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The Boy Allies At Verdun
OR
Saving France from the Enemy
By CLAIR W. HAYES
AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies At Liege" "The Boy Allies On the Firing Line""The Boy Allies With the Cossacks" "The Boy Allies In the Trenches""The Boy Allies On the Somme"
1917
CHAPTER I
THE EVE OF VERDUN
On the twenty-second of February, 1916, an automobile sped northwardalong the French battle line that for almost two years had held back thearmies of the German emperor, strive as they would to win their wayfarther into the heart of France. For months the opposing forces hadbattled to a draw from the North Sea to the boundary of Switzerland,until now, as the day waned--it was almost six o'clock--the hands of timedrew closer and closer to the hour that was to mark the opening of themost bitter and destructive battle of the war, up to this time.
It was the eve of the battle of Verdun.
The occupants of the automobile as it sped northward numbered three. Inthe front seat, alone at the driver's wheel, a young man bent low. He wasgarbed in the uniform of a British lieutenant of cavalry. Closeinspection would have revealed the fact that the young man was a youth ofsome eighteen years, fair and good to look upon. As the machine spedalong he kept his eyes glued to the road ahead and did not once turn tojoin in the conversation of the two occupants on the rear seat. Whetherhe knew that there was a conversation in progress it is impossible tosay, but the rush of wind would have made the conversationunintelligible, to say the least.
This youth on the front seat was Hal Paine, an American.
The two figures in the rear seat were apparently having a hard timeto maintain their places, as they bounced from side to side as thecar swerved first one way and then the other, or as it took a flyingleap over some object in the road, which even the keen eye of thedriver had failed to detect. But in spite of this, even as theybounced, they talked.
One of the two figures was tall and slender and there was about him anair of youthfulness. He was in fact a second American boy. His namewas Chester Crawford, friend and bosom companion of Hal Paine. Likethe latter he, too, was attired in the uniform of a British lieutenantof cavalry.
The second figure in the rear seat was built along different lines. Hewas short and chunky; also, he was stout. Had he been standing it wouldhave been evident that he was almost as wide as he was long. He had apleasant face and smiled occasionally, though upon each occasion thissmile died away in a sickly grin as the car leaped high in the air afterstriking a particularly large obstruction in the road, or veering crazilyto one side as it turned sharply. In each case the grin was succeeded bya gasp for breath.
The figure was that of Mr. Anthony Stubbs, war correspondent of the NewYork _Gazette_, on the firing line in Europe to gather facts for hisnewspaper. He was attired in a riding suit of khaki.
Said Mr. Stubbs:
"Well, we may get there and we may not."
"Oh, we'll get there all right, Mr. Stubbs!" Chester raised his voice tomake himself heard.
"We're likely to land out here in the ditch," was Stubbs' reply. "The wayHal runs this car, there is no telling what may happen."
"Not frightened, are you, Mr. Stubbs?" asked Chester, grinning.
"Frightened?" echoed Stubbs. "Why should I be frightened? We can't begoing more than a couple of hundred miles an hour. No, I'm notfrightened. I'm what you call scared. Wow!"
This last ejaculation was drawn from the little man as he was pitchedover into Chester's lap by an extra violent lurch of the car. He threwout a hand, seeking a hold, and his open palm came in contact withChester's face. Chester thrust Stubbs away from him.
"I say, Stubbs!" said the lad half angrily. "If you want to jump out ofhere, all right; but don't try and push me out ahead of you. Keep yourhands out of my face."
"I wasn't trying to push you out," gasped Stubbs. "I was huntingsomething to hang on to."
"Well, my face is no strap," declared Chester.
The automobile slowed down suddenly and a moment later came to a stop ata fork in the road.
"I'll have to have a look at this chart," Hal called over his shoulder tohis companions, as he thrust a hand into a pocket. "Forget which way wehead from here."
"We're headed for the happy hunting grounds no matter which road wetake," mumbled Stubbs.
"Don't croak, Mr. Stubbs," said Hal. "Barring accidents, we'll reachGeneral Petain at Verdun in time to deliver these despatches before it'stoo late."
"What I don't understand," said Chester, "is why it is necessary todeliver these despatches by courier. What's the matter with the wire?"
"I don't know," said Hal, as he returned the chart to his pocket after aquick scrutiny, "unless there is a leak of some kind."
"Hardly," said Chester.
Hal shrugged his shoulders as he settled his cap more firmly on his headand laid a hand on the wheel.
"You never can tell," he said.
"Well," said Stubbs, "I don't--hey! what're you trying to do, anyhow?"
For the little man again had been hurled violently against Chester as Halsent the car forward with a lurch. "Trying to leave me behind? What?"
"Can't be done, Mr. Stubbs," said Chester.
Mr. Stubbs glared at the lad angrily, but deigned to make no reply. Sothe big army automobile continued on its way in silence.
Darkness fell. Hal stopped the car and lighted the lamps.
"Can't take any chances while going at this speed," he said.
Stubbs grinned feebly to himself, seemed as if about to speak, thenthought better of it and remained silent. But he waved a hand in disgust.
A moment later the car was rushing through the darkness at the speed ofan express train; and while this journey in the night continues it willbe well to explain the presence of the three companions in the big armycar, how they came there and why, and the nature of the mission uponwhich they were bound.
A month before the three had been in the Balkans. There the two lads,together with Anthony Stubbs, had gone through many dangerous adventures,finally reaching Greek soil in the nick of time, with a horde ofBulgarians just behind them. With them had been others--Ivan, a Cossack,a third British officer and a young girl. Ivan had elected to join theAnglo-French forces at Salonika; the other British officer had found hisown regiment there and the girl, whom it had been the good fortune of theboys to save from the Bulgarians, found friends in the Greek city who hadtaken her in charge.
Hal, Chester and Stubbs had embarked on a French battleship, homewardbound. After due time they landed in Marseilles.
"Now," said Chester, when he once more felt French soil under his feet,"I suppose the thing for us to do is to return to the Italian lines andsee if we can learn anything of Uncle John, then return to Rome and toNew York."
Uncle John was the brother of Chester's mother. All had been bound forhome when Hal and Chester had become involved in a matter that took themforward with the Italian troops. Uncle John had been along to keep themout of mischief, if he could. He hadn't succeeded and had fallen into thehands of the Austrians. The boys had saved him. Later they had beenforced to seek refuge in the Balkans, having found it impossible to getback into the Italian lines, and they had lost Uncle John. Their arrivalin Marseilles had really been the first step toward a return to Rome,where they intended to try and find their mothers.
But their plans to retur
n to Rome did not materialize. As Hal said: "Luckwas with us."
In a little room in a Marseilles restaurant they had overheard aconversation between two men, plainly foreigners, that had resulted intheir once more being sent on active service. While they had been unableto gather all the details, they had learned enough to know that theGerman Crown Prince had laid careful plans for an attack on Verdun. Theyhad taken their information to the French commanding officer inMarseilles. The latter had been somewhat skeptical, but Colonel Derevaux,an old friend of the boys, had arrived at the psychological moment andvouched for them.
Immediately the French officer decided that something must be done. Theplans of the Germans, so far as he knew, had not been anticipated. Forsome reason he did not wish to trust the information to the telegraphwires, and the two lads had volunteered to deliver it in person toGeneral Petain. Their offer had been accepted, which accounts for thefact that we find them upon the last leg of their journey to Verdun atthe opening of this story.
Stubbs had elected to accompany them, for, as he said, "I've got to getthe news."
The two lads had seen considerable active service. They had fought withthe Belgians at Liege; with the British on the Marne; with the Cossacksin Russian Poland and in the Carpathians; with the Montenegrins andSerbians in the Balkans, and with the Italian troops in the Alps.
They had been participants in many a hard blow that had been delivered bythe Allies. They had won the confidence of Field Marshall John French,commander of the British forces in France until he was succeeded byGeneral Sir Douglas Haig after the battle of the Champagne, and ofGeneral Joffre, the French commander-in-chief.
While they ostensibly were British army officers, their titles werepurely honorary, but they held actual lieutenancies in the Belgian army,these having been bestowed upon them by King Albert in recognition ofservices accomplished in and around Liege in the early days of the war.
The boys had been chums since early childhood. They had been brought uptogether. They attended school together and were inseparable companions.Each spoke German and French fluently, and service with other armies hadgiven them a knowledge of other tongues. Both were strong and sturdy,crack shots, good with sword and sabre, and particularly handy with theirfists. These accomplishments had stood them in good stead in many a tightplace. But better than all these accomplishments was the additional factthat each was clear-headed, a quick thinker and very resourceful. Theydepended upon brains rather than brawn to pull them through ticklishsituations, though they did not hesitate to call on the latter force whenoccasion demanded.
Hal, peering ahead by the glare of the searchlight on the large army car,suddenly slowed down; the car stopped. A group of mounted men rode up.Hal stood up and gave a military salute as one of the group advancedahead of the others.
"I am from General Durand at Marseilles, sir," he said. "I have importantdispatches for General Petain."
The French officer returned the salute.
"Follow me," he said briefly.