Bart woke in the morning refreshed and perfectly himself again as far as his mind was concerned. They fed him well and when the ambulance came around they helped to put him in it, promising to drop round to see him whenever they could get leave. The ambulance went along with the army, so that the boys had the feeling that Bart was with them all the time, even though not stepping along in the ranks. Dick dropped in on them during the day, as did Will Stone, who was going along in one of the tank units of the army of occupation, and their delight was almost as great as that of the Army Boys themselves when they heard the news. Together they went to visit Bart at every opportunity they had, and rejoiced to find that he was getting stronger all the time. The nurse who had him in charge had been told his story, and, being a person of tact and discretion, she had gradually told him the truth bit by bit, “in homeopathic doses,” as Tom put it. The absence of the noise of the big guns was rather hard to explain, but she did it somehow, and finally Bart came to know the whole truth. It was something of a shock to him, but his delight at the defeat and surrender of the Huns was so great that it more than counterbalanced his distress. In a few days, the doctor pronounced him strong enough to take his regular place in the ranks, and when he stepped out with them one morning in a brand new uniform and looking as stalwart and fit as ever he had, the Army Boys felt as though they had nothing on earth left to ask for. And their delight was shared by the rest of the regiment, with whom Bart was a general favorite, and who overwhelmed him with handshakes and congratulations. The boys marked that day as the best that had ever been on their calendar. All were in a jubilant mood as they strode along in the crisp, cool air. It was almost a trial to keep their measured step. They all felt more like dancing. “The only kick I have was that I wasn’t in at the finish,” said Bart. “I’d like to have heard the last shot fired. And I sure would have liked to have been with you fellows in the tunnel, and in the clearing of that Argonne Forest. You fellows were certainly going fast in those last days of the war.” “You needn’t kick,” grinned Billy. “You’re some speed merchant yourself. You went to sleep in France and woke up in Germany.” CHAPTER XXIII CROSSING THE RHINE It was a memorable day when the Army Boys at last looked upon the Rhine. Again and again that word had been on their lips in the course of the war. A thousand times they had pledged themselves to reach the Rhine. The river was to them a symbol of Germany itself.