THE DEATH OF A FRIEND.
Hal, Chester and Alexis had been in the midst of the fray, where the
fighting was the thickest. Not in the first line of attack, they had
advanced with the first reserves. And beside them, snapping, biting and
snarling, strode Marquis.
Now the herculean prowess of the giant Cossack stood them all in good
stead. More than once Hal or Chester would have gone down, or been
trampled under foot by the troops behind, had not the quick eye of
Alexis signaled out their danger and his powerful arm come to their aid.
Guarding himself perfectly from the sword and bayonet thrusts of the
enemy, after the fighting became hand to hand, the Cossack fought like a
madman, as did others of his race, hurling himself upon his foes with
almost superhuman ferocity.
For the first time the two lads had the experience of digging trenches
as they advanced upon the enemy, and in spite of the fact that they were
officers, they did not shirk the work. Just before reaching the parapet,
the first line of reserves--to which the friends were attached--joined
the original first line and sprang into the trenches together.
There they fought with desperation. Not a word was exchanged between
them, although they fought side by side. There was no time for
conversation. The press was too thick, and death too near.
But now that the Germans had turned to flee, the Russians sent up a wild
cry of triumph. Hal, Chester and Alexis rested upon their weapons,
watching the troops pour a hail of lead into the flying foe. Marquis
advanced several paces ahead of the farthest Russian troops, stood up on
his hind legs and let out a bark of joy. Bullets flew around him, and
Chester, realizing the dog's danger, whistled sharply. Marquis turned
and wagged his tail at his friend, and opened his mouth in one more
joyful bark.
It was at that moment that a German bullet struck him. Without a sound
the noble animal crumpled up and fell to the ground. The ball had
pierced his throat. But life was not extinct. Marquis struggled to his
feet, and dragged himself toward Hal and Chester, who, having seen him
fall, dashed toward him.
Gently Chester lifted Marquis' heavy weight up in his arms, holding him
so that the blood would not flow so rapidly from the gaping wound in his
throat. Marquis looked up into the lad's face, and uttered a low,
painful bark. His tail wagged.
Quickly the lads hurried back to Alexis and as quickly sought out a
surgeon. Chester laid Marquis gently on the ground, and the surgeon bent
over him. After a brief examination he arose and shook his head.
"No hope," he said quietly. "The bullet pierced his jugular vein."
"Isn't there something you can do?" pleaded Chester, tears streaming
down his face.
The surgeon shook his head sadly.
"Nothing," he said, and hurried away.
Chester picked Marquis up again, and followed by Hal and Alexis, made
his way toward the rear, where the troops were more scattered, and where
there was none to bother them. Hal drew off his coat, and Chester laid
the dog on it.
Marquis did not whimper. He, as well as his three friends, seemed to
know that death was not far off, and he was prepared to meet the end
bravely, as a soldier-dog should. He turned slightly and licked
Chester's hand that lay upon his head. Chester patted him gently, but he
was beyond words.
Alexis extended a huge hand and softly stroked the dog's soft body.
"Poor fellow!" he said to himself.
Marquis' keen ears caught these words, and he turned feebly toward the
giant Cossack, and strained slightly toward him. At the same time he
slowly raised a paw. Chester saw the movement.
"He wants to shake hands with you, Alexis," he said brokenly.
The giant drew nearer, and gravely took Marquis' right paw in his great
hand. Once, twice, three times he shook it gently, then laid it upon the
ground and turned away. Marquis moved restlessly, and uttered a short
bark. He was trying to see Hal, who was kneeling behind him.
Hal arose and came around. To him also Marquis extended his paw, and Hal
grasped it and pressed it. Then, shifting his position slightly, the dog
also extended the paw to Chester. He seemed to know well that the end
was swiftly approaching, and he wished to shake hands with all his
friends before he passed away.
Now the three gathered about the head of their dying friend. Alexis
clenched his great fists and spoke to Marquis.
"I shall see that you are avenged," he said fiercely. "Twenty German
lives will not pay for this day's work, but I'll do the best I can. Do
you understand, Marquis?"
Marquis' tail beat a weak tattoo upon the ground, and he barked feebly.
He understood.
"I'll do it!" said Alexis. "You may rest assured of that."
Now the end was fast approaching. Marquis' breath came in quick gasps.
Suddenly he staggered to his feet, stood upright a second, turned his
face toward the distant enemy, and gave utterance to one sharp bark--a
bark of defiance. Then he sank to the ground.
His three friends dropped to their knees and bent over him. He looked up
into their faces and it seemed to all that he smiled at them. His tail
struck the ground feebly, once, twice. He shook once with a silent
convulsion. Then his body straightened out and stiffened. He lay still.
Marquis was dead.
His three friends rose slowly to their feet, and lifted their caps from
their heads.
"Good old Marquis!" said Hal. "But he died as a soldier should!"
"Yes," said Chester, "and with almost his last breath he breathed
defiance to the Germans, whom he hated."
"There wasn't a better or braver soldier in the Russian army," said
Alexis. "We must bury him with honors."
"We shall!" cried Chester.
"I am somewhat handy with a knife," said Alexis. "I shall carve him a
little monument."
"And he shall be laid to rest with full military honors," said Chester.
And so it was done.
All that day Alexis worked upon the little monument. When it was finally
completed, all was in readiness for the burial. The dog had made friends
in the regiment. Not a man but had become attached to him; and so it was
no small funeral cortege that escorted the body of the dog-hero to his
last resting place.
From the quartermaster Chester had secured a large French flag.
"He shall be buried beneath his own flag," he said, and spreading the
tricolor upon the ground, he laid the stiffened body of Marquis upon it.
Gently he wrapped it about the dog, and then, while practically the
whole regiment stood at attention around the little grave, he placed the
body in the ground and stepped back. A volley was fired over the grave,
and the lads shoveled in the earth.
Now Alexis approached, and, making a small hole at the head of the
grave, set up the little monument. And when he had finished, the
soldiers crowded around to read the epitaph that the giant Cossack had
inscribed in the hard wood. It was this:
"Marquis--killed on the field of honor!"
It was upon the following day that the welcome news came that there was
to be further action. Practically every Cossack regiment at the front in
Poland was ordered back to Lodz, their places being taken by other
Russian cavalry and infantry.
Again in Lodz the lads learned what this new movement meant. Grand Duke
Nicholas, the investment of Galicia having been successful, had decided
upon an immediate invasion of Hungary. The Cossacks had been called to
lead the dash over the Carpathians into the heart of the enemy's
territory.
Hal and Chester had an audience of the Grand Duke. The latter summoned
them to his quarters to offer an apology for his hasty action in
ordering them shot some days before. Also he talked a little of the
proposed invasion.
"Sixty thousand Cossack cavalry will be the advance guard," he informed
them. "Behind these will come the infantry in great force. I plan to
have a million men in Hungary within two months. If we are successful in
forcing a passage of the mountains, and I am sure we shall be, Budapest
will be at our mercy, with Vienna as the next goal.
"In the meantime the Poland campaign will be pressed, that the Germans
may be unable to go to the aid of the Austrians in the south. The thing
that I fear now is that Turkey may be drawn into the war on the side of
the German emperor. The Kaiser has brought great pressure to bear upon
them, and I fear that they cannot long be kept neutral."
"What effect would that have upon the invasion of Hungary?" questioned
Chester.
"It would unquestionably delay it for days, possibly weeks. While we are
prepared for the Turks, nevertheless it would probably necessitate the
sending of reenforcements toward the border, and naturally I should have
to draw upon the forces I am now sending into Hungary."
"I see," replied Chester. "But the Turk, as a fighting man, doesn't
amount to much, as I understand it."
"In the recent Balkan war they did not show much fighting prowess, it is
true," said the Grand Duke, "but officered by Germans, and under German
discipline, there may be a different story to tell."
"But there is no danger of their affecting the ultimate outcome of the
war?" asked Hal.
"None," was the confident reply. "What it will mean, however, is that
Turkey, as a nation, will be wiped off the map of Europe, and, possibly,
of Asia also."
"The sooner the better," was Hal's comment.
The Grand Duke smiled.
"It may take time," he said, "but it will be done just so surely as
Turkey casts in her fortunes with Germany."
After some further talk the lads left the Grand Duke's tent, and
rejoined their regiment. Everything was now practically ready for the
advance to the southward, and the troops were eagerly awaiting the word
that was to send them into the Carpathians, to strike a decisive blow at
the Austrians.
And the word was given early the following morning.