“In the chill rain of dark nights our engineers had to build new roads across spongy, shell-torn areas, repair broken roads beyond No Man’s Land, and build bridges. Our gunners, with no thought of sleep, put their shoulders to wheels and drag-ropes to bring their guns through the mire in support of the infantry, now under the increasing fire of the enemy’s artillery. Our attack had taken the enemy by surprise, but, quickly recovering himself, he began to fire counter-attacks in strong force, supported by heavy bombardments, with large quantities of gas. From September 28th until October 4th we maintained the offensive against patches of woods defended by snipers and continuous lines of machine guns, and pushed forward our guns and transport, seizing strategical points in preparation for further attacks.”
And Ned, Bob, and Jerry had an honorable if humble part in all this. Forward they fought their way, now falling back as some fierce German resistance turned into a counter-attack and again rushing on to capture some little wooded knoll or hold some group of trees after the Hun machine gunners had been killed.
That was the worst of the fighting—against the machine guns. They were almost as thick as leaves in this Argonne Forest and the woods offered excellent protection to the enemy.
But it was fight, if not exactly in the open, more 230 nearly so than battles of the trenches, which the Americans hated. It was like being on their own ground, for, though the forest was in France, the trees and bushes were like those in any dense American woods.
“It’s like being with the professor on some bug-hunting trip!” yelled Bob, as he and his chums rushed on, firing as they went.
“Except it isn’t so healthy,” added Jerry. “Look out!” he shouted, and he pulled Bob down into the underbrush beside him only just in time, for there came a burst of bullets from a machine gun, concealed in a clump of trees, and but for Jerry’s timely act when he saw it, Bob might have been killed.
Then, with a yell, a company of Americans, with Ned, Bob, and Jerry aiding them, rushed on the Hun nest and wiped it out, turning the machine gun on the gray troops about them.
So the fighting went on, bitterly and terribly, as it had been going on for over a month, for this was now the beginning of October.
There came a lull in the conflict in the immediate neighborhood of the Motor Boys. They sank down exhausted on the ground under the trees, waiting for further commands, for an officer had ordered a halt.
As the captain of the company to which Ned, Bob, and Jerry had been assigned was approaching 231 to gather his men together, a runner came along a scarcely defined path.