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 JOHN SKALLY TERRY 
 
 MEMORIAL COLLECTION 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY 
 
 THE FAMILY IN HONOR OF 
 
 JOHN S. TERRY 
 
 CLASS OF 1918 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N,C, AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00022093468 
 
 O-c^JK^i. n 
 
 JUL 1 9 1973 
 JUL 19 
 
 This BOOK may be kept out TWO WEEKS 
 ONLY, and is subject to a fine of FIVE 
 CENTS a day thereafter. It is DUE on the 
 DAY indicated below: 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2011 witii funding from 
 
 University of Nortii Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/khakiboysfightinOObate 
 
The Khaki Boys 
 Fighting to Win 
 
 OR 
 
 Smashing the German Lines 
 
 By 
 Capt. GORDON BATES 
 
 Author of "The Khaki Boys at Camp Sterling," "The 
 
 Khaki Boys on the Way," "The Khaki Boys 
 
 at the Front," "The Khaki Boys 
 
 Over the Top," etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY 
 
THE KHAKI BOYS SERIES 
 
 By CAPT. GOI.DON BATES 
 
 i2rao. Cloth. Frontispiece 
 Price per Volume, 60 Cents 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS AT CA^IF STERLING 
 or Training for the Big Fight in France 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS ON THE WAY 
 or Doing Their Bit on Land and Sea 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS AT THE FRONT 
 or Shoulder to Shoulder in the Trenches 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS OVER THE TOP 
 or Doing and Daring for Uncle Sam 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 or Smashing the German Lines 
 
 CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, New York 
 
 Copyright, 1919, by 
 CuppLES & Leon Company 
 
 The Khaki Boys Fighting to Wih 
 
AFTER 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I 
 
 Buried Alive 
 
 1 
 
 n 
 
 A Strange Sight . . . , 
 
 9 
 
 III 
 
 Another Puzzle . . . . 
 
 18 
 
 IV 
 
 Eecognition 
 
 26 
 
 V 
 
 Battling Onward . . 
 
 37 
 
 VI 
 
 Poor Schnitz 
 
 44 
 
 VII 
 
 Days of Sorrow 
 
 53 
 
 VIII 
 
 Startling Information 
 
 . 60 
 
 IX 
 
 Ugly Threats 
 
 68 
 
 X 
 
 Disquieting Rumors 
 
 . 77 
 
 XI 
 
 The Signals 
 
 . 85 
 
 XII 
 
 News From the Air 
 
 . 92 
 
 XIII 
 
 A Forward Rush . 
 
 . 101 
 
 XIV 
 
 Unseen Marksmen . ... 
 
 . 108 
 
 XV 
 
 Over the Cliff .... 
 
 . 116 
 
 XVI 
 
 Only Two Left .... 
 
 125 
 
 S'r.?:7"/i 
 

 CONTENTS 
 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 xvn 
 
 Blown Up ...... 132 
 
 XVIII 
 
 A Strange Meeting . 
 
 
 
 140 
 
 XIX 
 
 In Swirling Waters . 
 
 
 
 148 
 
 XX 
 
 The Cave Fight 
 
 
 
 155 
 
 XXI 
 
 A Desperate Resolve 
 
 
 
 166 
 
 XXII 
 
 The Escape . 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 xxni 
 
 The Secret Pact . 
 
 
 
 . 182 
 
 xxiy 
 
 Through the Lines 
 
 
 
 . 194 
 
THE KHAKI BOYS 
 FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 BURIED ALIVE 
 
 DISTANT rumbles, like those of same far- 
 off thunderstorm, penetrated even to the 
 dugont, which was constructed under a 
 greater depth of earth than usual. At times 
 some fearful, though far-removed, explosion 
 would cause the solid ground to tremble, while 
 articles on the rude shelves of the shelter would 
 fall down with resultant crashes. 
 
 ''Some bombardment — that!" exclaimed one 
 of a number of khaki-clad soldiers who were 
 busying themselves in varying fashion in their 
 bomb-proof quarters. 
 
 ''I should say so!" agreed another. "If our 
 boys keep this up long there won't be enough 
 Germans left for us to have a scrimmage with I " 
 
 ''Don't you fool yourself, Bob!" exclaimed 
 Sergeant Jimmy Blaise. '* There are more 
 
2 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Grermans left alive than we have any idea of. 
 There'll be plenty left for yon to tackle." 
 
 "Now your mind's relieved on that score, 
 would you mind passing that oil can, Bob!" re- 
 quested Roger Barlow. ' ' There 's a spot of rust 
 on my gun, and if we 're going to have another 
 big fight soon I don't want the lock to jam at 
 a critical time." 
 
 "Another big fight, eh!" mused Robert Dal- 
 ton, as he complied with his bunkie's request. 
 "That's about all we've been doing lately." 
 
 * ' That 's what we 're here for, ' ' suggested Ser- 
 geant Jimmy. "And the more big fights we 
 have the sooner it will be over." 
 
 "You said something!" chimed in Franz 
 Schnitzel, who, in spite of his Teutonic name, 
 was one of the best of Uncle Sam's doughboys. 
 "It's the only way to make the stupid Germans, 
 not to call them anything worse, realize that 
 we're not here to play tag with them. The 
 heavier the fighting, the quicker they'll be 
 ready to give up. But what 's the use of talking 
 about more fighting? Here we are, relieved of 
 duty for to-day, at least, and let's enjoy it 
 while we can. We'll be back in the trenches 
 soon enough." 
 
 "That's so!" agreed Jimmy. "Hello over 
 there, Iggy !" he called to a lad sitting at a table 
 on which glowed an electric light. "Are you 
 writing in Polish or English!" he asked, for 
 the lad he addressed as ' ' Iggy, ' ' but whose name 
 
BURIED ALIVE 
 
 was Ignace Pulinski, was laboring with pen, 
 ink and paper. 
 
 **It is English I am writ him, an to my 
 mothar," was the answer. ''No more Polish do 
 I him write. I am a 'Merican now and for 
 always." 
 
 *' That's the way to talk, Iggy!" cried Bob. 
 **Do you want any help with that letter? It 
 seems to be more important than nsnaL" 
 
 "Sure him is reportmeiit," agreed Iggy, 
 looking up and drawing in his tongue, which, 
 while writing, had been stuck out of his mouth, 
 following every laborious movement of his pen. 
 **I am to my mothar sending my share of the 
 money that Sergeant Jimmy broke up on us." 
 
 "Oh, you mean the five thousand francs he 
 whacked up with us, Iggy," laughed Franz. 
 "That's the word, 'whacked,' not broke, though 
 no matter how much money someone whacks up 
 with you, you'll be broke as soon as you haven't 
 any. ' ' 
 
 "English him is a queer talk," sighed Iggy. 
 "But I am writ to m^^ mothar that I send her 
 the two hundred dollars Sergeant Jimmy gave 
 me. By jolly, that's a heap of money!" and 
 his eyes glistened. "My foathar — ^he work 
 many a days and he never get so much. But I 
 no send this to my faothar — ^he is of no good. 
 To my mothar this money goes, and she will 
 kick for joy." 
 
 "You mean she'll dance for joy!" laug-hed 
 
4 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Jiininy. "That's all right, Iggy. No offense 
 meant, ' ' he went on as he saw his Polish friend 
 look at hiiii rather sharply. "You want to learn 
 English, yon know, even if it is a queer lan- 
 guage, and you told us to correct you when you 
 made mistakes." 
 
 "Sure. So I did. I am of a thanks to you. 
 But my mothar, she will of joy have a lot when 
 she gets this money. It — it is more as she haf 
 ever seen of a once,'^ and there was something 
 in Iggy's tone that put a stop to further joking 
 on this line. 
 
 The Polish lad went on with his letter- writing. 
 As he had said, he was enclosing a money order 
 for two hundred dollars. This was his share 
 of a reward of five thousand francs which Ser- 
 geant Jimmy Blaise won for putting out of the 
 way a certain "Charles Black," who, it turned 
 out, was an Austrian spy named Adolph von 
 Kreitzen. Jimmy, who in private life was 
 wealthy, had insisted on sharing his reward with 
 the other of the "Five Brothers," as the 
 Kliaki Boys were often called. 
 
 "Need any help, Iggy?" asked Bob, as he 
 saw the Polish lad shake his head as if in de- 
 spair over some knotty point in the letter. 
 
 "Well, I maybe do," was the answer. "I 
 should tell my mothar about how I was out on 
 night-work, and I of help capture that Russian 
 spy of the name Alexandraioviteh Tarbotcha- 
 nitzitschi. That is a hard name to spell. ' ' 
 
BURIED ALIVE 5 
 
 "Spell! You can't spell that namel*' and 
 Jimmy Blaise exploded in a laugh. **You can 
 get your tongue around it a whole lot better 
 than any of us, but it can't be spelled. Just put 
 in a wheeze, a couple of sneezes and a hiccough. 
 Then you'll have the name, Iggy." 
 
 *'Well, I guess maybe you got it right," 
 assented the Polish lad. **I just tell my mothar 
 I of capture a Eussian spy what the Germans 
 have — what you call made bad. I tell her the 
 name when I get home." 
 
 ''That's the idea!" agreed Bob. ''Home!" 
 he exclaimed. *'Say, fellows, where have I 
 heard that word before?" 
 
 ** That's what I was wondering," chimed in 
 Roger Barlow. "It sort of rhymes with bath- 
 tub, pie, broiled steaks " 
 
 He was interrupted by a dog-eared magazine 
 which Jimmy tossed at him, narrowly missing 
 hitting the electric lamp by which Iggy was 
 writing his letter. 
 
 "Here! Cheese it! Do you want to douse 
 the glim?" expostulated Schnitzel. "We won 
 this dugout from the Germans after too much 
 hard work to let you put it on the blink now. 
 It's the best place Ave've had to rest in for some 
 time. Don't go putting it on the kazook!" 
 
 "I apologize," said Sergeant Jimmy, humbly 
 enough. "It's great to have electric light, isn't 
 it? Those Huns certainly went to a lot of work 
 to make this place YikQ home for their officers. 
 
6 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Electric lights, decent berths, and places where 
 yon can take it easy and write letters." 
 
 ^'They never thonght we'd get this far, I 
 guess," remarked Bob. 
 
 And what he said was true. There had been 
 a sndden and substantial advance on the part of 
 the American army, and they had overwhelmed 
 the German lines at this sector, running the 
 Boches several miles back. Thns long lines of 
 well-made German trenches, including a number 
 of dugouts fitted up rather more elaborately 
 than usual, were left in the hands of the Allies 
 in general and the Americans in particular. 
 
 The one in which the five Brothers were tak- 
 ing their rest after some severe fighting had 
 been arranged with electric lights, and after the 
 battle the wires were repaired, the dynamo 
 hitched on again, and the place rendered habit- 
 able. It was an exceptionally deep dugout, and 
 was safe from all but the very heaviest bom- 
 bardments of the German guns. And there had 
 been bomardments from time to time ever since 
 the Americans had swept irresistibly and vic- 
 toriously over the Boche lines. 
 
 ''Well, this can't last forever," remarked 
 Bob, as he nibbled at a bit of chocolate. 
 
 ''What we want to do," declared Franz, as Ke 
 slyly took a bit of Bob's confection, "is to wal- 
 lop the Huns good and hard, and then put 'era 
 where they can't do any more harm. Then it's 
 us for the good old U. S. A." 
 
BURIED ALIVE 
 
 '*Yes, and it'll be you for the outside if you 
 snibby any more of my lollypop!" exclaimed 
 Bob, with a grin as he moved away from 
 Schnitzel. "I got this off a Salvation Army 
 lassie this morning, and she said I wasn't to 
 give any of it away. ' ' 
 
 "Pity you didn't get some for all of us," com- 
 mented Roger. ' ' Did they open a fresh box "? ' ' 
 
 ''Yes, just got a new lot in," said Bob. "I 
 was going to tell you about it and advise you 
 to go out and get your share when we got to 
 talking about Iggy's letter." 
 
 *'Him is all done now — my letter," declared 
 the Polish lad. *' I can for the chocolate go ! " 
 
 '^We'll all have a go at the chocolate!" put 
 in Jinuuy. "Come on, fellows. We've been in 
 here long enough. Let's get a bit of fresh air 
 without running danger of poison gas. No tell- 
 ing how soon we'll be sent to the front again. 
 Me for a large, juicy slice of chocolate!" 
 
 "AVe're ^\it\\. you!" cried his four chums. 
 
 "Well, I A\^sh I could of see my mothar when 
 she open this letter and of the two hundred dol- 
 lars take out, ' ' said Iggy, as he gave the epistle 
 to a messenger to see that it was mailed, to- 
 gether mth cards and letters previously pre- 
 pared by the other Khaki Boys. "She will hop 
 — no, that is not the word — she will dance for 
 of joy." 
 
 "Well, let us dance out and get the choco- 
 late while the going's good!" cried Jimmy. 
 
8 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Aa he spoke a deeper boom from some distant, 
 great gnn came to their ears, and the ground 
 trembled. 
 
 '^Sounds as though they were coming 
 nearer," commented Bob. 
 
 ''Or else they're using longer range cannon," 
 added Eoger. 
 
 "Well," said Jimmy, ''as long as we " 
 
 He never finished the sentence. In the midst 
 of it the words were drowned, swallowed up, 
 obliterated in one great crash. It seemed to be 
 exactly on top of the dugout of which the five 
 Khaki Boys were now the only occupants. 
 
 And coincident with the crash there came 
 complete darkness, while the deafening noise 
 was followed by smaller concussions. 
 
 "It's a cave-in! The walls are collapsing!" 
 cried Bob. 
 
 "I'm covered with dirt!" came Roger's voice 
 faintly from the darkness. "Fellows, we're 
 buried alive! Buried alive!" 
 
 And the echoes seemed to send back, mock- 
 ingly: 
 
 ' ' Buried alive ! Alive ! ' ' 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A STRANGE SIGHT 
 
 FOR a moment after the dramatic an- 
 nouncement of Roger Barlow to the ef- 
 fect that he and his chums were in such 
 dire straits, there was intense silence. Silence 
 and darkness reigned in the dugout that, a mo- 
 ment before, had been light and the scene of as 
 much gaiety as can perhaps ever be attained so 
 near the war front. And the hearts of the five 
 Brothers turned sick with fear. 
 
 Then Jimmy, perhaps because he was more 
 used to commanding than his companions, 
 though they were all non-commissioned officers, 
 took charge of the situation. 
 
 **I say!" he called aloud, after making sure 
 that the worst that had happened to him was 
 numerous cuts and bruises. ^'1 say, are any of 
 you badly hurt?" 
 
 **I seem to be all there," answered Roger. 
 9 
 
10 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 ''But I'm caiiglit under a beam or something." 
 
 '* Don't try to mggle out yet!" warned 
 Jimmy. "You may bring the whole place dovni 
 about our ears! Wait until I see if I can get 
 my hand in my pocket and bring out my flash- 
 lamp. I hope it isn 't broken. ' ' 
 
 '*I can get at mine!" came from Franz. 
 
 **Are you all right?" asked Jimmy. 
 
 **Yes, except for a crack on the head that 
 made me see stars for a minute. ' ' 
 
 "Stars ! " cried Bob. "We'd be well off if we 
 could see comets now. It's as dark as a bucket 
 of tar in here. What happened, anyhow? I 
 believe we must be under tons of earth and 
 rocks." 
 
 "I guess we are," said Jimmy, and his voice 
 had a solemn note in it. "We must be buried 
 alive, as you said. The Huns must have 
 dropped a bomb from an aeroplane straight on 
 the location of this dugout, which, of course, 
 they knew. Or else they've got the range with 
 one of their big guns. But wait, I can flash 
 my glim now. We'll soon see what the trouble 
 is." 
 
 "Has anyone heard a peep out of Iggy?" 
 asked Roger. "Of course we can't see one an- 
 other, but we can hear. I say, Iggy, are you all 
 right?" he called, and by his voice it would seem 
 that Roger was not much hurt. 
 
 There was silence for a moment, and then the 
 tones of the Polish lad were heard. Iggy said : 
 
A STRANGE SIGHT 
 
 ''I dunno if I am here, or by a deadness 
 alretty. Only I haf a imicli pains in my foot. 
 Maybe he is cracked ! ' ' 
 
 "Let us hope not!" said Jimmy, as he 
 switched on his pocket flashlight, "Oh, I see 
 him!" he cried. "Yon are under a heap of dirt 
 and sandbags, Iggy. We '11 soon have you out, ' ' 
 
 As Jimmy flashed the light, Bob and Franz 
 began digging Avith their hands. They very 
 quickly freed Roger. It was soon evident that 
 Iggy, also, could be freed; but when this was 
 accomplished his head sank back limply and his 
 eyes closed. 
 
 "He must be worse hurt than we think," said 
 Franz solemnly. "Is there any way out of this 
 hole!" 
 
 "There is one if it hasn't been closed by the 
 explosion," answered Jimmy. "Wait until I 
 get my bearings. This is the main German 
 dugout for this section of trench — that is, it 
 was, ' ' he added significantly. ' ' Now from here, 
 as I recall it, there ran a tunnel into another 
 bomb-proof. If we can dig our way to that we 
 may be saved yet. And we've got to dig our 
 way out, fellows. We may be buried alive, but 
 it's up to us to dig our way out. But first we'd 
 better get Iggy some water, if we can find any. 
 I'm afraid he's in a bad way." 
 
 And while the five Brothers are tr5dng to 
 solve one of the many hard problems that came 
 to them during their war career, I will take a 
 
12 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 moment to inform my new readers something of 
 the lads themselves. 
 
 They were called the "Khaki Boys," and they 
 were first introduced in the volume named "The 
 Khaki Boys at Camp Sterling." Jimmy Blaise, 
 otlierwise known as James Sumner Blaise, the 
 son of wealthy parents, Roger Barlow, an 
 orphan who had tried various ways of making a 
 living, Robert Dalton, who after the death of his 
 parents had become a "cub" newspaper re- 
 porter, Franz Schnitzel, and Ignace Pulinski, 
 had established a Brotherhood during their 
 preliminary camp training. 
 
 They had many thrilling times together dur- 
 ing the early days of the participation of the 
 United States in the big conflict, and they 
 formed friendships that meant much. They 
 started for France together, and in the second 
 volume, "The Khaki Boys on the Way," their 
 experiences on the water have been detailed. 
 Being torpedoed was only one of many thrilling 
 things that happened to them. Eventually the 
 five Khaki Boys reached the actual fighting 
 ground, and in "The Khaki Boys at the Front," 
 ^\n\\ be found set down their experiences as real 
 fighters. In that book may be learned how 
 Jinomy earned the reward of five thousand 
 francs by disposing of the "tiger man." And 
 it was this reward, or rather, his share of it, 
 that Iggy sent to his "mothar," as he called 
 her. 
 
A STRANGE SIGHT l£ 
 
 In the fourth volume, entitled, "The Khaki 
 Boys Over the Top," are related the details of 
 some rather curious happenings. Jimmy had 
 entrusted his five thousand francs to the care 
 of a friend, Sergeant Maxwell, and, after a cer- 
 tain skirmish, when the five Brotliers went over 
 the top, the sergeant was reported missing. The 
 five thousand francs also disappeared. 
 
 "What effect this had on the Khaki Boys, and 
 how, later, they were saved from almost sure 
 death by a strange officer, and how they de- 
 nounced this officer as a spy — all this will he 
 f oimd in the fourth book. At the close, the boys, 
 after many hardships, were united again, and 
 they were waiting for the resumption of the 
 heavy fighting where we find them at the open- 
 ing of this present tale. 
 
 Among their friends the five Khaki Boys 
 numbered the "Twinkle Twins," otherwise 
 John and Gerald Twinkleton, two aviators, 
 whose cousin, Emile Voissard, was known as 
 the ' * Flying Terror of France. ' ' He was more 
 than an ace, and it was in helping him that 
 Jimmy won the reward. There was, too, 
 Jimmy ^s friend Margaret, of Buffalo, but he 
 had small hope of seeing his "girl" in those 
 strenuous war days. 
 
 Of course boys like the five Brothers could 
 not progress as they had and not make enemies. 
 The very fart that Jimmy, Roger and Franz 
 were sergeants, while Bob and Ignace were cor- 
 
14 T HE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING T O WIN 
 
 porals was enough to cause some jealons feel- 
 ings among the squads they often eonunanded. 
 And even in camp this had been shown, before 
 they were promoted. There was one yonng 
 soldier, Private Bixton, who acted very despic- 
 aWy toward the five friends until he was sent 
 to a military prison, mainly throi: ,h the instru- 
 mentality of Jimmy and his chums. For Bixton 
 was a scoundrel, as well as a deserter. 
 
 So, it can be seen, the five friends did not 
 have it altogether easy. They fought hard, and 
 they were wounded more than once, but not 
 seriously enough to keep them long away from 
 the firing line. 
 
 And now, after having fought hard and been 
 given a short leave of absence, part of which 
 they had spent in the old German dugout, the 
 Khaki Boys are again in trouble, caused by the 
 collapse of the underground place when the big 
 shell or the bomb exploded. 
 
 Putting aside, for the moment, all thought of 
 trying to dig their way out of their underground 
 prison, the Khaki Boys proceeded to do what 
 they could for the unfortunate Iggy. Their 
 flashlights gave considerable illumination to the 
 otherwise dark hole, and by looking around 
 Jimmy and the others saw what had happened. 
 
 The shell, bomb, or whatever it was, must 
 have landed squarely on top of the dugout. And 
 though this top proper, being made of concrete, 
 was some distance underground, it had been 
 
A STRANGE SIGHT 16 
 
 made to collapse as one might pnsli in the end 
 of an egg. The roof of the dngout was de- 
 pressed while the walls still stood npright, 
 though much cracked. The place was filled with 
 debris. 
 
 It was owing to the fact that the strong, thick 
 walls held that the boys' lives were not at once 
 crashed out. They had been along the edges, 
 and not standing in the middle, when the crash 
 came. 
 
 **Lift him over to one side, and we'll see if 
 we can tell what's the matter with him,*' sug- 
 gested Koger. 
 
 Accordingly they scraped as much dirt and 
 debris off the Polish lad as possible, and then 
 half lifted and half dragged him over to a pile 
 of blankets. 
 
 '*Feel any better?'* asked Jimmy, as he gave 
 his friend another drink from a canteen, 
 
 "Yes, of a little betterness am I," was the 
 answer. *'But do not of mind me. I can get 
 albngs. Look for a way out of these place if you 
 can find him. Do not mind me." 
 
 *'Well, maybe I'd better be looking to see if 
 I can find the old tunnel," said Jimmy. ''We'll 
 need to find that, anyhow, to get ourselves out, 
 as v/ell as Iggy. Roger, you come with me. 
 Bob and Franz can stay with Iggy. We'll be 
 back as soon as we can," he added. 
 
 The two boys climbed over the debris, flash- 
 ing their pocket torches at intervals, so as not 
 
16 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 to use up the batteries too quickly. Bob and 
 Franz made Iggy as comfortable as possible. 
 
 "Seems to me the place was over here/* ob- 
 served Jimmy, as he pulled aside some loose and 
 splintered boards. 
 
 <^uickly Jimmy flashed the gleams of his small 
 lamp over the cracked and broken walls of the 
 dugout. At first he had no success, but finally 
 he found what he was looking for. 
 
 "Here it is!" he cried. "An old door! It's 
 been closed for some time, but here it is." 
 
 * * Can it be opened 1 ' ' asked Roger. 
 
 "That remains to be seen," replied Jimmy, as 
 he limped nearer to it, for he had been struck on 
 the leg by a piece of timber and he was painfully 
 lame. 
 
 An examination showed that the door, though 
 broken and jammed, was capable of being 
 forced open. This was done by Roger and 
 Jimmy, using pieces of planks for levers. At 
 last the broken door swung to one side on its 
 burst hinges, and beyond it a dark tunnel was 
 seen. 
 
 * ' Here 's the place ! ' ' cried Jimmy. * * Now if 
 we can go along this until we reach the other 
 bomb-proof we shall get out all right." 
 
 "Yes — if we can," said Roger significantly. 
 * * Well, we Ve got to try, that 's sure. Can 't stay 
 here very long. It may come down about our 
 ears." 
 
 "I don't know about Iggy, though," went on 
 
A STRANGE SIGHT 17 
 
 Jimmy. ''Of course we could carry him, but 
 it would be hard work. ' ' 
 
 However, they were not compelled to do this. 
 For when Koger and Jimmy went back to where 
 they had left Bob and Franz looking after the 
 wounded Polish lad, they found that Iggy could 
 walk by leaning on the shoulder of someone, 
 
 ''That's good!'^ exclaimed Jimmy. "Now 
 then for the tunnel! But take it easy, every- 
 body. We may be going into a blind lead, or a 
 place worse than this. So go slow!" 
 
 And slowly and cautiously they entered the 
 tunnel, Roger and Jimmy in the lead. One of 
 them flashed a pocket torch at intervals, for 
 the way was rough and treacherous. 
 
 Suddenly Roger, who had got a little in ad- 
 vance of Jimmy, caught the latter by the arm, 
 and, pointing ahead, in a whisper, asked : 
 
 "What's that? Who are they!" 
 
 Jimmy, looking to where his friend pointed, 
 uttered a guarded exclamation. He was gazing 
 at a strange sight. 
 
w 
 
 CHAPTER in 
 
 ANOTHEK PUZZLE 
 
 "'^X 7 HAT'S the matter up ahead there!'* 
 came the demand from Schnitzel, 
 who, with Bob, was helping along the 
 disabled Iggy. **Why don't you go on, 
 Jimmy?" 
 
 '*Is the way blocked?" asked Bob. "Are we 
 stuck again 1 ' ' 
 
 "Keep still back there!" fiercely whispered 
 Sergeant Jimmy. ''Don't make such a row, or 
 they'll hear you!" 
 
 "Who?" asked Franz, and this time he low- 
 ered his voice to the desired pitch. "Are there 
 some Germans up ahead? Did the blowing up 
 of our dugout mean that our lines are 
 smashed?" His voice was anxious. He and 
 Bob could not see beyond the place where Roger 
 and Jimmy had come to a halt. 
 
 i8 
 
ANOTHER PUZZLE 19 
 
 *'Just wait a minute," advised Jimmy, still 
 keeping to a whisper. *'Rodge and I just saw 
 something that may be all right, and ma,y he all 
 wrong. We're going to see what it is. We'll 
 tell you when we come back. Stay where you 
 are Avith Iggy. It may not be safe to go on 
 any farther. ' ' 
 
 Bob and Schnitzel let Iggy lean up against 
 the tunnel wall. The Polish lad closed his eyes 
 and made himself as comfortable as possille. 
 His two companions looked ahead along t!ie 
 dark shaft which connected the two former 
 German dugouts. They could dimly see 
 Jimmy and Roger moving ahead, now and 
 then cautiously flashing their pocket 
 torches. 
 
 And the strange sight that had so startled 
 the two leading Khaki Boys was this. In the 
 second dugout, which did not seem to have been 
 much damaged by the blast that, for a time, 
 had buried the EHiaki Boys, Roger and Jimmy 
 saw four men. They stood in the middle of the 
 old dugout, which had not been used in some 
 time, and on a table, about which they were 
 congregated, burned a candle stuck in the neck 
 of a bottle. 
 
 But the curious fact about it all was that 
 while two of the men wore the regulation 
 American army uniform, the other two were in 
 civilian attire. And it needed but an instant's 
 thought on the part of Roger and Jimmy to 
 
20 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 make them understand that there was some- 
 thing vitally wrong here. 
 
 Civilians were not only not supposed to he so 
 far within the front lines, but they were actually 
 forbidden. It was against all military rules and 
 regulations. No one without a unifori:! was 
 allowed so near the front — even the newspaper 
 correspondents being rigidly required to con- 
 form to certain rules in this respect. 
 
 The reason for this was obvious. So stem 
 were the necessities of war that it was impera- 
 tive that each man bear some distinctive mark. 
 He was either a friend or a foe, and the only 
 way this could be told, where there were so 
 many thousands, was by a uniform. 
 
 Of course, the wearing of a uniform did not 
 guarantee that the man inside it was a friend. 
 He might be a spy. But the appearance of men 
 in civilian garb within the army lines caused 
 suspicion at once. And this suspicion was at 
 once engendered in the minds of Roger and 
 Jimmy. 
 
 ''What do you think of that?" whispered 
 Roger. 
 
 *'I don't think very much," was Jimmy's 
 answer, as they paused at an angle in the tunnel 
 and gazed forward into the candle-lighted dug- 
 out. "It looks bad to me." 
 
 ** That's what I say. ,, Those are two dough- 
 boys, or some of our Sammies, anyhow. As for 
 the other two — ^say, I haven't seen anyone in 
 
ANOTHER PUZZLE 21 
 
 civies for so long it looks strange. What do you 
 think those two civilians can be doing there talk- 
 ing to two of our men ? ' ' 
 
 "I give it up — at least for the present,'* said 
 Jimmy. "It's another puzzle — ^like the time 
 when we saw Captain Frank Dickerson at the 
 red mill, maybe." 
 
 *'They could be French refugees," went on 
 Eoger. "Maybe they have been held prisoners 
 by the Germans, and just got away. ' ' 
 
 "Well, that's a possibility, of course," as- 
 sented his chum. "But they don't look as if 
 they had been in prison. They're too well 
 dressed, and they look too well fed for that. In 
 fact they look more like Germans than French- 
 men." 
 
 "They do," assented Roger, as he peered 
 over his friend's shoulder. "Still you can't 
 always tell. At one time we thought Captain 
 Dickerson looked like a German, but he wasn't. 
 But the fact that these men are in civilian 
 clothes is what gets me. They haven't any right 
 so far inside our lines dressed like that." 
 
 * * You 're right, ' ' said Jimmy. ' * There 's some 
 sort of a mystery here. It may turn out all 
 right, and it may be all wrong. I'm going 
 to " 
 
 Jimmy interrupted himself to utter an excla- 
 mation o^ surprise, for suddenly one of the men 
 leaned over the table and blew out the candle, 
 leaving the dugout in darkness. And, almost 
 
22 THE KHAK I BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 as if this was a signal of some sort, there began 
 a furious bombardment, the echoes of which 
 came to the ears of the Khaki Boys. • 
 
 ''They're at it again!" cried Eoger. 
 
 "Those are our guns!" declared Jimmy. 
 "We're paying the Huns back for smashing our 
 fine dugout ! ' ' 
 
 "The one we took from the Germans," added 
 his chum. ''Say, Jimmy," he went on. "Yon 
 know all this around here used to be with- 
 in the German lines; this tunnel and the dug- 
 outs." 
 
 "Of course I know it," returned Jimmy. 
 "What of it?" 
 
 "Well, maybe there's a secret yjassage lead- 
 ing over to their new lines and trenches from 
 here. Maybe that's how those two civilians got 
 in here." 
 
 ' ' Nothing like that ! ' ' declared Jimmy. * * The 
 German lines are too far away from here now. 
 Besides, why would two lone Germans venture 
 back in the enemy's camp? It isn't reason- 
 able." 
 
 "Well, there's something queer," declared 
 Roger, "and we'd better report it." 
 
 "I guess so," agreed the young sergeant. 
 "But now what shall we do — go ahead or wait 
 here?" 
 
 "Let's show a light and go on," decided 
 Roger, for they had darkened their flash torches 
 on seeing the burning candle. They had stood 
 
ANOTHER PUZZLE 23 
 
 in the darkness while looking into the dugout 
 containing the four men. 
 
 Jimmy hesitated a moment. He did not at 
 all like the situation. It was '' extremely tick- 
 lish, '^ he said afterward. To show a light now, 
 when the four men were in darkness, would 
 mean that Jimmy and Roger would be targets 
 for any hostile act. They would be in plain 
 view while the others were not. Roger guessed 
 something of what was passing in Jimmy's 
 mind for he said: 
 
 *' There can't be any danger. Those were two 
 of our own doughboys there." 
 
 "Yes," was the answer. *'I guess we can 
 take a chance. But have your automatic ready 
 while I show the glim. No telling what may 
 happen." 
 
 . Roger let a faint gleam escape from between 
 two fingers which he pressed over the small bulb 
 of his pocket flash lamp. He directed this gleam 
 'into the dugout, and then he and his chum re- 
 ceived another surprise. 
 
 For the place was empty. The four men — 
 two soldiers and two civilians — ^had disap- 
 peared ! 
 
 As Jinuny and Roger stood in the tunnel, a 
 few feet away from the door leading into the 
 dugout, from behind them came Bob 's voice. 
 
 "Say!" he whispered, "are you fellows go- 
 ing to stand there chinning all day? We want 
 fo get Iggy somewhere so we can see what the 
 
24 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 matter with him is ! What's the row, anyhow — 
 why the traffic hold-up?" 
 
 ** Something qneer going on here, that's all," 
 answered Roger. ''Come on now — the way's 
 clear. Wow! Hear that gnn!" 
 
 ' * One of our big new ones, ' ' remarked Jimmy, 
 as the concussion shook the tunnel and rattled 
 down particles of dirt from the sides and roof. 
 
 "If there's fighting going on we ought to be 
 in it!" exclaimed Franz, as he and Bob started 
 on again with the disabled Iggy. They could 
 see the dim gleam of Roger's lamp ahead of 
 them. 
 
 *'0h, we'll get in it as soon as anyone," re- 
 marked Jimmy. "But first we want to find out 
 what's going on here. Come on, fellows. We 
 can get out of the tunnel and into this dugout, 
 anyhow. This place seems to be all right. I 
 know my way out. The cave-in didn't extend 
 this far back. ' ' 
 
 This was true. The big shell that had brought 
 their rest dugout down about the heads of the 
 Khaki Boys had done no damage here. One 
 end of the tunnel — that nearest the big under- 
 ground shelter — ^was partly demolished, but the 
 end connecting with the second dugout was not 
 disturbed. 
 
 Into this dugout, then, went the five Khaki 
 Boys, Iggy shuffling along by putting his arms 
 over the shoulders of Franz and Bob. They 
 had been obliged to proceed sideways in single 
 
ANOTHER PUZZLE 25 
 
 \ 
 
 file along the narrow tunnel, but the dugout was 
 large enough to accommodate a dozen or more. 
 
 ''They.aren't here!" exclaimed Jimmy, as he 
 quickly looked around the place, Roger having 
 relighted the candle in the bottle. 
 
 *'AA^o aren't here?" Franz demanded. 
 
 "The four men we saw when we stopped so 
 suddenly, ' ' Jimmy explained. ' ' They Ve gone 1 ' * 
 
 ""\Vhere?" Roger wanted to know. 
 
 Jimmy pointed to a rude door leading out of 
 the tunnel. It was answer enough. 
 
 "Say, you fellows act as though there was a 
 dark mystery here," complained Bob, as he 
 helped Iggy to a seat on a box. 
 
 "I'm beginning to think there is," was Jim- 
 my's answer. And hardly had the wordsipassed 
 his lips than from the door leading out of the 
 dugout came a voice sa^dng: 
 
 "Come on now! We can get 'em this way, I 
 guess!" 
 
 The four Khaki Boys drew their revolvers 
 and stood tense and waiting, forming a pro- 
 tecting screen in front of Iggy. 
 
CHAPTER IV, 
 
 RECOGNITIOIT 
 
 NATURALLY, after what had happened 
 and bearing in mind the strange sight 
 Roger and Jimmy had mtnessed, there 
 was bnt one thought in the minds of at least 
 four of the Khaki Boys — Iggy was temporarily 
 out of it. And this thought was that some dis- 
 aster had overtaken the American forces above 
 ground while much was happening to them be- 
 low ground, in the dugout and tunnel. Perhaps 
 the Germans had made a counter-attack, retaken 
 the trenches from which they had been driven, 
 and were now about to swarm do^vn into the 
 dugout, where the Khaki Boys were, to cap- 
 ture them. 
 
 ** Don't give up!'* cried Jimmy fiercely. 
 "Stand 'em off as long as you can, and 
 
 then '' 
 
 26 
 
RECOGNITION 27 
 
 Oiica more he was interrupted by a voice com- 
 ing from the passage leading from the dugout. 
 
 '* Lively now!" was the command. ''There's 
 a bare chance we may get 'em out this way, but 
 we've got to hurry!" 
 
 "You won't get us out alive!" said Bob 
 fiercely, and he looked around the dugout for 
 some way of escape. There Avere only two en- 
 trances — or exits — whichever one might choose 
 to call them — the one by which the boys had 
 emerged from the tunnel, and the other by 
 which they hoped to leave. But this last was 
 now blocked by an approaching party. 
 
 ''Stand together, boys!" said Sergeant 
 Jimmy in a low voice. 
 
 "Shall I douse the glim?" asked Franz. 
 
 He was about to blow out the candle when 
 into the dugout came hurrying a squad of khaki- 
 clad soldiers, and it needed but a glance from 
 the Khaki Boys to show them that they were 
 their own comrades of the 509th Infantry. 
 Lieutenant Morrison was in charge — an officer 
 of whom the five Brothers were very 
 fond. 
 
 "Here they are!" cried the lieutenant. 
 "How in the world did you boys escape? We 
 saw the place where the big German shell 
 struck, and we didn't think there 'd be more 
 than half of you left alive after the dugout 
 caved in, as it must have done. Yet here you 
 all are." 
 
28 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 ^'One^s missing, sir," said a corporal. 
 "There were five and " 
 
 *'Here I iss!" exclaimed Iggy. "Part of me 
 is alif e, anyhow ! ' ' 
 
 There was a laugh at this — a langh that told 
 of overstrained nerves being mercifully re- 
 lieved. 
 
 "Is he badly hurt?" asked Lieutenant Mor- 
 rison, as he looked at the Polish lad, his friendly 
 guard moving away from in front of him. 
 
 "Something fell on one foot when the dugout 
 gave way under pressure from the Hun shell," 
 explained Eoger. "I hope it isn't bad." 
 
 "Well, we'll get him to a dressing station as 
 soon as possible," went on the young officer. 
 "There's been a merry ruction up above, as I 
 suppose you boys have guessed. As soon as I 
 got things a bit straightened out, some one told 
 me about a party being on leave dov^Ti in the 
 old German dugout, and I at once organized a 
 rescue squad. How did you manage to es- 
 cape?" 
 
 Jimmy and his chums related their experi- 
 ence, and, in turn, Jimmy asked : 
 
 "Have the Huns put one over on us?" 
 
 ^ ' They tried to, ' ' was the grim answer. "But 
 I think we gave them back a little better than 
 they sent. We've got the upper hand now, but 
 how long we can keep it is another question. 
 There's going to be a big fight soon." 
 
 "Good!" cried Franz, his eyes brightening. 
 
RECOGNITION 29 
 
 *'The more the lights, and the bigger they are, 
 the sooner the Boches will quit." 
 
 *'Let us hope so!" ejaculated the lieutenant 
 fervently. Then, as he caught sight of the re- 
 volvers in the hands of the four non-commis- 
 sioned officers, he asked, with a show of sur- 
 prise: ''What's the game? Did you ha .3 to 
 shoot any Huns to get out of the dugout after 
 it collapsed?" 
 
 ''Why, no, sir," answered Jimmy. "The 
 Germans didn't break in — it was only the big 
 shell they sent over. But you must have 
 met them if you came along the tunnel just 
 now." 
 
 *'Met who?" Lieutenant Morrison queried. 
 
 Jimmy explained, Roger putting in a word 
 now and then. The officer shook his head. 
 
 "We met no one, ' ' he remarked. " It 's queer, 
 too, for there doesn't seem to be any side pas- 
 sage from this tunnel, though there may be 
 some we don't know about. We didn't stop to 
 look, as a matter of fact. As soon as I heard 
 there were some of our boys in the smashed 
 dugout I began to plan a rescue. Some one re- 
 membered this unused tunnel and dugout, just 
 as you remembered it. Sergeant Blaise, and 
 this was the only way we could get in to save 
 you. But we met no one on our way." 
 
 "That's queer," declared Jimmy. 
 
 "It is," agreed Lieutenant Morrison. *'ThiB 
 matter must be reported to headquarters. But 
 
30 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 now iet^s get out of here. No telling when this 
 plac9 may come down about our ears/' 
 
 Iggy was feeling a little better, having had 
 the weight off his injured foot for a while, and 
 soon they were progressing along the tunnel 
 toward the exit. This ti.nnel was wider, and 
 on the way along it the four Khaki Boys, as 
 well as the members of the relief party, looked 
 for side openings or shafts. 
 
 "Here's one!^' exclaimed the lieutenant. 
 * ' Corporal "Wliite, you take a man and go along 
 it and see if you can find any trace of the four 
 mentioned by Sergeant Blaise. Be on the alert. 
 Even two of the men being in American uni- 
 forms would not guarantee anything. But this 
 is probably how they eluded us,'' he said to 
 Jimmy, nodding to indicate the passage. 
 
 A little later the party emerged from the 
 tunnel that led into the dugout, and they were 
 welcomed by their comrades, many of whom 
 had thought that Jimmy and his chums had 
 been killed, or at least badly wounded when 
 the big German shell smashed in the top of the 
 shelter. 
 
 Iggy was taken to a dressing station, and 
 later it was learned that he was not as badly 
 hurt as was at first feared. He would be back 
 in line again Avithin a few days, it was said. 
 
 The exploration of the side passage leading 
 off from the tunnel amounted to little. Cor- 
 poral "White said he saw no trace of the four 
 
RECOGNITION 81 
 
 men, but he reported that there was a maze of 
 passages leading from the one he examined, and 
 it was possible for the four to have hidden in 
 these, or to have made their escape along one 
 of the dark, winding tubes of earth. 
 
 "Well, this makes the mystery all the more 
 puzzling, ' ' said Jimmy, when he and his chums 
 talked it over. * ' I certainly would like to know 
 who those fellows were — especially the ones in 
 uniform. ' ' 
 
 And there was a deeper mystery about it 
 than he even dreamed of. 
 
 But little the worse from their nerve-racking 
 experience in the collapsed dugout, Jimmy and 
 his chums finished their period of leave and 
 once more took their places with their com- 
 rades, ready to fight or do anything else re- 
 quired of them. Iggy was given a detail as 
 orderly to a major, which made his duties light. 
 But he was anxious to get on the firing line 
 again. 
 
 It was early one morning — quite a zero hour, 
 in fact, though none was set — when suddenly 
 there began a furious firing from the German 
 lines, removed only a short distance at this par- 
 ticular part of the front where the Khaki Boys 
 were stationed. 
 
 If the German gunners hoped to take the 
 Americans by surprise, and by a sudden and 
 unexpected barrage pave the way for an at- 
 tack, they must have been sorely disappointed. 
 
32 7'HE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 For almost at the very instant that the German 
 pieces began their grim music there was re- 
 sponse from Uncle Sam, and in greater volume. 
 
 But it was not to be altogether an artillery 
 duel. The word was passed up and do^AH the 
 liae to get readj^ to repel an attack in force, and 
 Jimmy, Roger, Bob, and Franz tumbled out of 
 their blankets, their eyes heavy Avith sleep, 
 ready for the fight. 
 
 It was not long in coming, for no sooner did 
 they have their equipment on, from gas masks 
 at the alert position to their canteens and mess 
 kits, than they were ordered over the top. 
 
 * ' Forward ! Forward ! ' ' was the cry. 
 
 The American fire, at first a mere reply to the 
 challenge of the Boche artillery, was soon 
 changed into a protecting barrage for the thou- 
 sands of doughboys who scrambled out of their 
 trenches, and in less time than would seem pos- 
 sible a fierce battle was raging. 
 
 Jimmy^had one glimr)se of Bob, Roger, and 
 Franz being directed off to the right, while his 
 party was ordered to the left. So, for the time, 
 Jimmy lost sight of his chums. 
 
 The battle was fierce and hot. In spite of the 
 American barrage, the Germans broke through 
 at one point, and there was hand-to-hand fight- 
 ing, grim and terrible while it lasted. 
 
 Jimmy Blaise v/as in the thick of this. He 
 had one vision of a big burly German charging 
 him, his mouth wide open in a yell, and his bayo- 
 
RECOGNITION S3 
 
 net dripping red. Then Jimmy's rifle spoke, 
 .,.nd the German was no longer in front of the 
 Khaki Boy, who leaped over his body to keep 
 beside his comrades. 
 
 Sergeant Jimmy saw another Hun taking aim 
 at Lieutenant Morrison, who was engaged with 
 a German officer. There was no time to warn 
 the lieutenant, and Jimmy did the next best 
 thing. His bayonet put the Hun out of the bat- 
 tle for all time, and the lieutenant, who had 
 just defeated his opponent, turned with a look 
 that meant much to Jimmy. There was no time 
 for words. 
 
 Guns and shells were crashing on all sides. 
 The Germans had brought up some machine 
 guns, and these were doing fearful execution 
 among the Americans until the nests were lo- 
 cated and the crews working the automatic 
 death-dealers killed. 
 
 Sergeant Blaise led in one of these raids, and 
 he and his comrades had swept triumphantly 
 over the place, leaving only dead Germans to 
 tell the tale, when Jimmy suddenly felt a great 
 blow on his head. Instantly all became black 
 around him, and he fell. 
 
 For one fearful moment the thought flashed 
 through his mind that he was killed — that this 
 was the end of it all. And then, as he landed 
 with a thud on the ground, his senses seemed 
 to come back to him. 
 
 His face was wet, and something seemed to 
 
84 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 cover his eyes. He put his hand to his face as 
 he lay on the ground, a horrible fear coming to 
 him that his eyes had been blown ont. 
 
 To his great relief he found that his vision 
 came back to him when he rubbed his hand over 
 his eyes. And as he looked at his hand he found 
 that it was not covered with blood, as he had 
 feared, but with mud. A shell had exploded in 
 a mud hole directly in front of Jimmy, and had 
 deluged him with the mucky stuff, completely 
 covering his face and eyes. 
 
 "But I'm hit, though," he mused, as he felt 
 his head, and this time there was blood on his 
 hand. But it did not seem to be an alarming 
 amount. In fact, after the first shock, Jimmy 
 felt as though he could get up and go on fight- 
 ing. But an officer, leaping over him, sensed 
 the situation and cried: 
 
 **Lie down where you are! Some one will 
 come for you presently. We've got 'em on the 
 run, but they may sweep this place mth ma- 
 chine guns again. Lie still where you are!" 
 
 Jimmy had sense enough to obey, and pres- 
 ently he became aware of the fact that the firing 
 in his immediate neighborhood was growing 
 less. In a few minutes it seemed to die away 
 altogether, and it was not long after that be- 
 fore two men came along vnth a stretcher. 
 
 ** Here's a live one!" the leader cried, as he 
 caught sight of Jimmy, who cautiously raised 
 his head. 
 
RECOGNITION ^5 
 
 "Hurt mncli?" the second stretcher bearer 
 asked. 
 
 "Don't know," was Jimmy's laconic answer. 
 "Wait nntil I stand np and see." 
 
 But as soon as he tried to get on his feet he 
 felt so weak and dizzy that he would have fallen 
 had not one of the men caught him. 
 
 "I guess it's a first-aid station for yours, old 
 man," was the grim comment. And Jimmy 
 shut his eyes. 
 
 AVhen he opened them again it was to find 
 himself \ymg on a sort of table, with a doctor 
 bending over him. 
 
 "How do you feel?" asked the surgeon. 
 
 "Oh, sort of — sort of " remarked Jimmy 
 
 weakly. 
 
 "You'll do," was the reply. "Got a nasty 
 knock on the head, but your skull isn't damaged 
 — just a scalp wound. We '11 wash you up a bit 
 and send you back. Here, orderly, some water 
 and bandages." 
 
 Jimmy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. 
 The mere touching of the wound on his head, 
 to wash and bandage it, was most painful, but 
 he did not utter a sound. Then he seemed to 
 doze off, and when again full consciousness 
 came to him it was to open his eyes in a tem- 
 porary hospital. He was lying on a cot under a 
 screen of bushes — a camouflaged place, to pre- 
 vent, if possible, the Huns from dropping bombs 
 from airships on this oasis of mercy. 
 
8C THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 And it was while lying on the cot, feeling 
 more comfortable now that his head was ban- 
 daged, that Jimmy saw a sqnad of soldiers from 
 the signal corps passing along the road. They 
 had been ordered to the front to establish bet- 
 ter communications, now that the German raid 
 had been repulsed and the Boches were being 
 forced to retreat. 
 
 As Jimmy looked at two men in the signal 
 squad carrying a black box, which he recognized 
 as one containing part of a wireless outfit, 
 Jimmy felt a queer sensation. 
 
 <<^Yliy, I know those two fellows!" he told 
 himself, as his eyes followed the m.arching 
 twain carrying the black box. **I laiow them, 
 though this is only the second time I've seen 
 them, as far as I can tell. The other time was 
 in the dugout. Those are the two army fellows 
 who were talking to the two civilians. And now 
 to find them in the signal corps ! What does it 
 meanf 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 BATTLING ONWARD 
 
 WELL might Sergeant Jimmy ask himself 
 that question. For a moment he feared 
 lest the injury to his head had caused 
 his brain to wander so that he ''saw things." 
 But as he looked about on other sights — noted 
 wounded men being brought in, saw fresh fight- 
 ers rushing up to the front, to be ready if called 
 on — and when he again looked toward the 
 marching squad of the signal corps Jimmy felt 
 sure that his brain was normal. 
 
 And there was no doubt, in his mind, of what 
 he saw. He looked again at the two dough- 
 boys who had attracted his attention. They 
 were in strong sunlight, and Jimmy was sure 
 he could not be mistaken. 
 
 "They're the same two who were in the dug- 
 out talking to the two men in civilian clothes," 
 
38 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTIN G TO W IN 
 
 murmured the wounded lad. *'And those two 
 civilians might be almost anyone. I only hope 
 they Averen't German spies! That would be 
 fierce — to have two of our men meeting Ger- 
 man spies secretlj''. But hold on — ^wait a min- 
 ute. There may be another angle or twist to 
 this game.*' 
 
 Jimmy raised himself on his elbow and looked 
 after the disappearing signal corps squad. The 
 two men carrying the black electrical box were 
 in the rear now. 
 
 ''Thej'-'re the same two — no question of 
 tliat," decided Jimmy. "But I may be wrong 
 in thinking they were having a secret meeting 
 mth spies. Those civilians may be spies, but 
 I don't believe any of our soldiers would be in 
 any underhand scheme with them. Maybe they 
 were laying pipes to capture the spies, or even 
 bag bigger game. I guess that was it. Hang 
 it! I wish I could get up and follow them. I'd 
 like to have a talk mth those fellows!" 
 
 But when Jimmy tried to sit up he found how 
 weak he really was. The blow on the head had 
 put him out of the fighting for the time being. 
 
 "Anything I can do for you, old man?" asked 
 a Salvation Army worker, coming along just 
 then. He had been going about giving hot soup 
 to such of the injured as could take it, and now 
 it was Jimmy's turn. 
 
 "Yes, I would like a bit," answered Jimmy 
 BlEfcise to this rough and ready angel of mercy 
 
BATTLING ONWARD 39 
 
 in the guise of an unshaven Salvation Army 
 man. "That's great!" murmured Jimmy, as 
 the soup brought new life to him. 
 
 He felt so much revived that a fev/ minutes 
 later, vv^hen an orderly came past and stopped 
 beside Jimmy, the Khaki Boy began a conver- 
 sation. 
 
 ''Is the signal corps ordered to any special 
 place?" he asked. 
 
 ''Oh, no, just out on general work," wa.s the 
 answer. "The Germans shot aAvay some of our 
 telegraph lines, and they're going to repair 'em, 
 I guess. Wish I was with 'em, but I can't be," 
 and he sighed. 
 
 "Like that sort of work?" asked Jimmy. 
 
 "You bet! I'm a telephone repair man back 
 home, and I was in the signal corps until I got 
 a wound that put me out. I'm getting better, 
 and I'll soon be able to chuck this orderly berth, 
 put on my spurs and take my pliers again. ' ' 
 
 "Know anyone in that signal corps bunch?" 
 asked Jimmy. 
 
 "Sure! Everyone. I've been working with 
 'em ever since this shindig started." 
 
 "What's in that black box the two rear men 
 carried?" asked Jimmy, though he pretty well 
 knew what the answer would be, as he had seen 
 such boxes before. 
 
 "Part of a mreless outfit," was the answer. 
 "I was just taking up that work when I got my 
 wound stripe." 
 
40 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 *'Wlio were the two lads carrying the box?" 
 persisted Jimmy. 
 
 "You mean the wireless box? Oh, they were 
 two lads named Bixton. One — ^T\^ilbiir — is a 
 private. His brother Aleck is a corporal." 
 
 ** Wilbur and Aleck Bixton," said eTIramy, and 
 at once his brain began to do some active work. 
 
 "Yes, they claim to be experts in wireless 
 work," went on the orderly. "But, for my 
 part, I think they're a couple of " 
 
 "Orderly!" came a sharp command from a 
 surgeon, "I need you over here." 
 
 Some more wounded were being brought in. 
 
 "See you later, old man," said the surgeon's 
 assistant to Jimmy. "Hope you get out of this 
 dump soon." 
 
 "Same here," and Jimmy smiled He did 
 not feel the pain so much now, for he was think- 
 ing of something else. 
 
 "Bixton!" he said to himself. "Aleck and 
 Wilbur Bixton ! Where have I heard that name 
 
 Bixton before? Was it Ha! I have it! 
 
 Back at Camp Sterling ! Private Bixton ! The 
 rascal we helped send to prison, where he be- 
 longed. No wonder that name stuck in my 
 mind! He's in prison still, I'm sure, for he was 
 given a long term for desertion and rascality.'* 
 
 Readers of the first volume of the Kliaki 
 Boys series will, no doubt, readily recall the 
 incidents referred to. 
 
 "Bixton!" mused Jimmy. "It isn^t a com- 
 
BATTLING ONWARD 41 
 
 nion name. And yet there may be more than 
 one who can lay claim to it. I wonder if these 
 two Bixtons in the signal corp can be any re- 
 lation to the Bixton we knew. Let's see — what 
 was his first name — um — no, I can't recall it. 
 Don 't Imow that I ever heard it. But the Bixton 
 part sticks in my mind. 
 
 '* And I'm sure these two Bixtons — Aleck anc 
 Wilbur — ^were in the dugout with the suspicious- 
 looking civilians. Now, of course, there may 
 be nothing wrong in that, and yet if they're any 
 relation to Private Bixton, late of Camp Ster- 
 ling, I shouldn't put it past them to have been 
 up to something crooked. The thing to do is 
 to find out for sure if the two here are related 
 to the one left behind. That's what I'll do as 
 soon as I get on my feet! Say, maybe I'm on 
 the track of as queer a mystery as the poison 
 one back in camp!" 
 
 Jimmy was not quite as strong as he had 
 thought, for, after trying to puzzle this out and 
 piece together the various threads of thought 
 in his mind, he felt very much exhausted. A 
 little later he was sent to a temporary hospi- 
 tal, where he remained for three days. 
 
 During this time Jimmy had no chance to pur- 
 sue his inquiries about the Bixtons. But he did 
 a lot of thinking. Meanwhile, the tide of battle 
 lulled, but it was only temporary — everyone 
 knew that. 
 
 There came a day when Jimmy could rejoin 
 
42 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 his friends, and he found Iggy with them ready 
 to welcome him, for the Polish lad had recov- 
 ered from his injuries sustained in the diigont. 
 
 "Well, how do yon feel, Jimmy? '^ asked 
 Koger, 
 
 ''Fit as a fiddle!" was the answer. **That 
 little crack on the head is hardly sore now. The 
 doc told me to wear a cotton pad over it nnder 
 my tin hat, though, to keep the pressure off. 
 And now, fellows, I've got a bit of news for 
 you." 
 
 *' Haven't won another five thousand francs 
 reward, have you?" asked Boh. 
 
 **No. Wish I had. But this is about some- 
 thing else. Say, you fellows remember Private 
 Bixton, back at Camp Sterling, don't youf" 
 
 *'I should say I did!" cried Schnitzel, who 
 had good reason to recall the scoundrel. ''What 
 about him?" 
 
 "AVell, there are two fellows here," resumed 
 Jimmy, "who are of the same name and " 
 
 "Fall in! Fall in!" came a sudden order. 
 
 There was no time to tell more. Word had 
 come from the front of activity along the Ger- 
 man lines, and it was feared there was to be 
 an attack. 
 
 Nor were the fears groundless, for the Khaki 
 Boys had no sooner reached the front-line 
 trenches, being sent up to relieve men that had 
 long been on duty, than word was passed along 
 that a big battle was soon to begin. 
 
BATTLING ONWARD 43 
 
 "I'll tell you later what I started to say about 
 Bixton,'' said Jimmy, who received instruc- 
 tions to take charge of a squad of men, none of 
 his "Brothers" being in the squad. He hur- 
 ried away, and a little later they were battling 
 onward against heavy odds. 
 
 The Huns had sprung something in the na- 
 ture of a surprise. It was another of their 
 tierce attempts to break through the American 
 line, and though they did not succeed, they 
 placed parts of it in danger and it required the 
 sacrifice of many lives to hold back the horde 
 of fierce Bodies. 
 
 "Come on, boys! Come on!" cried Jimmy 
 Blaise, as he led his squad across an open field 
 which, time and again, had been swept by ma- 
 chine-gun bullets. "Come on!" 
 
 And with cheers they followed Mm. 
 
CHAPTER VT 
 
 POOR SCHNITZ 
 
 GRIM and terrible fighting now marked 
 what turned out to be one of the decisive 
 engagements of the war between the 
 Americans and the Germans. At this sector of 
 the front, and just about where the 509th In- 
 fantry was included in the army that was ex- 
 pected to smash the German line, there was 
 what is called a *' spear head." That is, the 
 Germans had so thrust forward their forces as 
 to occupy a small point of territory with its 
 apex toward the American front. It was in 
 such ways as this that the salients were made, 
 and these were always dangerous. 
 
 Sometimes the danger was to the force mak- 
 ing the spear point, for they laid themselves 
 open to flank attacks. Again, the danger was 
 
 44 
 
POOR SCHN ITZ 45 
 
 to the side into which the point was thrust. For 
 the point could be broadened and so spread out 
 as to divide the defending line. 
 
 Indeed, the object of making a salient, or 
 spear head, was just that — to divide and bend 
 back the opposing force, to cut it in tAvo,, so 
 tl-at there should be confusion in the ranks, 
 mth consequent defeat. 
 
 The Germans, as has been said, had created a 
 small spear head at this point, and it was in an 
 endeavor to enlarge this by a surprise attack 
 that the present fighting was undertaken. 
 
 And, naturally, the Americans had to rally 
 to their own defense. Well they knew that, if 
 the Huns once broadened the point, all sorts of 
 disasters might follow. So it is no wonder that 
 Jimmy and his chums, and every Sammie in the 
 gallant American armies, fought to the death. 
 And, likewise, with the hope of victory before 
 them, it may well be assumed that the Germans 
 also fought desperately. 
 
 Forward over the shell-pitted ground swept 
 the Americans to meet the attack and beat it 
 back if possible. Their ovm. barrage, directed 
 by aviators hovering above the contending ar- 
 mies, was working well. It gave protection, but, 
 in a way, was nullified by a counter barrage laid 
 down by the Boche gunners. 
 
 And not only was the shrapnel barrage swee]:^- 
 ing over the ^.one between the two contending 
 forces, but there was a constant spray of ma- 
 
46 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 chine-gun bullets, to say nothing of the fire from 
 thousands of rifles. 
 
 Smashes, bangs, roars, and rattles, together 
 with cheers of encouragement, yells of defiance, 
 and screams of sorely wounded men mingled in 
 one awful, hideous maelstrom of noise as the 
 battle continued. 
 
 Jimmy Blaise led his small force onward, be- 
 ing directed, of course, by lieutenants, captains 
 or majors in the advance. Two of Jimmy's 
 squad were killed instantly by shrapnel, one on 
 either side of him, and their blood spattered 
 him. But he shut his teeth grimly and kept on. 
 And yet in the midst of it all — even when he was 
 fiercely yelling to his men to come on and while 
 he fired his rifle until it was hot to his touch — 
 he could not help thinking of his four Brothers. 
 
 Where were they? Had they been wounded 
 — ^killed, perhaps? Or were they still fighting 
 and struggling onward as was he, over the 
 death-impending ground, leaping from shell- 
 hole to shell-hole, now into some water-filled 
 crater, now out again, ever going onward, on- 
 ward, onward unless stopped by death or a 
 disabling wound ? 
 
 *'Well, I can only hope for the best," mused 
 Jimmy, as he paused a moment behind a hil- 
 lock of dirt to get his breath. ''This is fierce 
 fighting ! I only hope we smash through them ! ' ' 
 
 Then again he plunged into the horrible din 
 and slaughter, rallying such men as he saw 
 
POOR SCHNITZ 47 
 
 needed to be led, not because they faltered, but 
 because they were bewildered by the terrible 
 din all about them. 
 
 Meanwhile Eoger, Bob and Franz found 
 themselves close together as they advanced. 
 They were rushing onward against a nest of 
 German machine guns, taking advantage of 
 such shelter as they could find between the 
 bursts of fire. 
 
 ''We've got to get them out of the way!*' 
 panted Franz, as he wiped the blood from his 
 face — blood from a cut in his head caused by a 
 fragment of a shrapnel shell which, had it gone 
 a half inch closer, would have ended his fight- 
 ing days. 
 
 ' ' That 's right ! ' ' agreed Bob. " They 're hold- 
 ing up the advance at this point. Come on now. 
 "When they get through the next volley let's 
 rush 'em. They must stop a moment to put in 
 a fresh belt of cartridges." 
 
 ''Their machine guns fire faster than ours — 
 at least they load faster," observed Roger, as 
 the three paused, even as Jimmy had done, in 
 a crater to get a moment's respite. "That flex- 
 ible belt of cartridges goes in the firing chamber 
 quicker than our brass clips do, I'm thinking." 
 
 "But, even at that, our boys work our 
 guns to better advantage," declared Franz. 
 "They've got the knack of jamming in the cart- 
 ridge clips, and though the Huns ought to fire 
 faster, they don't, as a rule. Well, come on! 
 
48 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING T O WIN 
 
 Let's get the job over!" he said grimly, ad- 
 dressing those around him, who were waiting 
 for the word to go on and wipe up the nest of 
 Hun machine gunners. 
 
 With yells they started out of the hole, but 
 at that instant a shell descended directly on an 
 old house where the Germans had made a stand, 
 placing no less than ten machine guns in the 
 structure, as was learned later. The shell came 
 from the American lines, and was doubtless 
 aimed according to directions signaled back by 
 some Allied aviator. It fell directly on the 
 house, and being an H. E. shell — that is, high 
 explosive — the damage wrought was terrific. 
 
 In one great blast, directly in front of the 
 boys, and so close as to scatter dirt and small 
 stones all about them, the house that sheltered 
 the Boches was blown apart. And with it went 
 the machine guns and those serving the wea- 
 pons. That nest was wiped out, and with wild 
 yells the Khald Boys rushed forward to take 
 advantage of the gap thus made in the German 
 line. 
 
 ''Well, that saved us a lot of work," cried 
 Franz, as they swept past the place where the 
 house had been. Now it was but a hole in the 
 ground. 
 
 "Yes, and it saved a lot of lives," added Bob. 
 *'But the job isn't finished yet. We've got to 
 go on!" 
 
 "You said it!" came grimly from Roger. 
 
POOR SCHNITZ 49 
 
 **Say, look on either side of us!'' he added. 
 ''This is one of the biggest battles of the war." 
 
 And so it proved. As the boys, taking a little 
 breathing spell just beyond the machine-gun 
 nest, looked to either side of them up and down 
 the conflicting lines, they saw how the tide of 
 battle was going. And at no point were the 
 Americans giving way. Ever they were press- 
 ing onward. The German spear-head was 
 broken off and flattened — being rendered harm- 
 less. In fact, it was being turned so as to be- 
 come a veritable thorn in the side of the Boche 
 enemy. 
 
 Iggy, the Polish lad, rejoicing that he was 
 again in the battle fighting for the beloved land 
 of his adoption, had, early in the conflict, lost 
 contact with Bob, Franz, and Roger. But this 
 had happened before during fights, and Iggy 
 w^as so desperately in earnest in firing his rifle 
 at the foe, in rushing forward at the word of 
 command, and in seeking such shelter as there 
 was when told to, that he had little time to 
 think of his friends. 
 
 Bob, Roger, and Franz, after passing the de- 
 molished machine-gun nest, soon found them- 
 selves, together with others of their company, 
 in a small patch of woods. 
 
 ' ' Rest here, ' ' directed a lieutenant. * ' There 's 
 a spring, and you can get some water. There'll 
 be plenty of hard fighting yet, so take it easy 
 when you can." 
 
50 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "Water! Oh, boy!" came the cries of de- 
 light from the thirst-parched and wearied lads. 
 And never did liquid taste sweeter. It re- 
 freshed them more than can easily be imag- 
 ined. 
 
 Then came the order to go forward, and in a 
 fierce bit of fighting that followed, Franz 
 Schnitzel fonnd himself out of contact not only 
 with Bob and Roger, but also away from any 
 others of his company. 
 
 "This won't do! Got to get back!" he de- 
 cided. "They must be off to my left." 
 
 He turned in that direction. Then, as he 
 passed around a small knoll, he saw three Ger- 
 mans gathered about a machine gun down in a 
 little depression. Something seemed to be 
 wrong with the mechanism, and the three heads 
 were bent over the breech. 
 
 "The beasts ! " cried Schnitz in a hoarse whis- 
 per. "They must have hidden here when our 
 lines passed over, and now they're going to pep- 
 per them from the rear. But not if I can stop 
 it!" 
 
 Making sure that his rifle magazine was filled 
 and that he had some hand grenades and that 
 his pistol was where he could get at it, Franz 
 worked his way quietly along until he was 
 within a few feet of the three Germans. 
 
 "Hands up!" he suddenly cried, leveling his 
 rifle. 
 
 Whether or not the Huns understood these 
 
POOR SCHNITZ 51 
 
 characteristic American words is a question. 
 But they could not mistake the tone of voice 
 Schnitzel used. Immediately six hands were 
 elevated, and with one accord, as the Germans 
 turned and faced the lone lad. 
 
 "Kamerad! Kameradf they cried. 
 
 **That sounds like it!" said Franz grimly. 
 **Take off your pistols and toss 'em on the 
 ground. Then form in line and march. You re 
 my prisoners ! ' ' 
 
 The men obeyed sullenly enough. By ges- 
 tures Franz indicated that they were to march 
 ahead of him back toward the American lines. 
 His heart was jubilant at the capture. Not only 
 had he prisoners, but he had, alone, cleanad up 
 a machine-gun nest. 
 
 But alas for poor Schnitz! He had hardly 
 marched his trio of Huns more than a few hun- 
 dred feet when, as they turned around a clump 
 of bushes, they came face to face with a large 
 party of Germans led by a pompous captain. 
 
 Instantly the three prisoners set up a yell, 
 explaining the situation, and with answering 
 yells their comrades rushed toward them. 
 
 **I guess the game's up!" thought Franz 
 grimly. ''This was too good to last!" 
 
 He fired into the midst of the Gennans, see- 
 ing two go down. Then some one either crept 
 up behind him and struck him or he was hit by 
 a missile thrown or by a glancing bullet, for 
 he suddenly fell and lost consciousness, and 
 
52 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 when he revived, under a rain of kicks bestowed 
 on his prostrate body by a brutal soldier, it was 
 to find himself in the midst of a circle of Huns. 
 
 '*Get up, pig-dog of an American!" splin- 
 tered the German captain. "You will c^.pture 
 our men, will youf Now you are a prisoner. 
 The tables are turned!" 
 
 He spoke in German, and, of course, Franz 
 understood. Before he realized what he was 
 doing he snapped back an answer in the same 
 tongue, not thinking Avhat the consequences 
 would be. 
 
 **I won't be a prisoner long!" said Franz. 
 
 Hearing his own language from an enemy 
 prisoner, he reached the conclusion that the 
 speaker was of German parentage. This 
 seemed to enrage the Boche captain. With 
 crimson face he yelled: 
 
 ''Ho! So you are a renegade German, are 
 you? You fight against your o^\ti countr^rmen! 
 "Well, we know the right punishment for that. 
 Get up, you traitor!" and he kicked poor 
 Schnitz brutally. "Drag him along if he won't 
 walk!" cried the captain to his men, and some 
 of them, with ready bayonets, drew nearer to 
 Franz, 
 
w 
 
 CHAPTER Vn 
 
 DAYS OF SORROW 
 
 *<^\7^E'RE smashing- through! We're 
 smashing through!" 
 It Avas Jimmy who cried this. A 
 turn of the battle had thro\\'Ti him in contact 
 with Roger, Bob, and Iggy after some hours of 
 fighting, and once more they were pressing on- 
 ward again. 
 
 There had been only time for a hurried word 
 of inquiry — enough to learn that none of the 
 four was injured at all seriously, though each 
 one had had narrow escapes. 
 
 "Seen anything of Schnitz?'^ cried Jimmy, 
 as he leaped forward to the attack again. 
 
 "He was with us a little while ago," shouted 
 Bob. "I guess we'll find him up ahead!" 
 
 They did not know the fate that had befallen 
 poor Franz. 
 
 53 
 
54 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "Are you all right, Iggy?" asked Eoger. 
 
 ''Sure I iss! Of what is left of me. But I 
 a piece of my tin hat dit leaf behind," and he 
 showed where a bullet or a fragment of shrap- 
 nel had shorn away part of his steel helmet. 
 
 "Close call that," commented Bob. 
 
 "Oh, Avell, I should of worry haf dot it iss 
 not mine head," said Iggy, with a smile. 
 
 And while the four, together with a vast 
 army of Americans, were pressing on, the Ger- 
 mans were being driven back. It is no wonder 
 that Jimmy had cried out that the Allies were 
 smashing through. 
 
 For the spear-head had been beiit back. No 
 longer was it a menace, and, in tl.eir turn, the 
 Americans were forcing one into the German 
 line — a broader spear-head, with the consequent 
 chance of dividing the foe's line and turning 
 either flank. 
 
 "Come on, boys! Come on!" cried a lieu- 
 tenant. "Let's finish the job. Only a few hun- 
 dred more yards, and v/e'll have reached our 
 objective!" 
 
 And on they rushed, some falling, destined 
 never to see the final glory of the American 
 arms, others staggering along, exhausted or 
 wounded, but never slacking while they had life 
 to move. 
 
 And finally, after a desperate struggle, the 
 triumphant cry that Jinuny had raised was 
 shouted all along the line : 
 
DAYS OF SORROW 66 
 
 < ' We 're smashing through ! We 're smashing 
 through!'* 
 
 And, indeed, the German line was smashed 
 at this particular sector. They were fleeing 
 now — the Huns. Throwing aside their guns and 
 equipment, there was a mad struggle to get 
 away — anywhere for safety. 
 
 Back the Germans were pushed. They were 
 in desperation, many of them. They feared the 
 American guns, they feared the American in- 
 fantry, and they feared the ^'Teufel Eirnds" — 
 the "devil dogs" — of Marines. And the fear 
 was translated into flight. 
 
 "Cease filing!" came the whistled order, and 
 it was with thankful hearts that Jimmy and his 
 three Brothers dropped down on the shell- 
 scarred earth, too exhausted to longer hold 
 their guns or even to stack them. It had been 
 a battle to the death, and death had been the 
 portion of many. 
 
 Almost before the panting breath of the tired 
 isoldiers had been throttled down to normal 
 came the order: 
 
 "Dig in!" 
 
 It was expected, but it was none too welcome. 
 Nevertheless, they all knew the necessity of do- 
 ing as they were told. At any moment the Ger- 
 mans might bring up reserves and make a coun- 
 ter-attack. This must be guarded against. 
 
 And so the weary Sammies had to scratch 
 holes in the ground, like veritable animals, to 
 
5 6 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 obtain shelter. Still no one miirmnred. They 
 knew their very lives might depend on this rude 
 shelter. 
 
 But as night settled down it "began to be evi- 
 dent that the Boche had had enongh. He was 
 not going to make a counter-attack — at least 
 not until his scattered forces were collected. 
 
 And then came a rest period, when such food 
 as was available was eaten. It was not much — 
 merely the emergency rations, but the soldiers 
 were glad enough to eat them. They had ad- 
 vanced so far that it Avas impossible to bring 
 up the kitchens in time. 
 
 '^ Where are you going, Jimmy?*' asked 
 Koger, as, after the hasty meal, he saw the 
 young sergeant get up and move about. 
 
 ''I'm going to see if I can get any word of 
 Franz," was the answer. "You say he was 
 with you fellows until just before you met me." 
 
 *'Yes," said Bob. ''He was with us when we 
 were going to attack the house where the ma- 
 chine guns were. One of our shells saved us 
 the trouble. Then we all went on and got into 
 a sort of little gully. Eight after that I missed 
 Franz." 
 
 "I didn't see him after that, either," added 
 Eoger. "I hope he — I hope he's all right," he 
 faltered. 
 
 ' ' Oh, I guess he is, ' ' said Jimmy, but he could 
 not get much conviction into his voice. Truth 
 to tell, Jimmy did not really believe Franz was 
 
DAYS OF SORROW 67 
 
 all right. Of course, lie might have been swept 
 to the right or the left in the waves of fighting 
 and have been kept temporarily with some other 
 detachment than his own. But several hours 
 had now passed since the word had been given 
 to cease firing, and Franz had not rejoined his 
 own company. 
 
 ''I'm going to see if I can get any trace of 
 him," declared Jinmiy. 
 
 ''Maybe I'd better come along," suggested 
 Roger. "Two can hunt better than one." 
 
 "All right," Jimmy assented. "Bob, yon 
 and Iggy stay here. Keep your ears and eyes 
 open. Franz may come back while we're 
 away. ' ' 
 
 Jimmy and Roger obtained permission to go 
 back over the battleground to look for their 
 comrade. It was a gruesome task, and the 
 sights they saw were not pleasant. Here and 
 there the stretcher bearers were busy taking 
 the wounded to the nearest first-aid stations. 
 
 Roger led the v:ay to the last place he had 
 seen Franz. This was the little gull3^ spoken of, 
 where Schnitz had become separated from his 
 companions just before he discovered the three 
 German machine gunners, w^hom he made pris- 
 oners. But, of course, Roger and Jimmy knew 
 nothing of this. 
 
 They searched as best they could in the fast- 
 gathering darkness, but found no trace of Franz 
 Schnitzel, nor did they get any word about him. 
 
58 TH E KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Many to whom the two spoke knew the ser- 
 geant, but they declared they had not seen him 
 except during the early part of the battle. 
 
 "Maybe he'll show up to-morrow," said 
 Roger hopefully, when he and Jimmy turned 
 back to join Bob and Iggy. 
 
 *' Maybe he's back with the boys now," sug- 
 gested Jimmy, trying to believe what he said. 
 
 But when they joined their chums there was 
 no word from the missing "Brother," and it 
 was with sorrowful hearts that they passed the 
 night. Some of them were on guard duty, and 
 through the long watches they waited eagerly 
 for some w^ord. But none came. 
 
 Then followed days of sorrow, for when 
 morning dawned, bringing with it the work of 
 constructing new trenches, Franz had not ap- 
 peared, and when the roll was called he was 
 listed as "missing in action." 
 
 "He's either dead or a prisoner," decided 
 Jimmy, on the third day, when it was certain 
 that Schnitz was not among the wounded. 
 
 "If he were dead wouldn't we find his body?" 
 asked Bob. 
 
 "Not necessarily," answered Jimmy. "If a 
 shell landed near him he " 
 
 But he could not finish. It was not neces- 
 sary. His comrades understood what he meant. 
 
 As for Franz, he was beaten and kicked to 
 his feet and made to stagger on in the midst of 
 his captors. The blow on his head had only 
 
DAYS OF SORROW 59 
 
 stunned him. It was not serious, though very 
 painful, and he felt in a daze as he was stripped 
 of his weapons and most of his possessions and 
 made to march in a round-about way toward 
 the German lines. At this point the two forces 
 were close together, and, as Franz had sur- 
 mised, the Americans had fairly rushed over 
 the machine-gun nest, or rather, they had 
 passed on either side of it. And the Huns were 
 preparing to use the weapon in a. sort of rear 
 action when Franz captured them, only, him- 
 self, to fall a like victim a little later. 
 
 *' Traitor I Dog! Pig!'^ were some of the 
 mildest epithets cast at Franz, as he was half- 
 dragged along. Nor was it all mere words. He 
 was kicked and cuffed, for the Germans seemed 
 to like to vent their spite on him. 
 
 But Schnitz was game. Not a complaint did 
 he utter. But he wondered what would be his 
 fate and whither he was being taken. 
 
 "Another prison camp, I suppose,*' he re- 
 flected bitterly. 
 
CHAPTER Vm 
 
 STARTLING INFORMATION 
 
 COISrVICTION that Franz was in dire 
 straits somewhere became almost cer- 
 tainty with Jimmy and his three chmns 
 as the days went by. But where, they did not 
 know. A earefnl search had failed to reveal 
 his body, and he was not among the wounded 
 brought back to the hospitals. 
 
 But no inquiry could disclose where he was 
 in case the Germans had him a prisoner. 
 JinmiY told his chums that. And there was 
 no positive proof that he was not killed. For 
 mpuy bodies were in such a state as to be un- 
 recognizable, and from some even the identi- 
 ficption disk was missing. 
 
 '^*Poor Franz !'^ sighed Bob, as the four 
 talked it over together in the trenches or in 
 some dugout, for they found several that the 
 
 '60 
 
jSr£22TL/A^£^ INFORMATIO N 61 
 
 Gennans had been forced to abandon. "It's 
 just his luck to be captured again." 
 
 "Well, let's hope that he has that luck," 
 suggested Roger. *'0f course, it's tough luck, 
 all right, but being captured, even by a Hun^ 
 is some better than being killed. There's e, 
 chance if you're a prisoner — always a chance 
 of escaping. But there 's no escape from death. 
 Of course, I know that to be in some of the 
 prison camps is almost worse than death. But 
 let's hope for the best." 
 
 "The worst of it is we can't do anything!" 
 complained Bob. "That's what gets me — Shav- 
 ing to sit here and let him suffer nia7/-be." 
 
 " It is hard, ' ' agreed Jimmy. * * But we aren 't 
 doing much sitting around. There's too much 
 else to be done. I've got to go out on listening 
 post soon." 
 
 "I'm down for sentry go," added Hoger. 
 
 "la letter will write to mine mothar!" de- 
 cided Iggy. "I from being up by de front door 
 haf been, so I get a vacation." 
 
 "You're entitled to it," declared Jimmy. 
 For the Polish lad had been assigned to a 
 trench where German snipers were active, and 
 more than one American had lost his life by the 
 incautious exposure of just the top of his head. 
 Iggy had had the luck to spot one of these pests, 
 and had brought down the Hun, thereby win- 
 ning the gratitude of his comrades. 
 
 But even the hardest kind of duty couid not 
 
62 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 take from the four Brothers the sorrow that 
 was in their hearts over Franz. It was almost 
 worse than knoY\ang he was dead, not to know 
 v/hat had become of him. 
 
 But there was nothing they could do. Jimmy 
 spoke to their captain about it, but the officer 
 shook his head. 
 
 "I've made inquiries," he said, ''but there 
 isn't a trace of the sergeant. Too bad, too, for 
 he was a fine lad. We can only hope. And, if 
 he is gone, make the beasts pay for him!" 
 
 It was about a week after the successful ad- 
 vance of the American forces when the spear- 
 head had been wiped out and the German lines 
 smashed completely through in several places 
 that Jimmy and Koger were detailed to go some 
 distance to the rear mth messages and infor- 
 mation for headquarters. They were assigned 
 to a motorcycle and side car, Jimmy on the 
 machine and Roger riding beside him. 
 
 *'Well, this is a whole lot better than hiking 
 it!" said Jim.my, as they started off. 
 
 * ' I don 't — ^know — that — it — is ! ' ' stuttered 
 Roger, as the car swerved from side to side 
 over the rough roads. ''AVhen you walk you 
 can go slow enough not to bite your tongue, 
 but in this outfit you seem to hit only the high 
 and low spots." 
 
 "It isn't what you'd call an asphalt pave- 
 ment," agreed Jimmy, as he steered to one side 
 to avoid a big shell hole. ' * But we '11 get there. ' ' 
 
STARTLING INFORMATION 
 
 Their jonrnoy was not exactly void of dan- 
 ger, for about halfway to the brigade headquar- 
 ters, where they were to leave their messages, 
 several Hun aeroplanes passed over the Ameri- 
 can lines. And at once some Allied machines 
 came swooping along to give them combat. The 
 German machines dropped several bombs, evi- 
 dently searching out ammunition dumps, and 
 one explosion took place in the road just before 
 Roger and Jimmy passed over the spot on the 
 motorcycle. 
 
 "A\Tiew!" cried Jimmy, as he crouched to 
 avoid the shower of dirt and stones. ' * That was 
 a close one!" 
 
 ''Too close for comfort!" agreed Roger. 
 ' ' Can you get around that hole ? ' ' 
 
 "Just about," murmured Jimmy. **It's 
 some hole!" 
 
 But that was the only bomb that fell near 
 them, and it was evident that it was not 
 dropped for their discomfiture. For, though 
 the Plun airmen might have observed the motor- 
 cycle shooting along beneath them, they would 
 hardly have wasted a big bomb on it, when they 
 might use the same w^eapon to set off a lot of 
 American amm.unition. 
 
 "They're getting a bit too personal," ob- 
 served Roger, as they speeded on. "And look, 
 Jimmy ! There are a lot of our planes going to 
 smash up the Huns now." 
 
 "Good enough!" returned Jimmy, not taking 
 
64> THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 his eyes off the road ahead of him, for careful 
 driving was required. 
 
 *' Maybe the Twinkle Twins are up there,'* 
 added Eoger, gazing aloft. 
 
 *' Maybe," assented Jimmy. And then, strik- 
 ing a f airl^'' good stretch of road, he put on more 
 speed, and they were soon at headquarters. 
 
 Most of the officers, as well as many of the 
 men, were out watching the combat of the air. 
 It soon terminated in favor of the Americans, 
 and when two of the hostile craft had been shot 
 down the others turned tail and fled. 
 
 "I hope our boys got the Hun who dropped 
 the bomb so near us!" exclaimed Koger. 
 
 They delivered their message, and were wait- 
 ing for an answer to be prepared when they ob- 
 served a squad of signal corps men passing on 
 their way to duty. The officer in command had 
 to stop at brigade headquarters for instructions, 
 and, leaving his men standing at ease, he went 
 inside the old farmhouse which served as an 
 office for the commanders. 
 
 ''That's the same outfit the Bixtons are 
 with," said Jimmy to Roger, recalling the in- 
 cident of the dugout and his subsequent recog- 
 nition of the two soldiers who had been talking 
 to the civilians. 
 
 "Are they there now?" asked Roger. 
 
 "Don't see 'em. But maybe I can get some 
 information. I'd like to know if Private Bix- 
 ton, the chap we exposed at Camp Sterling, is 
 
STARTLING INFORMATION 65 
 
 any relation to the two men of the same name 
 here. ' ' 
 
 Jimmy strolled over toward the men of the 
 signal corps who were waiting for the reappear- 
 ance of their officers. Some of the lads who 
 formed part of the *'eyes and ears'' of the 
 army nodded in friendly fashion to the two 
 Khaki Boys, and Jimmy, selecting a man who 
 seemed to be a veteran in fighting and in signal 
 work, remarked: 
 
 "Haven't you a couple of fellows named Bix- 
 ton in yonr outfit?" 
 
 "Why, yes, the Bixton hoys are with us," 
 was the answer of the private to whom Jimmy 
 addressed himself. "That is, they belong to 
 our outfit, but they're not here now. They're 
 going to join us before we go much further to 
 the front, though. Why, do you lads know 
 'em?" 
 
 "Not exactly," returned Jimmy. "We've 
 seen 'em," he added, not specifying where. 
 "But we knew a fellow back home — at Camp 
 Sterling, to be exact — w^hose name was Bixton, 
 and we wondered if he was any relation to these 
 two here." 
 
 "Oh, ho ! so you knew Mike Bixton, did you?" 
 exclaimed the signal corps private, who gave 
 his name as Anson. 
 
 "I didn't know his name was Mike," said 
 Roger. "Guess we never heard his first name, 
 did we, Jimmy?" 
 
66 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 *'Not that I remember. So he's a relative of 
 these Bixtons, is he?" 
 
 **A cousin," volunteered Anson. "Course I 
 don't want to get personal," he went on in a 
 sort of free-and-easy Western style, "but what 
 sort of chap was this Mike Bixton?" 
 
 Jinnny and Eoger hesitated. It was hardly 
 ethics to talk about a fellow soldier, and yet 
 Private Bixton was out of that class. He was 
 a deserter, entitled to no consideration, and lie 
 was worse than a deserter — he was, in fact, a 
 traitor. 
 
 "Well, to be frank, and not to spread bad 
 information, we didn't know very much good 
 about Bixton of Camp Sterling," said Jimmy. 
 
 * ' I thought so ! " chuckled Anson. ' ' I thought 
 where there was so much smoke there must be 
 a bit of fire." 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Roger. 
 
 "Well, these Bixtons here," went on Anson, 
 stepping aside to speak more confidentially to 
 Roger and Jimmy, "are making quite a fuss 
 over their cousin, Mike Bixton." 
 
 "Wliat sort of fussf" asked Jimmy. 
 
 "Oh, saying he didn't get fair treatment, that 
 he was misunderstood, that everybody was 
 down on him, and all that. I don't know all the 
 particulars, but I judge Mike must have been 
 punished in some way at Camp Sterling." 
 
 "He was sent to prison as a deserter," said 
 Jimmy. 
 
STARTLING INFORMATION 67 
 
 ** Cracky! As bad as that! Well, well I I 
 suspected there was an African gentleman in 
 the fuel heap somewhere," chuckled Anson. 
 **That accounts for a lot." 
 
 **A lot of what?" asked Eoger. 
 
 **A lot of talk by these Bixtons. They claim 
 their cousin was persecuted by a couple of lads 
 in Camp Sterling. Say these two lads — ^who- 
 ever they were — did all sorts of mean things to 
 Mike Bixton in the training camp. 
 
 "And what's m.ore," went on the old signal- 
 corp soldier, "these Bixtons here say that if 
 they ever find out who the two camp fellows 
 w^ere who helped send their relative away 
 they'll do all sorts of things to 'em — treat 'em 
 rough, and all that. I'd just like to see what 
 they would do if they found out who the camp 
 lads were. I'd just like to see. I'd give a lot 
 to be there to see what happens when they meet 
 those two fellows. They say it'll go hard with 
 'em. I shouldn't like to be in their shoes. 
 These Bixtons are tough lads and fighters ! If 
 they ever discover the two who were responsible 
 for their cousin's predicament — ^v/hew! there 1i 
 be something doing." 
 
CHAPTEE IX 
 
 UGLY THREATS 
 
 OGER and Jimmy looked at one anotlier. 
 The face of Roger was a bit serious as 
 Signaler Anson shook his head and re- 
 peated : 
 
 *^It'U go hard with the fellows, whoever they 
 are, v\rho were responsible for the Bixtons* 
 cousin going to jail." 
 
 "So you think it wouldn't be wise for the two 
 lads who exposed Mike Bixton to let their iden- 
 tity be known to the two Bixtons in your signal 
 corps, do you?" Jimmy asked. 
 
 *'I*m positive it wouldn't be a bit wise," de- 
 clared Anson. "But I guess it won't ever be 
 known who those two feUows were." 
 
 "Oh, it might be," replied Jimmy easily. 
 "No, sir!" declared Anson. "That is, it 
 won't if it's up to the fellows themselves to 
 
 68 
 
^ UGLY THREATS 69 
 
 make their identity known. They'll lie low if 
 they're wise and not give themselves away to 
 these Bixton lads. They're fighters, I tell you, 
 these two fellows — and bad fighters at that." 
 **W<;11, so are we!" exclaimed Jinmiy, ajid in 
 such a tf^>ne that Anson looked curiously at him, 
 
 aid askeci* 
 
 ^'"Wlid. do you mean? By any chance are 
 you " 
 
 **Yes, we're the two fellows who had a hand 
 in putting Mike Bixton where he belongs," de- 
 clared Jimmy. *' Blaise is my name, and this is 
 Eoger Barlow," and he nodded at hia chunL 
 *'He and I," he went on, "did the most, I sup- 
 pose, in finding out Mike Bixton 's mean tricks 
 and exposing him. Of course, others helped 
 us, but we did the most. And I am glad we did. 
 I'd do it over again if I had to! This Bixton 
 was one of the meanest sneaks that ever came 
 over the pike ! He tried to put the blame for a 
 rotten trick on one of our friends. But his 
 plan didn't work! Jail is too good a place for 
 Mike Bixton." 
 
 "And are you really the fellows who put him 
 there?" asked Anson. 
 
 "We two!" declared Roger, backing up Ms 
 chum. 
 
 "I wouldn't have believed it!" confessed An- 
 son. "I mean you look like peaceable chaps," 
 he added. 
 
 "Oh, we can fight when we have to," said 
 
TO THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Jimmy, with i laugE. '*j£nd anotlier tHng. If 
 these two Bixtons here want to know who it was 
 that sent their cousin to jail, just refer them to 
 
 us. If " 
 
 At that moment Anson looked over 'Ti„^3^2vy's 
 head and what he saw seemed to ast< ^nish. Hm. 
 Ke made a frantic sign to Jimrnv / Bl'^ v'i^j W^ 
 that lad, uncomprehending, went on saying: 
 
 "If these Bixtons here want to know who sent 
 their cousin to jail, tell them Ave did — Roger 
 Barlow and Jimmy Blaise, both sergeants in 
 the 509th Infantry. Tell 'em that!" 
 
 **Tou can tell 'em yourself," said Anson, 
 with a queer grin on his face. ''There the two 
 Bixtons are, right behind you!" 
 
 Jimmy wheeled, to see the two soldiers he 
 had noticed in the dugout confronting him. At 
 least, he was almost certain they were the same 
 ones, though, as he admitted later, he might 
 have been mistaken. But there was no mistak- 
 ing the fact now that the two Bixtons were 
 ugly-looking chaps. They scowled at Jim- 
 my and Roger, and Aleck advanced threat- 
 eningly. 
 
 "Did you say your name was Blaise?" he 
 asked Jinuny. 
 
 "Yes," was the quiet answer. 
 
 "And his name is Barlow?" 
 
 "That's me," admitted Roger cheerfully. 
 
 "Well, we heard what you were saying juat 
 now to Anson," went on Aleck Bixton. "Did 
 
UGLY THREATS 71 
 
 you mean what you said, or was it just a stall? 
 Did you two send our cousin Mike to jail!" 
 
 ''If your cousin was Mike Bixton, of Camp 
 Sterling, we certainly did ! ' ' said Jimmy calmly. 
 
 ''WerC'i^^^xlt^e — gassed!" ejaculated Wilbur 
 Bixton. "Sa>l, ycu fellows certainly have your 
 
 nervt^vJA^iV^-n'" 
 
 ..rt,.e, retTLiie settle with these dubs!" broke 
 in Aleck, mth a voice like the growl of an angry 
 bear. "I'll just tell 'em where they get off." 
 
 He strode forward, his fists clenched, his 
 under jaw shot out, his eyes half closed. He 
 bore every mark of the bully and fighter. 
 Thrusting his face almost into the countenance 
 of Jimmy Blaise, Aleck Bixton snarled : 
 
 "Now look here, you fresh bloke, you're in 
 for a fine time! My brother and I have been 
 looking for a long while to find the fellows who 
 played Mike that dirty trick. We began to 
 think we wouldn't ever locate 'em ; but we have ! 
 You're the two, so you say. Well, I want to 
 tell you that you were fools to give yourselves 
 away, though we're mighty glad you did. It 
 saves us a lot of trouble trying to find you." 
 
 "Then are you glad you found us?" asked 
 Jimmy. 
 
 "You said it! Now you're in for the finest 
 licking you ever had. I'm going to give you 
 one, and my brother '11 give you another. AVe 're 
 going to beat you up good and proper, and then 
 we'U write back and tell Mike we met you. He 
 
72 THE KHAKI BOYS FI GHTING TO WIN 
 
 p:ave ns your names, but we didn't know where 
 to look for you. Now we've found you, and, 
 say, what we won't do to you won't be worth 
 making a report on ! Come on, Wilbur, tp.ke oli 
 your coat and start in on tliis othfy-r .^'T^^ jwliile I 
 polish off this Blaise. I'll blazn' l,i ^c^ f' r 
 him!" J I \j 
 
 "Not here I" exclaimed An«on. .'i-ou: ca^i 
 fight here!" 
 
 ^'We can't? You juct watch me!'* snapped 
 Aleck. *'I'm going to " 
 
 "No you're not !" broke in his brother, catch- 
 ing him by the arm and pulling him back. 
 "We'll have to wait — here come the officers!" 
 
 As he spoke a group of brigade officers 
 passed, and the two Bixtons, as well as Jimmy 
 and Roger, saluted. The officers stood in a 
 group not far away, di'^ru'^sing some matter. 
 Obviously it was not the place for a fight. Even 
 Aleck recognized that. 
 
 "All right!" he growled. "This '11 have to 
 wait. But don't get it in your head that we'll 
 forget — you two I " he added. ' * I said we 'd beat 
 you up and we will — good and proper! Only 
 we'll have to take another time. The next time 
 we meet you there'll be something doing — don't 
 forget that. There'll be something doing! 
 We'll nx you yet, Blaise and Barlow!" 
 
 "That's what we will!" chimed in Wilbur. 
 "We'll make you sorry you ever sent poor Mike 
 to jail!" 
 
UGLY THREATS 73 
 
 "I doubt yonr last statement," said Jimmy, 
 in an easy, though low voice, for none of the 
 disputants cared to have the officers overhear 
 theuL "Mike deserved to go to jail, and there's 
 where he is now, if he hasn't escaped. And 
 we'll never be sorry we had a hand in sending 
 him there. It's where he belongs!" 
 
 *'Say, you — you " spluttered Aleck. 
 
 "Cut it out — here comes our captain!" 
 warned Wilbur in a low voice. "We'll settle 
 with 'em later ! ' ' 
 
 "That's what we will!" snapped out Aleck, 
 as he moved away w^ith the signal corps. And, 
 as they passed on, the two Bixtons cast angry 
 looks at the Khaki Boys. 
 
 But if they imagined that these looks troubled 
 Roger or Jimmy, the two who had uttered such 
 dreadful threats were utterly mistaken. The 
 Khaki Boys only smiled, though as Anson, who 
 was a middle-aged man, marched on, he shook 
 his head dubiously. 
 
 Jimmy and Eoger stood for a moment look- 
 ing after the departing signal corps members. 
 The two Bixtons carried the black box, as on 
 the occasion when Jimmy had seen them be- 
 fore. 
 
 "Well, what do you think of it?" asked Roger 
 of his chum. 
 
 "I don't think much of them!" exclaimed 
 Jinamy. 
 
 "Me either. Think they'll try any rough 
 
74 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 stuff? Not that I'm worrying," he went on. 
 "I'm just wondering." 
 
 **Well, they may try to give us a nasty turn 
 if they get us alone." admitted Jimmy. "But 
 we '11 take a chance. These fellows may he what 
 Anson said they were — scrappers and fighters. 
 And it may be that they are just bluffs — talk- 
 ers, Avind bags." 
 
 "They struck me a bit that way," admitted 
 Roger. "But say, you know you spoke of their 
 being in the dugout that time. Are you sure, 
 now, that they were there?" 
 
 ' ' Pretty certain, ' ' admitted Jimmy. * ' I don 't 
 know that I'm certain enough of it to report 
 to the captain, but in my o^vn mind I feel pretty 
 sure. I'm going to keep my eyes open, how- 
 ever. If those fellows are up to any underhand 
 work we '11 find out about it. ' ' 
 
 "I wouldn't put it past them to try some- 
 thing like that," said Roger. "Now that we 
 know they're of the same family of Bixtons as 
 the fellow at Camp Sterling we know what to 
 expect. ' ' 
 
 "You said it!" declared Jimmy earnestly. 
 "Well, I guess here comes our reply message. 
 We '11 have to hit the back trail. ' ' 
 
 A little later they were on their way over the 
 rough roads toward the trenches where their 
 company was quartered, waiting again for the 
 word to go over the top and attack the Huns. 
 
 As Roger and Jimmy reached their comrades 
 
UGLY THREATS 75 
 
 they saw Bob and Iggy strolling along a camou- 
 flaged road that led to some of the dugouts and 
 trenches. 
 
 "Any news from Franz?" asked Jinuny, as 
 he slowed down the motorcycle. 
 
 Bob shook his head, and Iggy answered : 
 
 "No, not efen a letter!" 
 
 "Huh ! Fat chance he has of sending a letter 
 if he's in a German prison camp!" said Jimmy, 
 a bit gloomily. "I don't wish him any bad 
 luck," he went on, "but I'd rather laiow he was 
 in a camp than — well than som.ewhere else, as 
 long as he can't be with us," he finished, and 
 his chums understood what he meant. 
 
 After Roger and Jimmy had delivered their 
 answer and had reported back to their company, 
 which was stationed in a fairly comfortable 
 dugout, they told Bob and Iggy of their ex- 
 perience with the two Bixtons. 
 
 "Say, Franz ought to meet them!" declared 
 Bob. "He could tell them something about 
 Mike and the ground glass and poison list that 
 would change their mind about the character of 
 their sweet cousin. ' ' 
 
 "I don't believe anyone could change their 
 minds," affirmed Jimmy. "They're too mean, 
 themselves, for that. Well, Roger and I are not 
 worrying. Now then, what's the news here 
 since we went away? Any rumors of a fight?" 
 
 ' ' Plenty of 'em ! " said Bob. " The air is full 
 of rumors, and I guess it will soon be fuU of 
 
76 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 bnllets. We're going over the top again in the 
 morning. ' * 
 
 *' Well, the sooner the better," said Jimmy. 
 And though he spoke lightly there was an un- 
 dercurrent of meaning in his words. Going 
 over the top in the morning always meant many 
 gaps in the ranks the following night. But it 
 had to be done. 
 
 The Khaki Boys were sitting in their dugout 
 awaiting their turn to go on duty, a turn which 
 would come soon after mess, when they were 
 startled by hearing out in the main trench 
 excited cries of: 
 
 *'No! No! It can't be done! It's agin th' 
 regerlations ! " 
 
 And then, as if in an answering chorus in a 
 play, there sounded deep voices, saying: 
 
 ''We want pie! We want pie!" 
 
 **0h, fer th' love of spoons, let me alone, will 
 you? Ain't it hard enough to give you reg'ler 
 stuff without havin' you ask fer pie? Pie! 
 "W^iy, my great wash boiler, how'm I goin' to 
 make pie ? It can't be done, I tell you ! It can't 
 be done!" 
 
 And again came in solemn chorus. 
 
 **We want pie! We want pie!" 
 
 The Khaki Boys looked at one another won- 
 deringly. 
 
CHAPTER S 
 
 DISQUIETING RUMORS 
 
 ""^VTELL,'^ remarked Jimmy, as he fin- 
 
 W/ ished the cleaning of his revolvei 
 and started toward the door of the 
 dugout, "if those voices weren't in English I'd 
 say the Germans had put one over on us and 
 were raiding the trench for pie. ' ' 
 
 "Sounds something like that," admitted Bob. 
 "What's it all about, anyhow?" 
 
 "Let's take a look," suggested Roger. 
 
 "And should it be dat some pies iss out there, 
 maybe we could of take more as a look," put in 
 Iggy. "Maybe a bite we could of took." 
 
 "You said something that time, Iggy!" 
 laughed Bob. 
 
 The four Brothers stepped out into the 
 trench. It was not one of the front line trenches, 
 and was not in very great danger from a Ger- 
 man bombardment, 
 
 77 
 
78 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 What the Khaki Boys saw was a mnch per- 
 plexed company cook, a tall, lanky Western lad, 
 trying to stand off the good-natured verbal 
 attacks of a crowd of hungry doughboys who 
 had just been relieved from a rather long tour 
 in the front trenches. 
 
 * * We want pie ! We want pie ! ' ' they solemnly 
 chanted, as though it were a dirge. 
 
 **An' by Gregory Josephus I tell you it's 
 agin the regerlations ! " declared Hiram Miller, 
 the cook. '^How'm I goin' to give you fellows 
 pie, when I ain't got so much as a prune, now, 
 to make it of? An' no flour — ^no nothin', in 
 fact! You an' your pie! If you git canned 
 Willie you ought to be thankful. Canned Willie 
 an' beans is all the grub I've got." 
 
 At this mention of canned corned beef, gen- 
 erally dubbed ''Willie," or ''Bill," there was a 
 groan from the lads who had just come off 
 duty. 
 
 *' Beans!" cried one. "I'm ashamed to look 
 a bean in the eye." 
 
 "Beans don't have eyes — you're thinking of 
 potatoes!" was a retort. 
 
 "Well, give us potatoes then, but not beans, 
 Cookie!" 
 
 "Make it a beef stew with plenty of gravy!" 
 shouted a burly chap. 
 
 "Pie! Pie! We want pie!" came the grim 
 chorus again. 
 
 "Say, you fellers '11 drive me crazy!" stormed 
 
DISQUIETING RUMORS 79 
 
 the cook, shaking his lists in the air. ''There 
 ain't no such animile as pie, gol ding it!" 
 
 ''Give ns pudding then!" someone suggested. 
 
 "Oh say! By Hezekiah Slifkins!" cried the 
 cook. "If you fellers want puddin' make it 
 yourselves ! I 'm through ! ' ' 
 
 Bob had a sudden inspiration. As he saw the 
 tired, careworn faces of the lads who had just 
 come in from a nerve-racking tour of duty, ex- 
 posed to death and danger — faces which, in the 
 ordinary course of events, were too young to 
 have such strained looks. Bob wished he could 
 do something to help relieve them. And, from 
 his o^\Ti experience, he knew that food would 
 do this. 
 
 "And there is food — and food," he told him- 
 self. 
 
 The daily mess of the trench was not very 
 elaborate — in the nature of things it could not 
 be. And one of the great cravings of the fight- 
 ers was for sweets. That is why there was such 
 a lot of chocolate used. 
 
 ' ' Pie ! Pie ! We want pie ! ' ' came the doleful 
 chant again. 
 
 "By Theophilus Porkenheimer!" shouted the 
 cook, "if I hear that there word agin, I'll " 
 
 "Say," said Bob, sliding up to him, "have 
 you any bread or crackers'?" 
 
 "Yes, I've got lots of that, son. Fresh supply 
 jest come in." 
 
 "Got any molasses and condensed milkl" 
 
80 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 **Yep. But say, that ain't pie, nor yet pud- 
 din'." 
 
 "Maybe we can turn it into something like 
 it," T'ent on Bob, "if we've got any prunes in 
 tijis dump " 
 
 "Prunes! By Hezekiah Albatross!" cried 
 the cook, "there ain't a prune nigher'n ten 
 mile!" 
 
 "Yes there is!" asserted one of the dough- 
 boys. ' ' The supply company in the next trench 
 has a lot of 'em, but they're short of condensed 
 milk. If we could make a trade " 
 
 "Go try it!" cried Bob. "If— weU, well 
 make some prune slump." 
 
 ""Who's 'we,' an' what's *prune slump'?" 
 asked the cook. "Dunne's I ever hearn tell 
 of it." 
 
 "By *Ave' I mean Jimmy, Roger, Iggy and I 
 can make prune slump, '^ Avent on Bob. "I sup- 
 pose you'd call it plum duff in the navy. But 
 you take some prunes, stew 'em, make a sort of 
 batter of crumbled-up bread or crackers, slap in 
 some molasses and condensed milk, and halve it 
 in a pan. We used to have it at Camp Sterling. 
 'M';mber, Jimmy"?" 
 
 "I should say so! Go to it, kiddo!" 
 
 "Here are the prunes!" cried a lad, coming 
 back with a big bag full. "They were crazy to 
 trade 'em for condensed milk. Trot out your 
 cans. Cookie." 
 
 'AH right. By Chesapeake Bay, maybe 
 
 <( 
 
DISQUIETING RUMORS 81 
 
 there HI somethin ' come of this after all ! Prnne 
 slump! I'll try to make it, boys, but I ain't 
 guaranteein' nothin'. 'Twon't be pie, but 
 mebby it'll take on a flavor of piiddin'! I'll 
 make it." 
 
 ''Bully for you, Dalton, old scoift, for think- 
 ing of it," said one of the lads who had de- 
 manded pie. "We're crazy for something lilie 
 that. It '11 be like a little bit of home. ' ' 
 
 *'0r Ireland!" suggested a quiet looking lad. 
 
 Then someone started to sing a popular song. 
 They all joined in, and the cook, with a look of 
 relief on his face, hastened back to the rude 
 shelter that served for a kitchen and began to 
 prepare the prune slump. 
 
 It was a great success, and the name of Bob 
 Dalton was long remembered among his asso- 
 ciates who partook of the concoction, for it was 
 just that, being, as one lad remarked, about as 
 unknown a mixture as a beef stew. But it was 
 good. They all voted that. 
 
 It was dark when Jimmy, Roger, Bob and 
 Iggy went on duty up to one of the front 
 trenches. They were on a sector where activity 
 might break out at any moment, and there was 
 need for great alertness. 
 
 Jimmy and Roger, assigned to one platoon, 
 were to take turns doing sentry duty in one 
 traverse, while Iggy and Bob were sent to an- 
 other near by. 
 
 Jimmy took his place on the fire step, and 
 
82 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WI N 
 
 there he would stand until relieved, never tak- 
 ing his eyes from that grim stretch of dark 
 earth in front of him, called ' ' No Man 's Land. ' ' 
 Qii the other side of it were the German 
 trenches, and from them, at any moment, might 
 issne the Boche fighters in a raid. 
 
 Roger crouched as comfortably as he could at 
 Jimmy's feet, ready to transmit to the plafoon 
 officer any information which Jimmy might 
 whisper to him, loud talking being forbidden. 
 
 The night, however, seemed destined to be 
 quiet. Up and down, to Jimmy's right and left, 
 stretched the narrow strip of No Man's Land. 
 Directly in front of the American trenches was 
 barbed wire, fantastically tangled on posts lean- 
 ing every which way. In front of the German 
 trenches was more wire, similarly twisted. This 
 wire was to stop a sudden rush in either direc- 
 tion. 
 
 In the silence and darkness of the night the 
 Khaki Boys kept watch and ward to guard 
 against surprise. Doubtless, the same watch 
 was kept on the German side. 
 
 Soon after going on duty Jimmy felt a fine 
 drizzle of rain in his face. The fact was un- 
 pleasantly borne to the knowledge of the others, 
 and there was whispered grumbling. But it had 
 to be endured, and it was fortunate that the lads 
 had on their trench coats. 
 
 ' ' Pleasant — not ! ' ' said Roger in a low voice, 
 as he sprawled in the mud at Jimmy's feet. 
 
DISQUIETING RUMORS 83 
 
 ''Oil, it migM be worse. I'm wondering what 
 poor Schnitz is doing now. ' ' Jimmy never took 
 Ms eyes off No Man's Land. 
 
 "That's so," went on Roger. "I wish we 
 knew. Oh ! " he suddenly exclaimed. 
 
 "What's the matter? See something?" asked 
 Jimmy quickly, but not turning his head to ob- 
 serve the shadowy form of his chum. 
 
 "No. But I felt something ! Rat as big as a 
 fox terrier. Ugh! he nipped me on the shoe. 
 Dirty brute ! ' ' 
 
 "Part of the gay and festive life we live," 
 murmured Jimmy. "Well, it can't last forever, 
 that's one consolation." 
 
 Then he became silent — he and Roger. They 
 waited in the trench for something to happen. 
 And it did happen, but not in their immediate 
 neighborhood. 
 
 For suddenly, about half a mile down the 
 trench to Jimmy's left, there was a brilliant 
 burst of fire, and a moment later the sound of 
 sharp firing from the German trenches was 
 borne to the ears of the Khaki Boys. 
 
 Instantly the traverses on both sides, and far 
 up and down the line, were in tense activity. 
 The waiting Sammies sprang to the firing step 
 alongside of Roger and Jimmy, and, doubtless, 
 in the German trenches the same scenes were 
 taking place. The din was terrific, even though, 
 so early in the conflict, the artillery had not yet 
 eome into play. 
 
84 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 But presently the big guns began to boom, 
 and then it became evident that the attack of 
 the Germans, for such it turned out to be, was 
 ?igainst a sector some distance removed from 
 where the Khaki Boys were on duty. They, 
 with their companions, were held in reserve. 
 They remained to guard the trench. After the 
 exchange of a few shots with their unseen Hun 
 adversaries, quiet once more settled down over 
 that part of the lines. But a sharp engagement 
 was going on to the left, and the next morning 
 it was learned that the Boches had cjiptured a 
 number of Americans, having surprised them. 
 It was not all clear gain, however, for several 
 of the Huns were killed. 
 
 And when Jimmy and his chums went off duty 
 they heard disquieting rumors to the effect that 
 the Germans must have had information about 
 the weakness of the line that they attacked. 
 For it was weak, and that was the reason the 
 raid was so successfully made. 
 
 **How did the Germans know itf asked 
 Roger. 
 
 *' Someone on our side gave the information," 
 said Jimmy. * * At least, that 's what I heard. * ' 
 
 **You mean traitors?" gasped Bob. 
 
 **It amounts to that — yes," was Jimmy's 
 reply. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE SIGNALS 
 
 "^AY, where 'd you hear all this?" de- 
 
 ^% manded Roger. *'Is it straight goods?" 
 
 ^^ "Sure it is," answered Jimmy. Talk 
 of it all over. I got it from one of the orderlies 
 at brigade headquarters." 
 
 **Just what was it?" Boh asked. 
 
 "Iss der German brutes by us goin' to come 
 again?" asked Iggy. 
 
 '*If they do I hope they don't find us as un- 
 prepared as the bunch was last night," re- 
 marked Jimmy, gloomily enough. *'It was a 
 bad piece of business. But it wouldn't have 
 happened if the Huns hadn't laiown some of the 
 reserves had been pulled away from that 
 sector." 
 
 "Were they?" was Bob's question. 
 
 "Yes," answered Jimmy, who had acquired 
 considerable of this disquieting information. 
 
 8s 
 
86 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 *'Our side was planning a big raid, but not ia 
 this immediate neighborhood. On that account 
 the headquarters staff sent for some of our re- 
 serves. They were taken off quietly enough, 
 and it was thought the Germans wouldn't get 
 wise to the fact. But they did, and they took 
 a jump over, and got away with it, worse 
 luck!" 
 
 *'And you saj'" it was because of treachery on 
 the part of someone on our side?" asked Roger. 
 
 *' That's the story," admitted his chum. 
 "You'll hear the talk as soon as you circulate 
 around a bit. It's a rotten shame, that's what 
 it is!" 
 
 "But how did anyone from our side get over 
 to the German lines without being shot— unless 
 he took the part of a spy and put on a German 
 uniform?" asked Bob. 
 
 ''They didn't go over — they sent signals," 
 went on Jimmy. "And those signals are what 
 gave away the weak spot in our lines." 
 
 "Signals!" exclaimed his chums. "What 
 kind?" 
 
 "Different kinds," replied the young ser- 
 geant. "Last night there were light signals, 
 but, of course, signals could be sent by day 
 also, using smoke balls. You know we have a 
 new machine for that." 
 
 ' ' I didn 't know it, ' ' admitted Roger. * ' What 
 is it?" 
 
 "Well, I saw one up at the signal corps head- 
 
THE SIGNALS 87 
 
 quarters the other day. It looked like a big 
 soup kettle with a stove pipe sticking out the 
 top, and there were levers on the sides. I asked 
 one of the fellows how it worked, and he showed 
 me. 
 
 "Of course it's easy enough to make different 
 colored fire signals at night," w^ent on Jimmy. 
 "You've all seen them, even on Fourth of July. 
 But it isn't so easy to signal by smoke in the 
 daytime — or, rather, it wasn't until this ma- 
 chine was invented. Befor6 that they could 
 send up puffs of white or dark smoke, just as 
 the Indians used to signal from one mountain 
 top to the other. 
 
 "But one of the signal corps men invented 
 this 'smoke kettle,' as I'll call it. The smoke 
 clouds can be made of almost any color — red, 
 green or yellow. And there are white ones, too. 
 It's all done by chemicals. When you pull one 
 lever it sends a certain mixture of chemicals 
 into the caldron. They form a ball of dense, 
 colored smoke. A puff of compressed air sends 
 the ball out up through the 'stove pipe,' as I'll 
 call it, and it sails up into the air, keeping its 
 round shape, like a cloud. 
 
 "I suppose they have some code, or combina- 
 tion, by which a certain number of smoke balls 
 of a stated color sent up at definite intervals 
 mean something to the man who sees 'em." 
 
 "Did the traitors send up signals that way!" 
 asked Bob. 
 
88 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 *'I'm not certain of that. All I know is that 
 the smoke balls by day and the colored fires by 
 night are the means used by the regular signal 
 corps. Whether the traitors took a leaf from 
 their book, or stole one of the caldron ma- 
 chines and nsed it, I don't know. But it gave 
 our weakness away all right, and we got in 
 Dutch." 
 
 ** Rotten work!" exclaimed Roger, and the 
 others agreed with him. 
 
 **Dose craters should of be put in do smoke 
 ball and dropped by a bomb yet!" declared 
 
 iggy. 
 
 "That's right, old scout!" exclaimed Jimmy. 
 "Only don't call 'em 'craters,' Iggy, lad. 
 You're thinking of a shell-hole. * Traitors' is 
 the word," and he spelled it. 
 
 "I of thankfulness to you am," said Iggy. 
 "English, she is of mos' queer talk to learn, 
 but I will on keep." 
 
 "Only way to do!" said Jimmy. 
 
 The information he had given his chnms they 
 soon verified by hearing the talk in and out of 
 the trenches of the disaster of the pre^'ious 
 night. That the American plans had been be- 
 trayed by someone withm the Allied lines was 
 evident. In no other way could the Germ^ins 
 have known that the supporting reserves had 
 been mthdraA\Ti. And because of the demorali- 
 zation caused by the success of the German raid 
 it was impossible, for the time bein^^, to go on 
 
THE SIGNALS 89 
 
 with the plans of using the massed reserves, as 
 had been hoped. 
 
 That afternoon, following mess, when Roger 
 and Bob were on their way to the rear with a 
 message to headquarters they met Captain 
 Dickerson. He was in company?" with other 
 officers attached to the secret service, and as 
 the captain, who had once been suspected by 
 the boys of being a spy, passed them he ac- 
 knowledged their salute and paused to speak to 
 them. 
 
 **I was wondering if we had any trace of 
 them, sir?" said Bob, suggestively. 
 
 "Trace of whom?" inquired the captain with 
 a good-natured smile. 
 
 *'The fellows who sent signals from our lines 
 and brought on the raid last night," said 
 Roger. 
 
 "Oh, so youVe heard that story, too?" asked 
 the captain. 
 
 "Isn't it true?" 
 
 "Well, I'm not going to deny or affirm it,'* 
 said Captain Dickerson, with a half smile. "But 
 you boys seem to have luck in digging up mys- 
 terious matters, so if you hear of any bunch of 
 fellows acting in a queer way or having certain 
 chemicals in their possession you might let me 
 know. ' ' 
 
 "We will, sir!" promised Bob, and Roger 
 nodded his assent. 
 
 "I'll say this much," went on the captain. 
 
90 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "The secret service department is working hard 
 to locate the place where the signals came from, 
 and trying to discover who sent them — if any 
 were sent." The secret service official added 
 this in order to be in conformity with his former 
 statement of not admitting anything. 
 
 "We'll be on the watch as best we can,** 
 promised Roger. 
 
 Captain Dickerson walked on with other 
 officers from the secret service department of 
 the army, and Bob and Roger regarded each 
 other with serious eyes. 
 
 "There's more to this than appears," de- 
 clared Roger. 
 
 "I believe yon," agreed his ehnm. 
 
 And in the days that followed they learned 
 this more fully. For the location of a number 
 of American batteries and machine gun nests 
 was, in some manner, disclosed to the enemy. 
 In consequence there was a shelling of these 
 spots by the Germans, and considerable damage 
 was done. 
 
 In one instance a battery had been carefully 
 planted in a certain place and carefully camou- 
 flaged. It was hoped, after all the guns were in 
 place, to open up a fusillade on a strong German 
 position and carry it. This would have removed 
 a menace from the American lines — a sort of 
 small angle from which a raking fire was often 
 sent. 
 
 But the night before the battery was to have 
 
THE SIGNALS 91 
 
 opened it was almost completely destroyed by 
 German shell fire. And the shells came with 
 such accuracy, falling through the Ci. ViOuflaged 
 screen, that it could not be doubted t-ie exact 
 location of the cannon was known to t! o Huns. 
 
 "But if the signals can be seen by the Ger- 
 mans, why can't they be seen by our men?" 
 asked Roger. "And if they are seen, the loca- 
 tion ought to be easy to come at." 
 
 "I don't kno'>v wlipt the reason is," replied 
 Jimmy, "but I know they haven't discovered 
 the traitors as yet. It's getting serious, let me 
 tell you!" 
 
 "I should say so!" agreed Bob. 
 
 It was about a week after the discovery that 
 secret signals Avere aiding the Germans that 
 Jinuny, coming back from a visit to the hospital 
 where he had called to see a wounded chum, 
 startled his friends by saying: 
 
 "I've heard from Franz!" 
 
 "No!" cried Bob incredulously. 
 
 "Yes," asserted Jiiumy emphatically. 
 "Listen while I tell you!" 
 
CHAPTER Xn 
 
 NEWS FROM THE AIR 
 
 "N 
 
 OW don't get all worked np with hope,'* 
 went on Jimmy, as his chums gath- 
 ered about him. "While I have news 
 from poor old Schnitz, it isn't exactly good 
 news. " 
 
 "Is it bad?" demanded Bob. 
 "Is he deaded alretty yet!" came from Iggy. 
 "No. And I'm glad I can say that much," 
 replied Jimmy. "He isn't dead, but he's in a 
 German prison. You know we've sort of hoped 
 that ever since he was missing. Rather have 
 liim there than dead or badly wounded, you 
 know. ' ' 
 
 "Wlio told you he was in a prison camp?" 
 asked Roger. 
 
 "One of the wounded boys in the hospital. 
 You know I went to see Boswick, who used to 
 be our top sergeant. Well, next to him was a 
 
 92 
 
NEWS FROM THE AIR 98 
 
 fellow who was hurt on the head and w^io's 
 been out of his mind since then. Day beiore 
 yesterday he got his senses back again, r.nd 
 to-day he was quite v. lot improved. He heard 
 me telling Boswick that Franz was miss'iig, and 
 this fellow, whose name is Waydell, told me 
 about Franz. 
 
 ''It seems he was not very far av/ay from old 
 Schnitz when the thing happened. He saw 
 Schnitz take some German prisoners from a 
 machine gun nest and start to march them to 
 the rear. Then this fellow saw cur friend, who 
 must have been tickled to death with his fent — 
 He saw Schnitz run into a bunch cf Hms. 
 They took Schnitz 's prisoners away from 'lim, 
 though he did some damage before they had 
 things their o-^^m Avay. And then they just nat- 
 urally copped Schnitz and hustled him off. ' ' 
 
 "Well, why in the world didn't this Waydell 
 help Schnitz out?" demanded Bob. 
 
 *'He had the wound that put him out of busi- 
 ness and later sent him to dreamland for a long 
 time. But I'm glad he came to. It gives us 
 definite information about Franz, and that's 
 what we want. ' ' 
 
 "We want him back, too!" exclaimed Eoger. 
 
 "Oh, of course," agreed Jimmy. "But it's 
 something to Imow where he is. ' ' 
 
 "We don't — that is, we don't know exactly," 
 remarked Bob. 
 
 "No, only that he's in some German camp. 
 
9^ THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 But there's always a chance that he may get 
 oat/' went on Jimmy. "We'll hope for that." 
 
 Ii^f^y gave a heavy sigh. 
 
 "What's the matter?" asked Roger. 
 
 "I so sorry am for Fr 'nz," was the answer. 
 "Besser as I was a prisoner myself than him." 
 
 "Why?" Jimmy queried. 
 
 " 'Cause he iss of a Germans like. Hims 
 name is Germans, and once anudder time, when 
 he wass a prison camp in good treatment he 
 got not." 
 
 "I should say he didn't!" declared Roger. 
 
 "Well, den I am 'fraid like he will of the 
 sam9 treatment gets now," proceeded Iggy. 
 "Miiybe he will not of stand it." 
 
 Tjiere was silence for a moment, and then 
 Jimray said softly: 
 
 "Well, we can only hope for the best." 
 
 The four Khaki Boys discussed over again 
 the news Jinuny had brought from the hospital. 
 Gloomy as it was in itself, it was more cheering 
 than no news at all, and for many days they had 
 had none to indicate what might have been the 
 fate of their missing chum. 
 
 "We may be able to find out what prison 
 camp he's in," suggested Roger. 
 
 "What good would that do?" questioned Bob. 
 
 "Well, we might raid it and set him free, as 
 well as any other poor boys of ours and the 
 Allies that are held there. ' ' 
 
 "Fat chance!" murmured Jinuny. 
 
NEWS FROM THE AIR 95 
 
 "It could be done mth aeroplanes, if we could 
 get enough," declared Roger. ''The next time 
 I see the Twinkle Twins I'm going to ask them 
 to keep a lookout for Franz at any of the Ger- 
 man prison camps over which they fly." 
 
 ''Your intentions are good, but it's a hopeless 
 case that way, ' ' sighed Jimmy, and, after think- 
 ing it over, Roger said he thought he would 
 have to agree to this. But still he kept on 
 hoping, as did his chums, that some means 
 would be found to rescue Franz. 
 
 "If he can stand the life long enough, well 
 fight our way through Germany and raze every 
 one of their horrible prison camps!" exclaimed 
 Bob hotly. 
 
 "May that day come soon," murmured 
 Roger. 
 
 And slowly, but surely, that day was coming. 
 Hour by hour, almost, the great army of Ameri- 
 cans was growing in France. Inch by inch the 
 detested Huns were being pushed back, fighting 
 stubbornly at every step. Skirmishes and 
 small battles were frequent, and trench raids 
 took place on both sides nearly every night. 
 
 It was one nasty, rainy night about a week 
 after Jimmy had received the news that Franz 
 was a prisoner that, as the four Khaki Boys 
 were on duty in a firing trench, word was passed 
 along to be more than usually on the alert. 
 
 "Why? Are we going to attack?" asked Bob 
 of the platoon oflScer. 
 
06 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "We may, if things turn out a certain way,'* 
 was the answer. "We have made certain plana 
 which will be disclosed in due time. Just be 
 on the alert. ' ' 
 
 And, taking their turns at being "observation 
 sentinels," Jimmy and his chums strained their 
 eyes as they looked across dark and rainy No 
 Man 's Land for the first sign of any activity on 
 the part of the Germans. 
 
 There ws a tense feeling in the air, as though 
 something portended, and this feeling had a 
 basis in fact, for shortly before da^\^l the Ger- 
 man batteries suddenly opened fire on the line 
 of trenches held by Jimmy, his chums, and 
 others of the 509th. 
 
 "Are v/e going over the top?" cried Bob, as, 
 by the distant flashes of fire from the German 
 guns, he saw their platoon officer. It was safe 
 to talk, or even shout, now, for there was no 
 danger of giving an alarm to the Huns. "Are 
 we going over the top ? ' ' 
 
 "Not in the face of that fire, at all events," 
 was the grim answer. "The Boches have 
 started the ball in earnest. " 
 
 Every second the blasts from the German 
 guns increased in intensity, and their effect was 
 felt in the trench that sheltered the Khaki Boys. 
 
 "A¥hat's the matter with our artillery?" 
 cried Jimmy. "TiTiy don't they give Fritz 
 some of his own medicine?" • 
 
 And, as if in answer, a moment later came a 
 
J^EV/S FROM THE AIR 97 
 
 thunderous response from the American lines. 
 
 * ' There they go ! " cried Roger. '' ' Now things 
 will even up." 
 
 It was an awful artillery duel, and there were 
 heavy casualties on both sides. While the artil- 
 lery was firing from either side of No Man's 
 Land there v/as little the Sammies could do save 
 to shelter themselves as best they could behind 
 the parados. These were sand bags, built up at 
 intervals behind the parapet. They afforded as 
 good protection against high explosive shell fire 
 and shrapnel as could be obtained in trench 
 warfare. And as they were practically impene- 
 trable by machine gun bullets, if a soldier could 
 get behind the heavy bags he was comparatively 
 safe. 
 
 But many of them were burst apart or blown 
 away by the missiles from the German guns, 
 and it became necessary, if the boys in the 
 trench were to have protection, to replace the 
 bags. 
 
 Accordingly orders were given to do this, and 
 details were told off, some to fill bags and others 
 to put them in place. Eoger and Bob were 
 engaged in this last when Bob suddenly gave a 
 cry and caught his left hand in his right. 
 
 '^Hit?" cried Roger, for there was light 
 enough, caused by the flashes from many guns, 
 for him to see Bob start. 
 
 *' Just a scratch," was the answer. 
 
 It was more than a scratch — ^being a rather 
 
98 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 deep flesh wound across the back of Bob's hand. 
 But with the aid of Roger he quickly bound it 
 up in a bandage, after applying an antiseptic, 
 and then kept on with the vital work of making 
 the trench safer. 
 
 Many were wounded and many killed on both 
 sides by that night tiring, and after an hour of 
 bombardment on both sides there had come no 
 order for the Sammies to go over the top. 
 
 "Don't we get the word?" asked Jimmy of 
 Bob, as they had a moment's respite from 
 building up the parados. 
 
 *'It is queer," was the answer. "But if we 
 have done anything like the damage to the Hun 
 trenches that they have done to ours, it must be 
 a bad place over there." 
 
 "I think we've paid 'em back mth interest,'* 
 declared Jimmy. "Our gun fire was twice as 
 heavy as theirs." 
 
 And so it proved, for when da\\Ti broke, gray 
 and misty, it was seen that the line of German 
 sand bags had been demolished for a long dis- 
 tance up and down the trench. And in the 
 trench could be seen the German soldiers work- 
 ing frantically to repair the havoc. It was 
 then that the Sammies could take revenge with 
 rifle fire, and they did, in goodly measure. 
 
 But no word came to go over the top, and a 
 little while after day broke the firing died down 
 on both sides. Soon it was comparatively quiet, 
 but there were sad scenes to follow. 
 
NEWS FROM THE AIR 99 
 
 The weather improved toward noon, and the 
 sun came out to partially dry the muddy 
 trenches and the rain-soaked garments of the 
 soldiers. Bob's wound was dressed by a sur- 
 geon, and he was told to lay off duty for a day. 
 Jimmy, too, had received a slight wound, and 
 he had the same orders as had Bob. So the 
 two of them went to the rear for a little rest. 
 
 It was while taking such ease as they could 
 that they saw an aeroplane land near the camp 
 to which they had come to get a little respite 
 from the fighting, and when they saw two fig- 
 ures leap from the machine, Bob and Jimmy 
 exclaimed : 
 
 ''The Twinkle Twins!" 
 
 It was John and Gerald Twinkleton. 
 
 "Well, where 'd you blow in from?" asked 
 Jimmy. 
 
 ''Had to come doA\Ti to get some gas, or 
 petrol, as they call it over here," explained 
 John. "Been out doing scout work. Say, I 
 hear you had a hot time last night." 
 
 "Sort of," admitted Bob. "Fritz tried to 
 put one over on us." 
 
 "Yes, we heard about it," went on Gerald. 
 "And it came near being a bigger thing than 
 you fellows suspect. Did you hear about the 
 smoke signals?" 
 
 "Smoke signals?" cried Jimmy. "Say, do 
 you mean that there has been some more of that 
 traitorous work going on?" 
 
100 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "It looks so," said John. ''When we were 
 out flying aronnd yesterday we passed over a 
 little val!oy. "We were low enough down to 
 see fonr men around a queer kind of machine. 
 At urst we thought it was a hidden mortar bat- 
 tery, hut soon we saw some green and yellow 
 puffs of smoke go up from it. We reported the 
 matter to headquarters, and there was an inves- 
 tigation right off, but the four men had disap- 
 peared with their smoke apparatus when a 
 squad of our lads got to the valley. ' ' 
 
 *'Do you say there Avere four men around^that 
 smoke signaling apparatus 1 ' ' asked Jimmy. 
 
 "Yes," answered Gerald. 
 
 "Could you tell who they were?" 
 
 "Well, no, not exactly. Except that two of 
 them seemed to be men in American uniforms, 
 and tho other two were civilians." 
 
 "By Archibald Montmorency! as our cook 
 would say," cried Jimmy, "I'll bet they're the 
 same fellows we saw in the dugout. They are 
 the traitors ! This is great news you bring from 
 the air, boys!" he said to the Twinkle Twins. 
 
 Wonderingly the four gazed at one another. 
 
CHAPTER Xm 
 
 A FORWAKD RUSH 
 
 T 
 
 ♦"T^HERE'S a lot more to this than any 
 of US snspect, I guess," said Gerald 
 Twinkleton, with a grave shake of 
 his head. "Of course when Jack and I saw 
 those men sending up smoke signals we didn't 
 dream, at first, that anything was wrong. But 
 when we noticed the two civilians with them we 
 guessed there must be some queer deal on, and 
 we decided to report matters. Then we learned 
 that this wasn't the first time those signals had 
 gone up, and each time, after they had shot up 
 into the air, there was an enemy attack." 
 
 ''Bad business," commented Jimmy. 
 
 "But if those fellows are spies, including the 
 two in uniform, where would they get one of 
 our smoke-making machines?" asked Bob. 
 
 lOI 
 
102 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WI N 
 
 ''The signal corps has a number of them,'* 
 explained Jimmy. "One might easily be stolen, 
 together with the chemicals needed." 
 
 "The signal corps!" cried Eoger. "And 
 those Bixtons — who are off the same piece of 
 goods as Mike, back at Camp Sterling — those 
 Bixtons are in the signal corps!" 
 
 "That's what makes me say there's more to 
 this than appears on the surface," commented 
 Gerald. "Now let's hear again what it was 
 you saw in the dugout, Jimmy boy." 
 
 Thereupon Jimmy related what they had seen 
 as they were making their escape after the col- 
 lapse of the shelter where they had been resting. 
 
 "Would you say for sure that the two yon 
 saw in uniform in the dugout were the two 
 Bixtons you afterward noticed in the signal 
 corps?" asked Jack of Jimmy. 
 
 "No, I couldn't be positive," was the answer. 
 "You see we didn't have more than a hasty 
 glimpse of them, and then only by the light of 
 a candle. But from what you Twinkle Twins 
 tell us, it's evident that the same four — two in 
 uniform and two without — who were in the 
 dugout were also sending up smoke signals." 
 
 "Well, it looks that way," admitted Gerald. 
 "Of course, there's always a chance that things 
 may take a different turn, but there's enough 
 here for headquarters to get busy on," 
 
 "The main thing to do, in my opinion," de- 
 clared Jimmy, "is to find out if the fellows we 
 
A FORWARD RUSH 103 
 
 saw in uniform in the dugout and the two the 
 Twinkle Twins saw sending up signals are the 
 same, and then to learn if they're the Bixtons." 
 
 ' ' That 's the idea ! ' ' exclaimed Bob. ' ' But it 's 
 easier said than done." 
 
 * 'We'll help all we can," said the Twinkleton 
 Twins, as they started off again in their aero- 
 plane, the tank having been filled with gasolene. 
 
 The secret service men at headquarters, in- 
 cluding Captain Frank Dickerson, at once acted 
 after the boys had given the additional informa- 
 tion in their possession. 
 
 Jimmy and his chums had few opportunities 
 to learn what was done by Captain Dickerson 
 and his associates to get on the trail of the 
 smoke signal traitors. All they heard was that 
 an investigation was being made and that every 
 effort was being bent toward learning whether 
 or not the Bixtons were involved. It would not 
 do to accuse these two wrongly, even though 
 they were of a caliber not greatly desired in the 
 army. They were entitled to be considered 
 innocent until proved guilty, and the private 
 quarrel they had with Jimmy and Roger, be- 
 cause of the instrumentality of the latter in 
 sending Mike Bixton to prison, had nothing to 
 do with the smoke signal issue. 
 
 As for that personal quarrel, the threats the 
 Bixtons had made against Roger and Jimmy did 
 not greatly worry the two. They felt that they 
 could look out for themselves even against two 
 
104 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 such bullies and braggarts as Vv^ere Aleck and 
 Wilbur Bixton. 
 
 Indeed, there was a time when it seemed as if 
 the paths of the two signal corps men would not 
 again cross those of Roger and Jimmy. For 
 the two latter, with their chums, were sent to a 
 distant sector where the fighting was almost 
 constant. And the chances were much against 
 the four Brothers returning to the lines where 
 the Bixtons were stationed. 
 
 There was hard fighting — so desperate, in 
 fact, that Jimmy and his chums had little chance 
 to thinl?: about anything except how to keep 
 from being killed and how to inflict as heavy a 
 punishment as possible on the enemy. The 
 fighting was in a w^ooded country where advance 
 was difficult, for the thick underbrush afforded 
 shelter for many machine gun nests, and the 
 Huns seemed to place more dependence on this 
 style of fighting than on any other at this time 
 and place. 
 
 Day after day the skirmishes, all part of one 
 great battle, waged in and around the forest. 
 The country was rough and hilly, with streams 
 here and there, some of them large enough to 
 be called rivers in the American sense, while 
 others so dignified were but mere creeks- 
 There was not so much of the trench fighting 
 here. The woods afforded almost as good shel- 
 ter as did holes dug in the earth, but this was 
 not saying much. At times, of course, it be- 
 
A FORWARD RUSH 105 
 
 came necensary for the Khaki Boys to dig in, 
 but they did not stay long enough in one place 
 to make possible the digging of elaborate and 
 well-protected trenches. 
 
 All sorts and styles of fighting went on dur- 
 ing the week that Jimmy and his friends were 
 in this sector. There was the duel of big guns, 
 the exchange of shots from mortar batteries 
 that fired wicked bombs; there was, of course, 
 constant rifle fire, and many a man lost his life 
 because of some hidden sniper. Aeroplanes 
 were constantly flying to and fro, the Huns 
 endeavoring to locate ammunition dumps or 
 transport trains in the woods, that they might 
 blow up either or both. And the Americans and 
 Allied planes sought to so direct the advance of 
 their fighters as to make it most effective. 
 
 There was an advance. That fact was clear, 
 for the Americans were battling desperately — 
 artillery, infantry and the ever-gallant marines. 
 Inch by inch, almost, it seemed, the Huns were 
 being pushed back. But they did not cease to 
 struggle and give hard blows in return. 
 
 "Look!" exclaimed Jimmy to Roger one day, 
 when a respite had come after a desperate and 
 bloody conflict. "There go the signal men up 
 to tlie front. Must be getting ready for an 
 advance." 
 
 "Looks like it," assented Roger. 
 
 "And there are the Bixtons!" added Bob. 
 
 The two brothers, in whom so much interest 
 
106 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 centered for the four Khald Boys, were hurry- 
 ing along with their companions. And, as on 
 the other occasion, Aleck and Wilbur Bixton 
 carried the black electrical box. 
 
 ''They didn't see us," commented Roger. 
 .."Just as well," said Jimmy, "We don't 
 want any family rows now. The one with 
 Fritzie is enough." 
 
 Whether it was because of some information 
 acquired by the signal corps men or in arrange- 
 ment with a previous plan did not develop, but 
 soon after the two Bixtons and their comrades 
 had hastened up toward the front lines the order 
 came for a general advance. 
 
 And then came a forward rush — a smashing 
 through the German lines as they stretched 
 through the woods. Strictly speaking, there 
 was hardly a line, as one thinks of it as repre- 
 sented by trenches ; but there were machine gun 
 nests here and there — deadly nests they were, 
 too — and there were hiding places sheltering 
 grim German fighters. Big guns there were — 
 blasting guns that wrought fearful havoc. And 
 for each shot the Boches fired the Sammies sent 
 two in return, so that slowly but surely they 
 advanced. 
 
 .Then came a forward rush over a nasty bit of 
 ground. There was a fusillade of rifle fire, as 
 well as a hail of bullets from the machine guns. 
 
 ' ' Come on ! Come on ! " cried Jimmy. 
 
 "I^m with you!" yelled Roger. 
 
A FORWARD RUSH 107 
 
 "Seen Iggy and Bob?" asked Jimmy, as his 
 chum leaped over the dead body of a German 
 to advance with the sergeant. 
 
 ''Yes, they're coming. Look! There's a 
 party of Huns trying to get that machine gun 
 to play on us! Let's tackle 'em!" 
 
 ''Go ahead!" 
 
 Almost before they knew it Jimmy and Roger 
 had distanced their immediate companions, and 
 together they rushed on six Germans who were 
 working over two machine guns. Two of the 
 Huns were shot and another was bayoneted. 
 The rest turned and fled. 
 
 "So far, so good!" cried Jimmy, wiping off 
 some blood that was running down his face. 
 "But what's happened? We seem to have the 
 whole place to ourselves." 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 UNSEEN MARKSMBir 
 
 ROGEE BARLOW, who had so nobly 
 assisted Jimmy Blaise in wiping ont this 
 particular German machine gun nest, 
 looked around after the struggle and on hearing 
 his companion's remark. 
 
 "What's that?" he asked. *'We have the 
 place to ourselves? Well, why shouldn't we 
 after we got rid of these fellows?" 
 
 "No, I didn't mean that exactly," went on 
 Jimmy. "But take a look ! None of our fellows 
 is anywhere near here. The fighting seems to 
 have been switched over to our right." 
 
 Roger, who had almost as much blood on him 
 
 as had Jimmy, took an observation. He soon 
 
 realized that what his fighting chum had said 
 
 was true. 
 
 They were on a little wooded knoll, and the 
 
 io8 
 
UNSEEN MARKSMEN 109 
 
 view was so obstructed by stunted trees and 
 underbrush that they could not see very far in 
 any direction. But they had a sufficient view 
 to show that there was hard fighting going on 
 about a quarter of a mile to their right, while 
 all about them the place was still and deserted 
 — that is, comparatively still, for the din of 
 battle was carried to the Khaki Boys where they 
 stood. 
 
 ''I guess we rather overran our objective,'* 
 observed Roger, as he gazed about for a puddle 
 of water in which to cleanse himself of the 
 blood that was not all his. 
 
 ''If you mean this machine gun nest was the 
 objective, we did, ' ' agreed Jimmy, as he looked 
 at the dead Germans. '^We ran right over 
 them. But now Ave 'd better get back to the rest 
 of our own bunch, or they'll be listing us as 
 missing or deserting." 
 
 ' ' Yes, we '11 get back, ' ' assented Roger. * ' But 
 first let's clean up a bit. There's a puddle of 
 Avater over by the gun. ' ' 
 
 It was water, of a sort. In northern Frrvnce 
 it seems to rain most of the time, or at least it 
 did while our boys were there. There were 
 many shell holes over the ground, and many of 
 them became filled with and retained water for 
 some time. The puddle Roger picked out was 
 half full of — ^well, liquid would be a better word 
 than water, l-.ut the army lads got over being 
 fussy abort a thing like that. 
 
110 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "It's good enough to wash in, but I'd hate 
 to drink it," observed Jimmy, as he began to 
 clean himsalf. 
 
 "You said something!" came from Roger. 
 "And yet I've heard our boys say that they've 
 drunk worse stuff than this and that it tasted 
 good." 
 
 "Oh, I suppose so," agreed Jimmy. "But 
 I'm going to look about a bit before I take any 
 of this." 
 
 And he was glad he did, for some time later, 
 in moving about in the little glade, they found a 
 clear, sparkling spring, and there they drank 
 their fill and finished up the "bath" they had 
 started at the mud puddle. 
 
 "Well, I feel a hundred per cent, better," 
 declared Roger. "And now let's hike back. 
 The fighting is still going on, and we don't want 
 to miss any of it." 
 
 Jimmy nodded, and the two Khaki Boys be- 
 gan to pick their way through the underbrush. 
 It was rather rough going, for if there had 
 ever been a path it was now obliterated by the 
 bursting of shells amid the trees when the place 
 was under fire, as it often had been. 
 
 Roger and Jimmy were near the edge of the 
 little glade which, as has been said, was on the 
 top of a hill, when suddenly, just as they were 
 about to cross an open space, the vicious hum 
 of an unseen missile Avas heard over their heads. 
 
 "Duck!" yelled Jimmy, at the same time 
 
UNSEEN MARKSMEN 111 
 
 dropping flat and pulling his companion to a 
 similar posture. 
 
 Of course it was too late to have "ducked" 
 for that particular bullet, as it was over their 
 heads and past them before the boys fell prone. 
 But, as Jimmy said afterward, he thought more 
 were coming. 
 
 ''What's the big idea?" asked Roger, as he 
 rubbed his elbow that had come in sharp con- 
 tact with a stone when Jimmy dragged him 
 do\^^l. 
 
 ''Didn't you hear the shot?" demanded 
 Jimmy. 
 
 "Yes. But the bullet you hear will never 
 hurt you. It's the one you don't notice coming 
 that does the trick." 
 
 "That's all right," asserted Jimmy calmly. 
 "But there may be more coming. Lie low now, 
 I'm going to try a little camouflage v/ork." 
 
 Keeping prone on his face, and seeing that 
 Roger did the same, Jimmy cautiously raised 
 his "tin haf^' above the earth, using a short 
 stick he picked up as a support. 
 
 Almost instantly there came a "ping!" and a 
 little hole appeared in the helmet. 
 
 "Firing at close range," observed Jimmy. 
 
 "I should say so!" exclaimed Roger. "And 
 those aren't stray bullets, either. It was 
 directed straight here." 
 
 "Right!" assented Jimmy. "But the thing 
 of it is to decide whether it's our boys firing or 
 
112 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 some Germans who may have swept in from the 
 left flank." 
 
 **How conld it he our boys?" asked Roger. 
 "Don't they know we're here?" 
 
 *'How could they? We rushed over with a 
 hunch of our boys to clean out this machine-gun 
 nest. And we're the only ones left alive to get 
 here, worse luck for those who started out with 
 us. So there 's not much chance that any fellows 
 in our squad know we're here. At the same 
 time, this place was known to be held by the 
 Huns, and our boys, who don't know anything 
 about our having taken the gun, may still think 
 it's a machine gun nest and be peppering it 
 whenever anything alive shows, as my helmet 
 did. I'm glad my head wasn't in it," and 
 Jimmy looked again at the bullet hole in the 
 strong metal. 
 
 "And do you think it could be Germans shoot- 
 ing at us ? " Roger inquired. 
 
 "Of course it could be Huns. A lot of 'em 
 are probably over to the left of us where there 
 isn't so much fighting going on. They may have 
 seen us wipe out this bunch of their friends, and 
 now they^re going to turn the trick on us." 
 
 Roger agreed that this view of the matter was 
 probable. Then he asked : 
 
 "What are we going to do about it?" 
 
 "Let's work our way back to the middle of 
 the bunch of trees," suggested Jimmy. "We'll 
 be somewhat protected there, and maybe if we 
 
UNSEEN MARKSMEN 113 
 
 try to get out in another direction than the one 
 we just attempted, we'll have better luck. 
 
 ^"^ Wiggle back now, but don't raise your head. 
 Can you make it going backAvard ? ' ' 
 
 "It's harder to crawl backward on your 
 stomach than it is to go forward in the same 
 way," said Roger; "but I'll try." 
 
 He did try, as, likewise, did Jimmy. But they 
 found it almost impossible because of the nature 
 of the ground, and Jimmy called a halt. 
 
 "Let's pivot around," he suggested, and head 
 uphill. It'll be easier crawling then. But keep 
 your head do\\Ti." 
 
 Almost as Jimmy spoke there came another 
 of the wicked hums of a singing bullet, and it 
 "pinged" against a tree not far from the two 
 Khaki Boys. 
 
 "They either see us or they guess we're still 
 here," said Jimmy. 
 
 ' * I don 't believe they see us, ' ' stated his chum. 
 "More likely they're just taking a chance and 
 firing at the location where they last saw your 
 tin hat. We'd better hurry on." 
 
 Fear and desperation urged the boys for- 
 ward, and they crawled rapidly, if painfully, up 
 the hill, in and out of shell holes, over sticks, 
 stones, and, in one case, a dead body. But 
 eventually they reached the place where the 
 machine gun had been planted. It was there 
 still, with most of the crew dead around it. 
 
 "Wonder if we could turn it around and aim 
 
114 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 it at the fellows who fired on us?" suggested 
 Roger. 
 
 He and Jimmy examined the gun, and though 
 they were not familiar with this particular 
 German weapon their general knowledge told 
 them that it was so damaged as not to be fire- 
 ahle. 
 
 ''Well, we'll have to depend on what we 
 have," said Jimmy, as he looked to his rifle and 
 revolver. Fortunately, he and Roger had plenty 
 of ammunition. They had with them all their 
 possessions, including their emergency rations. 
 
 "We can stay here until dark, if we have to," 
 said Jimmy. ' ' But I don 't want to. Let 's make 
 another attempt at it on the opposite side. But 
 keep low." 
 
 They got a drink of water from the spring, 
 and then lay down and began to crawl out of the 
 woods. They did not stand upright except when 
 behind the thick shelter of trees. 
 
 But no sooner had they begun to progress 
 after the manner of a not very agile serpent 
 than there was the sing of bullets over their 
 heads, and some struck the ground near them. 
 
 "They see us!" cried Eoger, and there was a 
 catch in his voice. 
 
 "I don't believe they exactly see us," re- 
 turned Jimmy. "But I think they see the 
 bushes move as we crawl along, and they're 
 ■firins: into the underbrush." 
 
 ** They '11 get us just as surely that way as if 
 
UNSEEN MARKSMEN 115 
 
 they did see us, if they keep on firing long 
 enough, ' ' went on Roger. 
 
 "Yes, I suppose they will," agreed his chum. 
 "Well, we've tried the front and back doors 
 out of this place. Now let's tackle one to the 
 side. ' ' 
 
 "Right or left?" asked Roger. 
 
 "Right," decided Jimmy. "That's Where 
 our boys wore fighting, and the Germans are 
 less likely to be there. AVe'll try the right. 
 But crawl, bacdy, crawl!" 
 
 "Oh, I'm going to," declared Roger. 
 
 They had moved back when they found thot 
 they were fired upon the second time, and now 
 they were in a position to crawl down off the 
 summit of the little hill, going to the right. 
 
 Would they find the way clear? That was the 
 question Roger and Jimmy asked themselves, 
 and how much depended on the answer to it, 
 they well realized. The unseen marksmen 
 seemed fearfully alert. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 OVER THE CLIFF 
 
 «<f I lAKE it easy now," suggested Jimmy, 
 
 I as, after a moment 's pause, he and his 
 
 chum began again their crawling to 
 
 get down and off the little knoll. "Go slow!'* 
 
 "You needn't tell me that!" complained 
 Roger. "I'm willing to go as slow as the next 
 one, only I want to see who's shooting at us." 
 
 "They're not anxious to be seen," came from 
 Jimmy, as he slowly progressed. "I've been 
 looking for a chance to take a shot myself, but 
 I haven't seen so much as a finger. Our turn 11 
 come, though." 
 
 "It can't come any too soon for me," as- 
 serted Roger. 
 
 They had not crawled more than ten feet to 
 the right when again came unmistakable evi- 
 dence that their movements were watched, even 
 though they themselves might not be observed. 
 
 "Zip! Just like that!" exclaimed Jimmy 
 ii6 
 
OVER THE CLIFF 117 
 
 with grim humor, as he heard the singing of a 
 bullet over his head. ''A little lower, and that 
 one would have nipped me. ' ' 
 
 "Shall we go backf" asked Koger. 
 
 ''No, let's keep on a little farther. This is 
 our best play. If we can 't get out on this side 
 there isn't much use of trying the left. Snipers 
 are almost sure to be there." 
 
 So they crawled on for perhaps ten feet, and 
 then again they were fired at. 
 
 ''No use!" exclaimed Jimmy, and there was 
 a rather despairing tone in his voice. "We've 
 got to go back." 
 
 "And try the left?" asked Roger. 
 
 "Yes. It's our only chance. If they fire at 
 
 us from that side " He did not complete 
 
 the sentence, but Roger well knew what his 
 chum meant. 
 
 Back they crawled, being fired at again, and 
 when they were comparatively safe, at least for 
 the time being, in the clump of trees, the two 
 Khaki Boys looked at each other. 
 
 "They're German snipers all right," de- 
 clared Jimmy. 
 
 "Sure thing," asserted Roger. "Probably 
 the fellows that yelled 'Kameradl' and beat it 
 when we came up toward their machine gun 
 have got a lot more Boches and are going to 
 try to take us prisoners." 
 
 That viev/ of it was also Jimmy's, and he 
 said as much, adding, however : 
 
118 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "They don't make a prisoner of me as long 
 as I Ve got a shot left ! " 
 
 ''What are you going to do now?" asked 
 Roger, as he saw Sergeant Jimmy loosen his 
 belt a couple of holes. ''Going to leave some of 
 jouT stuff here ? ' ' 
 
 "Indeed not!" Jimmy quickly answered. 
 "We need every thing we have on, though it's 
 a load to carry. Can't take a chance and leave 
 off even the gas masks. There's no telling 
 Avhen the Huns may take a notion to drop a gas 
 shell in these woods, and there 's not enough 
 wind to carry the fumes away. No, indeed, we 
 can't take any chances. I'm just going to make 
 myself a little more comfortable. It's hard 
 enough to carry all this outfit around when 
 you're standing up, but it's worse when you're 
 crawling. But perhaps a loose belt will help 
 some." 
 
 " I '11 try it, myself, ' ' returned Roger. ' ' Well, 
 if we don't get through this time what shall we 
 do?" he asked. 
 
 Jimmy did not answer for a moment. He 
 seemed to be considering some problem, and, 
 indeed, the straits the two boys found them- 
 selves in was a problem that might well per- 
 plex older warriors. 
 
 "We'll try the left now," went on Jimmy, 
 after a bit. "It would seem to be the least 
 promising of all, but there's no telling. Come 
 on, if you're ready." 
 
OVER THE CLIFF 119 
 
 "I'm as ready as I ever shall be," said Roger 
 grimly. ''Go ahead." 
 
 Once more they dropped prone and began to 
 crawl along. This time they went more can- 
 tioTisly, making their way behind snch shelter 
 as was afforded by fallen trees, old stnmps, and 
 clumps of bushes. They also were careful not 
 to move the foliage about them more than was 
 absolutely necessary. For, in the opinion of 
 Sergeant Jimmy, it was this movement, rather 
 than direct views of themselves, which enabled 
 the snipers to shoot at them. 
 
 ''Guess maybe we'll make it this time," said 
 Roger in a low voice, as he crawled along be- 
 hind his chum. "What are you going to do 
 when you get to the open place, Jinuny, old 
 man?" 
 
 "Wait until we get there," advised Jimmy. 
 "But I guess the only thing we can do is to run 
 for it, and fight as we run. See that bunch of 
 woods right ahead of us?" 
 
 "I see it," assented Roger. 
 
 "Well, let's make for that, and then, maybe, 
 we can swing around and get back to our com- 
 pany. We can't stay very long in the open with 
 all these snipers around us, and that bunch of 
 trees is the nearest shelter. I don't know what 
 they are, nor what they cover. They may be 
 full of Huns, but we've got to do something, 
 and we can't stay back here." 
 
 "I guess that's right," said Roger. "Keep 
 
120 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 on going. We haven't been fired at since we 
 started on this path." 
 
 This was trne, and the two yonng soldiers be- 
 gan to have hopes that they might get through. 
 
 ' * Though why it is I can 't understand, ' * said 
 Jimmy. *'I thought this section would be full 
 of Huns, since we haven't done any fighting in 
 this direction to drive 'em back." 
 
 Strange and hardly understandable as the 
 situation was, still it remained as Eoger and 
 Jimmy noticed — that they were not fired upon 
 during their painful progress to the left. 
 
 '* Maybe they're saving it up for a grand 
 bang-up," suggested Eoger, when the twain 
 had made their way perhaps fifty feet farther 
 along. 
 
 *' Don't be cracking jokes at a time like this !" 
 half -growled Jimmy. 
 
 "It won't be a joke if it happens," snapped 
 back Roger. 
 
 He and his chum went on a little farther. 
 They were getting close to the edge of the 
 woods now, and an open space lay before them. 
 Across this, and it was rough ground marked 
 by shell-holes, was another bunch of trees, the 
 open place being perhaps five hundred feet in 
 width. 
 
 "If we cross that and gain the woods, maybe 
 we'll be safe, and — maybe not," murmured 
 Jimmy. "Anyhow, we've got to make a try for 
 it, Rodge. Are you ready?" 
 
OVER THE CLIFF 121 
 
 "Go ahead!" was the short answer. 
 
 "All right — come on. Jnmp up and mn for 
 it. But don't stand upright. Crouch as much 
 as you can and run zigzag. And shoot — if you 
 see anything to shoot at. Now come on!" 
 
 As Jimmj'' cried these words he leaped to his 
 feet, an example followed by Roger. Then the 
 two of them, crouching over and darting from 
 side to side, ran into the open. 
 
 For a few moments they, thought they were 
 going to have the way clear — that they would 
 not be fired at. But this was not to be. Half 
 way to the woods both boys saw off to their left 
 several gray-uniformed figures leap up. 
 
 "There they are! Shoot!" cried Jimmy. 
 
 He fired from the hip, as did Roger. They 
 were both pretty good shots, and they had prac- 
 tised tlus method, so they knew what they were 
 doing. One of the Germans toppled over, 
 though whether from the effect of Roger's fire 
 or Jimmy's could not be told. But the others 
 began firing in return, and the bullets sang 
 about the heads of the Khaki Boys. 
 
 "Come on! Run faster!" yelled Jimmy, as 
 he fired again. 
 
 "Say, there's a bunch of 'em!" cried Roger, 
 as he saw more Huns springing up as if from 
 holes in the earth where they had been hidden. 
 
 Jimmy did not answer. He was busy firing 
 at the enemy, even as he was being shot at, and 
 he had the satisfaction of seeing two more go 
 
122 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 down. One of these Eoger got. Then Jimmy 
 felt a sharp pain in one ear, and, clapping his 
 hand to it, he saw his palm covered with blood. 
 
 ''Hurt much?" cried Roger, as he dashed up 
 beside his chum. 
 
 "No, just a graze, I guess. But keep away 
 from me. The two of us together make a big- 
 ger target than one. Separate!" 
 
 He leaped to one side, and as he did so a bul- 
 let passed between him and Roger. They could 
 hear it. Had they stood together one or both 
 of them might have been hit. 
 
 On they staggered, firing as rapidly as they 
 could under the circumstances. They crouched 
 down, zigzagged from side to side, and hoped 
 for the best. They were now within the fringe 
 of the woods, and a few feet more would bring 
 them within the shelter of trees. 
 
 But would they find more foes there? That 
 was the question. 
 
 Suddenly there was a loud explosion, and, 
 glancing back for an instant, Roger and Jimmy 
 saw that a shell had torn a big hole in the earth 
 at a spot where the German firing party had 
 been massed. There was no firing party noM^ 
 
 "Was that one of our shells'?" cried Roger. 
 
 "Hard to say," was Jimmy's reply. "It did 
 the trick for us all right, though." 
 
 "If they don't come any nearer," added 
 Roger grimly. 
 
 Exhausted and weary, they reached the 
 
OVER THE CLIFF 123 
 
 woods. They dodged in among the sheltering 
 trees, fearing any moment that they would be 
 fired upon by enemies who might be concepled 
 in the copse. 
 
 *'I — I'm about all in!" gasped Roger. 
 
 "Same here!" panted Jimmy. ''We've got 
 to rest and get some water after we make sure 
 this place is comparatively safe." 
 
 On they staggered. They could hardly 
 breathe now, so great had been the rush and 
 burdened, as they were, with equipment. They 
 saw before them a little grassy glade, and at 
 one edge of it was a spring of water. The sight 
 was a welcome one. 
 
 "Over there!" cried Roger, pointing to it to 
 direct Jimmy's attention. "We'll flop down 
 there and " 
 
 Roger's Avords ended in a mumble. Jimmy, 
 thinking his companion had been shot, turned 
 quickly in time to see a man standing behind 
 Roger with an upraised club. He had struck 
 Roger on the head, knocking him doAvn. 
 
 Jimmy opened his mouth to utter a yell, 
 though why he could hardly have told, and he 
 w^as about to bring his rifle to bear on the as- 
 sailant of his chum when Jimmy himself felt a 
 stunning blow on his head just beneath his steel 
 helmet. He went down limply, his eyes seeing 
 nothing but blackness. 
 
 And as the tw^o lads were struck down, their 
 two assailants, who had leaped from behind con- 
 
124. THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 cealing trees to take advantage of the panting, 
 exhausted Khaki Boys, looked at one another 
 with Batisfaction. 
 
 **Now we've got 'em!" cried one. 
 
 **I should say so!" declared the other. 
 .*'This'll end their tricks! Now, what '11 we do 
 with 'em?" 
 
 '*Hanl 'em up to the top of the hill and dump 
 'em over the cliff into the river. That'll get 
 'em out of the way and it won't be awkward 
 for us. Come on, you drag one and I'll tackle 
 the other!" 
 
 And suiting their action to these words, the 
 two assailants hauled Roger and Jimmy to the 
 edge of a cliff not far from where the two chums 
 had been struck down. A moment later two 
 limp bodies were pushed over the edge and 
 there were two splashes in the foaming river 
 that was studded by cruel rocks. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 OWLY TWO LEFT 
 
 **W 7 HEW, that was some fight!'* 
 
 Y^ "I say de same by you, Bobby!" 
 " It was Iggy who made the last re- 
 
 mark and Bob Dalton who spoke first. They 
 had swept on vnth their companions in arms, 
 crashing their Avay through the German lines, 
 and now the order had come to cease firing. It 
 wonld not do for too large a number of the 
 cheering, victorious Americans to get beyond 
 the protection of their big guns, and this was 
 likelj'' if they rushed on much farther. 
 
 *'Got any water in your can, Iggy!" went on 
 Bob, as they sat, or rather, "flopped," do^vn 
 on the ground, exhausted, as were their com- 
 rades. **If you haven't any, I have some I'll 
 share with you. ' ' 
 "I have some quiteness of vodah — I mean 
 
 125 
 
126 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 b 
 
 wat-ter — left," said Iggy. "IJnd jolly nmch 
 goot will she taste now. ' ' 
 
 ^'You said soniething, pal!" declared a 
 wounded soldier near by. "Some Fritzie put 
 a slug through my canteen, and there isn't a 
 drop in it, and I'm as dry as a boneless her- 
 
 ring, ' ' 
 
 "Here!" cried Bob, instantly offering his 
 w^ater flask. "Take as much as you want. I 
 can get more." 
 
 "Don't be too positive of that, buddy," said 
 the wounded man. "But I certainly do appre- 
 ciate a swallow of this. Guess I'm booked to 
 go back," he said, as he looked at his mangled 
 hand. Poor fellow! He never was to use it 
 again. 
 
 The scenes all about Bob and Iggy were too 
 filled with horror to bear repeating. Though 
 the Americans had swept on victorious, driving 
 the Huns before them and out of their trenches, 
 yet it was at a price. Perhaps, from a military 
 standpoint, not too heavy a price to pay for 
 victory, but still a price. 
 
 There were dead, dying, and wounded men 
 all about, and more back where the German re- 
 sistance had been strongest. Bob and Iggy had 
 come through the ordeal with nothing more 
 than slight flesh "wounds. They w^ere suffi- 
 ciently painful, but not serious enough to send 
 them to the hospital. Iggy had been scratched 
 on the arm by a ragged bit of shrapnel shell, 
 
ONLY TWO LEFT 127 
 
 and Bob had received a cut on the forehead by 
 some flying missile. 
 
 And now came the blessed relief from the 
 toil and the strnggle, from the sweat and the 
 blood of the battle. 
 
 "Cease firing!" had sonnded, most welcome 
 signal, and the men who were left alive, many 
 of them wonnded, began to think of other things 
 than killing and trying to escape from being 
 killed. 
 
 They sat or sprawled about, some panting to 
 get back the breath that was so nearly spent. 
 Others began to eat some of their emergency 
 rations and to drink water from their canteens. 
 
 "Did yon see anything of Roger and Jim- 
 my!" asked Bob, when he had recovered some- 
 thing of his spent energies. 
 
 "Yes. I see tham run like Avhat yon say — 
 Old Harry — over by that way," and Iggy 
 pointed to the left. "Then came a big shell 
 and so mnch dust and smoke that I of see tham 
 no more." 
 
 "Say, I hope that shell didn't do for 'em!" 
 exclaimed Bob. "Didn't you see anything of 
 'em after that?" he asked anxiously. 
 
 "Oh, that shell did not tham keel," declared 
 Iggy. "Oh^ no! I see tham when the smoke 
 of it went up, and so sure I am that they was 
 not keeled by these shell. But maybe they was 
 keeled by some other." 
 
 "Yes, that's always the chance in this busi- 
 
128 TEE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 ness," returned Bob gloomily. **Well, we'll 
 soon know. If they're alive they'll join us, no 
 doubt. '' 
 
 **De soonest de bester," declared Iggy. 
 
 Perhaps there is no more trying time to iight- 
 kig men than just after a big battle. The ex- 
 citement that forced them on against the odds 
 of death in many forms has subsided, and there 
 is the reaction. Perhaps this reaction is even 
 greater after victory than after defeat. For 
 in the latter case there is still the incentive of 
 hurrying on, often to avoid capture, and this 
 need of haste provides the excitement that pre- 
 vents too much thinking. 
 
 But after a terrific and bloody engagement, 
 such as that through which Bob and Iggy had 
 just passed, and when victory has come, there 
 often follows a reaction caused by the thought 
 of the brave ones who, by their lives or by hor- 
 rible wounds, have helped pay the price of the 
 success of those who live and who come after. 
 
 And it was thoughts like these that filled the 
 hearts and minds of the Khaki Boys and their 
 comrades with gloom as they recovered them- 
 selves after the fighting. 
 
 "Say, when are w^e going to get some hot 
 soup?" one lad asked. 
 
 ''What flavor do you want?" shouted a com- 
 panion. 
 
 "Oh, I'm not particular. Strawberry or va- 
 nilla. — ^just so long as it's hot." 
 
ONLY TWO LEFT 129 
 
 "Fat chance you have of getting sonp!" de- 
 clared a veteran. ''Lucky, if you have a crust 
 and some muddy water." 
 
 There was a laugh at the talk, and then some 
 one produced a battered mouth organ. As if 
 by magic, many who heard the not unmusical 
 strains forgot their weariness and joined in a 
 popular song. Some of the wounded even tried 
 to sing, and it greatly raised the spirits of all 
 within sound of the simple melody. 
 
 **Good work, boys! Keep it up!" cried a 
 captain, as he hurried by on his way to dispatch 
 messengers to the rear. "Sometimes a song's 
 as good as a cup of coffee!" 
 
 Soon the stretcher bearers began their grisly 
 tasks, and after the wounded had been cared 
 for the work of burying the dead had to be be- 
 gun. Many negroes were employed in this sad 
 task, and be it said to the credit of these men 
 and their brothers who took active parts in the 
 fighting, that they proved themselves to be 
 worthy of great praise and confidence. 
 
 Not much time could be spared for mere sit- 
 ting around, or "loafing," on the part of the 
 unwounded fighters. Even those, like Bob and 
 Igg^% who had slight hurts, were expected to 
 turn in and help now. 
 
 It was necessary to consolidate the positions 
 gained after such severe fighting and such sac- 
 rifices, and while the German trenches were oc- 
 cupied by Bome of the Aiuerican forces, it was 
 
130 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 needful to dig more, to plan dugouts, and to 
 put up new barbed-wire entanglements. 
 
 For the Bodies might be expected to make a 
 counter-attack at any time, though it was be- 
 lieved they were so badly demoralized for the 
 present that there would be no immediate re- 
 sumption of hostilities on this particular sec- 
 tor. 
 
 And so, after a brief rest, Bob and Iggy, hav- 
 ing partaken of some of their rations and some 
 water, began to dig with pick and shovel; a 
 labor that was shared by many of their chums. 
 
 It was almost night when the needful pre- 
 cautions had been taken against a surprise, and 
 then the men were delighted to hear that some 
 kitchen outfits had come up and that hot food 
 would shortly be served. 
 
 ''And, oh boy, what won't I do to it!" cried 
 Bob. "I've got an appetite like a house afire!" 
 
 ''Me, I am of a hunger, too," said Iggy. 
 ' ' But wish you not. Bob, dat Roger and Jimmy 
 might be with us?" 
 
 "Do I wish it? I say I do!" cried Bob. 
 "However, they may blow in at any moment. 
 Maybe they've taken a lot of prisoners and have 
 to escort 'em to the rear." 
 
 "I hope so," murmured Iggy. 
 
 "Only, if that's the case," went on Bob, **I 
 hope it doesn't turn out as it did with Franz. 
 We don't want Eodge and Jimmy captured and 
 taken to some prison camp." 
 
ONLY TWO LEFT 131 
 
 "Not!" declared Iggy with emphasis. But, 
 liad they known it, the plight of Roger and 
 Jinnny at that moment could not have been 
 much worse had they been in some Hun stock- 
 ade. 
 
 Night came and passed, and there was no 
 sign of, nor word from, the two missing ones. 
 Bob and Iggy looked at one another the next 
 morning, and there was fear and worry in their 
 eyes. 
 
 "Where you think they be?" asked Iggy. 
 
 "I don't know," confessed Bob. "It looks 
 as bad for them as it has looked for some time 
 for Schnitz. But we must keep on hoping. If 
 they're dead we'll know that soon enough — 
 worse luck. But if they are listed as missing — 
 well, what's the use?" 
 
 Iggy slowly shook his head. 
 
 "We of first was five Brothers," he said. 
 "Then Franz go, and we was four. Now two 
 more iss go and we iss two. Two left, only. Py 
 jolly, maybe soon we iss only one ! ' * 
 
CHAPTER XVn 
 
 BLOWN UP 
 
 BOB, who was cleaning some of the mnd 
 off his leggings, looked up ard over at 
 his Polish chum. 
 "Hey, you, come off that!" he exclaimed. 
 "Come off what?" asked Iggy in surprise. 
 "I iss only sit on de ground, and unless I iss 
 come off him — py jolly! where else could I go?" 
 he asked. 
 
 "Oh, I didn't mean come off the earth!" ex- 
 claimed Bob, with a laugh. "I meant stop mak- 
 ing such gloomy predictions." 
 "Who is he I" asked Iggy. 
 "Who's who?" countered Bob. 
 "Dat Mr. Dixton," responded Iggj. "Does 
 you mean Captain Frank Dickerson?" 
 
 "Oh, no! No!" laughed Bob. "I mean yon 
 are not to be so gloomy-Gus like." 
 
 132 
 
BLOWN UP isn 
 
 **Gust Gus? Iss he a pasteboy — I mean a 
 doughboy, too?'^ 
 
 "Siiy, if I've got to go back and explain 
 everytliing I'll never get this nrnd off !" laughed 
 Bob. ^*A11 1 meant was don't look on the dark 
 side of things. Be a little happier, and yon '11 
 make me happier. Don't think, just because 
 Roger and Jimmy haven't showed up, that they 
 are dead or prisoners. They may be all right." 
 
 "I have a hope so," said Iggy, but the gloomy 
 way in which he shook his head did not indicate 
 that he was very sincere. 
 
 However, there was nothing that could be 
 done about it, and Bob and Iggy just had to 
 wait. Time, however, did not hang heavily on 
 their hands, for there was never a moment of 
 the day and very few moments of the night 
 when there was not something to do. If it was 
 not standing guard, doing sentry duty, digging 
 trenches, or helping fit up dugouts, there were 
 barbed-wire parties to become active in, listen- 
 ing-post duty to go out on, and the thousand 
 and one things that a fighting army can always 
 find to do. 
 
 Iggy and Bob performed their full share of 
 all these tasks, and it was perhaps well that 
 they could be kept so occupied. For, in spite 
 of Bob's seeming cheerfulness, dark forebodings 
 r,s to the fate of Jimmy and Roger would come 
 to him. 
 
 "And there's Franz, too," he told himself. 
 
134. THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 ''But he's be ^n missing so long now that it's 
 hardly possible he'll ever come back — at least, 
 until after the war is over and prisoners are 
 exchanged." 
 
 But Bob was to meet Franz Schnitzel sooner 
 ihan he expected, and under strange circum- 
 stances. 
 
 "Well, I wonder what the next move will be," 
 remarked Bob to a fellow soldier one day about 
 a week after the big advance in which Roger and 
 Jimmy had been lost sight of. Since that time 
 there had been only slight engagements between 
 patrols of the Americans and the Huns. 
 
 "Oh, there'll be more fighting," was the an- 
 swer from a young soldier named Harry Blon- 
 dell, with whom Bob had become friendly. 
 "There's got to be more fighting. I guess our 
 officers are laying pipes for another big scrap 
 that'll carry us clear into Germany." 
 
 "That would be some advance!" laughed 
 Bob. "But, at the same time, the Boches may 
 be planning to come through our lines again." 
 
 "Well, we'll be ready for 'em," declared 
 Harry. ' ' I never felt better in all my life. This 
 hard fighting and living in the mud and wet 
 seems to agree with me." 
 
 "Glad you're fit!" declared Bob. "The Kai- 
 ser '11 probably be worried when he hears you're 
 ready to take the field again against his divi- 
 sions." 
 
 "No doubt!" chuckled Harry. 
 
BLOWN UP 135 
 
 The truth of the matter was that, aside from 
 wounds, the health of the American soldiers 
 was excellent in spite of adverse conditions due 
 to the climate. They could be wet to the skin 
 day after day, and yet few of them took colds, 
 and many of them were delicate lads who, up to 
 a few months before, would not have thought of 
 going out in the rain without rubbers and an 
 umbrella. 
 
 It was one evening when Bob and Iggy, to- 
 gether with many of their comrades, were pre- 
 paring to go on duty for their night tricks that 
 a rumor started somewhere in the trenches to 
 the effect that a big battle impended on the mor- 
 row. 
 
 Just who was responsible for this no one 
 seemed to know, but soon after the talk circu- 
 lated it was noticed that there was great activ- 
 ity around the brigade headquarters. Messen- 
 gers hurried to and fro, and several American 
 aeroplanes were observed fluttering over the 
 German lines. 
 
 "Well, fighting is what we're here for," said 
 Bob to Iggy, as they started for the traverse 
 where they were to be on duty about half the 
 night — unless an attack should come. 
 
 "Yes. i^ is better to have a fight and get with 
 it throuH? tlian to be waiting all the times," 
 said the Polish lad. 
 
 It was rnther a nervous strain for many sen- 
 tries that night as they stood on the firing step, 
 
^88 THE KHAK I BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 gazing across No Man's Land toward the 
 barbed-wire entanglements of the Germans. 
 Would the Sammies get the order to charge 
 across there, after a barrage had been laid 
 down? Or would the gray hordes leap out and 
 try to thrust back the soldiers of Uncle Sam 
 who were slowly but surely smashing the Hun 
 lines? This might be knoAvn to the staff officers 
 in the headquarters back of the American lines, 
 or the answer might be made by the Boche gen- 
 erals. 
 
 So it was nervous waiting, and Bob, in com- 
 mon Avith the others, felt it as they stood on 
 duty through the long hours of the dark night. 
 
 It was nearing three o'clock, and it would be 
 dawn in another hour, when platoon officers be- 
 gan moving along the trenches, and as they 
 passed group after group of the Sammies the 
 officers whispered: 
 
 *'Be ready! We attack at four o'clock!" 
 
 Those who had wrist watches looked at them, 
 the radium-illuminated dials showing the ap- 
 proximate time. 
 
 "An hour to wait!" mused Bob, as he an- 
 swered the officer who notified him. ** A lot will 
 be haT>"nening an hour from now." 
 
 And the same thought was mth all of them. 
 
 "How many would be alive at this same time 
 to-morrow night?" 
 
 Slowly the seconds and minutes ticked them- 
 selves away. Silently the soldiers in the 
 
BLOWN UP 137 
 
 trenches made ready. And behind the lines 
 preparations to support the advance, after the 
 way was prepared for it by shells from the big 
 guns, were going on. 
 
 Silently groups of alert men gathered beliind 
 their officers in the traverses. The sentinels 
 stood on the firing step, ready and waiting. 
 Short ladders were placed here and there to 
 facilitate the fighters in getting out of the 
 sunken protections. 
 
 Bob noted the illuminated minute hand of 
 his watch creeping on toward the XIL 
 
 "Sixty seconds more," he murmured. He 
 glanced over toward Iggy. In the faint dawn 
 he could see his Polish chum standing with his 
 rifle, ready to leap from the trench. 
 
 Then, suddenly, like a burst of thunder from 
 a clear sky, the American barrage started, and 
 after a sufficient time had elapsed the whistles 
 sounded. 
 
 "Over the top!" 
 
 The old, familiar, but always thrilling call. 
 "Over the top!" 
 
 Out of the trenches leaped Bob, Iggy and 
 their comrades. On toward the German lines 
 they rushed, the half-darlaiess of the dawn n'~"T 
 illuminated with the flashes from the big guns. 
 
 The Germans were not long in replying. 
 They wore not taken by surprise, and soon a 
 rain of II. E. shells, as well as shrartnel, began 
 to deluge the American positions. But through 
 
138 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 this storm of missiles the gallant lads of the 
 509th Infantry leaped forward. They yelled 
 and shouted, but they, each one, only heard his 
 own voice, so great was the din of the guns. 
 
 "Come on! Come on!" cried Bob hoarsely. 
 
 But Iggy and his comrades needed no urging. 
 They were rushing at the Germans like human 
 tigers. They had heard so much and seen so 
 much of the cruelty of the Huns that each time 
 the Sammies went into battle it was as though 
 they were taking personal revenge on the 
 Kaiser's troops. 
 
 Bob felt something, it w^as as if a great blast 
 of air passed him. It lifted him from the eartK 
 and hurled him back, but he managed to regain 
 his feet. Then came a terrible noise behind 
 him — so far back that he was not harmed. But 
 that could not be said for half a score of his 
 comrades. A great shell exploded in their 
 midst, and there were more than a score of casu- 
 alties from it. 
 
 *' Close call!" murmured Bob as he staggered 
 on. He lost sight of Iggy in the rush, but hoped 
 the Polish lad was follo^^^ng closely. Then Bob 
 had his hands full, for he and his immediate 
 companions encountered some German machine- 
 gun creAvs, and there was hard fighting before 
 the Boches were killed or thrown into complete 
 disorder. 
 
 *' Forward! Forward!" was the order, and 
 well was it obeyed. 
 
BLOIVN UP 139 
 
 On over the German trenches \yent the Sam- 
 mies. Now and again they were held up by the 
 fierce firing of hidden wea]3ons, and then squads 
 would volunteer to clean out these frightful 
 nests. 
 
 Bob volunteered for this perilous work more 
 than once, and after one assault on a party of 
 Huns entrenched in a ruined farmhouse Bob 
 was slightly wounded. But he kept on fighting, 
 and at last the Boches cried ^^Kamerad!" That 
 is, those did who were able. 
 
 A party started back with the prisoners — 
 about a dozen of them — while the rest of Bob's 
 companions paused a moment to rest in the 
 farmhouse, which was pretty well battered up. 
 
 *'Well, we'd better get out of here — there's 
 work ahead for us," said the second lieuten- 
 ant who had led the assault on the machine-gun 
 position. ''Come along, boys!" 
 
 Just as they were leaving the house it seemed 
 as if the very earth was disrupted. Bob felt 
 himself being hurled through the air and he 
 had a vision of the building being blown apart. 
 The next thing he realized was that he was fall- 
 ing. Then came oblivion. 
 
CHAPTER XVin 
 
 A STRANGE MEETING 
 
 BOB DALTON slowly opened his eyes. 
 The reason he did it slowly was because 
 it seemed less painful that way. And 
 the truth of the matter was that he ached all 
 over. Later he said he felt as though some one 
 had taken a club and pounded him from head to 
 foot. 
 
 "I wonder what happened," mused Bob, and 
 his brain seemed to work as slowly as did his 
 eyes. Then came remembrance of the great 
 blast, of the farmhouse blown into the air, and 
 he himself being hurled along with at least part 
 of it. Then came the fall and darkness. And 
 it was from this darkness of unconsciousness 
 that Bob was now gradually emerging. 
 
 He turned his head from side to side, and was 
 glad to find that it was still attached to his body 
 and that he could still move it. 
 
 Bob saw that he was lying in a field. Dirt 
 140 
 
A STRANGE MEETING 141 
 
 was all about him, some scattered in such a way 
 as to show that shells had landed there not very 
 long before. Over his head Bob could see the 
 sk^^ and note that clouds were slowly floating 
 along. 
 
 "Well, I'm out in the open, that's one sure 
 thing," mused the Khaki Boy. "Now to see if 
 I've got my legs and arms left. My head's as 
 sore as a boil, though." 
 
 The best way to discover this was to use his 
 hands, and he found, to his delight, that they 
 were both attached to his arms, and that his 
 finq:ers were intact. They were a little numb, 
 but he managed to move them, convincing him- 
 self that at least the upper part of his body was 
 still intact. 
 
 "Hum! Lump about as big as a hen's egg,^^ 
 murmured Bob, as he discovered a protuberence 
 on his head. It was the blow which caused this 
 that had rendered him senseless. 
 
 "Now if I can wiggle my legs maybe I'll be 
 able to get up and see what happened and 
 what's going on," thought Bob. He lay still 
 for a moment longer, however, moving his feet 
 only slightly, and he was glad to find that his 
 legs seemed to be normal. 
 
 There was borne to his ears the distant 
 sounds of war — the rattle of rifles and machine 
 guns, and the boom of artillery. But it was so 
 distant that he decided the tide of battle had 
 passed beyond him, wherever he was. 
 
142 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "And that's the thing to find out — where I 
 am," murmured Bob. "I can get up, I guess." 
 
 He was about to do this when he heard voices 
 talking, and it needed but a hearing of the first 
 few words to tell Bob that the talk was in Ger- 
 man. 
 
 Bob lay still and listened. He wanted to 
 make sure of his position before he arose. The 
 next few words apprised him of the plight into 
 which he had fallen, or rather, been blown. 
 Bob understood enough German to enable him 
 to know what was being said. And the first ex- 
 pression was, when translated : 
 
 "There is another dead American pig over 
 there. ' ' 
 
 "You're right," came in rejoinder. "The 
 mine hidden in the house worked to perfection. 
 If they killed our machine gunners, we killed 
 twice as many of them." 
 
 "It was a beautiful explosion," went on the 
 first speaker. "How the swine-hounds did sail 
 up." 
 
 "Blown to bits!" laughed the other. 
 
 "All but this one. He doesn't seem to have 
 been hurt at all." 
 
 "Maybe he was too far outside. But he is 
 dead, there is no need to bayonet him." 
 
 "Say, can they be talking about me!" was 
 the thought that flashed through Bob's mind. 
 
 There seemed to be no doubt of it a little 
 later, for he heard one of the Germans say: 
 
A STRANGE MEETING (m 
 
 "Well, we may as well search him. The pigs 
 sometimes have gold money. And, anyhow, his 
 shoes are better than mine. I'll take them off. 
 Dead men need no shoes!" and he laughed. 
 
 ''He takes a whole lot for granted," thought 
 Bob grimly. And then, as he sensed the imnort 
 ot this talk, his real situation became apparent. 
 
 "They had that farmhouse mined," mused 
 Bob, "After we wiped out the machine gun- 
 ners some one of the Boches must have sprung 
 the mine. That did for our fellows and sent me 
 sailinn; through the air. I got the bump on the 
 head that put me to sleep, and now, as soon as 
 I wake up, they think I'm dead. But I'll show 
 *em " 
 
 He brought his musings to a sudden end, for 
 at that instant he felt a violent pull on one leg. 
 His foot was wrenched to one side. But Bob 
 did not mind the pain much, for it told him his 
 feet and legs were in good shape. 
 
 "Here! Quit that!" he yelled, as he raised 
 his head and saw a burly German soldier try- 
 ing to unlace the shoes that were on Bob's feet. 
 
 If a bomb had dropped between the two Huns 
 they could not have been more greatly dis- 
 turbed. They leaped back and stared with 
 wide-open eyes at Bob, who sat up. The man 
 who had had hold of his foot dropped it, 
 
 "He — ^lie is not dead!" this fellow cried, in 
 German. 
 
 "No. But let's finish him!" said the other. 
 
144 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 For a moment Bob gave np hope. He was 
 unarmed. His rifle had blown ont of his hands 
 nnd his revolver was missing. And he saw, not 
 far off, a number of Germans. It was evident 
 tljere had been a shift in the lines dnring the 
 time Bob was nnconscioiTS, and the Boches 
 again occupied the position around the demol- 
 ished farmhouse. 
 
 The Hun who had proposed to bayonet Bob 
 raised his weapon, but the other interposed. 
 
 **We were told to take prisoners if we could 
 get them," he said in German. *'And this is 
 one of their nnder-officers. He may tell us 
 something. ' ' 
 
 *' You've got another guess coming, Fritzie!'' 
 said Bob, aloud. 
 
 *'The pig-dog says something," remarked the 
 soldier with the rifle. **Do you know what it is, 
 comrade ? ' ' 
 
 ''Nein! How should T speak the rotten talk? 
 Well, we'll search him and take him along with 
 us. The lieutenant will be glad of the pris- 
 oner." 
 
 Poor Bob was in dire straits, but, still, being 
 taken prisoner was infinitely better than being 
 bayoneted on the spot; and Bob realized this 
 even though he had heard many stories of the 
 German prison camps. 
 
 For one wild moment he had an idea of leap- 
 ing up and gi^nng the best battle possible to his 
 two captors. There were only two immediately 
 
A STRANGE MEETING 145 
 
 near him, and Bob had a sort of patriotic no- 
 tion that one American was better than half a 
 dozen Germans. But cold facts stared him in 
 the face as he slowly rose to his feet. Among: 
 these facts was the realization that he was weak 
 and trembling from the eifects of his being so 
 nearly blo'wn to death in the explosion. An- 
 other fact was, that though there were only 
 two of the Huns close at hand, there were many 
 others within signaling distance. 
 
 *'Well, I guess I'll have to give up,'' thought 
 poor Bob. 
 
 And then the Germans closed in on him. Bob 
 could not resist. His pockets were turned 
 inside out, and they took everything he had. 
 They even took his shoes, and tossed him a pair 
 of old, half-rotten ones which the tallest Ger- 
 man discarded. 
 
 "Go ahead!" ordered the man who had ex- 
 pressed the wish to bayonet Bob, and the pris- 
 oner had no choice but to obey. They marched 
 behind him with rifles held in readiness for in- 
 stant use, and soon Bob was in the midst of a 
 company of Germans, the officer of which 
 showed great delight at the sight of the Ameri- 
 can. 
 
 "I wonder how many of our poor fellows they 
 nave," mused Bob. ''Gee, but this is tough 
 luck!" 
 
 He felt like giving way to despair, but his 
 pride and grit kept him from doing so before 
 
146 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO ^vjy 
 
 the leering, exultant Germans. So Bob shut 
 his teeth tight and marched on. It was not 
 imtil late that evening that he was allowed to 
 rest in a German camp, and then he found what 
 the officer hr,d meant by "others." There were 
 g number of Americans who had been captured 
 and vrere being herded together to be sent into 
 the interior of Germany or to some of the con- 
 quered parts of France, where many of the Ger- 
 man prison camps Avere located. 
 
 The days that followed Bob's capture were 
 full of misery. He was packed into a filthy 
 railroad car with wounded and distressed m.en, 
 and then, by slow and jerky stages, he was taken 
 away. 
 
 On this terrible journey to the German prison 
 camp the poor captives had scarcely anything 
 to eat and almost no water to drink. Many 
 were ill, and several wounded, but no attention 
 was given them, and their wounds were not 
 dressed. 
 
 At times Bob thought he would go mad at tHe 
 sights he saw. His oa\ti personal sufferings, 
 once the pain in his head ceased, were not great ; 
 but, in common with the others, he lacked food 
 and water. 
 
 And finally, after many Aveary day? the; 
 were taken from the train and marched ami-: 
 jeering lines of Germans to a wired stockade. 
 
 Bob dragged his unwilling feet 'vAo the stock- 
 ade. He saw gathered in the enclosure many 
 
A STRANGE MEETING 147 
 
 sad-eyed and sorrowful American and Allied 
 prisoners. And then, to the great astonishment 
 of Bob, he heard his o\ati name shouted. 
 
 Some one was running toward him — a ragged 
 figure — and at first he did not recognize who it 
 was. Then the voice spoke again: 
 
 **Bob! Bob Dalton! And so they got you, 
 
 too! Oh, but I'm glad to see you No, I'm 
 
 not either — not here ! ' ' 
 
 Bob rubbed his eyes. For a moment he 
 thought it was all a dream and that this was but 
 a phase of the explosion. Then as the face be- 
 fore him became more plain through a mist that 
 seemed to fill his eyes, Bob gasped : 
 
 ''Schnitz! If it isn't Franz Schnitzel!" 
 
 The long-sought, missing Brother had been 
 found, and now the two Khaki Boys had 
 strangely met to be companions in misery. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 IN SWIRLING WATERS 
 
 FALSE-HEAETED and desperate as had 
 been the two men who struck down and 
 rendered Roger and Jimmy senseless, 
 their last inhiiman act — the tossmfx of the un- 
 conscious KI aki Boys over the cliff — defeated 
 their intentio; s. For as the Brothers fell into 
 the deep water, the shock and contact of it 
 brought back their senses. 
 
 Roger and Jimmy splashed into the water at 
 the same time, and at first they sanlc deep into 
 the smrling depths of the river, which ran at 
 the foot of the cliff, dotted here and there on its 
 surface with black rocks. 
 
 The blows that they had received on their 
 heads had not, fortunately, been sufficiently 
 hard to make them unconscious for more than a 
 few minutes. It was as if a pugilist had re- 
 
 148 
 
IN SWIRLING WATERS 149 
 
 ceived a "knockout" of a little more than the 
 usual severity. 
 
 The shock and chill of the water brought back 
 the senses of the two lads, and their first, nat- 
 ural instinct, in common with that of every 
 swimmer, was to hold their breath when they 
 felt their heads submerged. 
 
 And then the boys came to the surface and 
 struck out. Again this was almost instinct. 
 They were both good swimmers, and among the 
 feats they had practised at various times in 
 summer pleasure camps had been to swim 
 across a lake fully clothed. This exploit stood 
 the lads in good stead now, though the garments 
 they wore and the accoutrements they had to 
 carry very heavily handicapped them. 
 
 But they knew how to get rid of their gas 
 masks, and as their steel helmets had fallen off 
 during the attack, and as they had no weapons, 
 they were not as heavily burdened as a soldier 
 on the battle front would have been. 
 
 So they managed to get to the surface and 
 strike out, though they did not know in which 
 direction to swim, save toward the nearest 
 shore. But to reach that was a task more easily 
 thought of than carried out. The current was 
 swift, and they could make little progress 
 against it. 
 
 *' Don't try co breast it!" cried Jimmy to 
 Roger. **Let yourself float down, and work 
 your way over to the nearest bank. ' ' 
 
150 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 i( 
 
 ' All right ! How are you ? ' * 
 
 "Pretty rotten. I got a bad jolt on the head, 
 hut the water makes it feel better," said 
 Jimmy. 
 
 "Wliat happened to us, anyhow?" asked 
 Roger, as he managed to get to his companion's 
 side. ''All I remember is being struck down. 
 Did the Germans make a counter-attack?" 
 
 "It wasn't the Germans," declared Jimmy. 
 "It was those two Bixton fellows from the sig- 
 nal corps. They attacked us ! " 
 
 "What fori" cried Roger. "Are they Ger- 
 man spies?" 
 
 "Well, they're as bad as that, if not worse," 
 declared Jimmy. "They're traitors, I believe. 
 They must have attacked us, as they threatened 
 to do, because they found out that we, in a way, 
 were responsible for Mike Bixton 's being sent 
 to jail. They threatened to do us up, and they 
 did it." 
 
 "They surely did!" assented Roger. "Why, 
 they might have killed us." 
 
 "They tried to, hard enough," declared 
 Jimmy. 
 
 "Do you really tliink so?" cried his compan- 
 ion. 
 
 "I'm sure of it! AVliy, they struck iaard 
 enough to kill. Only that we had on our tin 
 hats, they'd have ended us. And then dump- 
 ing us into this river — that was to be the end, 
 they thought." 
 
IN SWIRLING WATERS 151 
 
 ''And I^m not sure but what it will be yet/' 
 said Eoger, as his swimming strokes seemed to 
 lose power. 
 
 "What's the matter?" asked Jimmy anx- 
 iously. "Can't you keep it up?" 
 
 "Not much longer. I'm about all in. My 
 head feels queer!" 
 
 Jimmy looked about him. They were in the 
 midst of s^virling waters that rushed in and out 
 among the rocks. The two lads had a hard 
 struggle not to be dashed against these. 
 
 "Do you see that flat rock over there?" cried 
 Jimmy to his chum, pointing to one about a 
 hundred feet down stream and nearer to the 
 western bank than the boys then were. 
 
 "Yes, I see it," Avas the answer. 
 
 "Do you think you can reach it?" 
 
 "Maybe. But why?" 
 
 "Because it's a flat rock, and it stands well 
 lip out of the water. If we climb out on it we 
 can take a rest and catch our breath. Then, 
 maybe, we can get across to the shore." 
 
 "Go ahead!" said Roger desperately. "I'll 
 iollow you." 
 
 They had momentarily caught hold of a small 
 projecting rock in the stream, but it was not 
 large enough to afford a foothold. Jimmy now 
 let go of this and struck out for the flat rock of 
 which he had spoken. Roger followed as best 
 he could. 
 
 It was no easy matter for the half-exhausted 
 
152 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 lads to scramble up the sides of the slippery 
 rock. But their desperate sitnation seemed to 
 give them additional strength, and at last they 
 were out of the water. They sat down, little 
 streams running from their clothes over th^ 
 slanting rock, whence they dribbled into tlio 
 river that flowed on either side of the boulder. 
 
 "Well, Ave 're alive, anyhow," remarked Jim- 
 my, as his breathing came back to somewhere 
 about normal. 
 
 "That's about all we can say," rejoined his 
 chum. "We'll never be able to swim to shore. 
 The current is too swift," and he pressed his 
 hands to his aching head. 
 
 "Oh, don't give up so easily!" exclaimed 
 Jimmy. "We'll get to shore all right. What 
 we are going to do when we get there is the only 
 thing that's worrying me." 
 
 "Get back to our company as soon as we 
 can," ad\ased Roger. "The others can't be so 
 very far away. ' ' 
 
 "They may be ten miles, as far as I can tell," 
 went on Sergeant Jimmy. "I don't know a 
 thing that happened after the Bixtons struck 
 ns until I woke up in the water. They certainly 
 are scoundrels!" he declared bitterly. 
 
 "That's right," assented his chum. "You'd 
 think, if they thought they had a real quarrel 
 with us, that they'd have waited until the battle 
 was over to attack us. I can't understand it 
 all." 
 
IN SWIRLING WATERS 163 
 
 * * Nor I, ' ' admitted Jimmy. ' ' Unless they are 
 afraid of us, as well as bearing us a grud.^e be- 
 cause of what we did to Mike. And I'm in- 
 clined to think they are afraid." 
 
 ''What of?" asked Roger. 
 
 "That we'll tell on 'em. I believe the two 
 Bixtons are the same fellows we saw in the dug- 
 out and who were seen later by the Twinkle 
 Twins sending up smoke signals. The fact that 
 the Bixtons belong to the signal corps makes it 
 all the more suspicious." 
 
 "Yes, I guess it does," said Roger wearily. 
 "Well, if we ever get out of this we'll have 
 something against 'em all right. But how are 
 we going to get across?" 
 
 "We'll have to swim for it," declared Jimmy. 
 * ' Come on. No telling when we '11 be under fire. 
 I say, Roger, look at that ! " he suddenly cried, 
 pointing up stream. 
 
 Roger looked, and saw a raft made of tree 
 trunks lashed together coming down the swift 
 river, and on the raft were a number of German 
 soldiers. 
 
 "That raft is going to come right close to this 
 rock!" cried Jimmy, and Roger also decided 
 that this would be the case. 
 
 "Are they coming after us?" he asked. 
 
 "No, I don't believe so," was Jimmy's re- 
 joinder. "I guess they've been in a fight them- 
 selves. There are two or three lying do\\Ti on 
 the raft who look as if they were wounded." 
 
154 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 On came the raft, urged by the swift current. 
 The Germans aboard it saw the two lads on the 
 rock in the middle of the river, and they seemed 
 to be taking counsel among themselves. 
 .. ''If we could get on that log outfit we could 
 float down stream in safety until we came to a 
 landing place, or to a better place to cross," 
 suggested Jimmy. 
 
 ''But we can't get on!" exclaimed Roger. 
 "Those Germans don't seem to have any guns, 
 but they're two to our one, not counting those 
 lying doA\m. We can 't get on the raft, Jimmy. ' ' 
 
 "We've got to!" was the desperate answer. 
 "We'll fight 'em with bare knuckles for a place 
 there. It's our lives or theirs! Roger, we've 
 got to fight!" and Jimmy rolled up his sleeves 
 while the raft with the four live Germans and 
 three dead ones swept nearer and nearer to the 
 rock that formed a refuge for the two Khaki 
 Boys. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE GAVE FIGHT 
 
 PERILOUS in the extreme was the strait 
 in which Jimmy and Roger found them- 
 selves. They realized that they could not 
 remain very long on the rock in mid-stream in 
 their present weakened and drenched condition. 
 It was barely large enough for them, and just 
 as the raft came in sight a new peril became 
 manifest. This was the fact that the river was 
 rising. 
 
 Roger had noticed it and called Jimmy's at- 
 tention to it just as the Germans came around 
 a bend in the stream. There had been consider- 
 able rain, and more was in prospect. The 
 stream would probably rise suddenlj^, and then 
 it w^ould be impossible for the Khaki Boys to 
 maintain their position on the rock. The tor- 
 rent would sweep over it. 
 
 155 
 
166 THE KB A VJ BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 But a more immediate need confronted them. 
 They felt tliat they must take refnge on the raft 
 as the only means of getting out of the desper- 
 ate situation where fate had swept them. 
 
 *'Get ready!" called Jimmy to his chum, as 
 a swirl of the current brought the raft nearer 
 the rock. 
 
 "What's the game to be?" asked Eoger. 
 
 "We'll leap on the raft as it floats past. If 
 the Germans will let us share it with them, well 
 and good. If not — ^^^ell, we'll jjust have to fight 
 them, that's all. As I said, it's our lives or 
 theirs. ' ' 
 
 "If they haven't any arms we stand a 
 chance," returned Eoger. "But if they try any 
 shooting " 
 
 "I don't believe they have a gun or a revol- 
 ver, ' ' interrupted Jimmy. ' ' If they had, they 'd 
 have begun shooting before this. Come on now, 
 get ready!" 
 
 The attitude of the Germans on the raft, at 
 least those who by their attitude showed them- 
 selves to be unwounded, or at best but slightly 
 wounded, was strange. They seemed stunned, 
 as if they had passed through some terrible 
 experience. And, as Roger and Jimmy learned 
 later, the men had taken part in a desperate 
 engagement, and their whole command had been 
 practically wiped out. These few had managed 
 to escape to the raft, but the horror of what 
 they had gone through seemed to make them 
 
THE CAVE FIGHT 157 
 
 temporarily inculpable of using all their facul- 
 ties. 
 
 It was due to this, perhaps, that Eoger and 
 Jimmy were able to accomplish whcit they did. 
 For as they leaped aboard the raft, there was 
 onlv slight resistance at first. One or two of 
 the Germans tried to x^ii^h the lads off, and '^hey 
 would have succeeded had they used their 
 strength to its best advantage. 
 
 But they did not seem to know what to do. 
 As a matter of fact they lacked a leader, and a 
 quick glance directed to the prostrate figures 
 on the raft showed that one was an under offi- 
 cer. But he seemed to be dying. 
 
 And so, leaping from their rock, the two 
 Am^ericans landed on the raft. One German 
 tried to push Jimmy off, but was sent stagger- 
 ing back with a blow in the face, and he fell over 
 one of the prostrate figures. Then Eoger over- 
 came the man who rushed at him, and for the 
 time being the Khaki Boys were victorious. 
 
 But the situation was almost chang'^d for the 
 worse a moment later. The under-officer, cor- 
 responding probably to an American second 
 lieutenant, raised his head from a pool of blood 
 and cried, in German, of course : 
 
 ** Throw off the American pigs!" 
 
 It w^as just this command that the German 
 privates needed, and it seemed to galvanize 
 them into action. The four, who of those on 
 the raft alone seemed to be unwounded, sprang 
 
158 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 at Jimmy and Eoger. But one missed his foot- 
 ing and fell lieavily. This left only three, and 
 two of them sprang at Jimmy. 
 
 But once more luck Avas with the Khaki Boys. 
 With a flash of inspiration, Roger, as he saw 
 hjs antagonist coming at him, reached in his 
 back trousers pocket and pulled out a small 
 nielde oil-can that he used on his rifle. Hold- 
 ing it out, as though it were a revolver, Roger 
 pointed it at the German's head. In an in- 
 stant the man's hands went up, and he cried: 
 
 Pausing not an instant in his actions, Roger 
 dashed his fist, oil can and all straight into the 
 man's free, knocking him off the raft and into 
 the river. 
 
 '*Now I can help you, Jimmy!" cried Roger, 
 and he sprang to the assistance of his chum. 
 And sorely did Jimmy need help, for the two 
 Germans had almost overpowered him in their 
 endeavor to thrust him off the raft. 
 
 With desperate energy Roger and Jimmy 
 fought the tAvo, and for a few seconds hard 
 blows were given and taken on both sides. The 
 wounded officer shouted encouragement to his 
 men, but the desperate plight of Rosrer and 
 Jimmy made them fight to such good r^nd that 
 in a few minutes they had forced their assail- 
 ants overboard. 
 
 The man who had fallen seemed to have either 
 broken or badly strained his leg. He was 
 
THE CAVE FIGHT 159 
 
 groaning and unable to rise, and this left no 
 able-bodied Germans to attack Jimmy and 
 Roger. They were satisfied that none in the 
 party of Huns was armed, and so they had the 
 situation well in hand. 
 
 "Well, this is a little better than being on the 
 rock — after we've got things our own way," de- 
 clared Jimmy, as he began to get his breath 
 back. 
 
 "What's to be done now?" asked Roger, 
 while the wounded officer glared at them. 
 
 Jimmy looked down the foaming river. They 
 were in a wider and deeper part now, and the 
 raft was swinging in toward shore. 
 
 "We'll land at that point below," said Jim- 
 my, indicating the spot m.eant. "We can leap 
 ashore, and — well, we '11 have to trust to luck. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, I'll feel better once we get ashore," 
 said Roger. 
 
 They looked at the figures on the raft. Some 
 of the Germans were dead, and others, appar- 
 ently, dying. There was nothing Roger and 
 Jimmy could do, and, watching their chance, 
 when the raft was within a few feet of the shore 
 they jumped off. 
 
 There was a rope fastened to one end of the 
 crude craft, and, catching hold of it as he 
 leaped ashore, Jimmy cried to the officer: 
 
 "Do you want to be made fast here?" 
 
 The man muttered something in his own 
 tongue, but as it did not seem to be an answer 
 
160 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 in the affirmative to Jimmy's question, the lad 
 tossed his end of the rope on the raft and let 
 the strncture go floating on down stream. 
 
 ''They'll have to take their chance, same as 
 we did," remarked Jimmy. ''Though I'd have 
 anchored them if they'd said the word." 
 
 "They may be rescued by friends below 
 here," suggested Roger. "And now what are 
 we going to do? It's going to be dark soon, and 
 we don't know which way to go to get back to 
 our lines." 
 
 "You said something then!" declared Jimmy. 
 "It's going to rain, too. I felt a few drops. 
 Say, this is about the worst plight we've been 
 in since we left Camp Sterling." 
 
 "Oh, it might be worse!" declared Roger, 
 with as much optimism as he could muster. 
 "Let's hike along until we get somewhere and 
 find something to eat." 
 
 "Say, don't get sarcastic!" begged Jimmy. 
 
 They walked up the river bank and saw a 
 lonely bit of country stretching before them. 
 There did not appear to be a house on it, but 
 that war had passed that way was made evi- 
 dent by many signs, few of them pleasant. 
 
 "Let's see where this road leads to," sug- 
 gested Jimmy, pointing to one that did not ap- 
 pear to have been used recently. 
 
 "Might as well take it as any," agreed Roger. 
 "I wish it led to a can of beans and a ham sand- 
 
THE CAVE FIGHT 161 
 
 "Don't rab it in," groaned Jimmy. 
 
 They were tired, wet, and hungry. They 
 were exliansted from the battle in which they 
 had taken part, they were sore from the treat- 
 ment accorded them by the Bixtons, and they 
 had hardly recovered from the strenuous bat- 
 tle on the raft. Still they did not give up, but 
 tramped on. 
 
 They passed a field in which a few miserable 
 turnips were growing, and, digging out some, 
 they ate them. Poor as this food was, it served 
 to put a little more life into them. 
 
 It was getting dusk when, as they were going 
 do"\\Ti the road, they heard voices ahead of them, 
 around a turn. Jimmy and Roger looked at 
 one another. The same thought was in the 
 minds of both. 
 
 Were these friends or foes? 
 
 "Let's hide until we take a look," suggested 
 Jimmy. 
 
 "Hide where?" Roger demanded. 
 
 "Up in that hole, or cave," went on Jimmy, 
 pointing to one that showed through a fringe of 
 bushes in the face of a hill which was bordered 
 by the road. "We can stay there until we see 
 who is here." 
 
 In the fast-falling darkness they scrambled 
 up the hill and dodged into the cave. As far 
 as they could tell it seemed to be a fairly large 
 one. 
 
 "Look down and see if you can make out who 
 
162 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 was doing that talking, Roger," Jimmy di- 
 rected. *'I have a flashlight in my pocket, but 
 I gness the water's put it out of business. Oth- 
 erwise, we could see what sort of place we're 
 in." 
 
 Jimmy's fears regarding the light were only 
 too true. It was useless without a new battery. 
 Roger looked down toward the road, but could 
 see nothing, nor did they hear any more talk. 
 
 They were debating with themselves what 
 was best to do when it began to rain hard, and 
 Jimmy said: 
 
 "Well, we can keep dry in here, or, at least, 
 we won't get any wetter. Good thing we found 
 this cave when we did. But I'd like to have a 
 light so we could see what it is. Might be a 
 whole squad of Huns in here for all we know." 
 
 * * Not very likely, ' ' decided Roger, ' ' If there 
 were any here they'd have taclded us before 
 this. Say, this is some storm! 
 
 "I'd like to know who it was we heard," con- 
 tinued Roger, when he and his chum had been 
 in the cave perhaps half an hour. 
 
 "So would I," assented Jimmy. "Well, if 
 it stops raining we can " 
 
 He came to a sudden pause, and Roger under- 
 stood why, for there was a noise in the rear of 
 the cave. It was the sound of two persons talk- 
 ing. And the Khaki Boys, looking into the 
 blackness back of them, saw the glimmer of a 
 light 
 
THE CAVE FIGHT 163 
 
 ''Look! There is someone in here!*' whis- 
 pered Jimmy. 
 
 ''Let's creep back and see who it is," advised 
 Roo;er. 
 
 Cautiously they made their way back toward 
 the faint light. It increased in brightness as 
 they neared it, and then, to their great aston- 
 ishment, they saw a sort of room fitted up in the 
 cave. It was like one of the trench dugouts, 
 and there were some rude chairs and a table in 
 the center of the underground apartment. On 
 the table stood a lantern, but it was the sight of 
 the two figures standing beside the table that 
 gave Roger and Jimmy their biggest surprise. 
 
 For the figures were none other than those of 
 Wilbur and Aleck Bixton ! 
 
 The two scoundrels had set their rifles in a 
 corner of the cave room and were lo^ ^ing at 
 some papers they had spread out on the table. 
 They did not seem to feel the need of caution, 
 and spoke aloud. 
 
 "Well," romarked Aleck, "I guess by this 
 time those two fellows wish they hadn't been 
 so active in making trouble for poor Mike." 
 
 Wilbur Bixton nodded. 
 
 "I think we did for them all right," went on 
 Aleck. "They'll never trouble us again. But 
 I don't see what's keeping Carl Anker. He 
 said he'd be here at nine, and it's long past that 
 now. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, he and Fritz Ammann never did show 
 
164 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 up on time," remarked Wilbur. *'I guess well 
 have to wait for 'em. We ought to make 'em 
 pay big f "r this information. It's the most im- 
 portant we've handed over yet." 
 
 "That's right," agreed his brother. "And 
 Jook at the risk we run. They've got to come 
 across with more money!" 
 
 Roger nudged Jimmy as they hid in a dark 
 corner, and Jimmy signaled back that he recog- 
 nized the import of the talk. 
 
 Then as the two scoundrels bent lower over 
 the table, handling a number of papers, Jimmy 
 put his lips to Roger's ear and whispered: 
 
 "If we could sneak around and get their 
 guns, we could make prisoners of 'em!" 
 
 * ' That 's right ! ' ' agreed his chum. ' ' There 's 
 some black work going on here. They must 
 have come to this cave to meet two men, who, 
 from their names, are Germans." 
 
 "Not so loud!" whispered Jimmy. "Come 
 on now! We've got to Avork fast. You take 
 one gun and I'll get the other. Their backs 
 are toward us, and if they don't hear us they 
 can't see us. Once we have the guns, the jig is 
 up for them." 
 
 Slowly and cautiously, in the semi-darkness, 
 Roger and Jimmy crept forward. They were 
 almost at the weapons, standing in a corner 
 behind the two men who were bending over the 
 table, when suddenly Roger's foot struck 
 against what seomed to be a tin ^an lying on 
 
THE CAVE FIGHT 165 
 
 the floor of the cave. There was a loud, metal- 
 lic rattle. 
 
 **AVho's there?" cried Aleck, springing up 
 and wheeling around. 
 
 ''Come on! Rush for it!" yelled Jinuny, all 
 need of silence now being gone. He and his 
 chum made a leap for the guns, but Jimmy's 
 foot slipped and he went down. 
 
 Wilbur Bixton turned higher the flame of 
 the lamp, and in the sudden illumination the 
 two brothers saw the boys they had, some 
 hours before, dropped over the cliff. 
 
 For an instant deadly fear showed an the 
 faces of the two plotters. But as they realized 
 that Jimmy and Roger were not ghosts, the 
 Bixtons sprang at them with yells of rage. 
 
 Then in the cave began a desperate hand-to- 
 hand fight I 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 A DESPEEATE RESOLVE 
 
 FORGETTING for the moment the fact 
 that he was a German prisoner, Bob Dal- 
 ton, at the sight of the long-lost Franz 
 Schnitzel, rushed forward to greet his Brother. 
 The two clasped hands warmly. 
 "Oh, but it's good to see you!" cried Franz. 
 * * And it 's good to know that you are — alive ! ' * 
 Bob hesitated over the word. For poor Franz 
 did not seem much more than alive. He was 
 wasted away, as were all in that horrible camp. 
 In the American army they had been well fed, 
 and their condition showed accordingly. For 
 some time Franz, and for a shorter time. Bob, 
 had been fed in the German way — ^underfed, and 
 that on the most miserable of food. 
 
 "How did it happen that you were cap- 
 tared!" asked Franz, as he and Bob walked off 
 
 i66 
 
A DESPERATE RESOLVE 167 
 
 a little by themselves. '*I suppose you heard 
 all about me." 
 
 ''Well, not exactly," Bob answered, "We 
 heard part of the story about your capturing 
 some Germans, and then either being captured 
 yourself, or else disappearing — we couldn't be 
 quite sure what it was. We hoped you were 
 alive, even if you were a prisoner, but we 
 couldn't be sure." 
 
 *'0h, I'm a prisoner all right," replied Franz. 
 ''There's no question about that. And it hap- 
 pened just like that ! I did capture some Huns, 
 but another party came along, rescued those I 
 had, and copped me. Then I was brought here, 
 after a fearful journey. But tell me about your- 
 self. How did they get you?" 
 
 Bob told of the blowing up of the farmhouse, 
 his unconsciousness and subsequent capture. 
 
 "Well, I guess Roger, Jimmy and Iggy are 
 the only ones left to fight the Germans," sighed 
 Franz. 
 
 "I don't know about Iggy," replied Bob. *'I 
 hope he's left." 
 
 "Why, what do yon mean? Are Rodge and 
 Jimmy " 
 
 Franz hesitated to put his terrible thought 
 into words. 
 
 "We don't know what happened to them,'* 
 said Bob. "They weren't to be found after one 
 of the big fights we had. Whether they are 
 killed or captured we don't know. For a time 
 
168 TEE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Iggj and I were the only two left of the original 
 five. Now I'm gone, and poor Iggy may be all 
 alone. Bnt what sort of camp is this?" 
 
 ** About as bad as it well can be," said Franz 
 gloomily. "They starve lis, beat ns, make ns 
 work, and do everything mean." 
 
 ''Any chance of breaking out?" asked Bob. 
 And then as he looked as the heavy stockade 
 and the bare, electrically charged wires, he 
 added : "I guess there isn't, or you'd have tried 
 it long ago." 
 
 "Some have tried it," said Franz in a low 
 voice, as he looked around to make sure of the 
 persons in the immediate neighborhood of him- 
 self and Bob. "Some got away — at least, they 
 didn't come back here. Others who tried to get 
 away have been shot, and some poor fellows 
 were killed on the electric wires." 
 
 "Well, I guess we're doomed to fetay here 
 then, ' ' and B ob sighed. " But it 's tough luck ! ' ' 
 
 Once more Franz looked around. And then, 
 to Bob's surprise, his companion in misery 
 leaned over and whispered : 
 
 "There's a chance! Just a bare chance! I 
 can't tell you any more now. One of the guards 
 is looking at us. Lean over and pretend to be 
 t^ang your shoe!" 
 
 Bob did so, his heart thumping hard with the 
 sudden rush of hope. He tried to act naturally. 
 
 "Look at these shoes!" he exclaimed, extend- 
 ing his foot as if he were tying a loose lace. 
 
A DESPERATE RESOLVE 169 
 
 *'The fellows who caught me took my good ones 
 and left me with these paper things. They're 
 nearly half 'melted' now." 
 
 ' ' I had the same luck, ' ' said Franz, exhibiting 
 his footwear, which was in the same condition 
 as was Bob's. **But it's all part of the fearful 
 game. Are you hungry?" 
 
 '* Hungry? Say, that word doesn't fit at all! 
 I'm starved!" 
 
 Once more Franz looked cautiously aliout. 
 The guard's gaze seemed to be removed now, 
 and the young prisoner spoke more freely. 
 
 "Come along," he said to Bob. "There's a 
 vacant bunk next to mine. You want to cop it 
 while you have the chance, then we can be to- 
 gether. And don't breathe a word of this to 
 anyone, but I've a couple of chocolate cakes 
 hidden away. They're great for staving off that 
 starved feeling," 
 
 * ' Chocolate ! ' ' ejaculated Bob. "For the love 
 of " 
 
 "Hush!" cried Franz. "Do you want me to 
 be robbed of itf I got it off an Englishman who 
 died," he went on. "You see the Red Cross 
 sends packages of food and things like chocolate 
 to the Allied prisoners. Sometimes we get 'em, 
 and, m.ore often, we don't. The Huns know a 
 good thing when they see it. But this English- 
 man got a package just before he died, and when 
 he found he was going West he divided it out 
 among some of us. I've kept my chocolate ever 
 
170 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 since, though many a day I've been ahnost wild 
 to eat it. ' ' 
 
 * * What 'd you save it for ? ' ' asked Bob. * ' You 
 didn't know I was coming." 
 
 *'No, but" — again Franz whispered — "I 
 would need it if I escaped, I was saving it for 
 that." 
 
 *'And you think there isn't a chance to get 
 away noAv?" 
 
 Franz looked around and cautiously replied: 
 
 **I think there's a chance, but there's no use 
 dying of starvation waiting for it. I heard that 
 there is to be another distribution of food pack- 
 ets from the Red Cross soon. We can save some 
 of that, if we get anything, and take it with us 
 if we're lucky enough to break out. Come on, 
 111 get the chocolate." 
 
 Franz led the way to one of the barracks 
 where he and his fellow prisoners were herded. 
 Herded is the right word, too. It was a miser- 
 able place. Franz went to his ''bunk," which 
 was a mere apology for a bed. Looking about, 
 to make sure he was not observed, he removed 
 a loose board in the floor and took out a package 
 wrapped in some old rags. In the package wera 
 two cakes of sweet chocolate. 
 
 *'We'll divide one now, and save the other," 
 whispered Franz. *'No telling when well get 
 more. ' ' 
 
 Bob never would have believed that chocolate 
 •ould taste so good. It was nourishing, and 
 
A DESPERATE RESOLVE 171 
 
 small as was his portion and that of Franz, they 
 both felt better after munching the confection 
 and drinking some water. 
 
 Miserable days followed Bob's arrival at the 
 prison where Franz was held. In common with 
 other unfortunates, the Khaki Boys were 
 starved, beaten at times, and driven forth to 
 labor for their captors. At night they were 
 herded back to the barracks. 
 
 **I don't see how we're ever going to escape," 
 sighed Bob one night after a wearying day. 
 * * I 'm willing to give up ! " 
 
 * ' Don 't say that I ' ' urged Franz. * ' This very 
 night some of us are going to get together in 
 the dark and talk matters over. I have a plan. 
 It may fail, but we might as well be shot while 
 trying to escape as to lead the life we do." 
 
 This information seemed to bring new life to 
 Bob. 
 
 And that night, between inspections of tlie 
 guards, a silent band of prison conspirators met 
 in a dark corner of the barracks. Franz whis- 
 pered to them his plan of escape. 
 
 '^What do you think of if?" he asked. 
 
 "It's desperate," said an Englishman. 
 
 "But let's try it!" suggested another. 
 "Otherwise I shall go mad!" 
 
 And so the daring resolve was taken. 
 
CHAPTER XXn 
 
 THE ESCAPE 
 
 SILENTLY, the desperate prisoners 
 crouched in the dark corner of the miser- 
 able German camp. Their hearts that had 
 been so deep in despair now beat with new hope. 
 ''Now this is the plan in detail," announced 
 Franz. "We must get it all straight, as the 
 least slip means failure. It 's lucky I can speak 
 German like a native. I always despised the 
 language, and when this war broke out and I 
 heard the terrible things the Boches were doing 
 I was ashamed to twist my tongue to the lan- 
 guage. But now it comes in mighty handy. I 
 think I can fool the guard at the barracks where 
 they repair the uniforms. Once I get him out of 
 the way it'll be fairly clear sailing. We can 
 pass out in the dark, and, once we get beyona 
 these hateful wires, it'll be the best chance we 
 
 172 
 
THE ESCAPE 173 
 
 could hope for. Then it'll be every man for 
 himself, for it won't be safe for so many of ns 
 to stick together, even if we are in German 
 uniforms. Now does everyone understand it!" 
 
 They all said they did, and then, as it w^as 
 risky to remain any longer away from their 
 sleeping quarters, they silently stole back to 
 their miserable pallets. But there was hope 
 now, where they had had only despair before. 
 
 In brief, the plan made by Franz and some of 
 his companions was this. Not all in the prison 
 pen could be included, as there were too many of 
 thrm. Some refused to take the chance, and 
 others had plans of their own for getting away. 
 
 Franz could, as he said, speak German like a 
 native. He had formed a plot to overpower the 
 officer on guard at the shop where German 
 uniforms were repaired. Then Franz hoped to 
 be able to get inside the shop, pass out a number 
 of German suits to his companions, don one 
 himself, and, under some pretense, lead the dar- 
 ing band out of the pen under cover of darkness. 
 
 Such was the bare outline of the plot, but 
 there were many side issues which rendered it 
 much more hazardous than it sounds. 
 
 Among the many tasks the Allied prisoners 
 were set at in the German detention camps was 
 the repairing of German uniforms. The Huns 
 were hard put, after the first two years of war, 
 to provide cl) thing for their troops. And, as 
 the Allies did later, the Boches formulated a 
 
174 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 salvage plan. That is, the imiforms, when not 
 too badly damaged, were taken from the dead 
 bodies of uieir soldiers and sent to the rear to 
 be cleaned, mended, and put in shape, to be 
 igsued to men whose clothing had worn out in 
 service. 
 
 Franz, Bob, and some of the others worked 
 day after day remalring these uniforms, and 
 they knew the inside and outside of the barracks 
 shop where the uniforms were revamped and 
 stored against the time of need. 
 
 After dark the uniform shpp was deserted, 
 but it was guarded generally by but one officer, 
 as it was somewhat removed from the prison- 
 ers' sleeping places. 
 
 Franz planned to steal up on this officer as 
 he was on duty in front of the uniform building, 
 overpower him in the most silent way possible, 
 and then don his uniform. He would hide liis 
 own miserable suit some place, and also drag 
 the body of the officer out of sight. 
 
 Once attired as a German officer and ivith his 
 knowledge of the language, Franz could move 
 about the prison yard freely. He hoped he 
 would not have to do much talking, however, 
 as he did not know what orders the uniform 
 guard might be under. 
 
 However, Franz intended to work quickly. 
 Once he was attired as a Huh, thou^'h he hated 
 the uniform, it was his idea to slip into the shop 
 and bring out two other uniforms. Bob would 
 
THE ESCAPE 1T5 
 
 put on one, and one of the other conspirators 
 the remaining suit. Then the trio could moTs 
 about with but little danger of detection. 
 
 Franz then proposed that he, Bob, and their 
 companion should bring from the shop enough 
 German uniforms to fit all who were going to 
 try to esoape in this way. They would don them 
 in their sleeping quarters, and then, under cover 
 of darkness, would be led boldly to the main 
 entrance of the prison pen by Franz. 
 
 Here was the weakest and most dangerous 
 part of the plot. If for any reason the guard 
 at the gate suspected anything they would all 
 be shot down without mercy. 
 
 But here again Franz counted on his knowl- 
 edge of German. It waa often the practice f-or 
 squads of German soldiers to march into and 
 out of the yard under the guidance of an officer, 
 and Franz hoped he and his friends would be 
 taken for one of these parties. He could give 
 the guard at the gate any reason that seemed 
 feasible for taking the men out at night. All the 
 prisoners were soldiers. They could march in 
 a squad like the Germans, and, though they 
 might not be able to do the ''goose step," there 
 would be no need for that. 
 
 *'Well, we've got to take the chance," said 
 Franz, as he and Bob turned in on their pallets. 
 
 ''Yes, it's worth taking a lot of chances to get 
 out of this hole," was the answer. 
 
 How they lived through the next day Bob, 
 
176 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTI NG TO WIN 
 
 Franz, and the others in the plot hardly recalled 
 afterward. They were wistfully anxious for 
 night to come, and terribly worried lest by some 
 chance the plan might be spoiled. 
 
 But fate seemed to favor them. None of them 
 was sent, as sometimes was the case, to labor in 
 distant mines. They were all kept at tasks 
 within or near the prison enclosure, and, to their 
 delight. Bob and Franz were put at work sewing 
 buttons on revamped uniforms. 
 
 This gave them a chance to note that an 
 unusual number of repaired suits were ready to 
 be issued. This was another matter that had 
 worried Franz. Sometimes the stock of avail- 
 able uniforms in the shop was exhautsed. If 
 that had occurred at this time there would have 
 been none for the escaping prisoners. 
 
 "There's enough here for all of us," Franz 
 remarked to Bob, as they stopped work that 
 night. 
 
 They filed in to their meagre supper, as did 
 all the prisoners, and, hungry as they all were, 
 each one managed to smuggle away a small 
 piece of bread, or what passed for it, and some 
 other food. For some days past they had been 
 hoarding such victuals as they could, for, once 
 escaped, they must hide in holes, live the best 
 way they could, and subsist on what they found 
 until they could reach Holland or get back to 
 the American lines. And they all hoped to be 
 able to do this, rather than reach the neutral 
 
THE ESCAPE 177 
 
 Netherlands, where they would be interned. 
 
 It may well be imagined that none of those 
 in the plot to escape slept that night. The hour 
 for the trial was set at two o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, that being the time when the guards would 
 be least on the alert. 
 
 And, much as rain was hated, everyone was 
 glad when it began to drizzle shortly after 
 midnight. This meant that the guards would 
 seek such shelter as was available on their posts, 
 and not be quite so alert as they would be were 
 the night fine. 
 
 *'So far so good!" whispered Franz to Bob, 
 as the time drew near. ^'I'm going to start 
 now.'' 
 
 He slipped from his hard bed and silently 
 made his way to the door. Franz knew the 
 habits of the guard there. He generally was 
 dozing off at this hour, though it was against 
 the rules. But as no escape had been attempted 
 in a long time, a little carelessness had crept 
 into the iron discipline. 
 
 As silently as a cat Franz crept up on this 
 guard. In his hand the Khaki Boy carried a file 
 that had been worn down to what constituted 
 a dagger with a needle point. There was so 
 slight a struggle and commotion at the entrance 
 of the barracks that Bob and the others, breath- 
 lessly waiting, hardly heard it. Franz shud- 
 dered at the deed he had been obliged to commit, 
 but it was either his life or the guard's. 
 
178 THS KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 The lifeless body was dragged out of the 
 way, and then Franz crawled from the building. 
 It was raining harder than ever now, and he 
 was glad of it. Quickly he made his way 
 through the darkness to the clothing shor). He 
 was not stopped, and for this he was also glad. 
 For though he might have got past a sentry in 
 the blackness by giving some excuse, in German, 
 for walking around, there would have been 
 grave danger of discovery. But, as it was, 
 Franz found himself at the clothing depot, and 
 then he began to look for the guard. 
 
 ^'The most likely place he'll be will be in the 
 shelter of the doorway, out of the wet as much 
 as possible,'^ mused Franz. **I'll tackle him 
 there." 
 
 As he approached the door to the shop a 
 figure stepped from the doorway, just as he 
 expected. 
 
 "Haiti Who comes?'' demanded the under- 
 officer in German, as he brought his rifle around 
 ready for instant use. 
 
 *'I have some important information for 
 you," said Franz, speaking in the tongue he 
 hated. **Hush! do not make an alarm." 
 
 As he spoke he drew near to the officer with 
 the sharp-pointed file in readiness. 
 
 "What is the information, and who are you?'^ 
 asked the officer, who was a corporal. 
 
 "This!" exclaimed Franz, and he struck true 
 and hard. 
 
THE ESCAPE 179 
 
 There was a gasping, choking cry, hardly 
 audible above the sighing of the wind and the 
 patter of the rain. 
 
 ''I — I hope I don't have to do this again," 
 thought Franz with a shudder. ''It isn't like 
 killing men in battle. But it has to be ! " 
 
 The way was now clear for him. As quickly 
 as he could he stripped off the corporal's uni- 
 form and Jonned it in place of his own rags. 
 These latter 1 o tossed under the building, whv:re 
 he also hid the body. 
 
 Possessing himself of the officer's keys Franz 
 hurried into the shop. Fortunately he loiew his 
 way about even in the dark, and he caught up 
 two complete uniforms and two long coats from 
 a pile he had noticed that afternoon near the 
 door, where they were stacked ready to be 
 shipped out in the morning. 
 
 Hurrying back to the sleeping shack, clad in 
 the dead officer's uniform, Franz carried with 
 him the two other outfits he had picked up. 
 Quickly Bob and a man named Rayburn donned 
 these suits, and then, in the darkness and rain, 
 they carried away enough uniforms to fit out the 
 entire escaping party. 
 
 Feverishly the men worked to get into them, 
 and at last they were outfitted. They were 
 ready to be led to freedom by Franz now, if 
 only fate were kind to them. 
 
 "Ail here?" asked Franz in a whisper. 
 
 "All here," answered Bob, who had kept 
 
180 THE K HAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN^ 
 
 count. Some of the other prisoners awoke, but 
 none would join the escaping party. They re- 
 garded the chances as too slim, and they knew 
 what the result would be if they were caught. 
 
 Out into the rain and darkness Franz led his 
 "squad of "German" soldiers. Boldly th^y ap- 
 proached the gate. It was the crucial moment. 
 Would they be stopped? 
 
 The sentry came out of his little box as Fran2s 
 led his men up in double file. 
 
 "Halt!" came the command, and Franz re- 
 peated it. 
 
 "Who goes?" demanded the sentry. 
 
 "A party from the prison commandant's 
 quarters to bring in a squad of American pris- 
 oners," answered Franz. "Our brave fellows 
 have captured some more of the swine. ' ' 
 
 "Good!" grunted the sentry. "They ought 
 all be shot. You have an order, of course ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes," answered Franz, and for a moment 
 his heart went cold. He had not thought of this. 
 In desperation he put his hand in the pocket of 
 the overcoat he had taken from the dead officer. 
 
 Franz was about to take out the deadly file, 
 and use it for the third time, but as he felt for 
 it his fingers encountered a paper. He did not 
 know what it was, but he would take a chance. 
 At any rate it would be something in German. 
 
 Boldly he took it out and offered it to the 
 guard at the gate. Had there been any slip here 
 
THE ESCAPE 181 
 
 Franz was ready to kill the sentry at once. Bnt 
 the latter was intent on getting what lie sup- 
 posed was an order permitting a squad of Ger- 
 iiitm aoldiers to pass out. He took the document 
 from Franz's shaking hand. 
 
 ''It is too dark to read," spluttered the guard. 
 "And my flashlamp is broken. Pass on!" 
 
 "Forward, march!" ordered Franz, in Ger- 
 man. And hoAv those words thrilled the prison- 
 ers ! They filed past the sentry who had turned 
 to go back into his little box. Then, as Bob, who 
 brought up the rear, was about to go through 
 the gate wl icli the sentry had unlocked, some- 
 thing seemed to strike the gniard as wrong. 
 
 "Your men have no guns, corporal," he said. 
 "And to bring in prisoners " 
 
 ' ' Bah ! An unarmed German is a match for 
 any number of the swine-dogs!" returned 
 Franz. 
 
 ' ' Right ! Pass on ! " chuckled the guard. 
 
 And the prisoners were outside the gate ! 
 
CHAPTER XXni 
 
 THE SECRET PACT 
 
 JIMMY and Roger, fighting in the cave with 
 the Bixtons, never afterwaid conld tell 
 exactly how it happened. Ce vtainly by all 
 mles and regulations of personal encounters it 
 ought to have been easy for the two scoundrels, 
 physically comparatively fresh, as they were, 
 to have overcome the Khald Boys, who were 
 well-nigh exhausted. 
 
 But if it is true that fear lends strength, so 
 does righteous rage, and the Khald Boys pos- 
 sessed this in full measure as they thought of 
 not only what the two brothers had done to 
 them personally, but their traitorous conduct 
 toward their country. 
 
 "Hit, and hit hard!" cried Jimmy, as he 
 sprang at Aleck. 
 "I'm mth you !" sang out Roger. 
 Fists crashed to faces, there were body blows, 
 182 
 
THE SECRET PACT 188 
 
 figures leaped back and forth, casting fantastic 
 shadows in the gleam of the lantern. There 
 were cries of rage and grunts of pain. But, 
 once started, the fight never slackened. 
 
 **WeVe got to down 'em this time, sure!'' 
 panted Wilbur, as Koger sent him back against 
 the cave wall with a staggering blow. 
 
 "Oh, we'll down 'em!" gasped Aleck, but in 
 his heart he knew the fight was going against 
 liim. 
 
 Once more the four met in the middle of the 
 cave. Jimmy saw his chance when Aleck low- 
 ered his guard for an instant, and then the fist 
 of the Khaki Boy went full and fair to the chin 
 of the plotter. 
 
 For an instant Aleck seemed to stand motion- 
 less, and then, with a dazed look on his face, 
 he sank to the floor, murmuring : 
 
 *'I'mout!" 
 
 And out he was. No counting off of the ten 
 seconds by a referee was necessary. Jimmy 
 had delivered a knockout blow to his antagonist. 
 At first the sergeant thought his enemy might 
 be dissembling, but a glance at the prostrate 
 figure showed that Aleck was not feigning. He 
 was unconscious. 
 
 ''I'll do for you now!" fairly roared Wilbur, 
 as he came back with a rush at Roger. The 
 latter was in a bad way, for he had slipped and 
 had sustained a terrific blow from Wilbur's fisf. 
 But the remaining Bixton had not counted on 
 
184 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Jimmy, and now Roger's chum could come to 
 his aid. And this Jimmy did. 
 
 As Wilbur swung past him, to deliver what he 
 hoped would be a finishing blow to Roger, 
 Jimmy put out his foot and tripped the scoun- 
 drel. 
 
 Wilbur went down heavily, the breath being 
 driven from his body. His head struck against 
 a table leg, so stunning him that it was an easy 
 matter for Roger and Jimmy to leap on him and 
 secure him. Roger, greatly exhausted, sat on 
 Bixton's chest. 
 
 **I — I'm all in! I quit!" the signal corps 
 man gasped. "Let me get up!" 
 
 "Not much!" panted Jimmy. "We've got 
 you where we want you now. Lively, Roger. 
 We've got to bind and gag these fellows." 
 "What's the idea of gagging themf 
 "So they won't tell we're here." 
 "Tell who we're here?" asked Roger, who 
 did not get his chum's meaning. 
 
 "The Germans who are coming here to carry 
 out some secret pact. You know what we over- 
 heard these fellows saying. Well, now I'm go- 
 ing to hide here and see the show out when the 
 Heinies arrive. We'll bind these fellows and 
 hide 'em. Then we'll wait for Mr. Carl Anker 
 and Mr. Fritz Ammann, whoever they may 
 be." 
 
 At the mention of these names Wilbur Bixton 
 squirmed, and tried to shake off Roger. 
 
THE SECRET PACT 185 
 
 ^ ' That '11 be about all from you ! ' ' cried Jimmy 
 in anger. ''Either you'll lie still, you dirty 
 traitor, or we'll put an end to this right now! 
 You tried to kill Roger and me, and we won't 
 show you any more mercy than we would a wild 
 beast. Now lie still ! ' ' 
 
 He sprang up and took one of the two riJfles. 
 
 "It's all up!" said AVilbur, and his voice was 
 Hopeless. * ' You fellows win. ' ' 
 
 *'We haven't taken all the tricks yet," ob- 
 served Jimmy grimly. *'The game has only 
 just started. Now, Roger, as soon as you get 
 your breath, take off his uniform and slip it on 
 yourself. I '11 do the same for the other — dog ! ' ' 
 he added contemptuously. 
 
 "What's the idea of changing clothes?" 
 asked Roger. 
 
 "There are two ideas in this," answered 
 Jimmy. "One is that our uniforms are wet 
 and theirs are dry. Since they are to blame 
 for the wet suits, it's only fair that they should 
 wear 'em. But we won't take the trouble to 
 re-dress 'em. Let 'em lie in their underclothes. 
 It isn't cold in here." 
 
 There was a sound from Aleck, which seemed 
 to indicate that he was regaining consciousness. 
 Jimmy quickly secured the other rifle, and then, 
 having made sure that the Bixtons were un- 
 armed, the work of changing uniforms was 
 begun. 
 
 While Jimmy stood on the alert with the 
 
186 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 rifle, Roger stripped off Wilbur's signal corps 
 uniform. Then Roger changed down to his skin, 
 wringing out his wet underwear and hanging 
 it over a chair to dry. Next he donned the 
 signal corps man's uniform without taking time 
 to first clothe himself in undergarments. 
 
 Wilbur was bound and gagged, being dragged 
 to a dark corner of the cave. Then the same 
 treatment was given Aleck, who came to his 
 senses as he was being bound, and murmured : 
 
 ''Did we do 'em, AVill?" 
 
 ''I'll answer for your brother," said Jimmy. 
 "He's sort of incapacitated just now, as you'll 
 be a little later. No, you didn't do for us, and 
 you can't now. The jig is up for you fellows." 
 
 Aleck did not answer, and soon he was lying 
 beside his rascally brother, incapable of move- 
 ment or speech. Roger and Jimmy now wore 
 dry uniforms, and the change was grateful. 
 
 "Well, so far so good," murmured Roger, as 
 he and his chum found time to rest themselves 
 and catch their breath. "Hello, chocolate in 
 this pocket ! " he cried, as he felt a cake in the 
 pocket of the uniform Wilbur had worn. 
 
 "Hope I have the same luck," said Jimmy. 
 "Yes," he added a moment later, "I've got 
 some, too. Say, this will come in mighty fine !" 
 
 "Well, now what's the game?" asked Roger, 
 as he glanced at his chum. "How much longer 
 are we going to stay here f ' ' 
 
 "Until the two men, probably Germans, whom 
 
THE SECRET PACT 187 
 
 the Bixtons were to meet here, show up," was 
 the answer. 
 
 ''And then what?" 
 
 ''Well, as soon as we hear them coming in 
 we'll douse the glim." 
 
 "What's the idea? Think we can fight 'em 
 better in the dark ? ' ' 
 
 "No, but they won't be so apt to notice that 
 we aren't the same signal corps fellows they 
 expected to meet. It's possible one of the Huns 
 may have a pocket flashlight — very probable, in 
 fact. But that won 't be very likely to give the 
 game away. They'll see two signal corps uni- 
 forms, and they'll take us for the Bixtons, I 
 hope." 
 
 "I hate to be taken for such mean skunks!" 
 
 "It's in a good cause," replied his chum. 
 "That's the only way we can get to the bottom 
 of this game — and there's some rotten game 
 going on, I'm satisfied of that." 
 
 "I guess you're right," agreed Roger. "So 
 you plan to let the two men come in here, think- 
 ing we're the Bixtons they're to meet, and get 
 their secret out of 'em that way?" 
 
 "If they'll talk, and don't get suspicious, 
 yes. ' ' 
 
 "There must be two entrances to this cave," 
 said Roger. 
 
 "Yes, and maybe more," agreed his com- 
 panion. "We cam.e in by one — the one nearest 
 the river. The Bixtons came in by a second, 
 
188 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 and the Germans may come in by a third. All 
 we have to do is wait.^' 
 
 And Jimmy and Roger were glad enongh to 
 do this, for they had been through some strenu- 
 ous times in the last few hours. But the dry 
 clothing, though it was exceedingly rough with- 
 ont underwear, gave warmth to their chilled 
 bodies, and the chocolate had bolstered up their 
 fagging energies. 
 
 Together they sat and waited in the cave, 
 wondering when the two expected men would 
 come and what would happen after they arrived. 
 They talked in low voices, and speculated as to 
 the fate of their comrades. 
 
 And much the same sort of speculation was 
 going on in the minds of Bob and Franz and 
 also poor Iggy, who alone of the five Brothers, 
 was left with his command. 
 
 "First we are of a five, like a hand," mused 
 the Polish lad. ''Then we iss of a four when 
 Franz goes away. And den we is of a two when 
 Jimmy and Roger no more comes back. And 
 den Bob, he goes away, and I iss alone. Py 
 jolly, maybe it iss my turns next!" 
 
 Roger and Jimmy, sitting in the cave with the 
 light turned low, presently hieard a slight noise. 
 At first they imagined it was made by one of 
 their prisoners, but a moment of listening told 
 them it was from another source. 
 
 "The Fritzies are coming!" whispered 
 Roger. 
 
THE SECUET PACT 189 
 
 "Be ready,'* advised his clrnm. **Have you 
 
 the rifle?" " 
 
 '*Yes; and AVilbur's revolver, too." 
 
 ''Good! Here they are, and out goes the 
 glim!" 
 
 As he spoke Jimmy turned down the lantern 
 completely, and there followed a guttural excla- 
 mation. 
 
 *'Why is the darknessf" asked a voice in 
 English. * * Are you there Herren Bixtons ? ' ' 
 
 "Um," murmured Jimmy, nudging Roger. 
 
 ''What is the matter?" asked the voice of the 
 unseen one again. "You tell us to meet you 
 here, and yet you have no light" 
 
 "Out of oil," growled Jimmy. "Mayhe you 
 have a flashlight." 
 
 "It is out of oil, too!" laughed a second man, 
 and both voices had an unmistakable German 
 accent, though English was spoken fluently 
 enough. "It gives but a little glow. But we 
 have matches, and if there is a bit of a 
 candle " 
 
 "No candle!" returned Jimmy, trying to dis- 
 guise his voice. "Nothing seems to burn in this 
 rotten hole of a cave," he went on. "It's as 
 damp as a swamp. I've caught such a cold I 
 can hardly speak." 
 
 "I was wondering what was the matter with 
 your voice, Herr Wilbur," went on the voice. 
 "Well, we are here, and we do not need to stay 
 long, I suppose. It is not a nice place. As 
 
190 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 you say it is damp, and, too, there is always 
 danger of discovery. Yon have brought the 
 information we want, I dare say?" was the 
 question. 
 
 ''Did you bring more money?" demanded 
 Jimmy, making his tones hoarse. ''We've got 
 to have more money, Mr. — er — Ammann." 
 
 To his surprise the man laughed. What could 
 occasion mirth at a time like this? Was the 
 trick of Roger and Jimmy discovered? 
 
 The next moment he felt a wave of relief as 
 the man said : 
 
 " Ach! that's what you always do, even in 
 daylight — ^mistake me, Herr Anker, for Herr 
 Ammann. You Americans are not so smart as 
 you all think, not to know us apart." 
 
 Then Jimmy knew he had played to pure luck, 
 and he was filled with delight. 
 
 "Well, did 3^ou bring the money?" asked 
 Jimmy, following a lead given him by the two 
 prisoners now bound and gagged. 
 
 "Yes, we have a little more," answered the 
 other German. "But it is hard to get now. 
 Here it is — in gold. Now you have the plans 
 all made for sending up the smoke signals, 
 yes?" 
 
 "We have plans, yes," answered Jimmy. 
 But he did not say what plans they were. Inci- 
 dentally, they involved the capture of Herr 
 Anker and Herr Ammann. 
 
 "Ah! Good!" murmured the one who had 
 
THE SECRET PACT 191 
 
 described himself as Anker. "You are doing 
 a good deed," he went on as he came up to the 
 table where Jimmy and Bob were seated and 
 sat down. He had drawn from his pocket a 
 flashlamp, but the battery was so nearly ex- 
 hausted that it gave scarcely more light than a 
 firefly. Jimmy was not afraid of detection in 
 that illumination. *'Yes, it is a good deed," 
 the German repeated. *'For, by enabling our 
 troops to the more quickly gain a victory, you 
 are bringing peace nearer, and you will thus 
 save many lives. ' ' 
 
 '*Um!" grunted Jimmy. He saw now how 
 the Germans, by this sort of flattery and reason- 
 ing, had led on the Bixtons. But, indeed, it 
 required little to corrupt those already evil. 
 
 **Now let us make sure all is right," went on 
 one of the Germans, as they sat across the table 
 from Eoger and Jimmy in what was almost 
 total darkness. "We bring you the money for 
 the plans of the smoke signals. They are here — 
 you have them?" he asked. 
 
 Jimmy had discovered a bundle of papers in 
 the coat he had taken from Aleck, and, guess- 
 ing them to be what was wanted, drew them out 
 and laid them on the table. But if they should 
 be plans that ought not to fall into the hands of 
 the Huns, Jimmy had no intention of letting 
 Anker and Ammann get away with them. 
 
 "If you will repeat the plans, then we will be 
 sure we understand, my friends," suggested 
 
192 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Aimnann. *' Sometimes in translating there is 
 a mix-np. Now you will send up the balls of 
 smokOy as you agreed, to let our gunners know 
 where the American batteries and ammunition 
 dumps are, is it not sol A green ball for an 
 ammunition dump, and a red ball to tell where 
 there is a battery. Two white balls will mean 
 that the previous signals are to be disregarded, 
 and we start afresh. That is what you said, 
 last time. There has been no change V^ 
 
 "Um — er — no change," said Jimmy grimly, 
 but, he reflected, there was about to be a great 
 change. 
 
 ''Well, if that is all, we shall take the papers 
 and give you the money we have brought," said 
 Ammann. "Then we shall go. And next we 
 will meet a "week from to-night, but in a new 
 place. This is getting unsafe. We had hard 
 work to get here. Your lines are too close. Bitt 
 they will soon be loosed, when we shell the bat- 
 teries as your smoke signals tell us the location. 
 Ah, it is the only way to end the war and make 
 friends of enemies! The more we kill the 
 sooner the battles will end." 
 
 As he spoke he shoved forward a bag that 
 clinked metallicly. Jimmy held out the bundle 
 of papers, dimly visible in the faint light. 
 
 Jimmy trod on Roger's foot under the table. 
 They had learned all they needed to know. It 
 was now very plain. 
 
 For German gold the Bixlons had betrayed 
 
THE SECRET PACT 193 
 
 their country, thoy had indicated the secret 
 location of batteries and other engines of war, 
 enabling the Huns to land their destroying 
 shells accurately. The Bixtons, by means of the 
 smoke signals to which they had access and 
 which they could send up secretly, had given 
 the Germans the exact information they wanted. 
 And Ammann and Anker were German spies — 
 the go-betweens. 
 
 ^'Acli! For the Fatherland!" exclaimed 
 Anker, as he extended his hand for the bundle 
 of papers Jimmy held out. "I do this for the 
 Fatherland!" 
 
 **And I do this for the good old U. S. A.!" 
 cried Jimmy in ringing tones as he leaped to his 
 feet and brought the butt of the rifle down on 
 the liead of Anker. At the same time Jimmy 
 yelled: **Let him have it, Koger!" 
 
 And Eoger dealt Ammann a smashing blow, 
 so that the two German spies slipped from their 
 chairs together to the floor of the cave. They 
 were now as helpless as were the Bixtons. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THROUGH THE LINES 
 
 "y^REAT work!" cried Roger, as he and 
 
 i -■- Jimmy, lighting tlie lamp again, made 
 
 ^*-^ sure that the two Germans, as well as 
 the American traitors, were unable to give 
 further trouble. 
 
 "Yes, luck was with us all right," assented 
 Jimmy. "But, oh boy, what a lot this amounts 
 to!" 
 
 "You mean finding out about the smoke sig- 
 nals plot?" 
 
 "Yes, and all that it takes in. You wouldn't 
 think there could be such skunks on earth as 
 those Bixtons, would you?" 
 
 "I should say not!" agreed Roger. Though 
 the traitors were gagged their ears were open, 
 and if they had a spark of manhood left they 
 must have squirmed. 
 
 "You can't blame the Germans so much," 
 194 
 
THROUGH THE LINES 195 
 
 went on Jininiy. ' ' They were working for their 
 country, not against it, and they probably 
 thought what they did was all right. But it was 
 up to us to put 'em out of business." 
 
 ''And I guess you did to the one you hit all 
 right,'' said Roger. "Looks as if he was done 
 for." 
 
 ''Couldn't be helped," was Jimmy's grim 
 reply. "It was the spies or us. How's your 
 man?" 
 
 "Well, I hit him pretty hard." 
 
 This was evident. Spurred by the necessity 
 for acting with vigor and promptness, the 
 Khaki Boys had struck hard. Both the Ger- 
 mans were unconscious, and, as developed later, 
 one was so badly hurt that he died. 
 
 "Well, what's the next move?" asked Roger, 
 as they sat down and looked at one another. 
 Their nerves w^ere a bit unsteady, and no won- 
 der. They had passed through a strenuous time 
 in the last fifteen hours. 
 
 "We've either got to take these fellows some- 
 where to give them up to the army authorities, 
 or get word to our boys that the scoundrels are 
 here," Jimmy said. "There may be more of 
 the signal corps men involved in this spy work, 
 and it ought to be known. But I don 't see now 
 we can very well take all four to our lines, pro- 
 vided we can find the lines. This fellow," and 
 he pointed to the badly injured spy, "can't 
 walk." 
 
196 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING T O WIN 
 
 **Wliy not leave these two here in the cave, 
 tied as tightly as we can manage?" suggested 
 Roger. 
 
 "What about the Bixtons?" Jimmy asked. 
 
 * ' I fancy if we march behind them with their 
 own loaded rifles we can induce them to go 
 ahead of us to our lines," remarked Roger. 
 •'Later on the Germans can be attended to. 
 They won't be very likely to run away." 
 
 '*Say, I guess youVe got the right dope!" 
 Jimmy exclaimed. "We'll do just that. But 
 it's late now, and probably as dark as a pocket 
 outside. We can't find our way to the American 
 lines now. Better stay here in the cave until 
 morning." 
 
 "That's the best thing to do," decided Roger. 
 * ' If any more spies show up we '11 be ready for 
 'em, though I'm sick of this kind of fighting." 
 
 "So'm I," agreed Jimmy. 
 
 They cut into strips some of the German 
 civilians' own garments, and with these bound 
 the two spies. There was no need to gag them, 
 since all danger of any of the plotters giving 
 premature warning was passed. Indeed there 
 seemed to be no need of binding the badly 
 wounded Hun, but Jimmy and Roger were tak- 
 ing no chances. 
 
 During this process, by the light of the lan- 
 tern the Khnkl Boys made sure of the identity 
 of the Germans. They were the same men who 
 had been seen in the dugout, and there was no 
 
THROUGH THE LINES 197 
 
 question now but what the Bixtons had been 
 the two soldiers seen. 
 
 Having the instincts of humanity, Roger and 
 Jimmy made their prisoners as comfortable as 
 the circumstances would allow. They took the 
 gags from the mouths of the Bixton brothers 
 and gave them water. But the traitors spoke 
 no word. The lesser wounded German begged 
 for a drink, and it was given to him. The other 
 remained in a stupor, though the KhaM Boys 
 washed the wound on his head and bound it up. 
 
 Then passed the long night. 
 
 In the morning, not very much refreshed, as 
 may be imagined, by the weary, hungry hours 
 spent in the cave, Jimmy and Eoger ventured 
 forth. They found the entrance by which the 
 Bixtons and the spies had come in, and from 
 this point, which was on a hill, they were 
 afforded a good view of the surrounding 
 country. 
 
 *' There's smoke over there," said Jimmy, 
 pointing to what, at first, seemed to be a fog. 
 
 *'Yes," agreed his companion. *' Maybe it's 
 smoke of battle or some burning village. But 
 it means there have been men there, and that's 
 more than can be said of this vicinity. It's 
 deserted." 
 
 This was true enough. Though there were 
 evidences all about that fighting had gone on 
 in the neighborhood, there was no sign of habi- 
 tation near the cave, and no inhabitants. 
 
198 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 ''Let's str .t for that smoke," said Jimmy. 
 **It's an even break that we meet our lines some- 
 where over that way. That's the logical place 
 for them to be, considering the fightinr; of yes- 
 terday. Let's hike for there, and drive the 
 Bixtons ahead of ns." 
 
 ' ' I 'm with you ! ' ' cried Eoger. 
 
 There was no necessity of waiting for break- 
 fast — there was no breakfast to be had. Jimmy 
 and Roger donned their underwear, which had 
 dried by this time, and then, again putting on 
 the Bixton's uniforms, the two lads gave their 
 orders. 
 
 * 'We're going to let you wear our uniforms," 
 said Jimmy, "because they're still wet and, as 
 it was your doing that made them so, it's up to 
 you to stand the dampness." 
 
 The Bixtons said nothing. There was noth- 
 ing they could say. Their bonds were loosed 
 and, having seen that the Germans were still 
 securely tied, Jimmy and Roger, taking their 
 foes' guns, made the plotters march out of the 
 cave. 
 
 ""WHiat are you going to do with us?" 
 growled Aleck, as they were told to hike down 
 the hill in the direction of the distant smoke. 
 
 "March you back to your company where you 
 belong. They'll know what to do with you," 
 said Jimmy. 
 
 "Look here!" begged Wilbur. "You've got 
 us right, boys. We ain't going to crawl. But 
 
THROUGH THE LINES 199 
 
 do you know what it means if we have to go 
 back?" 
 
 "Yes, I know," said Jimmy soberly. 
 
 ''Then turn ns loose. Give ns a chance, any- 
 how!" 
 
 **A chance to help kill some more of our 
 boys?" cried Roger. ''I guess not! You had 
 your chance, and you didn't take it. You pre- 
 ferred to sell it to the Huns. Move along!" he 
 cried. 
 
 The Bixtons saw that pleadings were useless, 
 but later on they made one more attempt to free 
 themselves. As they drew nearer the smoke it 
 was seen that it came from a burning village, 
 and a little later, as they entered the outskirts 
 of the desolate and smoking town they saw signs 
 which indicated that it had been recently occu- 
 pied and deserted by Germans. 
 
 "They must be in retreat!" cried Jimmy. 
 "Our boys can't be far away." 
 
 "You're right!" assented Roger. "If we go 
 this way," and he pointed to the west, "we 
 ought to come to our lines. ' ' 
 
 ' ' You 're wrong ! ' ' said Wilbur quickly. * * Our 
 lines lie over that way. I ought to know, for 
 we came from there last night. Our lines are 
 there," and he pointed to the east. 
 
 "You've got nerve — calling 'em 'our' lines!" 
 declared Jimmy. "You don't belong to the 
 American army any more." 
 
 "Do you suppose he can be right?" asked 
 
f?00 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Roger in a low voice of his chnm. ** Maybe our 
 lines are in that direction." 
 
 **It only needs their telling me to go east to 
 make me go west!" exclaimed Jimmy. *' Nat- 
 urally they don't want to be taken back to the 
 company they dishonored. They want to escape 
 to the Germans they served. No, sir! We 
 march west!" 
 
 And west they went. 
 
 It was abont half an hour after this that 
 Roger and Jimmy, driving the Bixtons before 
 them, saw a gronp of American soldiers coming 
 toward them over a shell-torn field. 
 
 "Home again!" cried Jimmy. 
 
 At the sight of Jinuny and Roger, with gnus 
 held in readiness, marching two other Ameri- 
 cans soldiers ahead of them the party of Sam- 
 mies, nnder the leadership of a sergeant, broke 
 into a donble quick, and soon reached the Khaki 
 Boys. 
 
 "^Hiat's all this?" demanded the sergeant. 
 **Who are you two with the guns, and what are 
 these? Deserters!" he asked, pointing to the 
 Bixtons. 
 
 "Worse than deserters! They're traitors!" 
 said Jimmy. "And we left two German spies 
 back in the cave. We 've found out the secret of 
 the smoke signals. We'd like to report to the 
 officer commanding this sector, and deliver our 
 prisoners." 
 
 "Smoke signals, eh?" exclaimed Sergeant 
 
^ THROUGH THE LINES 201 
 
 Walton, who had charge of a party out in 
 search of possibl}^ forgotten wounded men. 
 *' That's queer. A squad of our boys, severa' 
 squads, in fact, are out looking for two cf the 
 smoke signal machines which the signal corps 
 reports missing since last night." 
 
 All eyes were turned toward the Bixtons. 
 But they maintained their policy of silence. 
 
 "Come on, I'll take you to the K. 0.," offered 
 the sergeant. 
 
 This was done, and Roger and Jimmy soon 
 turned over their prisoners and gave an ac- 
 count of the whole proceeding from the timo 
 they were knocked senseless until they attacked 
 and caught the German spies. Then, after the 
 boys had accurately described the location of 
 the cave, a party was sent there to bring back 
 the two Huns. The one had considerably im- 
 proved, being but stunned, but the other never 
 regained consciousness, and died that night. 
 
 But with the capture of the Bixtons and the 
 finding of the papers which they had prepared 
 to give the Germans in exchange for gold, the 
 whole secret plot was exposed. 
 
 The two scoundrels had, more than once, sent 
 up the smoke signals which enabled the Boches 
 to locate hidden batteries or machine-gun em- 
 placements. And to work their latest plot the 
 brothers had taken into the woods one cf the 
 new smoke caldrons. They had sold their 
 honor — and had brought death to many of their 
 
202 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 companions tlirongh greed for gold. It was dur- 
 ing one of their secret conferences with the 
 spies that the Khaki Boys had seen the Bixtons 
 in the dngont. And only for their capture in 
 i±he cave a grave disaster might have befallen 
 the American army through the traitorous con- 
 duct of the Bixtons. 
 
 For they had planned, by sending up more 
 smoke signals from another machine which 
 they had taken to the woods, to disclose the lo- 
 cation of a great battery of new, big naval guns, 
 designed to smash the German lines. 
 
 The successful attack of Roger and Jimmy 
 came at just the right time. The plot was 
 foiled and the plotters caught. And, to end 
 an unpleasant subject, it might be said here that 
 the Bixtons were tried by court martial shortly 
 afterward, found guilty, and executed, as was 
 the remaining German spy. 
 
 "Well, that's over," said Roger, a week after 
 their strenuous time in the cave and on the day 
 of the traitors' execution. "It was tough, but 
 it had to be done. And now I hope they'll let 
 us get back to our old Five Hundred and 
 Ninth." 
 
 "I'm vnth. you there!" cried Jimmy. "I 
 want to see Bob and Iggy. I don't suppose 
 there's any news of Franz yet." 
 
 "Maybe not, but I hope there is," sighed 
 Roger. 
 
 In due time they were sent back to their com- 
 
THROUGH THE LIN ES 203 
 
 mand, bearing with tliem the highest praise 
 from the army authorities for their success in 
 frustrating the smoke plot. And something 
 more substantial than thanks was to follow. 
 
 *'Iggy! Old scout Iggy!" cried Roger and 
 Jimmy, as they greeted the Polish lad in a dug- 
 out where they found him, not far from the 
 front lines now occupied by the Five Hundred 
 and Ninth. "How are vou, Iggv, and where 's 
 Bob?" 
 
 Ignace Pulinski rubbed his eyes, and shook 
 his head. 
 
 *'How can I dream w^hen I awake am?" he 
 ppirl. "Py jolly, it seems real like!" 
 
 ''"^Yhat's real like, you old chunk?" de- 
 manded Eoger. 
 
 ''Seeing you and Jimmy Blazes," was the an- 
 swer. " Of a dream I know it iss ! Yet I am not 
 asleep! Of a queerness it is!" 
 
 *'0f course it isn't a dream! We're as real 
 as yourself!" laughed Jimmy. "Come out of 
 the gas and tell us where Bob is!" 
 
 It took some little time to convince Iggy that 
 it was not all a dream, but when he had shaken 
 hands with them and they had clapped him most 
 heartily on the back, he exclaimed: 
 
 *' Oh, of such gladness am I ! If only Bob was 
 here now — and Franz, too, then would be the 
 five Brudders ag'in!" 
 
 "What! isn't Bob here?" cried Jimmy. 
 
 Iggy shook his head. 
 
204 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 "I see him not when we a big fight had," he 
 explained. ''Dot was after you two go away. 
 First we was of a five, den it was of a fourness 
 we was. You go and it was of a twoness — Bob 
 «,nd me. And den of Bob, he go away some 
 place I know not. I am of a oneness, and what 
 you call — er — ^by myself ness " 
 
 "You mean lonesomeness," suggested Roger. 
 
 **Him it is!" cried Iggy. '*I was such a 
 lonesomeness, but now I am of a gladness. 
 Only if we could find Bob and Franz!" 
 
 * * It would be great ! ' ' sighed Jimmy. "Well, 
 well keep on hoping." 
 
 They spent the rest of that day exchanging 
 experiences — Roger, Jimmy and Iggy. Toward 
 the close of the afternoon the three Brothers 
 were ordered to the front lines. It was ru- 
 mored that a big attack impended, thougii 
 whether it would be made by the Americans or 
 the Germans was not certain. 
 
 And shortly after Roger, Jimmy, and Iggy 
 had taken their places in the traverse, with No 
 Man^s Land in front of them, the whole section 
 of the line near them was thrown into a panic 
 by the discharge of a rifle. It was but a single 
 thot, and so quickly was a whistle command 
 shrilled forth that there was to be no more fir- 
 ing, that there was no general fusillade, such as 
 often follows a case of this kind. Even the Ger- 
 mans did not fire in a panic, as sometimes hap- 
 pened. Perhaps the reason for that was be- 
 
THROUGH THE LINES 205 
 
 cause of the distance of the two lines of trenches 
 at this point, the wire entanglements being half 
 a mile apart. 
 
 ''Wonder what that means?" asked Roger, 
 as he and his two chums got down off the firing 
 step, it being evident that there was to be no 
 engagement for the present. 
 
 "A couple of Germans caught out in No 
 Man's Land," was the answer of a messenger 
 who came through the trench just then. 
 ''Guess they'll wish they'd stayed at home." 
 
 ' ' Germans ! ' ' exclaimed Jimmy. ' ' They truly 
 had nerve to come out in the open." 
 
 He and his chums were discussing the strange 
 incident when a messenger harried up, 
 
 "Sergeants Blaise and Barlow and Corporal 
 Pulinski ordered to report to the captain, ' ' was 
 the crisp message. 
 
 In surprise Roger, Jimmy, and Iggy looked 
 at one another. 
 
 "Wonder if this has anything to do with the 
 capture of the two Germans," said Roger. 
 
 "How could that be?" asked Iggy. 
 
 "Maybe tliere's some connection between 
 them and the two spies we found in the cave,'" 
 suggested Jimmy. 
 
 "Maybe," agreed Roger. "Well, we'll go 
 see what's wanted, anyhow." 
 
 The messenger escorted them to a dugout 
 where the captain of their company was sta- 
 tioned. He smiled as he saw the three, and 
 
206 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 then it dawned on the Khaki Boys that the mat- 
 ter could not be very serious. 
 
 *'I sent for you to see if you could identify 
 these two prisoners caught wearing German 
 "uniforms between our lines and the enemy's 
 just now," said the captain. ''They claim to 
 know you. ' ' 
 
 He indicated two ragged, dirty youths in the 
 characteristic uniform of the Kaiser's soldiers. 
 They stood with their backs to Roger, Jimmy, 
 and Iggy. 
 
 "Claim to knovr us!" exclaimed Jinomy. **I 
 don't see how that can be." 
 
 **You don't!" cried one of the "Germans," 
 as he wheeled about. 
 
 "Going back on us, are youf" yelled the 
 other. 
 
 For an instant Roger, Jimmy, and Iggy stood 
 with dropped jaws and widely opened eyes. 
 And then, simultaneously, there burst from the 
 trio the shout: 
 
 "Bob! Franz!'' 
 
 A moment later the five reunited Brothers 
 were clasped in each others' arms — yes, they 
 fairly hugged one another, straining breast to 
 breast, and they were not ashamed of the tears 
 in their eyes. 
 
 "Do you recognize the prisoners'?" asked the 
 captain, wdth a laugh. 
 
 "Do we! Say, Captain, how soon before 
 we're going to fight?" cried Jinmiy. 
 
THROUGH THE LINES 207 
 
 *'0h, I gness I can let you have a few hours 
 off to celebrate," came the answer. '*Is that 
 what you wanted me to say?" 
 
 "That's it, sir!" answered Jimmy with a 
 snappy salute, in which the other Khaki Boys 
 joined. 
 
 "And now for a talk!" cried Bob, as they 
 marched back to a dugout behind the front 
 lines. 
 
 As the readers are well acquainted with all 
 that happened to Roger and Jimmy, details of 
 the story they told to Bob and Franz need not 
 be gone into. Similarly, they are acquainted 
 with what happened to Franz and Bob up to 
 the point when they, with their comrades in the 
 liberation plot, escaped from the German prison 
 camp, wearing Hun uniforms. 
 
 "And we have had one whale of a time since 
 then!" said Bob, in telling the story of their 
 journey back to the American lines. 
 
 He and Franz had suffered unimaginable 
 hardships. They separated from the others, as 
 it seemed safest not to travel in a large party. 
 What happened to their fellow prisoners Bob 
 and Franz did not hear until long afterward. 
 Some reached safety, but many were recaptured 
 or were killed. 
 
 Bob and Franz traveled mostly at night, and 
 the knowledge Schnitzel had of German saved 
 them more than once. Eventually, when almost 
 ready to give up, they reached a place where 
 
208 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 the 509th and brigaded regiments opposed a 
 strong German division. 
 
 And then, more by good luck than anything 
 else, Bob and Franz, still wearing the ragged 
 ^rerman nnif orms, found a gap in the Hnn lines 
 and got through it to No Man's Land. Then 
 they headed for the American trenches. 
 
 As they were in uniform, it was seen at once 
 that they were not spies, though one over-zeal- 
 ous Sammie fired on them. At first the Ameri- 
 cans thought they were about to receive two 
 German deserters, as frequently happened. 
 But once in custody Bob and Franz disclosed 
 their identity, and, learning that Roger, Jimmy, 
 and Iggy were in the neighborhood, asked that 
 they be sent for. 
 
 The rest has already been told. 
 
 ** Every man ready!" 
 
 "Every man ready, sir!" 
 
 This was the report that went up and down 
 the trenches. The five Brothers, reunited after 
 such stirring experiences, heard it as they stood 
 together ready to leap up on the firing step and 
 ro over the top. 
 
 , Behind them big cannon waited but a signal 
 to the gunners to belch forth flame and destruc- 
 tion. Every one was on the alert. 
 
 It was a day following a tremendous battle, 
 when the German lines had been smashed, torn 
 apart and thrown into confusion, and when the 
 
THROUGH THE LINES 209 
 
 fleeing Huns, driven from their stronghold by 
 the masterful work of Foch and Pershing with 
 the other Allied commanders, were endeavoring 
 to save themselves from disaster. 
 
 **A little bit more of this, and we'll finish the 
 job," remarked Jimmy, as he looked at his 
 wrist watch. 
 
 * ' What time is it ?' ' asked Bob. 
 
 * ' Nearly eleven. Why ? ' ' 
 
 **Well, I heard a rumor that the Germans 
 had asked for a cessation of hostilities, to be- 
 gin about noon, in order to get ready to sign 
 an armistice." 
 
 *' Don't you believe it!" exclaimed Franz. 
 "The Huns won't know they're beaten until we 
 grind their faces dowm in the mud! Listen to 
 that! Talk about ceasing hostilities!" 
 
 It was the sound of heavy artillery on the 
 American side, and the sound came nearer, like 
 rolling thunder over the distant hills. 
 
 ** Guess we're going in all right," said Jim- 
 my, and there was a grim look on his face. 
 "Fellows, we've had some hard fighting these 
 last few days. A little bit more of it, and we 
 
 may finish up. But Oh, well, what's the 
 
 use !;alking? If we live through it, we live — 
 that's all. I wonder -" 
 
 His words were smothered in a terrific burst 
 of fire from the guns back of them. 
 
 "Laying down a barrage!" shrilled Bob in 
 
210 THE KHAKI BOYS FIGHTING TO WIN 
 
 Roger's ear. ''Here's where we go over the 
 top!" 
 
 Tensely they stood waiting for the order. It 
 never came. 
 
 Suddenly, as if by magic, the terrific noise 
 <?eased. Where a moment before there had 
 been a crashing as if of whole worlds smash- 
 ing into collision in vast space, now there was a 
 quietness that was startling. 
 
 "Cease firing!" 
 
 The order came just as the hands on Jim- 
 my's watch pointed to eleven o'clock. 
 
 What did it mean ? And then, faintly at first, 
 but gathering momentum lik« a mighty wind, 
 the word went up and down the trenches. 
 
 ^'The armistice is signed!" 
 
 **That means the war is practically over," 
 said Bob. 
 
 * * Maybe not, ' ' returned Jimmy. ' ' There may 
 still be much for us to do." 
 
 And that he was right will be learned by read- 
 ing the next volume of this series, to be called, 
 **The Khaki Boys Along the Ehine ; or, Winning 
 the Honors of War." 
 
 THE EHD 
 
THE KHAKI BOYS SERIES 
 
 By CAPT. GORDON BATES 
 
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 delighted with these vivid and true-to-life 
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 zvar. 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS AT CAMP STERLING 
 
 or Training for the Big Fight in France 
 Two zealous young patriots volunteer and 
 begin their military training. On the train 
 going to camp they meet two rookies with 
 whom they become chums. Together they 
 get into a baffling camp mystery that de- 
 veJops into an extraordinary spy-piot. They defeat the ene- 
 iHJes of their country and incidentally help one another to 
 promotion both in friendship and service. 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS ON THE WAY 
 
 or Doing Their Bit on Sea and Land. 
 
 Our soldier boys having completed their training at Camp Ster- 
 Img are transferred to a Southern cantonment from which they 
 are finally sent aboard a troop-ship for France. On the trip 
 their ship is sunk by a U-boat and their adventures are 
 realistic descriptions of the tragedies of the sea. 
 
 THE KHAKI BOYS AT THE FRONT 
 
 or Shoulder to Shoulder in the Trenches 
 
 The Khaki Boys reach France, and, after some intensive train- 
 ing in sound of the battle front, are sent into the trenches. In 
 the raids across No-Man's land, they have numerous tragic ad- 
 yentures that show what great work is being performed by our 
 soldiers. It shows what makes heroes. 
 
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 J2mo, Illustrated. Price per volume, 80 cents, postpaid. 
 
 BASS:S^LL JOE OF THE SILVER STASIS 
 or The Rivals of Riverside 
 Joe is an everyday country boy who loves 
 
 .^FB^«iSAJl''0^ 
 
 or Tw* - , 
 
 ">« I 5\\iRSv,S^"** to play baseball and particularly to pitch. 
 
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 or Pitching for the Blue Banner 
 Joe's great ambition was to go to boarding 
 school and play on the school team. 
 
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 or Pitching for the College Championship 
 
 Joe goes to Yale University. In his second year he becomes a 
 varsity pitcher and pitches in several big games. 
 
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 or Making Good as a Professional Pitcher 
 
 In this volume the scene of action is shifted from Yal« 
 college to a baseball league of our central states. 
 
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 or A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles 
 
 From the Central League Joe is drafted into the St. Louis 
 Nationals. A coj ing baseball story all fans will enjoy. 
 
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 How Joe was traded to the Giants and became their mainstay 
 in the box makes an interesting baseball story. 
 
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 The rivalry was of course of the keenest, and what Joe did to 
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 The Giants and the AU-Americans tour the world, playing in 
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