“So it does. Still when he came into this war he must have known it wasn’t a game of tiddlewinks. He’ll have to take his chances same as the rest of us. Anyhow, he’s probably in a shell hole and should be safe enough. But I thought all our men returned safely after the raid.”
“I thought so, too, sir,” said Hal. “There wasn’t a man reported missing.”
“Probably a straggler from another brigade, sir,” said Chester.
“Most likely,” rejoined Captain O’Neil. “We’ll see what can be done for him in the morning.”
He strode away.
It was two days after Hal and Chester had delivered General Lawrence’s despatches to General Pershing. Contrary to their expectations, they had not been ordered to return again to General Lawrence’s command, but had been returned to their own division, which at that time chanced to be guarding front-line trenches in the Soissons region only a short distance south of the Marne. Arrived, they had reported at once to Captain O’Neil and had been assigned new quarters.
To-night they were keeping watch. Early in the evening they had accompanied a party of troops in a raid on a certain point in one of the German trenches. Several prisoners had been made and the Americans had not lost a man. It was no wonder, then, that they should be surprised at the voice which called from No Man’s Land.
The voice came again:
“Help! Help!”
“By Jove, Hal!” said Chester, “there is something familiar about that voice. Wonder who it can be?”