Army Boys marching into Germany : $b or, Over the Rhine with the Stars and StripesRandall, Homer
History
Army Boys marching into Germany : $b or, Over the Rhine with the Stars and Stripes
Randall, Homer
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile fiction
They had covered perhaps two-thirds of the way, when Frank met a squad
of his own regiment who were advancing after clearing out a ravine.
They raised a shout as they saw Frank coming along herding his flock,
and in a moment he was surrounded and overwhelmed with eager questions.
“Where are the rest of the fellows that helped you take this bunch?”
asked Corporal Wilson, who was in command of the squad.
“There weren’t any others,” answered Frank. “I just happened to get the
draw on this crowd and gathered them in.”
“‘Happened’ is good,” said Wilson dryly. “There’s more to it than that.
You’ll have to tell us about it later. In the meantime, I’ll have these
fellows sent to the rear.”
The prisoners were sent back, and Frank went forward with his comrades
for further fighting. Under other circumstances, he would have liked to
rest for a while, for he had been under a terrific strain and now he
was feeling the reaction. But there was stern work yet to be done, and
the resting time could come later.
Tom and Billy had worked their way in his direction and now rejoined
him. They moved forward and soon reached the scene of Frank’s exploit.
The German who had been knocked unconscious had evidently come to his
senses and had disappeared, but the two men whom Frank had wounded were
still there. A stretcher party working in that part of the field was
signaled, and the men were taken away to the hospital.
“Some classy work!” exclaimed Billy, when at his eager urging Frank
had told to him and Tom the incidents of the fight. “If you don’t get
the Distinguished Service Cross for this, there’s no gratitude in the
United States army.”
“Billy’s right,” declared Tom, as he clapped Frank on the shoulder.
“There isn’t one man in a thousand who would have thought of it or done
it if he had thought of it. Frank, old man, you’re a wonder.”
“Oh, forget it,” said Frank. “I had a chance and took it. That’s all.”
“That’s all,” mimicked Tom. “You had a chance and took it. We’ll let it
go at that.”
All that morning the fighting continued, and the Germans were steadily
driven back. By noon the edge of the forest had been cleared, and the
Americans began to consolidate their lines in preparation for the next
advance.
“Well, we’ve won the first round anyway,” remarked Billy jubilantly,
as the Army Boys gathered in a trench that had been hastily constructed
and sat down to eat.
“Yes,” admitted Tom, “but there may be a good many rounds to this
fight. Heinie’s got lots of fight in him yet and don’t you forget it.
He knows he’s in the last ditch and that if he doesn’t stand here, it’s
all up with him.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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