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The Boy Allies On The Firing Line
OR
Twelve Days Battle Along the Marne
By CLAIR W. HAYES
AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies at Liege" "The Boy Allies With the Cossacks" "The Boy Allies In the Trenches"
A.L.BURT COMPANY NEW YORK
Copyright, 1915 BY A. L. BURT COMPANY
THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE
THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE.
CHAPTER I.
TERRIBLE ODDS.
"Feels pretty good to be back in harness, doesn't it, Hal?" askedChester, as, accompanied by a small body of men, they rode slowlyalong.
"Great!" replied his friend enthusiastically. "And it looks as if wewere to see action soon."
"Yes, it does look that way."
The little body of British troopers, only forty-eight of them alltold, with Hal Paine and Chester Crawford as their guides, werereconnoitering ten miles in advance of the main army along the riverMarne in the great war between Germany and the allied armies. Forseveral hours they had been riding slowly without encountering theenemy, when, suddenly, as the little squad topped a small hill and thetwo boys gained an unobstructed view of the little plain below, Halpulled up his horse with an exclamation.
Quickly he threw up his right hand and the little troop came to anabrupt halt.
"Germans!" he said laconically.
"And thousands of 'em," said Chester. "They haven't seen us yet. Whatis best to be done?"
The answer to this question came from the enemy. Several flashes offire broke out along the German front, and the boys involuntarilyducked their heads as bullets sped whizzing past them.
"Well, they have seen us now," said Hal; then turning to the men: "Tothe woods," pointing with his sword to a dense forest on his right.
Rapidly the little body of men disappeared among the trees.
"Up in the trees," ordered Hal, "and pick them off as they come!"
Swiftly the troopers leaped from their horses and climbed up among thebranches. Here all could easily command a view of the oncoming Germanhorde.
Rapidly the enemy advanced, firing volley after volley as theyapproached; then, at a word from Hal, the British poured forth theiranswer. And such an answer! Before the aim of these few Britishtroopers, accounted among the best marksmen in the world, the Teutoncavalry went down in heaps.
There was a perceptible slackening in the speed of the approachinghorsemen. Then, as the English continued their work, firing withmachine-like precision and deadly accuracy, the Germans came to ahalt.
"What are they stopping for?" cried Chester. "There are enough of themto overwhelm us!"
"I believe they fear a trap," replied Hal. "They are afraid we aretrying to ambush them with a larger force. We must keep up thedelusion if we expect to get away."
So saying, he ordered the men to the ground, and the little forceadvanced to the extreme edge of the woods. So far not a man had beeneven wounded, for the Germans, unable to see that their foe hadclimbed into the trees, had aimed too low.
From the edge of the woods the British poured several volleys, andthen, as the enemy finally began an advance, they retreated slowly,firing as they flitted from tree to tree.
Apparently, Hal had rightly guessed the cause of the enemy'sindecision. They advanced slowly and warily; and when they finallygained the edge of the woods there was not a Briton in sight; but fromfurther in among the trees the leaden messengers of death still struckthe Germans, and man after man fell in his tracks.
Now the man nearest Chester threw up his arms and with a cry fell tothe ground. The lad made as if to go to his assistance, but Hal stayedhim with a word, and the little body of English continued theirretreat, firing as they went.
Suddenly the pursued emerged from the woods into the open. A distanceof half a mile lay between them and the next clump of trees. In thishalf a mile there was nothing that would afford shelter; and theGermans were approaching nearer every second.
Hal did not hesitate.
"We shall have to make a dash for it!" he cried. "One more volley,men, and then run!"
One more death-dealing volley was delivered at close range, and thenthe little troop of English turned and fled. But they had traversedscarcely half the distance when the Germans reached the edge of thewoods, and poured a volley into them.
Hal groaned as men fell on all sides of him. But still those who wereleft ran on. At length they reached the friendly shelter of the trees,but half their number lay behind, either dead or dying.
Once more, screened from the enemy, Hal halted the men.
"We may as well fight it out here," he told them. "We will hold themoff if we can, and if not we must retreat slowly, keeping behindwhatever cover offers."
A faint cheer went up from the handful who were left, and they turneddeterminedly to face their foes. They did not waste their fire. As theGermans came again into view, the British rifles cracked. Theirmarksmanship was superb, and rather than face this deadly fire theenemy halted.
Then began a game of hide and seek, with death the penalty for all whowere seen. The firing was only at intervals now. Wherever a German armor leg showed itself, a British rifle sounded and a German wasaccounted for.
For almost half an hour the game continued; and it was kept up untildarkness fell. Fearing that it was the intent of the British to lurethem into the hands of a strong force, the Germans did not attempt acharge, but contented themselves with trying to pick off their foes asthey flitted from one tree to another.
But if the Germans had suffered, so had the English. Of the littletroop of fifty, there now remained, besides Hal and Chester, but tenmen. The two boys seemed to bear charmed lives, for neither had beenstruck once. They had exposed themselves to all dangers as well as hadthe troopers, but fortunately no German bullets had reached them.
And still the few English fought on. Now that darkness had fallen andtwo more men had dropped, Hal ordered those who were left to make alast dash for life. He sprang from behind the tree which had shelteredhim, and Chester and the few remaining troopers joined him. Then theyturned and sped as rapidly as the darkness would permit in thedirection of their own lines.
Now that the fire of the English had ceased entirely, the Germanshalted, puzzled. It was impossible for their officers to tell whetherthe enemy had all been killed, or whether the silence heralded theapproach of a larger force. Their indecision undoubtedly saved thelives of Hal and Chester and the eight troopers, for had the Germansadvanced they would have experienced little difficulty in killing orcapturing them.
Silently but swiftly the ten forms dashed through the woods, and whenat length they once more emerged into the open country they werecompletely exhausted.
"Well, I guess we are safe, what is left of us, at any rate," saidChester as they halted to take a much needed rest. "It's terrible tothink of those poor fellows we left behind."
"It is, indeed," replied Hal; "but I don't think they would complain.The British soldier is not that kind."
"You are right," agreed Chester. "And each accounted for more than oneof his country's foes before he went down. Were you hit, Hal?"
"No. Were you?"
"No. But come, we had better be pushing on again."
With the loss of their comrades still preying upon their minds, thelittle troop continued on its way; and whi
le they are hurrying onwardwe shall take time to introduce Hal and Chester more fully to thosewho have not met them before, and to relate how it came about thatthey were serving in such an important capacity with the British armyin France.