"It's going into the ditch!" exclaimed Bart, as the monster gave a lurch into a deep depression at the side of the road. "It'll topple over sure!" prophesied Billy. But the prophecy proved false for the car righted itself from an almost impossible angle and came on as doggedly as before. Just before it got to where the boys were standing it came to a halt, a door opened and a young fellow of about their own age leaped out. He was strong and well built, with hair that crisped in curly waves close to his head and a pair of merry blue eyes that spoke of fun and good fellowship. "Hello, fellows!" he exclaimed, waving the formality of an introduction and wiping the perspiration from his forehead. "My, but it's hot in there!" They crowded round him in eager curiosity. "Where did you dig up this rig?" asked Billy. "Is it real or is it all a hideous dream?" The newcomer laughed. "You don't seem to be stuck on my pet," he grinned. "I'll admit she isn't much on beauty, but when she comes to scrapping she's a holy terror." "She looks it," agreed Frank. "I'd hate to have her bump up against me when she was in a bad temper." "That's the way the Huns feel," laughed their new acquaintance. "They haven't any use for tanks. You ought to see the way we got 'em in the battle of the Somme." "Were you there?" asked Tom. "Very much there," was the answer. "This old rascal of mine was right in the thick of it." "You English have all the luck!" exclaimed Bart enviously. "English nothing," replied the operator. "I'm an American just as you are. My name is Stone, Will Stone, and I was born in Detroit." "Bully!" exclaimed Frank, and there was a general handshake and introductions all around. "But how did you get over here before the rest of us?" queried Bart. "Well," laughed Will, "you know Windsor in Canada is just across the river from Detroit and I slipped across and enlisted with the Canadian troops. I knew a good deal about automobiles--everybody in Detroit does, because there are so many plants there--and when these tanks were ready for use and they called for volunteers I was Johnny-on-the-spot." "You chose a hot branch of the service, all right," commented Tom. "If you were looking for excitement I guess you got it." "You're a good guesser," grinned Will. "When you're climbing over trenches and crashing through walls and rooting up trees, with bullets pattering against the sides like hailstones on a roof, the fellow who can't get enough excitement out of it is pretty hard to please. But come along, you fellows, and I'll show you over the old shebang if you care to look at it." They needed no second invitation, and for the next half hour there was a volley of questions and answers as they examined the offensive and defensive qualities of the grim monster that had carried consternation into the German ranks.