Colonel Johnson cleared a space about him with his flashing sword. Hal emptied his revolver into the ranks of the enemy, then drew his own sword. Standing side by side, Hal and Colonel Johnson beat off the Germans who tried to pierce their guards. Nevertheless, their predicament was extremely critical, and it is doubtless if they would have come through alive had not half a dozen soldiers, seeing their peril, dashed forward and scattered the Germans who surrounded them.
This gave the two a breathing space, of which they took advantage.
But the fighting was far from ended yet—the Germans were far from beaten. In the rear of the line which had broken and fled under the American attack, other lines had formed and now dashed forward. Colonel English, taking in the situation at a glance, ordered support to the assistance of the hard-pressed men under Colonel Johnson.
The reinforcements came forward with a rush and met the new German line with a crash. The hand-to-hand fighting that ensued was terrific, but after five minutes of give and take, the Germans again retired.
American machine guns were swung about hastily to cover the retreating foe and wreaked terrific havoc among the enemy. The retreat became a rout. The Germans turned and fled.
Victory, it appeared, was with the Americans.
But Colonel English had no mind to allow the enemy to rest. His instructions had been to capture the village of Pouilly, and he would not rest content until he had accomplished that feat. Accordingly, he ordered another advance.
The Americans dashed forward with the same recklessness that has always characterized the charge of the American fighting man. In vain German officers sought to bring some semblance of order out of the confusion that reigned in the enemy ranks. The effort was vain. Young lieutenants stood in the path of the retreating men and beat them with the flat of their swords, but they could not stay the rout. Others fired their revolvers point-blank into the faces of their own men, but even these heroic measures failed to have the desired result.
The Germans were beaten and they knew it.
So it was just as the first faint streak of dawn appeared in the eastern sky that the Americans set foot in the village of Pouilly.