The Brighton Boys in the Trenches
Page 11
CHAPTER XI
A DOUBLE SURPRISE
Roy and Dave had come back unharmed from the first sniping expedition ofthe squad against the enemy's snipers. The former was elated at havingseen a German who had crawled out of the enemy trench some distance into"No Man's Land," as the space between the opposing trenches has beennicknamed, stick his head and gun above a fallen tree trunk, shoot atRoy, and upon Roy's returning the compliment go down quickly, not toreappear. The German's bullet had chipped a bit of stone off not fiveinches from Roy's nose.
"Think sure I got the sucker and I hope he was Kaiser Bill himself! Ikept watchin' for him, Herb, for about half an hour and he never showedup. Now, who'll get out there to bury him, I wonder?"
"Let us hope somebody does tonight," Herb said.
"Hope that? Cracky, me lad, not so fast! If they got that far they'dforget the dead one and try to make one of us live ones a dead one.But, say, if some of us can sneak down there and lay for them when theydo come out for him, we could take 'em prisoners easy. How 'bout it?"
"Don't seem like fair and square fighting," said Herb.
"But _they_ do these things!" Roy argued.
"Two wrongs don't make a right."
"They will make a capture, though, sure as you're a foot high! Try itand let me in on it."
"But it will be your time sleeping. Well, maybe we can plan it. I'lltalk with the lieutenant."
That night it came on to rain, harder than it had yet come down sincethe squad had been in France. Everything was soggy and soaked; theatmosphere seemed like a big sponge surcharged with endless dampness.Slickers were in demand and all guns and revolvers for those going forthwere well cleaned and oiled.
Out of the pit and through the intense darkness Corporal Whitcomb led aparty of six others, one-half of his own men and two Regulars of theplatoon, all prepared for dealing a surprise. But, along with theenemy, they, too, experienced the unexpected, which in this case mightbetter be called simply a streak of luck.
Long before dark, though compelled to dangerously expose himself,Herbert had drawn up a rough but effective map of the slope between thepit and the German trenches, actually going over some of the groundafoot and being shot at several times from the trench, but from a saferplace covering the rest with his glass. Especially prominent on the mapwas made the fallen trunk where lay the German victim of Roy's superiormarksmanship. And when Roy showed this map and his plan of action toLieutenant Jackson the latter said:
"That's the stuff! It ought to earn you a commission. Hope you can carryit out. Yes, take Murphy and Donaldson, if you want. We'll lay low uphere ready for a counter-raid if you signal us."
Now, down the slope the men followed, single file, until they hadcovered nearly half the distance; then Herb felt a touch on the arm.Dave McGuire saluted and whispered:
"Have a notion that--ah--these fellows are expecting we shall undertakesomething like this and--all--are going to lay for us. Maybe we mightdivide up, go two ways--ah--and get the drop--ah--on them, asthey-ah--say, corporal."
"I have already planned for that; but thanks, old man. We'll do thatvery thing."
One group of four went a little to the right of the fallen tree andsought places of hiding; the other two, with Herbert, went to the leftand found an old shell pit into which they all crawled. The instructionsfrom the lieutenant had been for all to pull some grass and leaves topartly camouflage themselves.
The wisdom of this was shown not half an hour later when a low-flyingairplane suddenly rose, sailed over the spot and threw a ratheruncertain searchlight upon the slope, surely not detecting one of thehidden Americans.
The gun in the pit did not fire a shot at the flying-machine. The enemymight have been suspicious of that, though they must have believed thatthe birdman offered too uncertain a mark on which to waste shells in thedark, and then the flier's report gave them an assurance of safety.
The boys lay waiting long and not too patiently--for who can easilyendure such conditions? There was no let-up to the cold rain, whichafter a time became half sleet. Lying on the cold, soggy ground, chilledand uncomfortable, the boys after a time grew restive. Roy, with thefour on one side, cautioned silence. Herbert wondered how the fastidiousMcGuire was putting up with all this. Then, suddenly:
"Hist!" from one side. "Hist!" came from the other and at once thesilence was more impressive than death itself. For, perhaps, as they allthought, death might soon follow.
Up the slope beyond and slowly approaching came the sound of manyheavily-shod feet, and dark figures began to loom in the blackness,coming straight for the tree.
The American youngsters lay ready as pumas to spring amongst fat deer;they hardly breathed, the tense situation holding every man to the dutyexpected of him and in which he now gloried, eager to act.
More and more gray figures came dimly into view until, around the fallentree, nearly a score of men stood silently, only one of themoccasionally uttering an exclamation, or a word or two. Herb knew thatBen Gardner, once a buyer of toys in Europe, spoke German fluently andhe had kept Ben beside him for a purpose. Asking him afterward whatremarks the leader of the Germans had made, Gardner explained:
"Well, first he asked: 'Where is he?' and then: 'How can I believe it?'and once he said: 'Where could the American have been to kill him withthe first shot?' When they explained this to him he only grunted aboutten times. It must have been a stumper."
But in Corporal Whitcomb's mind was a more engrossing question than anynormal actions of the Germans could have further created. Greatlyoutnumbered, was he to give the signal to act on the offensive, or tolet the chance go by and run no risks?
Had he known then that a German division commander, a general of note,had been examining the trench at length and hearing of the death ofGodfrey Schmaltz, once big game hunter and one of the best shots in allthe Fatherland, had risked the chance to come now and inspect the placeand manner of the great marksman's defeat, the young corporal would havehesitated not at all and have risked everything. But now he seemeddisposed to wait too long. Gardner, however, must have guessed thesituation more clearly. He nudged Herbert and whispered:
"Big gun, I believe! Better get him! Now's our chance!"
And Herb, his mind suddenly set to the task, gave the signal--the flashof an electric handlight into the mist.
The seven were all on their feet in an instant and advancing upon theenemy. At the same moment Gardner shouted in the German tongue:
"Hands up, or death to all instantly! You are our prisoners!"
Herbert called to Roy and Martin Gaul, who were nearest, to quicklydisarm the Huns; and the way the few guns were snatched from the men andtossed aside must have much surprised them. One big fellow struck atRoy, and the man got a blow in the face which staggered him.
There was an attempt at a scurry among the German officers when theambush was sprung and the order given them. It was a palpable effort toshield or to effect the escape of one of their number, the general.
Dave McGuire saw this, having come around on that side in the movementto surround the huddled enemy, and he acted with the speed of a hawk.Shoving his pistol into the face of the nearest Boche, the young fellowbegan lisping some words in English which were probably poorlyunderstood, if at all, but he did not get very far with his speech.
Dave's arm was knocked aside and a Hun officer leveled a pistol at him,fully getting the drop on him. By all rules of the game, this was asignal for surrender on Dave's part, but Dave wasn't abiding by anyrules just then. The Hun officer suddenly felt in the pit of his stomacha boot that had the force of a Missouri mule back of it and when he rosefrom the mire he found himself a prisoner.
Dave made the others believe, seeing their companion fall and theAmerican's pistol again threatening them, that there was nothing leftthem but to accept the situation; and though the general, much to hiscredit for pluck, made another attempt to get away, he also got Dave'sfoot with equal force, but on the shin, and he couldn't have run then tos
ave his life.
Meanwhile all of the other six had performed quite admirably andimpressed upon the German officers and men the fact that they were atthe mercy of the Americans.
"Tell them to keep mighty quiet, Gardner," Herbert ordered, and thisalso was conveyed to them in words the prisoners clearly understood."And to head up the hill and step lively," the corporal added.
They headed up and stepped. Two lagged a little, but one of theRegulars, Murphy, prodded those grumbling Huns with his brawny fist andthey fell in with the others. As though by previous drill, the captorsarranged themselves about the prisoners with instant comprehension ofthe entire situation. Ready to pour in a murderous fire with the firstmovement in an attempt to escape, and believing that such an attemptmight be made at any moment, two of the squad marched to the right andtwo to the left of the captured Germans, while Herbert and Donaldsonfollowed in the rear and Gardner led the way, walking backward up theslope, now and then urging the captives to step along quickly.
They had covered two-thirds of the distance to the gun pit when one ofthe general's aides or staff suddenly gave a low order, and turned andrushed boldly upon the nearest American. Half the number of Germans,with something like a roar, followed his example in what, against a lessdetermined resistance must have been a successful break-away for mostof them.
But half a dozen revolvers barked and just as many Teutons went to theground, two never to rise again by their own efforts, for the distancewas short and the American boys were ready. The Huns fell back againinto a bunch, the general unwounded.
And then out came the raiders. The firing proved a signal and they knewthat their commander was in danger. From the German trench the soldiersclimbed; and though they could not be seen, the rapid commands, therattle of fixing bayonets, the tramp of hasty feet were very audible.Herbert listened for a second and then shouted:
"Never mind picking up those fellows, but get the rest up to the pit!Rush 'em now; rush 'em! Flynn," he called, "go for the pit like the OldScratch was after you, and tell Lieutenant Jackson the enemy's out andcoming!"
Just then the entire bunch of captors and captives found themselves inwhat was equal to the glare of day; a searchlight from the German trenchhad found them.
The sharp roar of the American gun in the pit jarred the earth, andinstantly the darkness was over everything again. The Yankeeartillery-men had found the searchlight and with the first shot.
But that moment of white light had shown some morose, ugly, hate-bearingfaces and booted figures huddled in a group, and on the ground somelying prone, others in a sitting posture, while about them stood anumber of grim fellows, with pistols in hand. And the light had shown onthe hill Roy Flynn going up the grade at a speed that would have donecredit to most sprinters on the level. Roy had been the hundred-yardsman at Brighton for three terms.
Lieutenant Jackson had his Regulars down the hill into the center of NoMan's Land almost before the Germans had all climbed out of theirtrenches, and when the latter came on in the darkness they were receivedwith such a withering fire that the survivors broke and fled back in ahurry.
"By jingo, corporal, you certainly have done yourself and all of usproud!" was Lieutenant Jackson's remark to Herbert a half hour laterwhen the prisoners had been questioned, disposed of and a guard set overthem, and in their warm dugout shelter the squad of snipers weregathered about the trench stove.
"All you fellows," he went on, "ought to be promoted for this night'swork; that's a fact. I don't want to take a bit of the glory away fromyou; I want you to make out and send in with mine a complete report ofyour work in capturing these----"
"I'll be perfectly content to have you do it all, Lieutenant," Herbertreplied.
"But I won't. You can write better than I can. When they hear you'vesnared this big chump, General What's-his-name, they'll tumble overthemselves to get you a commission. You deserve it. We're all findingout what the Johnny Bulls tell us: the non-coms and the subs have aboutas much to do with this scrap as the generals and colonels."