The fact was pretty evident that after a painfully tedious, silent march into the very jaws of the American positions, in order to surprise and capture a platoon of sleeping men, of which in some way they had gained knowledge, they had found these fellows had become alarmed and so, patiently, after the German painstaking method, the Huns were retracing their steps. A quick mental calculation convinced Don that he could get back and bring up the platoon to a position on the hill, ahead of the Germans and, once away from possible observation, he moved like a June hornet. Single file, as usual on such expeditions and almost on a dog trot, the Yanks followed Don and Herbert up through the woods where the much interfered with field piece had been destroyed, reached the very spot where Gill had been captured, skirted the thicketed edge once again and then dropped to the ground. And this time the waiting was brief. “Hands up, Dutch!” ordered Don, as the tall officer came abreast of him, and as the Yanks on either side of the way, with leveled guns leaped to their feet the enemy made no resistance. Coming to make a capture, they were themselves taken prisoners by the very men they meant to surprise. CHAPTER XXV FORWARD BUGLES called Captain Lowden’s company together on the night of the 5th for the purpose of re-forming, a practice pretty regularly followed throughout the army when engaged in continual fighting and advancing, it being desirable to keep tabs on losses, to reorganize and to fill gaps among officers and men. Four lieutenants in this company so far had been killed or wounded; it was to replace the last one that Don Richards had been pressed into immediate service. Lowden had been hit in the shoulder, disabling his left arm, but after a brief treatment while still on his feet he had kept on with his men, carefully directing the re-furnishing of supplies, the ambulance work, and, where possible, keeping their efforts lined up with and not encroaching upon the work of other units on either side. Placed in command of a platoon, Don’s heart beat fast with the joy of the responsibility and the honor of it. Though a mere boy, he was in every way a manly fellow; older than his age, to use a paradox; much younger than he looked to be. So full of stirring incidents had been his experiences in France, as spy catcher and Red Cross driver during the period of America’s participation in the Great War that he might now as well be called a seasoned veteran as anyone thrice his age.