The Khaki Boys over the Top; Or, Doing and Daring for Uncle Sam — John Shaqi
The Khaki Boys over the Top; Or, Doing and Daring for Uncle SamChase, Josephine
History
The Khaki Boys over the Top; Or, Doing and Daring for Uncle Sam
Chase, Josephine
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile fiction
In that book, too, you may read of how Franz Schnitzel, by his
knowledge of the German tongue, was able to give advance notice of a
raid he overheard the Huns planning. The raid was a failure from the
German standpoint, but during it some of our Khaki Boys were wounded.
Adventure followed adventure, but in one "grand" one, as a Frenchman
would call it, Jimmy, on guard when Voissard's aëroplane was on the
ground, temporarily disabled, stood off an attack of Germans and among
others he killed Adolph von Kreitzen, known as the "tiger man." On his
head the French government had set a price of five thousand francs, or
about a thousand dollars, and of course Jimmy won this.
So now, in the opening of this present story, we find our five Khaki
Boys still together after many strenuous happenings. They had been
wounded but were now recovered and they had fought valiantly.
In the last chapter of the book immediately preceding this, if you
recall, the lads had written letters home--letters which might be
their last, they thought, for they had orders to take their places in
the front line trenches to await the zero hour. Two of the Brothers
had been separated from their chums, but all were reunited as we have
seen.
Then had come the command to go over the top, and there had followed
the fierce rush in the gray dawn of the morning--a rush punctuated by
fire, smoke and death.
"Dig in! Dig in!" commanded the lieutenant in command of the
particular squad of the 509th infantry to which our friends were
attached. "This is only a temporary check. We're laying down a curtain
of fire, and we'll go forward again in a moment!"
He had to yell to be heard above the din, but all near him understood
what he meant. The American gunners were sending over a barrage
fire--a veritable rain of bullets that would keep the Germans
from advancing, and which would also cause them to abandon their
machine-guns. It was the machine-gun fire that was, temporarily,
holding up the advance of Jimmy and his chums.
It did not take the Sammies long, working feverishly as they did, to
raise a protecting mound of earth between them and the Huns. And then,
for some reason or other, the savage fire of the Germans slacked at
the particular section of the line where our heroes were stationed.
"Are you all right, Rodge?" called Jimmy to the chum on his left.
"So far, yes. How about you?"
"Oh, I was nicked in one ear--just a scratch. It's hardly bleeding.
Can you see Bob?"
"Yes, he's got a swell place--in a shell hole, and Franz is with him.
See anything of Iggy?"
"No," answered Jimmy. "I'm afraid he's done for. If I get a chance,
I'm going back to see. Looks as if Fritz had had enough at this
sector."
"Aren't we going forward?" some one called to the lieutenant in
charge. "Come on! Lead us to the Boches!"
"Have to wait for orders," was the grim answer. "We were told to halt
here. Can't go on without orders!"
There were murmurs of disapproval at this, but the discipline was
strict.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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