HAND TO HAND
Instantly the three boys were all attention. They shrank back into the
shadow of the passage and with guns raised to their shoulders and their
fingers on the triggers they waited. Undoubtedly some one was
approaching. There was more than one, for low-voiced words could be
heard. Were they friends or foes?
Immovable the young soldiers waited. Closer and closer came the sound
of those who were coming in their direction. All at once they appeared.
"Halt," cried Leon sharply.
"Ah, is it you, my friend Leon?"
"Who's that?" demanded Leon greatly surprised to hear his name spoken.
"It is I; Pierre Garemont," replied a pleasant voice.
The three young soldiers immediately lowered their rifles. Pierre was
an old friend of theirs, one of their company, and with him there was
Jean Luqueur, another one of their comrades.
"Where have you been, Pierre?" demanded Leon eagerly.
"Searching for the Boches," he answered. "But alas I have had but poor
luck; I have found nothing but dead ones."
"Where are you going now?" asked Jacques.
"Back to the battlefield to rejoin our men."
"Is the work all done down here?"
"I see no more to be done. Let us go."
"You two were making a lot of noise coming through that passage,"
remarked Jacques severely. "It would have been easy for anyone to
ambush you."
"Ha, ha," laughed Pierre loudly. "The Boches, they are too stunned by
our bombardment to do anything."
"Don't you believe it!" cried Leon seriously. "If we go with you
you'll have to be quiet, that's sure."
"Very well," Pierre agreed glibly. He was in excellent spirits however
for he felt that his country was on the threshold of a great victory
over its hated enemy and he was happy.
"Do you know the way out?" inquired Earl.
"We are not sure," said Jean. "We were looking for it when you so
rudely pointed your guns at our heads."
"We won't do it again," promised Jacques. "You lead the way, Pierre,
and we'll follow."
They proceeded in silence now. The story the three boys told of their
two encounters with the Germans had a quieting effect upon Pierre and
Jean. They realized that perhaps all the enemy had not been cleared
from this great labyrinth after all.
Twisting and turning in their course they tramped along. Numberless
passages led off in all directions but the five soldiers kept to the
one in which they had started. It seemed larger than the others and
they decided it must be the principal one. Consequently they thought
it would eventually lead them out of the bewildering underground maze.
Suddenly a patch of light appeared far ahead of them. It was sunlight
and they quickened their pace, eager to join in the battle once more.
That they were approaching an exit was proved by the fact that the roar
of the guns increased as they proceeded. The artillery had not ceased
its activity in the slightest.
A shadow crossed the patch of sunlight ahead and Pierre held up his
hand. Immediately the little company halted.
A moment later a tall Prussian stepped into the trench and peered
cautiously all about him. The five French soldiers shrank back into
the shadow and watched. Evidently the German saw nothing, for a moment
later he turned and beckoned and straightway four more helmeted Germans
appeared. They stood together in the little spot of light, evidently
debating what to do next.
They did not stand that way long however. Pierre quickly raised his
rifle and fired at the little group. His shot went wild however. Like
a flash the Germans turned and after one hasty glance in the direction
of the shot, they darted down some adjoining passage and disappeared.
"After them!" cried Pierre. He dashed off in mad pursuit, closely
followed by the four other members of the squad. At top speed they
rushed along the passageway. Soon they came to the spot where the
patch of sunlight showed.
"This way," shouted Pierre, and he turned sharply to the left and sped
along after the fleeing Germans.
"Don't run into a trap," shouted Jacques, but Pierre gave no heed to
him. His one idea was to come up with his foes and he forgot
everything else. He led the others by at least five yards, followed by
Jacques, Earl, Jean, and Leon in the order named.
Thus far they had seen no fresh signs of the Germans but there had been
no branches to this passage as yet, and consequently they were
convinced that they were upon the right track.
Suddenly a man stepped out of a niche in the wall directly in front of
Pierre. He held his rifle out in front of him and before the racing
Frenchman could check himself he had run full upon the long keen
bayonet. Clear through him it went and down went Pierre.
Close behind him, however, was Jacques, and before the German could do
any more execution he gave him the same treatment that Pierre had
received. Without a sound he sank to the ground and lay limply
stretched out upon the prostrate body of Pierre.
"Is Pierre dead?" gasped Earl.
"He is," said Jacques simply.
"Too bad," murmured Earl.
"That's part of the game," said Jacques in a matter-of-fact tone. "We
can do no more for him. Let's move on."
France had lost a brave soldier in this simple peasant. He had given
his life for his country and no man, peasant or king, can do more than
that. He loved France and he died for her gladly. He did not like war
and he had had no quarrel with anyone. When his country was in peril,
however, he had but one thought and that was to do all he could for
her. He had done his best and served her well. There were thousands
more just like him and it was impossible to mourn over any one of them
long. Consequently his four comrades soon left him to attend to the
business in hand.
"The fellow that killed him won't do any damage again anyway," remarked
Earl. "You fixed him all right, Jacques."
"Come," urged Jacques shortly.
"Go slowly from now on," urged Leon. This advice was followed and the
little squad moved forward again. They had no desire that Pierre's
fate should overtake them.
A few moments later they came to a spot where several passages all
seemed to meet. It was like the hub of a wheel, only there were not so
many passages as there are spokes in most wheels.
"Now what?" exclaimed Earl when they had reached this spot.
"Where did they go?" demanded Leon. "We'd better not stand here any
longer though. Some one will take a shot at us if we're not careful."
"Right you are," agreed Jacques heartily. "Let's follow this passage
and see where it leads us." He plunged into one of the dimly lighted
aisles and proceeded cautiously along it, closely followed by his three
companions.
They had gone but a short distance when the passage suddenly opened up
into the main trench and the four soldiers found themselves in the
daylight again. Over their heads the bullets whistled and the
projectiles screamed but none of them fell in that particular trench.
The French charge had carried far beyond this spot and the Germans were
interested in that, while the French guns were still busy hammering the
opposing trenches to pieces.
"Look," cried Earl. "There are the Germans we were chasing."
A squad of French soldiers passed with five German prisoners, one of
them easily recognizable as the tall Prussian they had seen only a
short time before. The man in charge of the squad halted the little
band and a most interesting event took place.
All the buttons were cut off the prisoners' trousers; suspenders and
belts were cut in two and the laces were slashed from their shoes. A
moment later the five Germans slopped away, their hands in their
pockets to keep their trousers from falling off and shuffling their
feet to keep their shoes on. One Frenchman accompanied them to direct
rather than guard them. They were harmless enough now.
"That's certainly a funny sight," laughed Leon. "Those Germans
couldn't run away or do any damage now to save their lives."
"A great way to send prisoners back to the lines," said Jacques.
The three boys and Jean now joined the other men in the squad and
together the eleven soldiers started across the battlefield. All of
them were of the same regiment but from different companies. Far ahead
they could see the curtain of fire and behind it the advancing line of
French troops.
"That's where we belong," cried Jacques eagerly.
"Here come reinforcements!" shouted Earl, and from their own lines they
could see a fresh battalion of infantry pouring out of the trenches and
starting across that field of death.
Corpses lay on every side, French and German together. The ground was
covered with the dead and wounded, some of the latter desperately in
need of attention. They had to be left for the Red Cross, however.
The soldiers had their orders and they were to advance.
"Shall we wait and go forward with the reinforcements?" asked one of
the men in the squad which the four soldiers had encountered.
"I should say not," cried Jacques. "Our regiment is ahead there and
that's where we ought to be."
With a shout he dashed forward and close at his heels followed his ten
comrades all eager to be in the fray once more.