It was, really, the beginning of the combined English and French drive in the Somme region, as it is now known. A dapper little French sergeant, who sat between them, volunteered much of the information, which they were eager to obtain, as to the localities and disposition of the forces. "My battery was detrained at Moreil yesterday, and they will come north and cross the canal about eight kilometers east of the city," he remarked, in response to their questionings. "That is the branch of the service we are anxious to join," said Alfred. "What? after having had a hand with the flyers?" he asked, as he looked at them quizzically. "Yes; our best friend was killed, and then the doctor at the hospital was so much interested in us as to get us discharged," responded Ralph. "But the artillery is a tough place; you've got to rough it and stand an awful lot of pounding. Why, in the Champagne region, where we came from at the time we made the five-mile sweep, we went ahead so fast that the commissary couldn't keep up with us, and we were in the fight at one stretch for more than seventy hours, and with little to eat at that." That was said not in a boastful way, but merely to impress on them the hard lot of an artilleryman. "I suppose that is so," remarked Alfred. "But that's what the infantry men say; and the air pilots think they have a particularly tough time of it, and even the Red Cross people are in danger all the time; but that's to be expected." "Oh, if you're bound to go, there will be plenty to do, but the chances of getting in are pretty slim unless by regular enlistment." CHAPTER II THE FIGHT IN DEVIL'S CUT One of the important canals in northern France starts from the English Channel, near Abbeville, and parallels the Somme river, passing through Amiens, extending thence to Peronne, within the German lines. It was an important artery for the transportation of munitions and heavy ordnance directly to the front. When, two hours after the conversation related in the last chapter, the sergeant hunted around for means of conveyance to the section where his battery was to reach the canal, the boys accompanied him. Accommodations were finally secured on one of the many vans which lined the highway, and before noon the sergeant informed them that, as they were approaching the great highway leading to Corbie, he would have to bid them good-bye, as that was the point designated for the battery to ship on the canal. The boys debated the question, whether to remain or proceed to the front, and finally decided to continue their journey. But before proceeding two miles further the procession of loaded trucks halted, and the work of unloading began. They had reached the last permanent depot near the fighting line, but what to do now was the question. They were no nearer the object of their desires than when they left Paris.