Joseph Alexander Altsheler

“ John and his comrades using the ridge for shelter fired their own weapons as fast as they could pull the trigger. He did not know how Carstairs and Wharton had obtained their rifles, but plenty were lying about for the taking.
As the German lines drew nearer John saw the men falling in hundreds. Their ranks were swept by shell, shrapnel and the unceasing storm of bullets, but the gray hosts, a quarter of a million strong, passing over the dying and the dead, always swept on, their generals eager to cut off and destroy the English army where it stood. ”

“ Yet what the German hour had failed to bring might come with slow time, and his joy disappeared as they were driven back farther and farther into France. Thus the retreat continued for days and nights.
Carstairs was the most cheerful of the three. They had slipped from the trap, and, as he saw it, England was merely getting ready for a victory.
"You wait until our second army comes up," he said, "and then we'll give the Germans a jolly good licking."
"When is it coming up?" asked John. "In this century or the next ?"
"Be patient. You Yankees are always in too much of a hurry." ”

“ A huge shell passed screaming over their heads and burst far beyond them. But they did not jump. They had heard so much sound of cannon that day that their ears were dulled by it.
"It's evident that they haven't given up hope of cutting us off," said Wharton, "since they push the pursuit in the night."
"And they'll be at it again as hard as ever in the morning," said John. "We'll see those horns of the crescent still pushing forward. They mean to get us. They mean to smash up everything here in a month, and then go back and get Russia." ”

“ It takes a good man to stand the cold steel!" shouted Carstairs.
"So it does!" John shouted back, "but they've stopped for only a few moments! They're gathering anew!"
"And we're here waiting for them! But I wish there were more of us!"
John echoed the wish. He saw the German army advancing again or at least enough of it to know that it could overpower the defense. The Germans were as brave as anybody and under their iron discipline they would come without ceasing. He borrowed Wharton's glasses, and also saw the vast overlapping lines to right and left. ”

“ He had dropped his rifle, but he remembered his automatic, and drawing it he began to fire into the mass of horses and horsemen. Then a lancer rode at him with poised weapon. He fired at him, leaped aside and ran through some bushes, intending to come around on the other flank.
But the dizziness in his head increased and his sight became dimmer. The whole world suddenly turned black, and he felt himself falling through space. ”

“ I and a million others."
"I feel like despairing myself sometimes," said John gravely, "and then I say to myself: 'what's the use!' I don't mean to give up, even when the Germans are in Paris."
"Well spoken," said Wharton, who was lying on his back in the grass. "All is not lost yet by a long shot. When our army drew out of their clutches their first great stroke failed. Who knows what will happen to their second?"
They were still on the extreme left of the Allied line, forming a sort of loose fringe there, but their comrades on the right were only a few hundred yards away. ”

“ Then John introduced him to his friends. Lannes and Carstairs surveyed each other a moment.
"Frenchman and Englishman have been on the same battle fields for a thousand years," said Car- stairs.
"Usually the only ones there, and fighting each other," said Lannes.
"Whichever side won, the victory was never easy."
"You are a brave* people. We French are the best witnesses of it."
"We are always slow to start. We are usually the last to reach the battle field." ”

“ Then they too shook hands with strength and enthusiasm.
"I approve of this love-feast," said Wharton, "but don't fall to kissing each other. Man kissing man is a continental custom I can't stand." .
"Don't be alarmed," said Lannes laughing. "It's passing out in France, and I certainly would not do it. I've lived a while in your country. Now will you wait here, my friends ? I have a report to make, but I will return in a half hour."
When Lannes returned he handed a letter to John:
"Your uncle and the worthy Mr. Anson have managed to reach Paris through Switzerland," he said. ”

“ A hundred thousand volunteers are nothing in this war. She must send a half million, a million and more. Germany has nearly seventy million people and nearly every able-bodied man is a trained soldier. ”