“I’d like to have a try at him,” said Jerry. “It’s queer he can send a bullet down into this trench. It must come from above. A shot from the German trenches wouldn’t reach here over the top, unless it was fired up, and landed here as it came down.”
“Then it would be a spent ball,” argued Bob, “and it wouldn’t sing out the way that one did.”
“You’re right,” agreed Ned. “It was fired from above—you can tell that by the slant it took as it came in. But it didn’t come from an aeroplane. There hasn’t been any over the trench for a long while. No, it’s some German sniper, and he’s out there in the woods, I believe. Up a tree, most likely, where he can fire down into our trench. He must have a long-range rifle.”
“We ought to try to get him,” argued Jerry. “Have you, Ned?”
“Yes, I’ve tried to bait him, so I could find out where he shoots from and nip him in return, but I haven’t been able to.”
“Then I’m going to have a shot at him,” declared Jerry, who was rated as an expert in the use of the rifle, as his badge showed.
But his plan of getting revenge on the Hun, who had so nearly shot Ned, was not destined to be carried out at once. For just then the relief 94 of the boys came up, and they were marched back to the dugout for a rest period.
It was after they had enjoyed this, and were counting on again doing their turn in the trenches that their chance came to go out on night patrol, one of the most dangerous missions in the line of duty.
So far, since the Motor Boys had come up to the firing line, there had been no really serious fighting in their immediate sector. On either side of them there had been skirmishes, but a mile or so away, so they had had no chance to participate. Also there had been night raids, but Ned, Bob and Jerry had not been in them.
This does not mean that Ned, Bob and Jerry were in no danger, for, as has been shown, a bullet came near ending Ned’s career. And aside from this, there had been bombs dropped near them from Hun aeroplanes, and once a whole portion of the trench, just beyond where they were stationed, had been caved in by a shell from a German gun, and several brave lads had been killed, while others were terribly injured. But Ned, Bob and Jerry had come out unscathed.