So the three chums and their comrades found no lack of things to keep them busy in the trenches. They had their hours off, of course, when they were permitted to go back to the dugout, and there, in comparative safety, they might try to sleep. This was not easy, for though in a manner they became used to the constant roaring and blasting of the big guns, there was always an under-current of disturbances of other kinds. They were on the firing line, and the enemy did not let them forget it.
Every day the aeroplanes went over the lines, and more than once there was a battle in mid-air above where Ned, Bob and Jerry were on duty. Once a Hun plane came down in flames, so near they could hear the thud as it struck.
At times, after a period of comparative quiet, 92 the trenches on both sides of No Man’s Land would suddenly awaken into life. This would be caused by a fear, either on the part of the Germans or the troops from America, that one or the other was starting a raid. Then the machine guns would open fire, they would be augmented by the rifles of the men, and, if the shooting kept up long enough, the rival batteries would awaken and the big guns would speak.
It was one day, when the three chums had been on duty in the front-line trench about a week, that, as they were talking about the chance of seeing Professor Snodgrass and helping him in his search for the two girls, something spun past Ned’s head with a whine, and, with a vicious ping, imbedded itself in the trench wall behind him.
“What’s that?” exclaimed Bob.
“That sniper again,” answered Ned. “That’s the closest he’s come. We’d better move, fellows, or he may get one of us.”
“A sniper!” exclaimed Jerry. “Has he been taking pot shots at you?”
“Several of ’em. I’ve tried to get him, but I can’t figure out where he hides. Better move down the trench a bit. He seems to train his gun on this particular spot.”
“Gee!” gasped Bob.
Bob and Jerry had moved up from their own stations to where Ned was placed, as it was a 93 quiet period of the day, and it was while they were talking that the shot came.