THE BRIDGE IS HELD.
At a sign from General French Hal and Chester approached and saluted.
"Where have you been, sirs?" demanded the British commander.
Hal stepped forward and explained their absence.
"And you were in the midst of the charge?" questioned General French,
when the lad concluded.
"Yes, sir!"
"And are not even badly wounded?"
"No, sir!"
"Wonderful!" exclaimed the general. Then, after a few moments'
silence: "You seem to bear charmed lives. I believe you are the two
for my mission."
"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Hal eagerly.
"Both of you report to me in an hour," ordered General French.
The two lads saluted again and moved away.
"Wonder what he wants?" said Chester.
"Too deep for me," was Hal's reply.
"He said something about a mission. I guess that means more excitement
for us."
"I guess you are right. However, I am sure we can go through with it,
no matter what it may be."
"We can try, anyhow. That's the best anyone can do."
At the appointed time the two boys made their way to General French's
headquarters.
"I have an important piece of work that must be done, and which will
be attended with grave danger; are you willing to undertake it?" asked
the British commander, coming to the point without preliminaries.
"We shall do our best, sir," replied Hal.
"Good! The enemy has retreated beyond Meaux. To-morrow I shall try and
drive him farther. It is absolutely necessary that our movements be
not anticipated. As you see we have lost many officers. I want you to
lead one hundred men to a position just this side of the bridge. The
enemy must not be allowed to cross. One hundred men can hold the
bridge as well as ten thousand. The men to go with you have been
selected. They have volunteered for this duty. Captain Lee will show
you where to find them. Hold the bridge! That is all!"
The two lads saluted and took their departure. They found Captain Lee,
and with him were soon at the head of the little band of men who had
volunteered to hold the bridge at Meaux against the whole German army,
if necessary.
It was still dark, and it was a quiet little band that advanced
through the British lines to take up their positions at the extreme
front. A long range artillery duel was still in progress in spite of
the darkness, but little damage was being done by either side.
Having retreated beyond Meaux, the Germans had unlimbered their
artillery again and the British were replying. The little band of
English, with Hal and Chester in lead, advanced to the edge of the
bridge described by General French, and there took up their positions.
The bridge was very narrow, hardly wide enough for five men to walk
abreast. On the British end the approach curved, making it impossible
for one coming from the other direction to see what was at the other
end. It was indeed a strategic point for defense. The river was high
and thus precluded any attempt to ford it.
All night long the little band of men lay at the bridge, ready for
battle on a moment's notice. All night long the shells of both the
Germans and British flew screaming overhead; but none dropped near
them.
With the first faint glow of the approaching day the little band of
British were awake. At Hal's suggestion they cut down trees, and
dragged them to the end of the bridge, forming a barricade. Behind
this they lay down.
It was almost noon before the man stationed to watch the approach to
the bridge dropped quickly over the barricade and reported:
"They are coming!"
"All right," replied Hal. "We're ready for 'em!"
Under Hal's direction, a single line of rifles, twenty-five in all,
appeared through the cracks of the barricade. The others had been
divided into three bodies--each containing twenty-five men--each body
directly behind the others. These were instructed to fill up the gaps
made by the German fire. Thus, as each man in the front rank fell, his
place would immediately be filled by another, the second by the third,
the third by the fourth, so providing twenty-five men fell the front
line would be still intact, although the fourth line would have
disappeared.
Hal and Chester took their places just in the rear of the first line,
where they could see what was going on and direct the fighting.
"Do not fire until they come into sight around the turn," Capt. Lee
instructed his men. "Then mow them down, and make every shot count!"
Joking and humming to themselves, the men prepared for action. The
first line poked their rifles through the barricade and lay down
behind them. All was in readiness to repulse the attack.
Suddenly the first Germans appeared around the turn in the bridge,
marching five abreast.
"Fire!" cried the captain, and the British rifles broke into flame.
Five Germans tumbled to the bridge.
A sudden idea struck Hal.
"There's no use wasting five bullets on each German," he told his men.
"Let the five men on the left each pick out a man. The rest reserve
your fire unless one of our men go down, then the one nearest him take
his man, and so on!"
The second five Germans were too close behind their comrades, who had
just fallen, to arrest their steps in time to avoid the British fire.
Five shots rang out as they came into view, and again five Germans
fell. So far not a shot had been fired by the Germans. But now five
more came around the turn with a rush, followed by five more, and
still another five.
The first five dropped in a heap, but from the second five came a
burst of flame and the crack of rifles. Two men behind the barricade
dropped, one of whom was Capt. Lee. But the Germans paid dearly for
their rash attack.
In less time than it takes to tell it, ten more Germans had bitten the
dust. Then they drew off.
"Good work, men!" cried Chester. "We can hold them off indefinitely,"
he added to Hal.
"Looks like it," was Hal's reply. "But if they make a concerted rush
we shall have our hands full. How is Capt. Lee?"
"Very bad," answered one of the men. "I am afraid he's done for."
And now the Germans came on again. The first five met the same fate
that had overtaken their comrades, but behind them came more, and
still more.
As each German rounded the turn in the bridge his rifle cracked, and
continued to crack until he fell. Men inside the barricade also were
beginning to fall fast now, and the reserve lines were being drawn
upon more rapidly each minute.
Hal and Chester, crouching down, directed the defense. In spite of the
fearful havoc wrought by the British fire, the Germans came on. The
bridge was piled high with dead and wounded, but the enemy did not
hesitate.
Their officers urged them on without regard for life, and bravely went
to death with them. Rifles cracked in a steady roar and men on both
sides fell rapidly. But each Englishman, sheltered as he was behind
the barricade, accounted for at least several of the enemy before he
himself went to his death.
Now the defenders had dwindled to fifty, and still there was no
cessation of the German assault. The heaped up bodies of dead now
formed a barricade for the Germans, and they advanced and fell behind
them, using their dead companions as shields. Ten or fifteen rows deep
they stood behind their dead, and poured volley after volley into the
defenders.
The British reserved their fire as much as possible, but whenever a
German head showed above the barricade of bodies a rifle cracked and
almost every time a German fell.
All afternoon the fighting continued, the Germans, because of the
fierce fire of the remaining English and hampered by their own dead,
being unable to rush the defenders.
There were less than twenty-five of the British unwounded. Hal and
Chester had both been struck, Hal on the arm and Chester on the
shoulder. But neither was badly hurt.
"Hadn't we better retreat, sir?" asked one soldier of Hal, when there
was a let up in the firing.
"What chance would we have?" demanded Hal. "The minute we broke and
ran we would be shot down like dogs."
"Then we might surrender."
"Surrender! Never! We were ordered to hold the bridge and we will hold
it as long as we can."
The man subsided, and Hal turned his face toward the foe again. There
was a sudden silence. The Germans drew off.
"Wonder what that means?" demanded Hal of Chester. "They certainly are
not going to give up. I wonder what they are up to now?"
"I can't imagine," replied Chester. "But they have something up their
sleeves."
"Well, we'll soon see," said Hal.
But he was mistaken; for just as the first German again appeared
around the turn, to be struck down by a British bullet, there was a
sudden deafening roar from the rear, and turning suddenly Hal and
Chester and the few brave soldiers who were left raised a feeble
cheer.
Coming forward at a rapid trot were several squadrons of British
cavalry, and far behind could be seen columns upon columns of
infantry, advancing swiftly.
"Hurrah!" shouted Hal. "Saved! Hurrah!"
"Hurrah!" repeated Chester, and completely worn out, he tumbled over
in a heap.