FINDING THE ENEMY'S BATTERY
"I think it is a very fortunate circumstance that we have found this
range mark," said the captain, turning to the boys. "It is a remarkable
evidence that your training has been in the right direction. This
discovery entitles you to special mention in my report. Take the names
of these young men," he said, addressing an officer, "and also the
address, so that due credit may be given them."
"Where are you staying?" asked the officer.
"At the main camp north of Corbie," answered Ralph. "Colonel Winston
knows us, and he has promised to get us in the artillery."
"Then you really want to be put to work!" asked the commandant.
"Yes; that is why we left the aviation service, after our friend was
killed," said Alfred.
"How would our battery suit you?" asked the commandant with a smile.
"Oh, it would be just what we want," answered Ralph quickly. "We can do
anything; if you'll only try us."
"Then come along and help us tomorrow when we alter our range," said
the commandant.
"Here, Frisky! come on!" said Alfred, as the animal was still pawing
and sniffing around. "I suppose he can go along, too, may he?"
The group was immensely amused at the request. "We might make him the
mascot of the battery," said one of them.
As they were walking up the hill, one of the great guns resounded, soon
followed by another crash.
"How long do you keep it up at a time?" asked Alfred.
"Usually an hour; but I presume there will be no more firing after we
reach the battery. The revelations of that stone will necessitate some
revision and calculation," was the answer.
Arriving at the dug-outs, the first care of the commandant was to give
orders for the housing of the boys, and Frisky was provided with a cozy
place.
"I suppose he'll go back to the cottage this evening or tomorrow. The
old man said that he returned to the house every day," said Ralph.
There was no thought now of going back to the camp. Their belongings,
what few they had, were still there, and the thing uppermost in their
minds, after they were comfortably settled, was to devise a way to have
them sent over.
"Why not write a letter to Capt. Rose, and ask him to see that they are
packed up and sent to us?" proposed Alfred.
A letter was, therefore, prepared, setting forth their adventures
briefly, in which their compliments were sent to Col. Winston, with the
request that their things should be forwarded.
"How are we to have the things directed?" queried Ralph.
"I will ask one of the men," said Alfred.
"Going to have your things sent here, eh?" replied the man. "Just
address Royal Artillery, Hill 406; it will come all right."
"When will this go out?" asked Ralph.
"Tomorrow forenoon," was the reply.
The evening meal was hugely enjoyed by the boys, for they had had a
strenuous day. It was the first time in months that they were served
roast beef,—the Britisher's dish, and while the hospitals are always
provided with the best-cooked food, and many dainties, such as invalids
relish, the artillery branch of the service is usually served with the
most substantial and regular meals. The infantry always has plenty, but
the difficulty is that the poor fellows in the front line can get their
food, while a battle is in progress, only at irregular intervals.
Located, as they were, near the top of a hill, far from the enemy,
having no fear of unexpected assaults, and only occasionally disturbed
by the great shells which sometimes search them out, the artilleryman
can dine in comfort on food well cooked in a finely arranged kitchen,
usually presided over by a competent chef.
That was why the boys enjoyed the meal, or one of the reasons; the
other being, undoubtedly, the normal hunger which seems to come to all
boys who are in an active and growing stage.
They had potatoes, turnips and salad, and even fruit, as well as tea,
although coffee was also served to those who called for it.
"Well! if they don't have real apple pie!" said Alfred, as the dishes
were removed for the final course.
"Tarts! my boy! Tarts!" interjected Alfred's neighbor.
"Well, we call them pies," explained Ralph. "When they have a crust on
top they are pies, and the little things without any tops are tarts."
This started a laugh, followed by the usual discussion on the different
terms used by various people.
"You may be the right one after all," said Alfred. "We lived in England
for a time, and I remember once going into a grocery with father who
wanted to get some fruit. He asked for a can of peaches, and the clerk
replied: 'Ah! you mean tinned peaches!'
"Yes; that was correct," said the man.
"The clerk handed down the article, and the label on the outside said:
'American Canning Co.' I always supposed the goods were canned, not
tinned," replied Ralph, laughing.
"My word! I never thought of that before! I dare say you may be right,"
was the reply.
It was evident from the activity in the camp the next morning that
something unusual was at hand. At eight o 'clock Ralph burst into
the lean-to, which extended out from the hole-in-the-ground shelter,
which they called the boudoir, with the startling information that two
aeroplanes were hovering about.
"What! are they Germans?" asked Alfred, as he leaped up.
"No, indeed; one is a Farman, and the other is a Bruegot: I imagine
from that there will be some special observation work on hand,"
answered Ralph, as they moved out of the shadow of the trees, so as to
get a good view of them.
"Why are they settling down on that side of the hill?" asked Alfred, as
an officer appeared.
"That is the only available landing place near by," was the answer.
"Do they come over frequently?" It was Ralph who spoke.
"This is the first time since I have been here," replied the officer.
"But we are going to change the range today," he continued, "and we
need the flyers to report results."
"I am glad of that," replied Alfred.
"The commandant is very agreeably surprised at your discovery, and is
hoping for good results," he said, as he moved away.
"Let's go over to headquarters," said Ralph.
"Why not go down and take a look at the machines?" suggested Alfred.
"That would be a good idea," responded Ralph, as he led the way.
Just then an officer hurriedly marched across the open space behind
the guns, and, passing the guard line, moved down the hill to the left.
The boys followed.
"I suppose that's where he is going," remarked Alfred.
The road made a slight turn at a point below the guard line, and one
of the machines was just sighted as it passed the brow of the hill and
descended the valley.
"Hurry up! there it is!" remarked Ralph.
"There is the other machine," said Alfred, as he stopped to gaze to the
east.
A ten minutes' walk brought them close to the plateau, on which the
machines had landed. They followed the officer and were soon alongside
the Farman.
One of the men arose from his seat in the machine, held out his hand
toward the boys, and shouted: "What are you doing here?"
The boys sprang forward, jumped on the fuselage and extended their
hands.
"Lieutenant Winston! sure enough!" said Ralph.
"No! Captain!" corrected Alfred.
"How do you do, Captain?" said Ralph. "I am so glad to see you. You
came at the right time."
"Well, it seems you always come at the right time, too," replied the
captain, as he reached forward with both hands to welcome them.
The officer now approached and saluted.
"We got our orders this morning to report here for special duty," said
the captain. "What is up now? Have the Germans been doing you up?"
"Oh, no! Just getting ready to perform that service on them, thanks to
the boys," replied the officer, laughing and pointing to them.
"Well, that is interesting; if it hadn't been for these boys I would
not have had the pleasure of reporting to you this morning," answered
the captain.
"That is certainly surprising news, and the telling of it will please
the colonel," said the officer.
The boys were now introduced to Lieutenant Martin, who occupied the
seat of observer in the other machine. Together the five ascended the
hill and reported to the colonel commanding the batteries on the crest.
The captain and lieutenant entered the commandant's office, while the
boys remained outside with the officers.
In a few moments an orderly appeared and notified the boys that the
commandant required their presence. As they entered the door the
commandant met them with a pleasant smile.
"I am glad to hear about you from the captain. Why didn't you tell me
you were friends of the captain here and of Colonel Winston at the
camp?" asked the commandant.
"Well, I suppose we had too much else to think about, sir," replied
Alfred.
"It is very interesting," continued the commandant. "But we must
proceed to business. These boys made a remarkable discovery yesterday;
I am about to make a test of the information we gained through them,
and we need your eyes to help us out."
"No wonder the boys were entitled to decorations!" said the captain,
looking at the boys with ill-concealed admiration.
"Decorations?" almost shouted the commander. "Where are they?" he asked
the boys.
"Why, we have them in our pockets," said Ralph, amused at the allusion
to them.
Alfred drew out his and dangled it. The officers laughed heartily, as
the commandant said: "Well, most men would have had them on show all
the time."
"Our engineers have made these charts for your guidance," continued the
commandant. "We have peppered that section, marked 29, for the past
week, but the big guns they have somewhere in that section are just
as lively as ever. This sketch shows the bench marks that the boys
discovered yesterday on the side of the hill. Our observation of it
seemed to confirm the theory of the boys that these arrows pointed to
the hidden batteries. We want your aid to ascertain whether or not they
are really there, and if you will commence your observation over that
section, the guns will begin as soon as we receive your signals."
The preliminaries having been all arranged, and the signals understood
so that there would be no errors, the captain and lieutenant at once
proceeded down the hill. Fifteen minutes thereafter the two machines
began to circle overhead, and, having reached the predetermined
height, began the flight southeast to reach the depression to the left
of the hill behind the German lines.
The two machines soon found themselves antagonized by several enemy
ships, but still the flights were made back and forth. With field
glasses it could plainly be seen that there was a fight on hand, which
increased their anxiety more and more as two more German machines came
up from the north.
"That begins to look a little serious for our boys," said Ralph,
walking back and forth nervously.
"That makes six machines after them," said Alfred. "But what is that
over there?" continued Alfred, as he pointed to the south. "Look at
them, Ralph! Are they our machines?"
"Yes! yes! four, five, six, eight; some of them Sopwiths; now there'll
be some fun," cried Ralph enthusiastically.
"They'll be there in ten minutes," said Alfred. "They are going up, up;
that was Lieutenant's favorite trick; they are doing that to frighten
the German aeroplanes away from Captain Winston."
"And it's succeeding, too," replied Ralph. "One of the machines is
coming this way; no, it's not the lieutenant, so it must be Captain
Winston."
"Order the men to stand at attention," shouted the commandant. "Are
they all ready?" he asked after a moment.
"They are ready for the order."
"The captain has just signaled with two puffs."
"Trial range!" ordered the commandant. "Boom! boom!" replied two of the
monsters in reply.
The machine turned, and speeded away toward the hill beyond.
"Where are the German ships now?" asked the commandant.
"Nowhere in sight," replied Ralph.
"The other machine must be coming this way," sang out Alfred. "Three
puffs to the right, followed by another one."
"One degree to the right!" observed the chief gunner. This order was
imparted to the gun crews.
Thus the battle continued for two hours, while the great guns on
the hill searched every nook and corner, if there was one, in the
depression toward which the arrow on the bench mark pointed.
The machines were returning. It would be impossible for the aviators
and observers to continue the arduous duty for a much greater length
of time, and as the guns were landing the great shells within the area
which it was intended to search out, the new duty would call them the
next day.
The guns didn't cease to roar until late that evening. Three great
motor vans were constantly moving up and down the hill, bringing the
immense shells, and it was a fascinating game to see the manner in
which they were handled after they left the vans.
Directly behind the row of guns was a narrow-gauge railway, with a
return switch, or siding. Two metal trucks were employed, each truck
having a rack which carried six shells which were loaded crosswise.
Below the rack was a sort of box, also of metal. Behind each gun was a
track, which led to the main railway, and on this short branch was a
truck adapted to hold a single shell.
[Illustration: _Arrangement of Guns on Hill 203_]
A stationary rack was alongside of the track adjacent the branch track,
capable of holding three shells, so that this rack would temporarily
hold the shells as they were unloaded from the carrying truck. As the
truck on the main line unloaded its freight, the assistants would throw
the cartridge, or the rear part of a fired shell, into the box beneath
the racks, and it was thus conveyed back to the vans. The latter would
be loaded and conveyed down the hill to be transported back to the
munition factories.
The loading operation of the huge shells was also interesting, for it
must be remembered that some of the missiles weigh nearly a ton. After
the tremendous rebound of the gun, the breech block was opened, the
opening mechanism being so arranged that the cartridge shell would be
extracted automatically, thus preparing the gun for the next shell.