ”

“ Save me! Save me!” screamed the money lender’s son. “These trees are choking the life out of me!”
Fortunately, Roger and Ben were armed with axes, while Phil carried a crowbar. Worming their way in among the tangle of brushwood and branches, they presently came to the place where Nat lay. He was flat on his back with the weight of one of the trees resting heavily upon his stomach.
“We’ll have to chop him loose,” said Phil, after a hasty survey of the situation. They saw that it would be practically impossible for them to raise up that mass of fallen timber. ”

“ But even though his matches were few, Dave would have done better had he lit one of them and surveyed his surroundings again before proceeding further. As it was, he was just thinking of coming to a halt to make up his mind what was best to do next when suddenly his foot came in contact with nothing more substantial than air. He made a wild clutch to save himself, but the next instant slid down and down over some rocks and loose dirt, coming finally to a halt with a shock that knocked nearly all the breath from his body. ”

“ Can’t you take a little fun, Dave Porter?”
“I don’t like that kind of fun, Nat Poole! I would have cut a fine spectacle if you had gotten away with my clothing. You just come along and explain yourself;” and thus speaking, Dave dragged the unwilling soldier out from the bushes and down to the side of the stream. Then he let out a low but well-known whistle, to which his chums immediately responded, that having been the “get-together” call at Oak Hall.
“Hello, it’s Nat Poole!” cried Phil.
“What are you doing here, Nat?” questioned Roger. ”

“ At first the Germans were rather discomfited when they saw the American infantry coming up. But seeing only the three companies and the single machine-gun detachment, they plucked up courage again and went at the fight almost as vigorously as before.
The infantry leaped into the fray with all the speed at their command, and then the contest became more bloody every instant. In one place among some rocks at least fifteen men from each side fought in such a close space that it was almost impossible for any of the soldiers to get elbow room. ”

“ More than one man grew exhausted, and had to either rest up or be carried to the rear.
“Here is where sheer bone and muscle count,” was Dave’s comment, as he ploughed forward through some underbrush with the detail under him. It was a warm summer day, and all the engineers were perspiring freely.
“I wish we had had this to do last winter when it was colder,” remarked Ben.
“Oh, for some ice cream soda!” sighed Roger.
“Say, that puts me in mind of a story,” cried Shadow. “A small boy came to his mother in the winter time with a big idea. ”

“ At the railroad station they were herded into a small freight-yard, and there received another meal of watery soup and black bread. While they were trying to eat this some of the town folks came down to jeer at them and a few to hurl sticks and stones.
“Being a prisoner is certainly no picnic,” remarked Ralph Thompson.
“I know what I am going to do,” answered Dave, in a low tone of voice. “I am going to break away at the first opportunity that presents itself.”
“They’ll shoot you down if they get the chance.”
“I don’t care—let them shoot!” answered the young lieutenant. ”

“ While in the training camp at home Dave and the others had made the acquaintance of a French widow, who had suffered much because of the war and because of the doings of a German spy, named Rudolph Holtzmann. The poor widow’s two children had been lost during the first upheaval of war in Alsace-Lorraine, and to add to her misery she was later on robbed by the spy, who had been boarding with her.
All the “fighting engineers,” as they were affectionately termed, had had some strenuous adventures during those first few weeks on the firing line. ”

“ The young civil engineers now reached a portion of the wood where the ground was very uneven and interspersed with many jagged rocks. Here, in some places, the shell-fire of a former battle had thrown up the ground and the growth in violent fashion, so that they were often at a loss how to progress. Once Dave stepped into some undergrowth and went down into a hole up to his knees, and a moment later came a stifled cry from Buster Beggs. ”

“ Here, screening themselves as much as possible, the Americans poured forth volley after volley at the Germans, and over a score of them went down, some never to rise again.
But the enemy had probably received word from their air scouts as to the exact number of the engineers, and with the first battalion augmented by the remainder of their regiment, they showed increased courage and recklessness, and suddenly made a charge forward, shouting like demons as they came on. ”

“ It was a fierce mix-up, and Gebauer got it not only from the major, but also from the captain and some of the other officers of the regiment. Then they took him to headquarters, and the next thing I knew he had been sent to the rear.”
“Well, that sure is a come-down for Gebauer,” murmured Phil. “Gee! I wouldn’t have that happen to me for the world.”
“He’ll be disgraced for the rest of his life,” added Ben.
“I guess the best thing you can do, Nat, is to steer clear of such cattle,” said the senator’s son. “No one will ever want to forgive a fellow who was a coward in the face of the enemy.” ”

“ The fellow struggled to rise, but the young lieutenant held him down, and at the same time made a quick grab for the gun, tearing it from the German’s grasp.
“Kamerad! Kamerad!” yelled the German, when Dave turned the weapon around and pointed it at his head. “Kamerad!” he repeated, and at the same time both of his hands went high into the air.
“Quiet!” ordered Dave in German, and the fellow understood and kept still. Then our hero made the man turn around in the hole and, watching him carefully, deprived the fellow of his ammunition. ”

“ The only member of the family that is worth while is Mrs. Poole. She has done a lot for the Red Cross and other war organizations, and I am mighty sorry that she has to put up with such folks as Nat and Mr. Poole.”
“You’ll have to keep your eyes open, Dave,” observed Phil. “Nat will do his best to square accounts, and he’ll probably get Gebauer to aid him.”
[193] “It’s a pity Nat doesn’t try to make something of himself while he is in the army,” observed Dave. “He has just as good a chance as any of us.”
“It isn’t in him,” said Buster. “You can’t build a marble palace out of mud.” ”

“ Far off to the north there had been a constant booming of heavy artillery, punctuated occasionally by the rattle of smaller firearms. Now the booming of the cannon on the German, front commenced to extend southward.
[4] “Say, that sounds as if we might get in the direct line of fire before long!” cried Phil.
“Perhaps that’s the reason we were ordered to go back,” answered Dave. “Come, boys, we’ll have to hurry a bit. Hike up.”
The young civil engineers were well loaded down, not only with full soldier kits, including guns, but also with various tools, including picks, shovels and axes. ”

“ The other young engineer did so, and then a look of alarm came into his face.
“Is that a gas attack warning, Dave?”
“That’s just what it is, Phil! The Germans must be launching such an attack!”
“That’s bad!”
“Notify the others at once, Phil. Tell the men I want them to take no chances, but get their masks on and keep them on until they are dead sure it is perfectly safe to take them off.”
“But what are you going to do?”
“I’m going out to look for Roger. If he’s lost in the woods, or if he’s been wounded and is without a mask that will work, he’s in danger of his life.” ”

“ I don’t imagine Jessie Wadsworth thinks as much of you as you think she does.”
“Don’t you think you had better let Jessie drop, Nat? Our feelings for each other are our own, not yours.” And Dave’s voice grew a trifle cold.
“Oh, of course! And I don’t intend to butt in. I never cared for her, and you know it. She’s an only daughter, and thoroughly spoiled.” Nat did not seem to realize that he was an only son and over-indulged. “Just the same, I think Lieutenant Gebauer has got the upper hand of you. ”

“ Now with our men it’s just the opposite. They’ll fight well enough together, but let them get separated, and each man is on his mettle to do the very best he knows how and make a record for himself.”
“You are right there,” replied Dave. “And that puts me in mind of a story I heard only yesterday. A Western cowboy, who knew all about rounding up cattle but very little about army life, was in one of the advances and all at once became separated from the rest of his command. He wandered around until he came to a trench, and then found a dugout containing some German soldiers. ”

“ A minute later its motor began to miss fire, and then stopped completely.
“See, he’s out of it!” cried Roger. “He’s going to volplane to the ground.”
“He’ll be lucky if he reaches the ground without breaking his neck,” announced Phil. And he was right; the second American had all he could do to bring his machine down in safety beyond the big trees of the forest.
With but two of the Americans left in the fight, the German airman seemed to pluck up courage. [60] He did not attempt to do any firing, but made a new turn or two, and then started away, as if to try once more for the German lines. ”