Part 19 (2/2)

Here, there, and everywhere they could see groups of the forlorn inhabitants wandering about Some stood and stared at the ruins of their recent houarded the little they had saved; while still ion of the north, fros

Hanky Panky, however, was astonished to discover very few sole the peasants of the Marne country At first this aured out what it meant

They had in s of years, even their humble homes; but in spite of this they could take off their caps and shout in allee as the three Motorcycle Boys rode past

Why, to be sure, the Great Day had come, of which they had some of theions, like a plague of locusts, had once ht to a standstill by the glorious aruns told how Von Kluck, who had made such wonderful boasts of what heon a panic

That hy teotten For France these honest sons and daughters would reater sacrifices, and think little of it So Hanky Panky felt ready to take off his hat to every one of the by

Few anis and cats could be seen Evidently the Germans had tried to make a clean sweep of the fortyback to the prepared positions along the Aisne Those horses or cows that had been saved frohter or seizure must have been artfully secreted somewhere, so that they escaped the keen search As for chickens, not a solitary rooster's crow had the boys heard since early dawn; for fowls of every description are first looked after by the soldiercaravans of supplies were crawling over other roads, all heading for the front and cohfare must be croith vehicles of transportation, when a million Frenchmen in arms had to be fed daily, not to mention the enormous quantities of a and the setting of every sun

The enius of the men whose brains had to co to the provisioning of such a vast host It was an experience the educational value of which could never be fully estimated; and often would the boy ponder over the problems that must have confronted those ere responsible for the solution of theh as a rule these were in the line of narrow escapes from nasty spills, on account of ruts in the road Rod frequently gave warning when he reached an especially bad stretch of ground, for he ell aware of the failings of his two chums--Josh with his impetuous ways, and Hanky Panky rather apt to be careless as well as clu in particular Rod noticed, and this was that as they proceeded the sounds ahead of the up on that part of the Marne country where the last rearguard action was being fiercely contested

Von Kluck and his proud ar themselves pushed further and further away from the beautiful city in which they had fully expected to be encaave up, bound to sacrifice as few of their heavy guns as possible

Another thing staggered the boys when they ca the Civil War in their own country soht, and the numbers on both sides did not really amount to more than two hundred thousandin deadly earnest, supplied with the ineers highly educated along the lines of utilizing these engines of wholesale destruction

No wonder then the dead and wounded were as the leaves of the forest when the wind of late October tears them from their hold upon the branches and scatters thes and stumps and in fence corners

Rod had some reason to believe that if they were allowed to proceed forward on this particular day they would presently reach the regiht so earnestly in the interest of his family, had an humble part He was determined that should fortune favor them and the object of their search be accos of Josh, but strike for Paris, so as to get away from this war-blasted country as quickly as possible

It was beginning to pall upon Rod After all he was only a boy, and had never been accusto continually thrust before him Nature has its limits, and Rod believed he was now very close to the end of his endurance

”As it is, e've run across will haunt us the rest of our lives,”

he was telling hi the difficult road; ”and for one I' by the peaceful waters of the river bordering Garland in the far-distant States And here's hoping that this may turn out to be our very last day in the track of the battling armies”

The dust was thick in places, partly on account of the season of the year, and then again because of the unwonted use to which that particular thoroughfare had been put of late When several hundred thousand feet have tra in almost endless procession, and then innumerable vehicles of every known description, not to ines, so back and forth, it can easily be understood that the best of roads hed a nu up with all this dust, and he found hi When no attention was paid at first to these plain syhed louder than ever, and with such evident distress that Rod guessed what he wanted

”All right, Hanky,” he shouted back, ”wait till we co of some sort, and we'll drop off to wash it down”

After that Hanky Panky quieted considerably, histhe boy kept watching ahead, hoping that it would not be long before they sighted so rill ran, or the thrice welcome sweep of an old-fashi+oned well told of water to be had for the trouble of raising the same

”I see one, Rod!” he presently called at the top of his voice, which was quite husky from the accu to, and I hope you keep your word, because I' for a drink”

”Sa to relieve the other's mind, because that would make two in favor of a stop, and majority always ruled with the Motorcycle Boys

It happened just then that the road was next to deserted, though again just the reverse er be seen, but Hanky Panky had marked the spot in his mind, and was not to be cheated because a knoll hid the well from the road, so it was only visible in that one quarter