The Brighton Boys in the Argonne Forest Page 13

  CHAPTER XII

  SURROUNDED

  “TRAPPED, eh? I was afraid something like that would occur!” LieutenantWhitcomb exclaimed. “It’s not the first time the Heinies have vacatedground and then quietly occupied it again; a trick of theirs to takeus by surprise when we go after them. Well, this is bad for us in twoways.”

  “How’s that, Herb?” asked Don.

  “Why, you can see it. In the first place we’re surrounded, for you maybet the Huns are in close touch with each other; they always are. So weprobably cannot get out, as Gill says. If we try to hold out, then whenour boys make the next drive we may be between two fires. But our worstfear is of discovery before the next drive commences.”

  “We’re in here pretty snug, Lieutenant; they may never get on to us atall,” offered the corporal.

  “That’s possible, but hardly likely. We’ve got to lie low.”

  “We’ve a crackerjack place to defend, Herb,” Don said.

  “Very good and I don’t want to be a pessimist, but with a good manyhundred against twelve--well, we might hold ’em off for a time, evenwith only one machine gun. But there’s a limit to grub and ammunition,and especially to water. What do you fellows know about water nearhere?”

  “A spring run ’bout as big as a shoe lacin’ over yon a couple o’hundred yards to the northeast,” said Jennings.

  “Very good. Who will volunteer to refill all canteens?”

  “I’ll go, Lieutenant!”

  “Me, too!”

  “Count me in on that, please!”

  “Say, Lieutenant, if I kin shove my ol’ face into that ’ere riv’let fer’bout five minutes, I wouldn’t want another drink fer close on to aweek!” Jennings declared.

  “Oh, boy, you must be kin to a camel!”

  “Sure, an’ my middle name’s tank. Better let me go, Lieutenant; I knowthe place.”

  “Who do you want with you?” Herbert asked.

  “That ’ere young lieutenant feller that I run acrosst a while back,if he’ll go.” Jennings indicated Don, who was up at the other endcleaning his automatic.

  And so it befell that the boy and the big Pennsylvania mountaineerwere once more on duty together and it may be recorded that they gotback with every canteen brimming. Gill, meanwhile, had crept over to aprevious find of his, a former German position that had been discardedfor no apparent reason and he returned with the complete parts of awooden bucket, hoops and all, which was promptly put together and inturn filled with water. Thereafter, admonished to drink and eat aslittle as possible, lie low and make no noise and above all to be readyfor discovery at any time, the squad went into what Herbert calledhopeful retirement and thus remained until the day ended and the nightpassed without incident. Dry leaves and spruce boughs made warm andcomfortable beds.

  The morning of October 2d began ominously; at the first peep of dayall were awake and some bantering chatter was heard among the men.Presently the corporal, who had crept to the outer rocks to take a lookaround, held up his hand for silence and came crawling back.

  “They’re coming down the valley, sir, as you reckoned they’d do,” hesaid to Lieutenant Whitcomb and a moment later the sound of trampingfeet could be heard.

  “Slip a spruce bough over the end of that Browning gun!” Herbertordered. “Now, men; all quiet! Corporal, pass that along. Tell the boysthat our lives may depend on our ability to lie low. And they are tounderstand this: if the Heinies get on to us now, we are not going outof here alive and prisoners! We’ll all croak rather than that. Be readyfor action, but nobody must go off half-cocked. Corporal, you and Gilland Judson and Kelly and Farnham and Tomlinson man the up hillside;Lieutenant Richards, Jennings, McNabb, Wilson, Gerhardt and myself willlook to the valley. Silence now and no heads up. I can see what isgoing on through this crevice and I’ll report from time to time.”

  On came the men in gray-green, probably a full regiment of infantry,including a dozen machine-gun squads. They marched well, these sons ofthe Fatherland, and they were mostly young and vigorous-looking men,presenting not the slightest suggestion of weariness, nor of beingunderfed. But there was not a word spoken among them; the entirenumber was as obedient to evident orders as though possessing but onebrain and as the soldiers filed along the valley and around the littlehill, past and not fifty yards away from the position of the hiddenAmericans, they reminded Herbert of so many automatons. Thus theyentered the ranks, were taught and trained, and thus they fought, awonderfully coördinated whole, but without individual incentive. Theboy understood, as never before, how it was that the German army wasat once so remarkably pliable and effective in strategic movement andyet he had seen that in battle the Huns were readily disconcerted whenconfronted with conditions foreign to their teaching and understanding.

  Tramp, tramp, tramp. The boys were indeed marching, but they were notthe sort of boys, nor did they have the end in view that made them, asin the old song, pleasant to contemplate by those twelve Americans upamong the rocks within hailing distance, but as yet unsuspected by theHuns.

  That muffled jarring of the earth from many tramping men would hauntDon Richards’ memory as long as he lived. But perhaps he would need toremember it but a very short time, for how could the little band failbeing discovered, and Herbert had declared they would die fighting. Sobe it; Don for one would stick by his friend.

  There was a sharp command given to the marching men below. Instantlythe nearest footfalls ceased, though beyond the little hill they wereheard to go on and on, the sound growing fainter; then ceasing. Morecommands given to those near by and a general confusion of breakingranks ensued; the unslinging of equipment followed.

  Herbert, his eye against the slit between two boulders, felt amomentary sinking at the heart when he realized that this company, atthe rear of the column, was separating from the others of its unit andwas stopping here, perhaps for breakfast, or to rest; probably it hadbeen night marching.

  For how long could the Yank squad remain undiscovered? And remainingso, would it not be a veritable torture within this narrow defile,hardly able to change position? Well, for grit and determination, inany event Whitcomb knew he could rely on the squad; there were nonebetter nor more loyal; no better shots in the whole Army.

  The German company prepared camp at length. The men ate breakfastwith the methodical exactness that characterizes all the Huns’ doings,though they were four times as long at it as the Americans would havebeen. Each man carried his allotment of food and utensils; each with aregularity that showed long practice got out his duffel and fell to thetask. They sat in little groups and the mumbled words from the few whoconversed came to the squad up in the rocks like a dull murmur. Herbertnoted that the officers, four in number, kept to one side, standing,and talking very earnestly, one of them gesticulating toward the south.Evidently something was on foot that meant a still more determinedresistance to the Americans and this was the company in reserve of theregiment that was intending to hold the woods at this point.

  The young officer knew that his men must become impatient to see whatwas going on, so he relinquished his place to Don for a peep; thenbeckoned the corporal. Farther along the rocky basin some of the menwere at another peep-hole they had found and one fellow was trying tolift his eyes just above the level rocks, but Herbert sternly motionedhim down; then crawled over and explained again the inevitable resultof being discovered. This admonition he imparted to each of the othersalso and the agreement again was to try to hold the place in any event.

  Hours wore on. The sky became entirely overcast, the air damp with asuggestion of rain. From time to time it would get brighter and thesun would appear for a few minutes. Perfect quiet was maintained inthe rock basin, though after a time Herbert called Don’s attention toa silent game of cards going on at the other end of their stronghold.That indicated the American spirit: next door to death or imprisonmentat the hands of the Hun, yet getting what fun and cheerfulness theycould.

  Noontime came. Herbert set the example of
not eating. It went harderwith some of the fellows that they could not smoke, for the white fumesmight be seen below.

  The enforced inaction was becoming terribly tiresome, but the cause ofsome whispered jests at that:

  “I’ve completely wore out this here rock what I’m a lyin’ on,”commented the chap from the Pennsylvania mountains.

  “Listen, fellow, this old earth right here is good enough for me. It’sa blamed sight softer than Heinie lead.”

  “I wish the ‘corp’ would take a notion to get out his mouth organand play a jig. He might charm those Jerries down there so that theycouldn’t do a thing.”

  “Sho! The only thing that charms them is tin-pan music and a bass drum.I expect old man Wagner is right down there with ’em now.”

  “Him? He’s dead! His noise killed him long time ago.”

  “No, sir; I took him prisoner last week and showed him some eats. Hesaid the dinner horn was the prettiest music he ever heard.”

  “Those fellows they call Faust and Mephistopheles, they were Huns,weren’t they?”

  “Sure, but a Frog set ’em to music; that’s why it’s worth listening to.”

  “I’ll bet if we all started singin’ ‘The Watch on the Rhine’ out loud,those Jerries down there would pull their freight for Berlin in twominutes; they’d think we were ghosts.”

  “Sho! You’d have to sing it in German.”

  “Would, eh? No, thanks! My throat’s a bit sore now as ’tis. Wonder ifthe feller that invented that language kept pigs and learned the soundof it from them.”

  “Sh! Lay low an’ quit gabblin’, you duffers!” whispered the watcher atone peep hole. “Here comes two Heinies up the hill!”

  Don, at the other rock fissure, turned and spoke to Herbert and thecorporal. A hasty and whispered order went around the rock basin and inthe quiet that ensued the sound of heavily shod feet, treading amongloose stones and of rustling leaves, could be distinctly heard.