Part 21 (1/2)

”A s...o...b..ll fight,” suggested Jerry, and the others took up the idea as a boon to dispel the monotony of their isolation.

With the lieutenant ”umpiring” from the little wireless room of the tractor, Joe and Frank ”stood” Jerry and Slim, and from a distance of a hundred feet apart the battle began.

One of Frank's well-aimed missiles caught Slim squarely in the mouth, just as he was calling out some challenging remark, and from the window of his post Lieutenant Mackinson laughingly shouted: ”Strike one!”

Slim, spitting and blowing out the icy pastry, gathered all his strength to hurl a ball back at Frank. But he ”wound up,” as baseball pitchers call that curving swinging of the arm just before the ball is thrown, with such vigor that he lost his balance. His feet went up into the air and he came down ker-plunk! but the s...o...b..ll left his hand with what proved to be unerring aim.

Joe, letting out a howl of laughter at Slim's accident, caught the tightly packed wad of snow right in the ear. He turned his back to the ”enemy,” and, leaning forward, began pounding the other side of his head to dislodge the snow.

Of a sudden he straightened up, uttering an exclamation of surprise.

”Lieutenant!” he shouted. ”Look here!”

The lieutenant jumped out of the tractor, and the others followed him on the run to where Joe and Frank were gazing off down into the opposite valley.

Two, perhaps three, miles away, a winding, twisting line of black against the snow was pus.h.i.+ng its way laboriously around the mountain base.

”Germans!” exclaimed Lieutenant Mackinson. ”Wait until I get my field gla.s.ses, but do not stand where they might see you with theirs.”

From positions within the clump of trees the lads watched the line spread out and slowly but surely forge its way ahead. The lieutenant returned with his gla.s.ses.

”At least ten thousand of them,” he announced at last, after gazing down at them for fully a minute. ”And n.o.body knows how many more behind. We must notify the camp at once.”

He ran back to the tractor, followed by all but Jerry, who remained to observe the enemy's further movements.

In two or three minutes the wireless operator at headquarters signaled back for them to go on with the message.

”About ten thousand enemy troops proceeding through eight inches snow, bound northwest around eastern base of mountain,” Lieutenant Mackinson's message ran. ”Am observing and will report progress. Any orders?”

In another five minutes the wireless clicked back: ”Are any of enemy flanking mountain on south?”

Jerry, who at that moment entered the tractor, informed them that the Germans had divided into two diverging lines, apparently for that very purpose.

There was a considerable pause after this was flashed to headquarters.

Meanwhile Jerry had gone back to his post of observation, accompanied by Frank and Slim.

”How many big guns?” was the next query from the commanding officer of the American forces in the sector.

Joe rushed out to where the other three were standing, and from them returned with the information that already they had counted seven headed toward the north, and five being hauled toward a place where they might round the southern base of the mountain.

This news was sent through s.p.a.ce to the American army; and the lads who were the silent witnesses to what the enemy had intended and fully expected should be a secret movement, waited in silence for further developments.

”Can you get back over the same road with tractor?” was the next message that came, and Lieutenant Mackinson called for the more expert judgment of Frank Hoskins before answering.

”We can try it,” said Frank in a rather doubtful tone, ”but it's risky business. It will be as much as we can do to follow the road, and we can't hope to see the ruts and b.u.mps. The worst part of it is, though, that the tractor is so heavy it may not hold the road. However, we can try.”

The lieutenant repeated the gist of this to headquarters, and the message came back: ”Better try.”

But by the time this decision was reached the fire in the earthen oven had almost entirely died out, and the engine of the tractor, which had been drawn up to it, had become so cold that they had to build another fire, to get hot water to put into the radiator, before they could get it started.