"I'm glad to hear it," said Lieutenant Smith, who appeared to be considerably more quiet and dignified than his companion. "When do we start, or do you know?" "Immediately," said Hal, "and if I am not mistaken, there is the signal now." A bugle sounded attention. The men sprang to their places and the ranks closed in the darkness. A moment later came the command to march. A few moments later Hal found himself in command of a detachment at the extreme right of the advancing column, where Captain Graham had assigned him. Because of the unfortunate lack of higher officers, Hal would command this detachment during the impending engagement. A short distance to Hal's left Lieutenant Jenkins strode with his men. Lieutenant Smith had been called to the detachment that made up the left wing. Silently the American columns moved through the darkness. The order had been passed along the line that there must be no talking. It would be well to advance as close to the village as possible without being discovered by the enemy. From the distance the German artillery still hurled shells toward the American lines at infrequent intervals, but there was nothing now in the nature of a consistent cannonading. Two hours' march brought Colonel Adams' column to the far edge of a small but dense wood. Beyond could be seen a few twinkling lights in the village of Dun. Colonel Adams called a halt. Here the Americans would wait until an hour after daylight, at which time Colonel Gregory would advance to the attack from the west of the village. The hours passed slowly and the men fidgeted. They would be cool enough when the time for action arrived, but resting quietly in the darkness and being allowed to utter no word, they grew restless. Gradually it grew light and the men recovered their spirits. The hour of attack was approaching and the troops were anxious to be about their work. Hal glanced at his watch in the half light. "Must be about time," he muttered. The words had hardly left his mouth when the signal came, the shrill clear notes of a bugle sounding a charge. A wild Yankee cheer followed the bugle call and the Americans dashed forward at the double. In this particular section of the field there were no trenches to be won. The German positions had been fortified so recently that the enemy had had no time to dig himself in. But with the warning of the advance, the German commander rushed his men into formation and awaited the attack. Machine guns were hurried forward and brought into play upon the men in khaki advancing across the open field. Under the commands of their officers, the Americans broke their close formation and scattered out, thus making a more difficult target for the enemy. Nevertheless, the enemy rifle and machine-gun fire took a heavy toll in the advancing ranks. To the far left of the German line, on Hal's right, a machine gunner was doing fearful execution with a gun that was hidden in a clump of trees at that point.