The lobe of one of his ears had been cut almost away, and was bleeding profusely. Whether it was that, or the undaunted look in his face that inspirited them, the men broke into a hoarse cheer and again moved into line under a heavy fire. Our regiment, with others, had fallen back slightly, to a road, part of which gave us shelter by a low embankment. “Say,” said practical Sam Jenkins, “I saw a big roll of wire down the road a little way. Supposing we get it and twist it around these trees along the road.” The suggestion was adopted, and happily for our regiment and others too; for the Germans made one last effort to drive us from the field, and were checked before the fire we gave them from behind this barricade in front of the railroad embankment. We had suffered heavily. Many a good man had gone down, or had been carried, or had limped to the rear with desperate wounds. It was late when we at last repulsed the enemy and they had faded away before our fire, blending with the smoke behind them. Our men were exalted: their spirits rose high when they found that they had withstood the Hun in the open. Hoarse cheers ran down the line. “Shure,” said Pat Quinn, “Lieutenant dear; we bate the devils; but it was a toight squake.” “Aw,” said Goodwin, “you’s can bet we’s give ’em a wallup. Say! our lieutenant is great stuff, an’ don’t you forget it! T’ain’t so sure but that they’d knocked the stuffin’ out of us, but for him!” And that was the common agreement in our regiment. We were not a little proud of our company and ourselves. We had, as a whole, done well, and as Sam said, so we agreed, although it may seem boastful, “given the Boche their belly full of fighting” and we had gained new confidence in ourselves and our officers. We were gratified to get the praise of the French General, who was in command on the field, though I was not without suspicion that he gave us more praise than was our due. Then came word officially that the enemy had fallen back all along the line. CHAPTER XIII IN THE TIDE OF BATTLE The end of the German drive on the western front, as my readers know, had failed to break the Allied lines. The enemy, however, had succeeded in driving them back for miles, inflicting and receiving great losses of men and material. To those who understood the situation, it must have been disheartening, though we in the ranks, of course, could know but little beyond that which was taking place before our eyes. The high officers, who did know, feared that the enemy, by the advantage of quicker concentration because of holding interior lines, might by successive drives be able to force their army so near Paris as to endanger the city, or, on the farther western front, be able to reach the channel ports and thus divide the Allied armies. It was while victory was trembling in the balance on the far-flung battle lines, that our regiment was called to battle.