The Brighton Boys in the Argonne ForestDriscoll, James R.
History
The Brighton Boys in the Argonne Forest
Driscoll, James R.
Argonne, Battle of the, France, 1918 -- Juvenile fiction; World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile fiction
In a corner poor Judson was crouched, staring, shuddering, jabbering.
On the floor Wilson lay sprawled out, as one having fallen heavily;
inert, unconscious. Beside the fallen man and facing Judson the short,
heavy, khaki-clad figure of another stood, pistol in hand, menacing the
crazed soldier.
Don had approached quite silently; above the not very distant noise of
firing and the jabbering man he had not been heard. But the man on his
feet turned his head, his face aflame with hate. The boy, off his guard
for the moment, yet with instant presence of mind, saw that he could
not draw his automatic and use it, however skillfully, as quickly as
the other, with his pistol, could swing and fire. But to dodge was
quite another matter, and with a leap to one side Don had the wall
between himself and the spy.
Even then the boy was not safe. There had been no cement to put
together the stones of the shelter walls, the crevices were large
enough to see through and for a bullet to pass through in some
directions, if aimed with accuracy.
At the first shot from within the shelter, Don felt something strike
his hip; another and another shot and he knew the spy was trying to
shoot through a hole in the wall before which the boy stood. He had
become the target of this would-be assassin, as he had once made the
fellow his target from this same spot. Don could not retreat; a shot
from the doorway, or from a crack, with the muzzle of the other’s
pistol placed in it might easily get him. And Don dared not play the
game for fear of hitting Judson.
Chance then favored him a little, even if against him with the creviced
wall. Below where he stood a large rock on edge at the base of the wall
extended a yard or more upward and from the corner of the doorway.
Another shot came from the spy and, uttering an exclamation not unlike
a groan, Don dropped to the ground. This bullet had been better aimed;
it had dislodged a bit of stone through the crack and this had hit the
lad a blow over his stomach that felt like the kick of a mule. Fair on
the solar plexus the blow landed and there is no surer place where one
may be hit to score a knock-out.
For an instant almost insensible with pain, then sickened and nearly
helpless, his nervous energy at a standstill, but his mind struggling,
groping, demanding swift self-consciousness and muscular action, the
boy got upon his hands and knees.
Within the spy must have known that Don was hit; perhaps wounded or
killed. A gasp of pain, then a sound as of falling and a struggle
probably convinced him that his last shot had won the fight. But he
must be sure.
The big rock prevented the fellow’s seeing what had happened to Don;
therefore he crept stealthily forward to the wall, sought a crevice and
tried to peep through it. All he could see at the downward angle was a
figure apparently lying there. Inert? It did not move as the spy gazed.
There could be little doubt of the outcome now.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account